Chapter 11 #3
Grayson answers with a grimace. “She told her contact that she’d been to the compound. To convince me to join their cause—whatever the fuck that is. He did not like that at all. That’s when it got bad. She has a tattoo of a spider on her chest about the size of my fist. An Art Deco design.”
He closes his eyes, and his voice drops to a whisper. “Eight legs, angled downward. Six eyes. With a pattern like an hourglass in the center.”
Nix remembers it, too. Glowing bright red under her nightgown and then through it. Gagging, Nix turns and spits water onto the floor from his stomach, which is still a little cold.
“Jesus, fuck. Sorry, Angel.”
“It’s okay. Not your fault.” It’s the oily man’s—and definitely Dawson Hayes’s. “So the professor said she’d been here, and it sounds like she jumped the gun on a plan they had for Gray. He then set the tattoo on fire.”
“From over the phone?” Luca winces. “Ouch. She’s a sneaky bitch, and I would have punched her in the throat, but no one deserves that.”
Nix agrees wholeheartedly.
“Hopefully, she’ll be okay,” Jamie murmurs. “Then we can ask her some questions.”
Gideon’s phone rings. “Go.”
“Subject is fine. Surprised to see a takeout delivery guy at her door at ass o’clock in the morning. Our guy said she looked sweaty and pale. Tired and pissed off.”
“She was on fire. We saw it.”
“We know. The scent of burning meat was so strong, Teddy nearly lost his cookies in the elevator. But she’s still alive and kicking.”
Their friend pauses, clearly thinking out his next words. “Nix, you have anything you wanna share with the class?”
“Not right now. But we will.”
Logan hums, as if he’d expected nothing else, and Nix can imagine the big man shaking his head on the other end of the phone. “I figured as much. Fine. Keep your secrets. Again. If you need us, call me. And Gid?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll send you the bill.”
“You do that. Thanks.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see y’all in a few weeks for Arlo’s birthday.”
The line drops, and there’s only silence as they process that Dahlia looked perfectly fine.
“The tattoo works to keep her in line, then. Pain, but not permanent damage?” Leo asks, burping the almost-sleeping baby.
Mari is so beautiful, with soft pink lips and long black lashes resting on rounded cheeks. Completely untouched by the words her Rio is speaking. Nix hopes she’ll always be without the stain of the darkest things that seem to follow Nix around.
“That’s twisted,” Rowan chimes in, scooching down into the nest and holding his arms out for Mari. “Come here, baby girl.”
“So we’re going to the Guild tomorrow, as if nothing happened? We know she has nefarious plans for Gray, and that she knows he’s been holding back,” Luca asks.
“But she doesn’t know we know that,” Finn adds, lying down beside Rowan and smoothing Mari’s hair. “So, business as usual. We’ll talk to Nimue and Ignatius tomorrow.”
“Sh—oot,” Grayson exclaims. “I forgot. The bad guy knows they’re here without authorization. Both of them seemed happy about how much trouble that was going to cause.”
“Dammit, I should call Ignatius now. Give them a chance to clear out before they get into too much trouble. Maybe get your Dad on it, too, Leo. So we have a plan.”
“How bad could it be?” Luca whispers, pulling Nix down beside him and sliding his smooth thigh over Nix’s hips, soothing them both.
“A reprimand for sure, but worst case…extradition probably,” Leo says, phone in hand, texting his dad a heads-up. “Even though we’ve been working on this for weeks. Fucking bureaucracy.”
They’re all in the upstairs nest, and for a minute, Nix wants to fetch the sweetly sleeping Rosie and Skye from his little room.
Wants all eleven of them piled in tight, where he can put a finger or a toe on each person he loves.
But Skye hasn’t taken to the family nest yet, and once they wake Rosie up, she’ll be awake until nap time at ten AM, no matter what anyone does.
So, letting her sleep is the best idea for a non-scream-filled morning.
Especially for Jamie and Rowan, who are on Dad duty.
“Try to sleep, baby boy,” Jamie says, soothing Nix with a hand on his calf.
He’s almost asleep for the second time that night when Gideon groans. “What is that stink? Shit. Did anyone remember to clean up the puke?”
“Sorry.” Nix gets out amidst a chorus of tired whispers of, “Not it!”
As quiet as they’re trying to be, it’s enough to wake their sleeping beauty.
“Dammit,” Gideon groans.
Nix chuckles, following Gideon out of the nest. He pulls the cleaning supplies out from under the sink, adding an extra trash bag for the paper towels. It’s his stinky mess, and he’ll clean it up.
As he scrubs the hardwood clean in the glow of the bathroom light, he listens to his mates whispering about the girls, tomorrow, and even what Gideon might make for breakfast. He wishes that the mess with Dahlia and her zealous plotting would be as easily taken care of.
Nix’s wolf won’t settle, as if he knows something big is coming.
He is already thinking about how they’re going to protect Grayson tomorrow.
Maybe it’ll be easy.
Maybe Dahlia will come clean, and they can face whatever it is she and the creepy guy want head-on.
But he doubts it, because when has it ever been that simple for them?