CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Nova
KOL HAD THAT AVENGING-ANGEL THING GOING FOR HIM again. Or maybe it was some sort of shadow demon. I was mostly into reading monster romance, but I dipped into fantasy every now and again. And in this moment, I fully believed Kol could command the shadows around him at will.
I shook my head as if trying to clear it. “Helping me pack?”
Kol shoved by me, careful not to make contact. “Yes.”
My brows pulled together. “I’m gonna need a little more to go on, Boss.”
He scowled in my direction. Those hazel eyes that were normally a mix of light and dark were now nearly black.
Shadow daddy, indeed.
“Mav showed me what was left on your car.”
My jaw went slack. “That little traitor.” I mentally began plotting my revenge, but first, I needed to deal with the alpha-male protector having a freak-out in the entryway.
“It was that asshole reporter, that’s all.
Or maybe some teen boy who thought it would be hilarious to spook the girl who was held captive for a year. ”
“Phoenix.” The fury in Kol vibrated my nickname. “You need to take this shit seriously.”
“That someone’s an asshole? I’ll always take that seriously. And I’ll be happy to kick his ass if I see him again.”
Kol’s long, thick fingers fisted so tightly, his knuckles bleached white. “I mean it.”
I saw it then. Something beneath the anger. Fear.
The annoyance burning through me was snuffed out in a single moment, transforming into empathy. I studied Kol, trying to put the pieces together. “This really freaked you out.”
Kol’s jaw worked back and forth. “I don’t like that someone followed you there.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Because I knew he was right. Reese had already proven he wasn’t above tailing me. But I couldn’t help wondering if he was tracking my movements some other way, too.
That, I wasn’t exactly a fan of.
Kol tracked the shiver that spread through me in a wave. One hand unfurled, and for a moment, I thought he might touch me. Take my hand. Pull me into a hug. Something.
But then his arm dropped to his side. Disappointment and relief swept through me in equal measure.
Kol’s eyes flashed, those specks of gold burning brighter. “I’m going to make sure you’re safe.”
A different sort of war waged in me then. Because as nice as it was to hear that, it wasn’t what I wanted. “I’m going to make sure I’m safe.” That was what I wanted more than anything. To protect myself. To know that I could defend myself if needed. That I could take care of myself.
Kol studied me for a long moment, taking in more than just my words. “Yes. You are.”
I arched a brow in question.
“The first step is moving into the apartment at my house. The ranch is more protected than these cabins. It’s the smart thing to do.”
Annoyance lit again as I glared at him.
“Why are you scowling at me?” he asked.
“Because it’s annoying when you’re right,” I clipped.
One corner of Kol’s mouth kicked up, and it sent a different sort of shiver through me. The kind that spoke of an awareness I’d thought might be dead forever. Kol had certainly proven that wrong.
He started toward my bedroom. “Can you pack while annoyed?”
I had the urge to pinch his side. “Yes. But I’d watch your back because I am retaliatory.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s Mav who needs to watch his back,” Kol shot back.
“It’s both of you.”
He stepped into my room, his gaze sweeping over the walls and items. I suddenly felt exposed. Brae had decorated it with everything from my old room in Oakland, but none of that felt like it fit anymore. It wasn’t wrong exactly, but it wasn’t me either.
Vintage-style posters dotted the walls, showing cities that had been on my bucket list to visit. Paris. Rome. Prague. London. Madrid. But even the colors didn’t feel quite right anymore. The bold jewel tones, the purple and reddish bedding askew because I’d been reading on top of the covers …
Kol’s eyes seemed to touch every item in the room. “Places you want to go?”
I stared at the city names. “Used to, anyway.”
“Not anymore?” he probed gently.
“It doesn’t call to me the way it used to.” I shrugged, lacing my fingers in front of me. “I’d rather figure out how to plant roots in a way that feels authentic to me. Figure out who I am now, I guess.”
Even giving him that made me feel vulnerable. But Kol simply nodded, moving deeper into the space. “Anything you want to leave behind, we can put into storage. You can take your time figuring out the stuff you want in your new place.”
My heart contracted, and I wondered again if it was one of those palpitations the doctor had warned me about. “Thank you,” I whispered.
Kol lifted his chin in assent as he crossed to my desk. He picked up a pad of sticky notes that read I run on coffee and chaos. His lips twitched. “What do we think? Does this fit the new life?”
A soft chuckle left my lips. “Definitely.”
“Then we’ll use these to mark everything we’re taking. We’ll load it all up and bring it over day after tomorrow.”
“Okay.” The word left my lips on an exhale.
“Posters?” Kol asked.
I shook my head.
“Desk?”
