Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
YORICK
Disgruntled, I stand as well since I’m hearing the others draw near, which means that my seduction is being put to a very abrupt halt. “Yes, I am definitely going with you.”
Casimir walks out of the trees. “We’re all going.”
“That’s right,” Julian agrees after jogging to catch up. “You both have done stuff for us, so we’re going to do this for you. The more of us there are, the better the chance that this will turn out well for us.”
“I’m along for the ride,” Ezio says as he appears. “Cyrus will stay here in a protective bubble, though. I will order extra padding.”
“And I will order a knife to pop the bubble,” Cyrus growls.
Ezio seems even more delighted by this, for some reason. “He’s so feisty. It’s adorable.”
Cyrus ignores him.
“A black-tie event?” Julian asks. “So Morpheus wants you to go in his place. Does he mean you should pretend to be him? I would have to assume some people there would recognize one or both of you.”
“We need to be careful,” Cyrus says. “I’m going to do more research on this Wick.
From what I’ve seen, his district is very well run.
Their law enforcement is well established, and they have good control over the area.
Any other data is extremely hard to find.
I can’t tell you if the citizens are happy or suppressed or being controlled—nothing to that extent. ”
“I guess we’ll have to go and find out, but first, we need some clothes,” Julian says.
“I’ll have my delivery lady bring us some,” Casimir offers while he taps away on his phone. “I’m just going to guess everyone’s size. Oh look… there’s a suit for Gustov—”
“Let me handle this,” Julian cuts in, prying the phone from Casimir’s fingers.
Johnny tsks from behind me, and it makes me jump since I didn’t realize he was there.
“Fucking hell, announce yourself when you arrive,” I say, knowing I’m not the only one who jumped. Casimir just stares at Johnny with keen interest. It’s clear he’d like to know exactly what he is.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Johnny says, taking my request seriously.
“Why the fuck are you calling Yorick ‘sir’?” Atticus growls.
“I assumed I might as well start now before the wedding to get used to it,” Johnny replies.
Any rage that Atticus was feeling previously immediately doubles. It’s hard to tell with his stoic expression, but I can see the single eye twitch and know that Johnny’s fucked up. “I will remove your tongue if you don’t straighten up.”
I gasp. “When’s our wedding?”
Atticus turns to me and leans in close. “Sure… we’ll get married… once you return everything you’ve ever stolen from me,” he says with a wicked smile.
Why must fate be so cruel to innocent me? “So… it’s not a no…”
“For a… fee, I will help you collect all of the items you’ve stolen,” Johnny says with a smirk, and I get the disturbing feeling that his “fee” is likely not monetary.
“Do not help him,” Atticus orders before storming back to the house. I can’t tell whether Atticus is trying to protect himself from marrying me or protect me from Johnny’s fee.
Johnny’s expression makes me decide I will do this endeavor alone.
I turn to Julian. “Do you think that means Atticus likes me?”
Julian hesitates and even glances at Cyrus before smiling. “I mean… there’s hope? How many things have you stolen from him?”
Johnny takes a deep breath before he begins listing them. “Fifteen necklaces, twenty-two rings, seven vases, four paintings, thirty-two shirts, eleven pairs of pants, one cat, a camel—”
“My love is doomed,” I realize.
“I’m not done,” Johnny says.
“I’m aware, Johnny.”
“This was just the first hundred years you knew him. I didn’t even get to the seventeen hundreds yet.”
“Is that when I ransacked his whole house?” I whisper.
“Sure was.”
“Fuck.”
“How long have you been around, Johnny?” Julian asks.
“Not long at all. I just know everything,” Johnny says.
Julian stares at him for an awkward moment.
“Why does Atticus just put up with this?” Casimir asks thoughtfully.
“Because I’m fucking magical, Casimir,” I assure him. I bite my lip as I think about what I should do from here about Wick’s get-together. Maybe if I could get a layout of the location… if I could get a handle on the guards and the people…
I ask, “Julian, can I borrow your laptop? If not, I’ll just buy one using Atticus’s credit card, but it’ll be a pain setting it up.”
“You can borrow it,” Julian says. “Are you looking into the location of the event?”
“Yeah, I want to see what I can find.”
I hurry up to the house, pleased when I find Atticus brooding at the table. Julian retrieves his laptop while I wander over to Casimir’s dog closet and flip it open.
“Only I am allowed to dress up Julian,” Casimir growls as he looms over my shoulder. I can feel his menacing aura, and it’s a bit much for a guy who just doesn’t want anyone to dress his puppers.
