Chapter 7 #4
Dalton snorted out a laugh. “You are obsessed with this cannibal thing, aren’t you?” He switched his attention to the women. “He already asked me if I’m going to add him to my cheese.”
“Human meat is better with pie than cheese,” Bee said without missing a beat. “We’d Sweeney Todd the shit out of him.”
Samael removed his arm from my shoulder so he could sign and I watched with interest at how gracefully his hands shifted and the expressions that came with each sign. Would he let me get on the internet so I could take lessons?
Bee signed back to Samael, then slid her blue gaze to me.
“Samael is fond of you, Ezra. That’s new.
” She held out her hand toward me, her fingers long and manicured with nails painted a bright red the same color as her lips.
“I’m the other cousin. My name’s Bianca, but my family calls me Bee, and let’s just say I help Sam with his extracurricular activities when he needs me. ”
I nodded as I slid my hand in hers and shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Now that you’re here, I’m putting you to work, too.” Dalton winked.
Bee rolled her eyes. “Oh, fuck you, I am not working.”
It turned out, she did work. All of us were given jobs for the rest of the day, but I stayed close to Samael’s side.
We removed animal manure, fed the horses, and cleaned the barns, and the entire time, I spoke.
It was strange to be the one who did the talking, but Samael didn’t seem to mind.
He sent me encouraging smiles as I told him about the people who lived on the street.
When I stopped, he raised his eyebrows at me, asking me to continue, so I did.
By the time we were done, my throat was scratchy, but there was a lightness in my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long time. It reminded me of when I was younger, when I was open and free and happy.
As the afternoon fell, Samael led me back to the house, and Dalton sent me to the shower.
“You stink.” He snorted, but his eyes twinkled.
Samael found some extra clothes for me to wear from the guest bedroom. Apparently, he stayed here on occasion and had a closet of his own, so after a steamy shower, I was once again wearing his clothes. At this point, it almost felt like he was claiming me.
When I got back downstairs, Dalton was placing food on the table with Lucy and Bee at his side.
Samael poured the wine. The sight made me pause.
Warmth spread through my chest as I watched them chat and laugh, and experiencing the family dynamic left me breathless.
I’d always hated seeing this from the outside, but now I was on the inside.
It was . . . really nice. I didn’t even mind the blinking Christmas lights or the tinsel stretched across the walls that Dalton had placed while we were milking Daisy.
Samael saw me first. It was as though his eyes were always drawn to me as soon as I entered a room, and he smiled, holding out his hand and gesturing for me to come closer.
With shaky knees, I shifted forward and slid my hand into his much bigger one, and all at once, three sets of eyes turned on us.
Bee’s mouth curled and she signed something to Samael.
He sighed and released my hand to reply. Whatever he said had her eyebrows shooting toward her hairline.
“So, apparently I’m not allowed to sign around you,” she murmured, flashing me a grin. “Because you don’t know ASL and Samael doesn’t want you to think we’re talking about you.”
“I don’t mind if you sign. But, are you?” I took Samael’s hand again and tightened my hold.
“Talking about you? Yeah, definitely.” She shrugged unashamedly. “I wanted to know why he’s so attached to you. Are you a witch, Ezra?”
“Not as far as I know. Is there a way I can tell?”
Bee laughed and shook her head. “Sit down. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
We all took a seat at the table, and I chose the chair beside Samael, not that I had much of a choice because he wouldn’t let go of my hand.
In the middle of the table was an array of food spread out, with a few bottles of wine, including the glasses Samael had poured.
The spread had a Christmas festive theme, the jugs and glasses and plates decorated with mistletoe and reindeer and Santa.
“Do you always celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving?” I asked.
“Christmas lasts all of November and December,” Lucy answered with a chuckle. “As soon as Mariah Carey comes out to play. I heard her on the radio a few days ago.”
Bee rolled her eyes as she grabbed a dish, spooning out mashed potatoes onto her plate before doing the same to Lucy’s. “I told you that we’re not listening to her anymore. You’ve met your quota this week alone.”
“Oh please, you’re just jealous that Mariah has my attention,” Lucy hit back.
Dalton held up his hands. “Ladies, please don’t flirt at the dinner table.”
They both turned their glares on him.
I watched, not quite sure what I was seeing.
