Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“And let in the lynx. But he left,” Carlos added.
“Lynx?” I downed two packets of hangover helper and some pain reliever, and chased it with the entire cup of coffee. “Anyone?” I pushed the bag toward the center of the table, which had a bunch of half-empty takeaway containers.
“Please.” Fiona rummaged through it and took something, while Carlos explained what everything looked like when he woke up.
I put some rice and chicken fricassee in my bowl. “Thank you for cleaning up.”
Grabbing my bowl and empty mug, I went into the kitchen, making a new pot of coffee and warming up my food.
Cake? Champagne? Was that the congratulations package? I picked up a box of tea on the counter and read the box which was in German. Post-heat tea.
“Where did the food we’re eating come from?” I asked.
“It was in a box by the door with more sheets and towels. Along with a sign.” Carlos shrugged. “I left it up. I didn’t know what it said.”
I went to the door and took it off. It said in German and French: Heat in Progress. Please don’t interrupt. Leave items by the door.
Okay then. Comfort feast. We must have ordered it from room service.
Pouring myself some coffee, I brought the mug and my food back to the table as Dusty went to warm up his.
“Fiona, do you remember going into heat?” I took a bite of food. She was wearing only a shirt, revealing love marks all over her.
She frowned as she grabbed a piece of bread. “I’m on suppressants. Also, what day is it?”
“It’s the twenty-eighth and your father texted me. Don’t worry, I blamed it on the snowstorm and said we’d be in touch,” I soothed.
Carlos nearly knocked over his coffee cup. “What?”
“I’m trying to get us a flight back. But it depends on the weather. You can use my phone to call someone and let them know what’s going on. People being delayed due to weather happens.” Dusty came back over to the table.
“I don’t know anyone's number by memory.” Carlos’ frowned.
“I have Grif’s number, but I don’t have Dean or Jonas’. I don’t think Jonas likes me.” Hale pouted a little.
“Grif will work, thanks.” Carlos stood. “There’s some meat and cheese. I’ll bring it out.”
“I went into heat? What?” Fiona’s look went puzzled.
Hale frowned. “Maybe it was the drugs?”
“Oh. I know some drugs can fuck with birth control, but I didn’t know they could mess up suppressants.” Fiona bit her lower lip. “At least it was a short heat.”
“The drugs could also be why we can’t remember? Maybe they mixed with the heat and everything went pow.” Hale’s hands went out mimicking an explosion.
“Oh, that is an excellent theory. Some drugs do make you forget things,” Carlos agreed.
“Sorry. Maybe it was that one I got that didn’t work? Well, we won’t be getting that again.” Hale sighed.
Or maybe it did work but not the way we thought? Also, we mixed that with another drug and booze. Add in Fiona’s heat, which could cause hazy memories, along with the fact that I was pretty sure Hale had gone into a rut, and we had the perfect disaster right there.
Now to un-fuck it.
As they talked, I eyed Carlos and Hale’s chests. It absolutely looked like they’d gotten bitten, but a bite didn’t mean bonding.
Carlos went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
I looked up at the ceiling fan, which was irregular. Standing, I went over and shut it off, watching it. Something was taped to one of the blades.
Grabbing my chair, I stood on it and took it off. “Whose phone and why is it taped to the ceiling fan?”
“Oh, it’s my phone.” Carlos was arranging things on a serving plate.
“We didn’t have rice to dry it out, so I taped it to the ceiling fan,” Hale replied. “Refills?” He grabbed his cup. Fiona handed him his.
I put the dead phone on the table and resumed eating.
“Could I have the last of the stew and the mashed potatoes?” I asked the table.
“Please do,” Fiona replied.
As I added the food to my bowl I tried to figure out how to broach the topic of bonding. Dusty emptied a container of soup into his.
“I’ll warm it up for you.” Dusty grabbed our bowls and stood.
I sent love to him, trying to figure out how this bond thing worked. He turned and winked at me.
Taking a deep breath, I sent love to Fiona. Did we bond?
Her eyes widened. “What was that?”
“I… I think we bonded during your heat,” I said softly.
“Oh.” She sat with that for a moment, taking the coffee Hale handed to her.
Then I felt something back. I looked at her and she gave me an expectant look. I sent love back.
Squealing, she got out of her chair and hugged me. “We bonded? Oh. My. Goodness. We’re going to have the best party!”
Oh joy. A party. I could see it now. It would be… a lot. And I would endure it. For her.
“It will be amazing.” I kissed her.
“Should we marry, too? You know my dads will make us have a mating agreement.” Her head tilted. “This won’t fuck everything up for you, will it?”
“I’m allowed to have a mate, Mo Stóirín. Your fathers will have opinions. But I’d like to see Finn Gallagher tell me that I’m not good enough for you.” I grinned. It could be fun. In Ireland, you could still challenge an omega’s parent to combat to prove that you’re a worthy mate.
Carlos brought the plate of meats, cheeses, and fruit, along with the rest of the bread, over to the table. “Why would anyone think you’re not good enough for Fiona? If I had an omega kid, I think an assassin would be the best mate for them, because I know they’d be safe.”
“You’re an assassin? I thought you worked in security or something? Oh! It’s a cover. Got it.” Hale helped himself to the plate.
Dusty brought back our food. “You don’t think that’s odd?”
“Thank you,” I said softly. My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Hale thought for a moment. “Wait, you know, Dusty? And you interrupted her job?” He started laughing. “Shit. You interrupted her hit. That is the best story ever.”
Fiona paused, startled. Sucking in a breath, she looked at Hale. “I’m an assassin, too. Does that bother you?”
“You? You’re the cutest fucking assassin ever.” He just sort of rolled with it.
“We don’t work for the government,” Fiona added, frowning slightly.
I got something through the bond. Uneasiness. Confusion.
“Well, no. You’re mercenaries, right. What sort?” Hale stuffed more cheese in his face.
“I’m a sniper. Usually, I work with Saoirse. She’s also a sniper, but she’s also a whole lot of other things,” Fiona added.
This was weird. But considering what might have happened, they had a right to know.
“Nice.” Hale nodded.
Dusty was on his phone, frowning.
My phone buzzed again. I took it out. My brother was texting me again.
His last text made me frown.
Tadgh
I know there was a storm but I’m getting worried. Is BroKen holding you hostage? Do you need the twins to get you on their way back from Belarus? Also, someone showed Da the video and he is having chickens.
Video? What video?
I scrolled up, looking through his texts. The most notable being a clip of a video and Tadgh asking, Did you marry BroKen and not invite me?
Marry. Not mate. Marry. The date of the video? The wee hours of December twenty-sixth.
Fiona grabbed my hand. “Where did you get this ring? I don’t remember you wearing it before. There are also gold heels on the floor that are not my size–or Hale’s.”
“Oh, and that dress had to come from somewhere,” Hale added.
On my hand was an absolutely beautiful ring, the emerald-cut center stone sat between two smaller stones in a platinum setting. It was utterly impractical from the point of view of an assassin.
Yet, gorgeous.
My heart skipped a beat as I turned to Dusty. “Did we get married?”