Chapter Thirteen
Reid
I don’t mean for the words to spill out, but they’re already out there now. Listening to this demon talk about what he put Aaliyah through has me seeing red. I know Tyson is just as pissed as I am, while Hayes and River are undecided. It’s one of the upsides to having a mate bond.
“Did you have something to say, Reid?” Archer asks as he cocks an eyebrow.
“You say she has problems with emotions, but of course she does. The way you fucked her over when you were supposed to love her? That kind of shit leaves emotional scars.” The words explode from me as I fight back my song that threatens to spill from my lips. With as angry as I am right now, that’s definitely not a good idea—someone will definitely end up dead. “Even if you were influenced by some god, it was still you who did what you did. It’s no wonder she wants nothing to do with you.”
Archer flinches before nodding. “You are correct, but I’m hoping to make it up to her.”
Naomi lays her hand on Archer’s arm and squeezes lightly. “Now that you’ve told your story, I think it would be best if we found somewhere safer. The soldiers are fighting my nightmares now. I won’t be able to keep all of them under for much longer.”
“We’re going to need to find a new place to stay.” Hayes shakes his head as he stands. “We’ll have to get our shit from the safe house, but that location is blown now.”
Damn it. That place had been perfect for us. It had taken us forever to find it. Who knows how long it’ll take us to find another place half as perfect.
“We have a place,” Naomi offers. “It can’t be linked back to us and definitely not you. It only has two bedrooms, but both have massive beds. The four of you will easily be able to share it.”
“While we appreciate the offer, there are other requirements we need in a place we stay—“
“Come on, Ty,” I cut him off before he can turn them down. “We need somewhere to go now. It doesn’t need to meet our needs if we just stay there long enough to find a place that meets our needs.”
Tyson looks torn. I know he doesn’t like Archer or what he did to Aaliyah, but neither do I. That doesn’t mean we don’t need a place to stay, and anything is better than staying in a hotel.
Finally, he nods. “Thank you, Naomi. A place to stay for a few days while we regroup would be great.”
“No thanks for me?” Archer asks with a smirk.
Tyson doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t need to as smoke pours out of his nose. Archer better watch out or he might find himself a barbequed demon.
“Stop trying to rile him up, lover.” Naomi runs her hand down Archer’s chest before turning back to the rest of us. “We didn’t know there would be others seeking Aaliyah’s attention, though we should have guessed. Archer is dealing with some unexpected jealousy pangs. Eventually, he’ll get over it. Now, Tyson, why don’t you and the others take your truck back to the place you’ve been staying? I’ll give you the address, and once you’re done, you can meet us there?”
“You can give me the address,” River says as she sidles up to Naomi, and I can’t help but grin at our little flirt. “I usually play navigator anyway. Plus, I’m very eager to spend more time with you.”
Naomi smiles, reaching out to run her hand down River’s cheek. “Me too, pretty girl. Me too.”
River practically melts into the demon’s touch, and I know we’re in trouble. When our girl sets her sights on someone, she doesn’t often give up.
“Bye, Daddy. See you soon,” she tosses to Archer before heading to the door.
I bite my lip as Archer flushes. It’s kind of cute when he does that. If I wasn’t so angry about what he shared with us, I would totally tease him about it. But that’s not going to happen. At least not right now.
Archer nods at Tyson before he and Noami disappear into the shadows.
“Come on, guys. We’ve got shit to pack so I can flirt with the pretty lady and demon daddy some more,” River calls over her shoulder. Tyson groans while Hayes and I laugh as we follow her.
Life with River is never boring.
It takes us a couple of hours to get back to our place and our stuff packed up. By the time we pull up outside the address Naomi provided us, it’s nearly nine, and I’m exhausted. All I want to do is find a bed and sleep for the next twenty-four hours.
River races up the front path to the cottage, leaving the three of us to pull our shit out of the truck and up to the front door where River is already flirting with Naomi.
Tyson lets out a deep suffering sigh while I just roll my eyes. Hayes is silent at my back, not saying a word as Tyson hurries up the pathway. I’m not close enough to hear what he says to River, but she turns to him with a pout.
“He really needs to lay off her,” Hayes says with a sigh. “River is always going to be herself, and anything he says isn’t going to change that.”
I hum my agreement. “And depending on his word choice, he might hurt her feelings.”
“Then I guess we better hurry up so he doesn’t hurt my pixie. Or piss her off, which is the more likely outcome.”
