Chapter 17 #2
“Yeah, I can absolutely come get you. Be there in two shakes.” Zhen hung up, bouncing right up to his feet like gravity wasn’t a thing. “I’ll be gone maybe thirty minutes, depending on traffic.”
“Sure, go get them.” Thank god someone had finally arrived. I wasn’t sure how much more waiting Zhen could take.
Zhen was out the door in a flash, and not thirty seconds later—just long enough for me to regain my chair—Jo Jo returned. “Uh, Kris, can you run me to the Demonbreun Airport? Ethan and Evan just landed.”
“Oh, sure.” I grabbed my purse and popped up again. “Zhen’s getting Tiffy and her grandfather.”
“Perfect. We’ll probably be doing a lot of airport runs for the next few hours as people come in.”
“That’s absolutely fine. I prefer that over moping Zhen.”
“A dangerous creature, moping Zhen,” Jo Jo agreed, making a face. “He handles waiting about as well as a three-year-old in front of a birthday cake.”
“I could not have put it better myself. Let’s go get friends. Charlotte, man the desk?”
“I’ve got it.” She waved us off.
We were out the back door in two shakes.
Jo Jo hopped into the passenger seat, and I took off. “Text Zhen we’re getting people from the airport, would you? I think the twins are set to have the fourth-floor apartment in Boss’s building.”
“Sounds right to me.”
In an effort to not get people confused, that was one of the preparations we’d made earlier. By we, I meant me, Boss, and Mom because, let’s face it, we were the ones on support duty. I didn’t mind, it gave me an idea of how many people would be in my house and how many of them I needed to feed.
Jo Jo cleared his throat. “So, um, can I ask a few questions about your sister?”
“Sure, shoot.”
“She’s been great so far, like really fun and sweet, but I get this impression she’s not dated a lot? I know we have an age gap, but still.”
“Jo Jo, you have to remember, we grew up in a house where everything centered around perception. We weren’t allowed to choose our own husbands, so we weren’t encouraged to flirt or date. Actually, it was the opposite. Our parents wanted full control over who we married.”
He sat on that for a second and then swore. “Fucking hell. So aside from the ex, she has no dating history.”
“Right.”
“Okay, this makes a lot more sense. I’ll have to slow down a little, take things at an easier pace to not overwhelm her.
She did mention the ex and that she’d been set up by her parents, but I guess I didn’t put two and two together.
She’s gone no contact with her parents, she said, and so have you? ”
“Also correct.”
“You two are wonderful, and I should’ve paid more attention when Zhen mentioned your parents were toxic. Thanks for answering, Kris. Charlotte looks sad when y’all’s parents come up—I felt like I was pouring salt on a wound even asking a question.”
“It’s still new and raw to her. She grew up idolizing our parents.
It wasn’t until things blew up for her personally that she realized neither parent can be trusted.
They’ve got agendas and no qualms. You know the saying ‘sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet’?
In their eyes, Charlotte and I are the eggs. ”
“What shitty people.” His voice turned into a dark purr. “So if they show up, act with extreme prejudice.”
“Please and thank you.”
Traffic headed for the airport was thankfully light.
I saw Muchen jump from the shadows a few times.
Knowing a few huodou were tracking my movement and keeping guard helped settle my nerves.
Neither of us had said it, but the main reason why Jo Jo rode along with me was to be a line of defense in case Annabelle got too close while I was outside the wards. I appreciated his precaution.
I pulled up to arrivals, and we queued up with the other cars. I had no idea what the twins looked like. No one had ever shown me a picture, only told some stories. Maybe Jo Jo was here so I got the right people, too. Not like I had their numbers.
“Ah, there they are.” Jo Jo pointed ahead. “Go up to four.”
Column 4 was a little farther up, so I merged into traffic before ducking back out, miraculously finding an open spot nearby to parallel park.
Jo Jo immediately popped out. “E2!”
Both twins turned their heads in response.
Wow, good-looking men, right there. They were tall, at least 6’2”, with trim and athletic builds even loose hoodies couldn’t disguise.
Their dark brown hair was styled with pomade and swept back from their faces, and their cheekbones were so sharp you could use them for a razor.
Jo Jo exited the car before I even put it in park, sweeping both men into a hug.
I opened the back hatch with the dash button, and after a few more seconds of squeezing, Jo Jo let both men go.
Jo Jo climbed back into the passenger seat as the twins threw suitcases into the trunk before slinging themselves into the back seat.
“Hi,” one of them greeted as he climbed in. “I’m Ethan.”
I turned a bit in my seat to respond. “Hi, I’m Kris. Nice to meet you both.”
“Evan,” said the twin sitting behind me. “Hi yourself. Thanks for the pickup. Sorry, have to ask, where’s the target?”
“Annabelle? Last sighting reported to us was on Park Street, but that was just under an hour ago.” I pulled back into traffic, stealing glances at our newest arrivals.
These two sounded Canadian, based on their inflection and pronounced “sore-ree,” which I guessed tracked, as they’d flown here from Vancouver.
Well, their accent was sort of a mix of Canadian and West Coast California, but maybe that was a common accent for the city?
“Over an hour now,” Jo Jo corrected, “so it’s likely trying to swing east again. For your information, guys, there’s two major ley lines in this city, more southwest of us, running smack through the whole city.”
They both groaned and I think one swore in Russian?
“And arseholes decided to build here?”
“There’s actually two ley lines,” I corrected, almost apologetically, “and a major river at the south part of the city.”
“I see why the Barre family have their hands full most of the time,” Ethan grumbled. “Recipe for disaster. Where are we staying? Who’s all arrived?”
“Tiffy and Gramps arrived just now, Zhen’s getting them,” Jo Jo reported happily.
I could almost hear the twins perk up.
“Gramps too?” Evan cackled. “Oh, this will be good. Now the odds are even, yeah? We’ll be drinking a mickey before you know it.”
Zhen had extolled the praises of Gramps, so I knew he was very good, even for a semi-retired priest. But I didn’t know he was so famous and well-respected in this circle that what they’d thought was an impossible fight suddenly became manageable because he’d joined in. Wow.
“As for where you’re staying, we have an apartment at Boss’s set up for you. Conference room is your war room as you guys prep a battle plan. Just, dying request, try not to level the city while battling the doll back into its box.”
“Eh,” Evan dismissed with a nonchalant tone. “I never break things.”
Jo Jo snorted. “Liiiiiies. Lies and slander.”
“The building went down, but it was mostly Zhen.”
“Was an old building,” his twin pointed out. “Hardly just Zhen’s fault.”
“I’m sorry, hold on. My husband broke a building?”
A moment of silence. Jo Jo’s smile turned evil. “Oh, he didn’t tell you?”
“Obviously not! Jo Jo, fill me in.”
“Oh, I’m going to fill you in.” He cackled, rubbing hands together. “He’s going to hate it, too. He’s still so embarrassed when it’s brought up.”
“In his defense, he was seventeen, didn’t know his own strength yet,” Ethan threw in.
What was he, the Hulk?!
Y’know, having a bunch of Zhen’s buddies around to tell me stories had definite upsides. If nothing else, I would get to hear the wild stories he was afraid to tell me. This silver lining was one I could absolutely live with.