Page 37 of Bones

“Come on, you’re here now,” Pyro murmurs, opening the door and leading me straight to the bar. It has pool tables, leather couches, a makeshift stage, and a shitload of alcohol. The place is clean and unexpectedly homey. There’s a wall of mug shots that catches my eye, but I don’t see Nate on there.

There are two men at the bar, and they are staring.

One raises his brow, his violet-colored eyes flickering with surprise and amusement. He has his hair up in a man bun and a beard that looks like he spends a lot of time in the mirror to maintain. He’s covered in ink and is a very handsome man.

“Who do we have here?” he croons, gaze cutting from me to Pyro. “You got a woman, Pyro? You work fast.” He turns to his friend. “How long has he been here?”

“Not long.”

Pyro’s fingers tighten on my back. “No, she’s not mine. Where’s Bones?”

“You’re not going to introduce us?” The man smirks.

“Meredith, this is Lore.” He waves. “And this is Suit.”

Suit studies me with slate-gray eyes that burn with intelligence. He has perfectly tousled dark hair, chiseled features, and full lips. He’s wearing a white shirt rolled up to show off his inked forearms and black slacks.

“I thought you said people don’t dress like me here?” I ask Pyro, who sighs.

Lore laughs, while Suit smirks. “Meredith, what can we do for you?”

“Well, you, nothing,” I blurt out, making Suit’s lip twitch and Lore laugh, muttering something about a group chat. “But I’m looking for?—”

“Has anyone seen Prez?”

I turn around and come face-to-face with Skull. I know it’s him right away because my heart doesn’t race. “Hey, Skull. Do you know where Nate is?”

“Who the fuck is Nate?” Lore asks Suit, who shrugs.

Skull’s blue eyes drop to where Pyro’s hand is still on me, and a muscle works in his jaw. “Come with me, Meredith. I’ll take you to him.”

“Is Nate Bones’ real name?” I hear Lore ask Suit.

“Fuck,” I hear Suit mutter.

Turning around to Pyro, who drops his hand and takes a step back, I smile up at him. “Thanks for bringing me here. And sorry for being so demanding.”

His lip twitches. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

“She won’t,” Skull snaps, taking my hand in his and leading me down a hallway, and then up a wooden staircase. “Does Bones know you’re here?”

“No, I kind of decided to show up at the spur-of-the-moment,” I admit, and he laughs under his breath. “Is it okay? I probably should have called him, but I wanted to catch him off guard and in his element.”

He laughs again. “You know we’ve actually been talking about things. And I think that has a lot to do with you.”

“Really? Because I’ve been ignoring him since Sunday.”

He stops in his tracks and smirks at me. “Good, keep him on his toes. But you’ve still brought him back to life. He’s opening up more now and doesn’t avoid me as much as he has been, which is nice.”

“The bond you two have would have survived anything.”

His eyes soften. “Maybe, but you definitely helped speed up the process. I feel like I have my brother back, and trust me, he wasn’t the only one feeling the loss.”

“I thought you didn’t like me,” I blurt out, narrowing my eyes. “That’s the vibe I got at the cabin. And now you’re holding my hand and telling me to keep your twin on his toes.”

“I was surprised at the cabin. I didn’t know Bones had a woman, for one, and two, my brother had just kidnapped you. I was concerned.” His eyes scan my face. “If you mean something to my brother, you mean something to me. Simple as that.”

He’s about to open his mouth and say something else when a good-looking older man stands at the bottom of the stairs. “Skull, did you find out what…” He pauses when his blue eyes land on me.