Legacy (Alliance Book 3) by Inna Hardison

the edge. Riley knew he was afraid of heights already, so he wasn’t hiding anything any more. He just needed to get closer to him than he was, so he could talk to him. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled the rest of the way, closing his eyes when he got close enough to see the street down below.
    “Riley, can you please back up like a meter or two before I fall off, because I think I might.”
    “No.”
    “Okay. Spit it out. What did I do now?”
    “You reminded me of somebody I didn’t want to be reminded of, that’s all. I’m not angry at you for it. I just can’t be around you when you’re like that. Can’t take it.”
    “Who, Riley? Hassinger?”
    “No, you bloody idiot,” and he turned his head to look at him for the first time, “My father... only then you tried to save me from him. I never thought I’d see you do that to someone else.”
    He felt heat on his face, and stood up, made himself do it, hating himself for the fear he felt from just standing, but Riley wasn’t even looking at him. He made himself take the few steps to the edge, and very slowly got down, forcing his legs to go over, his fingers digging into the concrete of the roof, and suddenly he wasn’t sure he could move a centimeter in any direction without falling. Riley was staring at him, he felt it, but he didn’t trust himself to turn his head enough to make sure.
    “I think I just did something remarkably stupid, and I’m not sure I can get myself out of it, but I know you’ll probably try something, and I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t trust myself not to grab on to you.” He felt sweat running down his face. He heard Riley move and knew he wasn’t sitting next to him anymore. He heard his voice, sounding far too calm, from somewhere behind him.
    “I know you feel like you can’t move, so don’t. I am right behind you. All you have to do is exactly what you are doing now, and don’t jump when I grab you, okay? It’s all I can do, Brody. I am grabbing you on three. One. Two. Three,” and his head hit the roof. He felt himself being dragged, and then Riley’s hands on him, shaking him, slapping his face for some reason.
    “What the hell, Riley, stop....” And then Riley was pulling him up, staring at him like he was nuts. He needed to get off this bloody roof. It’s all he could think of. He got his breathing back to as normal as he could, and hoped he could make it down those steps without embarrassing himself more than he did already.
    Riley wanted him to go last, so he could try to catch him or something, but he couldn’t take any more humiliation from him today. He raced down the steps as fast as he could, not looking down, going by touch, and it helped some; enough that he made it without having to cling to the metal the way he did with Drake.
    Riley smiled at him when he landed next to him after a beat. “You are an idiot, Brody, you know that? That roof hates you. Stay off of it for a while, or at least be smart enough to tie a rope around yourself first. Now that we are both not dead,” his face serious all of a sudden, “we need to talk, and you’re not going to like it one bit, but I figure since I just saved your life up there, you owe me,” and he walked him into the hallway by the elevators, not pushing the button, and sat down against the wall. He got down facing his friend, waiting.
    “I think whatever Maxton knows about this neuro stuff, we could use that; could use knowing how it works. Maybe we could even use it against them somehow. I haven’t thought it all through yet... I want him to help us, Brody. I don’t think he would go back to that lab now if we let him go, or any place Alliance for that matter, and I don’t want to kill him. He wants me to, so it’s not him talking, it’s me. I don’t think he knew what any of the things they did in that lab were used for, until now. I think Reston was the first time they saw these neuros used like that, and I know he can’t