Samael nudged me and grinned, and even though I wasn’t sure what was actually happening, I laughed anyway.
I didn’t have a chance to reach for food because Samael was already doing it, grabbing bowls and dishing out all sorts of things onto my plate, from mashed potatoes to bacon to cheese—“It really doesn’t have human meat in it,” Dalton insisted with a wink—to different types of vegetables.
By the time he was finished, there was a mountain of food.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to eat in all, but I was certainly going to try.
I started with the potatoes. It’d been a long time since I got the carb filled veggie into my mouth and it didn’t fail to meet my expectations. The perfect mashy goodness.
Samael grabbed a napkin and wiped under my mouth, and I froze, his touch electrifying even though it wasn’t sexual.
The smile he gave me stole my breath, though, and I shot him a hesitant one back.
Clearly I’d pigged out a little too much.
He dropped the napkin and brushed his thumb over my chin, his face so close to me it almost felt like he was going to lean in and press his mouth to mine.
His dark gaze flickered from my lips to my eyes and back again and I tilted my chin just a little.
Someone cleared their throat and Samael sat back, successfully destroying the moment. I sent a glare to Bee, who had the audacity to appear innocent even though the smug grin said otherwise. Maybe I didn’t like her, after all. Okay, that was a lie. She was awesome.
“So, Samael killed for you.” Bee twirled her empty fork in front of her face and grinned at me. “Tell me about that.”
Samael shook his head at her, but I shrugged.
“Some jocks were being assholes and one of them was beating the shit out of me. I’d made my way into Samael’s—”
“Call him Sam,” Dalton interrupted.
I paused, then smiled. “Sam’s yard. I thought they were going to kill me. The next thing I knew, Sam was there, whacking them with a baseball bat.”
“Ah, the bat. Classic.” Bee chuckled and stabbed a cut up piece of pork on her plate, then shoved it into her mouth. Her short blond hair fluttered around her cheeks and she brushed a strand away.
Sam signed and Bee nodded.
“And the tranquilizer for two of them, huh? You must be important. He only pulls that out for special occasions. It costs a fortune.” Bee’s grin widened.
I slid my gaze to Sam and stared at him for a moment, taking in the blush that swept over his cheeks.
His eyes narrowed on her. He avoided looking at me and the warmth from earlier turned into molten heat that burned me from the inside out.
Was I special to him? Fuck. The thought made my cock twitch.
“Are the bodies dealt with?” Lucy breezed through the question as though asking about the weather.
“One of them is.” Dalton took a piece of cheese and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “The second’s still on ice. When it’s time for my kids to eat again, I’ll feed him to them. The third is with Sam.”
“Kids?” I licked my dry lips and stared between the four of them carefully. Curiosity tingled inside me. I wanted to know everything and craved to be part of their world, which was stupid and dangerous. I thirsted for what they had.
Sam waved his hand at Dalton, clearly giving him permission.
“Pigs.” Dalton shoved another piece of cheese in his mouth. “They eat everything but the hair and teeth. You need to starve the little babies and then when it’s time, when they’re absolutely famished, you feed them the bodies. Those babies can eat through bone quicker than you can imagine.”
Oh, right. He’d mentioned the pigs earlier in the day. “What do you do with the hair and teeth?” I asked, glancing between everyone at the table. They were eating as though they weren’t talking about disposing of dead human bodies.
“Bury them in the fields out back. Unless the cops have a reason to look, they won’t be found.” Dalton chuckled.
It made sense. Excitement stirred low in my stomach and I shifted on my seat.
I glanced at Sam, taking in the hard line of his jaw and his sharp eyes, and my cock chubbed at the thought of him killing these people, blood dripping from his hands.
Maybe I was fucked up from all the years on the street.
Who the hell got turned on by that? Me, apparently.
Sam glanced at me and his eyes glittered knowingly.
“So, what do you do, Bee?” I quickly averted my gaze. The last thing I wanted was to get a full-blown boner at the dinner table with Sam’s family.
She flashed a wicked smile. “I’m a detective.”
I blinked. Then, blinked again. “Wait. Seriously?”
She threw her head back and laughed, her blond hair swaying with the movement. “Yeah, but if you’re asking what I do to help Sam, other than give him names, I also occasionally join in on the fun of taking down our perp. Sometimes we need two people for the job.”
I snorted. “Reasonable.”