“Mordacity Pride?”

“Stay out of my head!”

Hadrian smiled. “Didn’t have to go there.”

Syn scowled. “Don’t fuck with the drunk guy. You never know how we’ll react.”

Laughing, Jayne scratched her cheek. “His brother just called. He must have told him.”

“Then what did you need me for?”

Hadrian winked. “Comic relief.”

“Ha ha.” Syn made an obscene gesture at Hadrian. “Then can I crawl back into my hole?”

“Do you have an address?”

“For the hole where I live? None that I give out.”

Hadrian snorted. “You know what I mean.”

“Address, birth registration, permits. You name it, I found it.”

Of course, he did. That was what Syn did best. Jayne would salute him with her drink, but he’d taken it from her and appeared to have no interest in returning it.

“Want to hand that address over, buddy?” Hadrian asked.

Syn poured himself more Tondarion Fire. “Not now.”

“Pardon?”

“If Nero knows about this and her, we should let Nero handle it.”

Hadrian pulled a small e-tablet out and began making a note. “All good. I have it. Your memory is impressive.” He stood up.

Syn grabbed his arm. “No. No! Bad idea. Why would you leave good alcohol to go chasing down someone your brother will find first?”

“Personal satisfaction.”

Syn scoffed. “Overrated.”

“Then curiosity.”

“Stupid reason.” Syn rolled his eyes. “Besides you know what they say.”

“Curiosity is the foundation of science?”

Syn let out a pain-filled noise. “Damn your Tris origins. Y’all take all the fun out of everything.”

Hadrian clicked his tongue. “That’s what they say.” He met Jayne’s gaze. “Ready?”

“Yeah, sure. Time to blow some shit up, kill a few enemies and get this party started.”

Syn let out a disgusted sigh. “Fine. But I can’t let you two go it alone.”

Hadrian scowled. “Why?”

He gave them a droll stare. “Because I like my testicles. Not that I get to use them much, but still . . . the thought of Eve or Nero removing them from my body makes me cringe. Especially the manner in which they’d detach them. I have enough shit in my life. I don’t need that, too.”

Hadrian tucked his pad into his backpack. “Suit yourself, but my fighter only seats two and you’re not pretty enough to sit in my lap.” He grinned at Jayne. “You, I would let, though.”

Those unexpected words stunned her past the ability to think of a witty comeback. “I’m not sitting in anyone’s lap.”

“Yeah!” Syn playfully slapped Hadrian’s arm. “Have some home-training.”

“How? That would imply that I once had a home.”

Jayne paused at Hadrian’s words. Though they were said as a jest, she understood the pain of surviving in a place and not having a home. Just a roof where you despised every fucking inch of it.

It was absolute misery. That isolation and longing. The bitterness.

That burning ache to be safe and protected. To have one person who wouldn’t sacrifice you to save their own ass.