I studied it for a moment but couldn’t really see it in what I wanted my new space to look like. “No.”
Kol crossed the room. “Bedding?”
My nose scrunched.
“What?” he prodded.
“I just … even the colors don’t feel right anymore,” I tried to explain.
Kol looked at me, trying to read beneath my words. “What colors do feel right?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe tones that are a little more peaceful. I like the colors themselves; they just feel too loud.”
He was quiet, seeming to mull that over. “Sometimes, when my surroundings get too loud, it’s like I can’t think. Can’t function.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. And I couldn’t help but wonder what tones filled Kol’s house.
“Chair?” he asked, studying the overstuffed piece of furniture shoved into the far corner.
My stomach churned. The color was all wrong for me now: a deep burgundy. But I had so many beautiful memories from that chair. Feeding Owen. Reading him stories. Writing in my journal. Brae sitting in it while we had one of our heart-to-hearts.
“You could always put a slipcover on it. Or even different throw pillows would change the feel,” Kol suggested.
My mouth curved into a real smile—the kind that so rarely found me these days. “Boss, are you a secret interior designer?”
He let out a huff. “I can watch HGTV with the best of ’em.”
I laughed, and it relieved some of the building pressure. “I’m trusting your design eye and saying … keep.”
Kol stuck one of the Post-its to it and then crossed to a small bookshelf stuffed with titles.
He studied them, then picked up the paperback on my bed.
I couldn’t hide my giggle as he took in the cover with the purple man-monster with horns and wings in a clinch with the woman. “Interesting,” he muttered.
“Aaaaaall of those are keeps.”
Kol grinned as he put a sticky note on the bookshelf. “I like the definitiveness.”
We kept working, deciding what to keep and what to toss or donate. Kol even found some boxes in the garage to start packing things up, and I found some tape in the kitchen junk drawer.
The sound of the dispenser as I sealed a box of mementos from a life that felt like a stranger’s was like nails on a chalkboard.
“Jesus,” Kol muttered.
I winced. “Sorry.”
He studied me for a moment. “Think you can be ready by day after tomorrow?”
My brows flew up. “Seriously?”
“Just finishing up a couple of things, and it’ll be ready.”
“Okay.” The word was an exhale, and I gripped the tape harder. “I’ll be ready.”
Kol opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the door opening cut him off.
“Nova, we’re home,” Brae called.
Panic lit through me. I’d planned on talking to my best friend and presenting her with this amazing opportunity, hoping she’d understand why I needed to stretch my wings. But I’d dawdled. And during that dawdle, a grumbly mountain man had shown up at my door, demanding that I basically move now.
Which meant one thing: I was about to level an explosive device on my best friend’s world. And that was seriously shitty.
“Supernova, I brought you boysenberry pie,” Owen yelled as he ran into my bedroom holding a takeout container.
I beamed at him as I took the pie. “My favorite. Thanks, Bubs.”
“Hey, Mr. Kol. What are you doing here?” he asked curiously.
Brae came up short in the doorway, Dex behind her. “Kol. Hi.” There was confusion on her face and then concern. “Is everything okay? Did something happen?”
“Everything’s fine,” Kol said, his voice going a little bit flat.
“He’s, um, just helping me pack,” I said quietly.
Brae’s eyes widened. “Pack?”
“I got an apartment.” I forced my smile wide, hoping it would catch, and Brae would miraculously find the happy with me.
The confusion was back in her expression. “But you live here.”
“Hey, O,” Dex called. “How about thirty minutes of Switch before bed?”
Owen looked around the room. “Adult talk?”
“Super boring stuff,” Dex assured him.
Owen sighed as only a nine-going-on-thirteen-year-old boy could. “You know I’m gonna find out eventually, bro.”
Dex covered a laugh with a cough. “I’ll make sure you’re filled in by breakfast.”
Owen headed out to the living room as Brae moved deeper into my room. Her brows pulled together in a combination of worry and annoyance. “Nova. It’s too soon. You need support. People looking out for you.”
“I’m not losing that,” I said gently. “But I also need to start standing on my own two feet.”
Dex moved in behind Brae, squeezing her shoulder in a show of support.
“But you aren’t completely recovered. You have nightmares. What if you need something in the middle of the night?” Brae argued.
“Then she’ll ask me,” Kol cut in.
“She’ll what?” Brae asked.
“Nova’s moving into the apartment over my garage. Perfect blend of her own space but with people nearby if she needs them,” Kol went on.
Brae’s jaw went slack. She simply stared at Kol for a count of one, two, three, and then four. “But you don’t like anyone.”
He scowled at her. “I like lots of people.”
Dex snorted. “Real convincing.”