“I’m not dressing up your puppers. I’m not that fucking weird—” My hand stops on a hot dog costume that I haven’t seen on Gustov or Julian before.
“I need to see this.”
“I thought we were focusing,” Atticus says.
“This is how I think,” I inform him as Julian walks in and sets the laptop on the table before doing his best not to make eye contact with me when he realizes what I’m holding.
Atticus just scowls while I hold up the costume and give Julian my best sad face. “I just… I hurt so much, so… please? Just this one time? I need a laugh. A simple laugh will heal my broken body and soul.”
The look Julian is giving me tells me that he doesn’t think any of this is true, but he’s also a sucker and starts stripping before freezing. “Wait! Casimir, how far away is the delivery lady?”
“Like an hour.”
“Okay,” Julian says, and since it would be awkward to look your friend in the eyes while they undress, I grab what I’d actually stopped at the closet for and slap it around Atticus’s neck.
There is one brief moment when Julian is standing butt naked and Atticus is unmoving in his chair that I feel rather satisfied with myself.
My pleased smile is snapped off my face as the leash I’m holding gets wrapped around my throat.
In an attempt to save my life, I drop the costume and look at the homicide detective who doesn’t bother to look at me.
“What the fuck is this?” Atticus growls, looking mighty fine in a dog collar.
“It’s so you can’t just run off. Hoo… so kinky, Atticus,” I say as I stumble back and step on the silky hot dog costume that causes me to stagger. I slam into the very naked Julian and Atticus snatches up my arm to keep me from skidding. Honestly, it’s just proof that he truly does care about me.
“Ha… I almost grabbed your real hot dog when I slipped,” I tell Julian.
“I’m quite pleased you didn’t,” Julian says as he apprehensively looks down at the defeated hot dog. “You’d better be so fucking happy when you see me in this costume.”
“You’re a vampire. How can a vampire slip?” Atticus demands, still holding on to me. At this point, I’m prepared to throw myself into danger just to give him an opportunity to swoop in and save me.
“Ah, delivery is here,” Ezio says, waltzing into the room and whipping open the front door just as Julian shifts. Why he didn’t consider the fact that Julian was naked concerning, no one knows… or perhaps we’re all so used to seeing Julian naked that he doesn’t find it strange any longer.
“I think that number one on my screen meant one minute, not one hour,” Casimir realizes.
Atticus is so startled, he drops his hold on me, which means that the leash wrapped around my throat snaps tight, strangling me while the woman holding the clothes we ordered drops them.
“Ha ha… look, there’s a homicide happening in front of you,” I say, but her eyes are fixated on Julian, who shifted just as the door opened.
Ezio is now trying to slam the door in her face, but the brute strength the woman is displaying while she holds the door open is impressive.
It’s probably from hefting all of Casimir’s deliveries into his house.
Julian is frozen in place. He’s evidently decided to become a taxidermied wolf, unmoving and barely breathing.
Atticus is struggling to get the collar off his throat now that my whole body’s weight is dangling from the leash attached to it.
“We do magic here,” I tell her. “Right now, we’re practicing how to get out of a locked collar while underwater. Want to see?”
She’s locked in place, unable to look away from Julian. I could whip off my clothes right at this second and she wouldn’t even spare me a glance.
Casimir walks up to her, and I realize a quick allure will send her on her way with no memory of any part of this.
She’ll be convinced it didn’t happen, that it was a trick of the eye.
“Thank you for bringing the clothes,” he says as his aura surrounds her.
He sets a gentle hand on her face and usually that’s all it takes, but even when he forces her to look at him, her head immediately snaps back over to Julian, who still hasn’t moved a muscle.
It’s actually making it seem all the more unnatural. What fucking dog stands like that?
“Atticus—”
He cuts the leash and I fall to the floor as he rushes over to the door to allure the woman himself since Casimir’s allure isn’t enough.
The two men try reassuring the woman that she saw nothing mysterious, leaving me wallowing around with a leash wrapped around my neck while Julian is still refusing to move.
“Ezio… why did you open the door?” Cyrus asks.
Ezio grimaces. “I didn’t open it! Someone else did…
maybe we should go home? We’ll take our stuffed wolf with us for sure,” he says, picking Julian up.
Julian remains stone-still while Ezio carries his petrified body toward the door leading deeper into the house before realizing he’d have to pass the door the woman is standing in to accomplish anything.