“You’re not wrong.” The two of us pick up our pace and join our mates.
Naomi smiles up at us. “I’m so glad you all made it. Come inside. I’ll show you to the room, and then I think the six of us need to have a little talk before we all get some sleep.”
“About what?” Tyson asks, sounding grumpy as hell.
Naomi says nothing as she gestures for us to follow her. We pass Archer sitting at the kitchen table, and he nods in greeting. Then we’re heading down a hallway with two doors.
“The other room and bathroom are on the other side of the cabin, so we don’t need to worry too much about hearing one another,” Naomi says with a laugh. She gestures to the first door, telling us it’s the bathroom but continues down the hallway. “There’s a door connecting your room to the bathroom, so just remember that there are two entrances. And this is the bedroom.”
She pushes open the door, gesturing for us to enter. River steps in first, but I’m right on her heels while my other two mates pile in behind me. Naomi wasn’t lying when she said the bed was massive. It’s even bigger than the one we’d had at the place we’d been staying. The room is also massive, making me wonder about the bathroom. Will it be just as massive?
“It’s perfect. Thank you, Naomi. Boys, I’ll meet you out there once you’re done setting everything down, okay?” River’s look tells us not to bother, and I sigh. Maybe I’ll get to sleep eventually. I wave her on and she bounces from the room, pulling Naomi behind her.
“I just want to crawl into the bed and pass out,” Hayes mumbles, and I grunt back at him as we both begin setting down bags. He’s definitely not the only one.
As soon as I’ve set everything down, I give the bed a longing look before exiting the room with Hayes and Tyson right behind me. We find Naomi, River, and Archer sitting in the living room. I drop onto the couch beside River, who’s sitting beside Naomi. Tyson and Hayes end up on a loveseat.
The room is silent for a beat too long, and I’m just too tired to deal with the awkwardness. “Naomi, you said we should talk, so talk. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“Why don’t we start with how you ended up on Alistair’s radar?” Archer asks.
The three of us turn to look at Tyson, who sighs before delving into his story and how we all met. When it comes time to discuss how we ended up here now, he gestures for one of us to take over.
“While trying to find Cecelia, we discovered that Alistair was part of the new supernatural drug on the market—Dragon’s Fire. It’s the first and only drug that affects most supernaturals, and it’s killing them.” I shake my head. “We couldn’t, in good consciousness, let it continue, so we’ve been trying to dismantle it piece by piece. We know Alistair wasn’t the one at the top, but we haven’t been able to discover who is.”
Archer taps his chin as he considers us. “This is something that Aaliyah would want to help with. Those of you who don’t know, she’s an assassin. She only takes jobs that wipe the worst of the worst from this world. She’s always wanted to use her skills to improve the world. This could be our in.”
“What do you mean our in?” Tyson’s confusion is written all over his face. I think I know what Archer is getting at, but I’m not sure.
“Our in with Aaliyah. She’s so shut off to the world that we need to have something to whet her appetite so she has to be around us. Then we can hopefully get her to stop putting up her walls.” Archer shrugs.
Tyson shakes his head. “I don’t… We don’t… She doesn’t even want you.”
Archer laughs. “Don’t try to change the subject, dragon. It’s clear you’re just as obsessed with Aaliyah as I am. As far as her not wanting me, I don’t think that’s true. I believe she doesn’t want to want me, but eventually, she’ll stop fighting it and me.”
“I’m not sure if he’s as obsessed as you,” Hayes adds with a grin. “But he’s definitely obsessed. You should’ve heard him whining about how he had to leave her and had no idea how to find her again. He went on about her for days and days on end. It was a little pathetic, but now that I’ve met her, I can see why.”
“Shut up, Hayes,” Tyson barks, his face flushing as the rest of us burst into laughter.
River is practically bouncing beside me. “I think we should do it. We have to at least try. What’s the worst that can happen? She tells us no? I can be persistent.”
“Oh, we’re aware, sweetheart.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m in.”
Around me, the others agree—even Tyson. Then we start working on a plan. I might not know a damn thing about Aaliyah besides what Tyson and Archer have told us, plus the minor interaction with her when she rescued us, but I felt a pull toward her from the moment our eyes met. Based on the mate bond I share with Tyson, River, and Hayes, I know they felt the same thing.
Now, we just need to convince Aaliyah to give us a chance.
It sounds simple when I think about it, but something tells me it’ll be anything but easy.