Page 71 of The Incredible Ordinary

I refuse to back down.

“You know, whatever it is you’re dealing with here, I bet Milán can help,” Jordan says.

Rory’s eyes fly to him. It’s almost as if the two of them are having a silent conversation. Eventually, Rory’s shoulders drop. For a moment, he looks every bit the thirteen-year-old kid he is.

I wait with bated breath. Finally, Rory nods.

“Let’s go, then,” he says.

We grab our jackets, put on our shoes, and follow him out the door.

We standin front of the chain-link fence that surrounds a group of three buildings, all with boarded-up windows, all in different states of abandon.

I bite back a sigh and glance at Jordan.

“I don’t know about you, but just the other day I was thinking it’s been a while since I last dabbled in breaking and entering.”

“I just celebrated my fifteenth anniversary of not breaking into a building,” he says.

“Good thing we brought an expert with us, then.” I turn to Rory. “Lead the way.”

He looks surprised for a second, but then he grips the fence, and in less than five seconds, he’s hurled himself over it and is standing on the other side.

I stare at him, brows raised, reluctantly impressed.

Jordan lets out a low whistle.

I throw him a look, and he gives an unapologetic shrug. “Credit where credit is due. That looked impressive.”

Rory is clearly pleased with himself, even if he immediately catches himself and fixes his features into a neutral mask.

“When did I become the responsible one here? Because I’m not enjoying it.” I grumble.

In reply, Jordan smirks, jumps up to grab the top rail, and easily makes it to the other side.

“Let’s see what you got,” he says.

I climb over the fence with considerably less finesse, because apparently being the responsible one comes with the burden of checking for cops every few seconds.

It should annoy me that I’m being like this, but then, it’s not Rory’s job to be responsible. He’s a kid. He’s supposed to come up with terrible ideas and not think about the consequences. As for Jordan… he’s been the mature adult since he was a kid himself, and right now he’s looking at me, eyes bright and wide, biting his lip, trying and failing to hide his smile. He’s bouncing on his toes like he suddenly has too much energy to contain. I want him to have this moment.

I want him to get to be reckless, even if it’s just for an hour, and I want to be the one who gives him the chance to do that.

I want to be the one who keeps them both safe. Rory and Jordan.

I’m so startled by the sudden, fervent wish that I almost stumble as my feet hit the ground.

“Careful.” Jordan wraps his fingers around my forearm, and I almost stumble again. I really don’t know what’s going on with me lately.

“Where are we headed?” I ask Rory.

He walks a few steps in silence before he nods toward the farthest building from us. “There.”

I won’t bother asking what we’re going to find “there.” I’ll find out soon enough.

We reach a rusty metal door and stop. Rory sends me a lightning-fast glance before he shrugs off his backpack and crouches. He rummages around in it a bit and comes out with… a set of lock picks.

I open my mouth, then snap it shut.