Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
LENNOX
Arlo did his best to get Cali asleep, but she woke up immediately when Baron and I walked in. From what I understand, she’s a really deep sleeper, but tonight threw her.
I don’t blame her, because Corvus crawling on the ground to be able to smell her hair and pull strands from it for his weird fetishes wasn’t on my bingo card. I called Maurice from the bathroom, asking him to swing by Corvus’ apartment, and he found some nasty shit.
He had blonde, red, and brown hair collected in tied ribbons, though Maurice mentioned that there was an awful lot of blonde in his collection.
These are his trophies and my stomach heaved as I listened to Maurice tell me about his findings.
I told him there was no need for the police because it was being taken care of by the FBI, and then I returned to console Arlo and Cali.
Ves will cover up whatever I might have messed up, but Maurice wore gloves and put everything back where he found it once he was done.
I needed answers. I would have called Fishman, but I finally paid him and he’s in Minnesota for another client.
I’m kind of sad I’ll need to find another private investigator, but Baron is proving he’s very good at getting into places no one wants him to be.
My poor omega was desperately trying to hold it together while Cali was asking for her daddy and asking if the ‘mean man’ was gone. Ugh. Arlo is curled in bed with her now, while I rub her back to remind myself that she’s with us and safe.
I’ve never wanted to tear someone apart the way I do now.
Our troupe is close, and I’ve been working with some of the same people for years.
However, there are times when members need to leave.
Hugh got married a couple of months ago and we needed a replacement.
Corvus fit because he’s very good with theater makeup and the art of becoming someone else.
He had three different smaller roles in our act tonight since he can change his hair so well. I guarantee most people wouldn't have realized it as they watched the show, and I wonder how often he’s used these skills to lure little girls and boys away.
Clamping my hand over my mouth, my stomach heaves, but I know I won’t be able to throw up. I don’t eat before a performance, and tonight was no different.
“Hey,” Baron hisses at me as I suck in oxygen like it’s my damn job.
“I’m…Give me a second.”
I’m not fine, and I want to stop the cycle of pretending I am. My heart jackknifes in my chest as I shudder, and I reach for the water on the edge of the table. I don’t know who it belongs to, nor do I care.
Sipping it, I find it’s cool, and therefore fresher than I originally thought. A cold sweat is beginning to grow between my shoulders, which either means I could still end up getting sick, or my mind is going to continue to fuck with me.
It’s a toss up either way.
“Come into the kitchen with me,” Baron insists. “Now.”
Standing on autopilot, I walk out of the room and inhale deeply.
The smell of fear and anxiety isn’t as strong here, and the further I get from it, the better I feel.
I’m sensitive to people’s moods, especially when they’re important to me.
I will mirror my mom’s moods within minutes of being with her, and it drives her insane if it’s not a great one.
I bet she’d have some really fun poison for Corvus.
“The room stinks of fear. I’ll air it out tomorrow. Arlo’s anxiety is eating him alive because Cali woke up scared. Keep breathing. Have you eaten yet?”
“Can’t. Might throw up,” I grunt.
“Drink some ginger ale, Lennox. There’s some in the fridge. It’ll help settle your stomach.”
“Thanks. I couldn’t stop thinking about what that son of a bitch could have done to Cali. Fuck. And on my fucking turf.”
“I haven’t felt right all day,” Baron confesses, opening the fridge to get me a soda.
It’s the kind of ginger ale that contains ginger root, and I pop the top once he hands it to me and drink deeply before he can grab me a glass.
“I never thought it would involve Cali. Arlo kept trying to explain what he’d seen, but he could barely get the words out. ”
“Thank god our girl is so sensitive,” I mutter. “She was screaming bloody murder when I walked up. I just feel so guilty.”
“Why? You can’t take on the responsibility of the actions of other people.” Then he pauses. “Did you hear that?”
I crane my neck around the alcove the kitchen is tucked into in the suite, frowning as Ves walks quietly inside. He makes sure the door closes without a sound. Our omega sneaks in to check on Arlo and Cali, and then quickly walks into the far bedroom.
“I smell secrets.”
“Are you sure it’s not your sweat?” Baron asks, already crossing the hotel room.
“God, you’re always going to show your ass, aren’t you?”
Taking my soda can with me, I smother a grin as Baron does a fucked up wiggle in his joggers. We both changed as soon as Cali and Arlo fell asleep, though I wasn’t able to allow myself to go very far.
Baron is always going to make me insane. The sooner I accept this, the better.
He leads the way into the bedroom, and frowns as he hears the shower running. You’d think Ves would debrief us, or check in, or fucking something with how much he insists on his little family meetings. Gah, it would figure I’m packed up with an omega with the emotional intelligence of a pea!
“Calm down. Damn, Viking. Take a breath and take it down from Def Con five thousand to about a two.”
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black, don’t ‘cha think?”
“Yeah, yeah. We may as well see why he’s tiptoeing around.”
Snorting indelicately, I walk closely next to Baron as he opens the door. Ves’ clothing is strewn all over the floor and he’s staring at himself in the mirror with dead eyes, despite the hot water from the shower threatening to fog it up.
“What did you do?” Baron asks, seeing the same shift inside of Ves that I am. I knew he was holding onto some intense emotions during our trip down to the station and then when he brought us back to the hotel.
It barely veiled between the tick in his jaw and how tightly coiled his body was. I think anyone else would have simply thought he was harboring emotions any other father would have had, but this feels like so much more than that.
“What I had to,” Ves growls. “Don’t fucking judge me.”
Oh fuck no. I kick the door closed and my lips twist into a sneer.
“There’s not one goddamned person in this room who would judge you.
Who the fuck do you think helps my uncle when people don’t pay him?
Or covers for my mother when she intentionally murders someone when she’s pissed at them.
My father’s good for nothing mother died a terrible death after the funeral.
She wouldn’t stop asking questions about ‘her sweet, baby boy.’ I just want all the dirty details. ”
Baron huffs out a quiet laugh as Ves’ head swivels toward me.
“You don’t care? I’m a fucking FBI agent, Lennox. I’m supposed to protect people.”
“You protected your baby girl. Case closed. Next?”
“God, you’re fucking infuriating.”
“Ditto, Daddio. You know what to look for in a crime scene, right?” I ask.
Damn, how is he so freaking clean? There’s not a drop of blood anywhere!
“That means you know how to get away with shit,” Baron grunts.
Damn straight he does. The only good pedophile, is a fucking dead one.