Chapter Forty-Nine
Saoirse
The nausea rose up again as I unpacked the last box of things. I didn’t like how long it had taken me to do this. But there was a lot more to unpack and get situated than just my room. Also, I’d been so tired.
I ran to the toilet and vomited up the little I was able to eat for breakfast.
What was wrong with me? This didn’t feel like some simple cold or flu, considering it had been over a week. I didn’t have a fever or a cough, or any sort of congestion or sniffles. Just nauseous and fatigued.
I’d actually fallen asleep while making out with Fiona last night. Getting up to take my morning run took effort.
Rinsing my mouth out with water, I flushed the toilet, glad I had my own bathroom.
Maybe later Dusty could make me more soup? Though Carlos had a home game tonight that we were all going to.
Dusty had been helping me set up the home gym. We got wooden floors installed, the walls painted, mirrors hung, equipment set up, and a punching bag suspended. He’d also carried boxes, put together furniture, and moved things.
The work in the basement to set up the office for Fiona and I had also started, complete with a heavy-duty weapons safe. At some point I need to coordinate with my cousins to get my things. I brought over some of it, but not all of it.
I looked at my list of things I needed to do today before the game and sighed.
Carlos went to the rink for morning skate. Hale was working on stuff for his big research meeting tomorrow. Fiona had things to do for her app, because she had benchmarks due that she couldn’t afford to miss.
Not sure what Dusty’s plans were.
But I should go see a mafia auntie in a deli and let her know that I wasn’t a threat before some guy named Mario showed up on our doorstep.
With a sigh, I went upstairs to make some tea hoping that made me feel well enough to face the day. Hale sat at the dining room table, gazing intently at his laptop.
“I’m going to make myself some tea. Do you want any?” I asked.
“I’m fine. If I stare at it enough it will fix itself, right?” he inquired.
“That doesn’t seem like a solid strategy,” I replied.
Hale sighed. “Probably not.”
“Is everything alright? Are your parents giving you shit still?” I added.
Hale nodded. “I had to block Mumsy.”
“Just the fact she has you all calling her Mumsy makes her blockable.” I had a feeling I knew exactly what sort of pretentious alpha Londoner she was, too. Block.
A laugh exploded from his lips. “True.”
“You know what solved my family issues? Changing my number and only telling a couple of people,” I told him. Fortunately, my family had moved onto the next issue and were now bothering someone else.
“That kinda sounds like a good idea.” He sighed again. “I’m worried about the meeting tomorrow. I mean, pretty much my entire plan hinges on that working out. If it doesn’t, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Panic went through his voice, so I got the idea that wasn’t everything. But Fiona and Carlos were sitting around his laptop with him talking about numbers last night.
“It will go fine and if it doesn’t you ask your professor and your sister for more ideas,” I replied. “You have a family that wants to help you, let them. Same with your mates.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” he agreed.
I went into the kitchen and made some tea, hoping it would settle my stomach. As I sipped it, Dusty entered, dressed to work out, and went to the fridge.
“Fiona still hasn’t labeled her fancy waters if that’s what you’re looking for. Though I think she did stash a few in the mini fridge in the pack bedroom,” I replied, taking another sip. Yes, I was feeling much better.
He dug through the fridge and held up something triumphantly “I found one. It’s so dumb. I have a water bottle, but these are really good.”
“It’s the sugar disguised as vitamins. Are you going downstairs to work out? I should join you.” I needed to get back into my routine.
“I’m going to my gym. Do you want to come? I should absolutely sign you up for a membership, unless there’s a place you’d rather go to, but they allow deltas,” he replied.
“You know what, a good workout could be just what I need to feel better.” I finished my tea.
“You’re still not feeling good? Maybe you should go to the doctor.” Setting his things down, he wrapped his arms around me. His head settled into the crook of my neck and shoulder.
I was not just getting used to him doing things like this, but wanting them.
“I’m not a citizen of this country. I can’t just get medical visits the way you do. The Company doesn’t exactly provide health insurance,” I added.
“They should. Oh, is that why you worked with the other security company? To get extra health insurance? I mean, that would make sense. Carlos put all of us on his health insurance through his team. I can get the information,” he replied.
“Carlos put all of us on his insurance? I knew he added Fiona and Hale, but I didn’t know he added us, too.
We should note that on our spreadsheets, because that contribution needs to be taken into consideration.
Also, he seems like the type of person who wouldn’t realize it counted, because it comes out of his paycheck before it hits his account,” I replied.
Health insurance would be a plus, though honestly I probably was just a little rundown. It wouldn’t hurt, though.
“Isn’t that how it works? If it doesn’t hit your account, it never existed.” He grinned. “Do assassins pay taxes or will we be raided by the tax people for fraud? That could actually be kind of interesting.”
“No. It would not.” I gave him a hard look. “Taxes get… complicated for me. But that’s also why I have an accountant to handle things so that we don’t get raided by the tax assessors. Yes, I pay them to keep Fiona’s affairs in order as well.”
“All right then. Wait, is there anything special you need to do since you're not a citizen?" Dusty asked. "Do I need to fill anything out for you?"
"There are extra documents for when we form a pack, but we should be fine. I'll let you know if I need anything from you," I assured.
Everything was already in place from when I moved here. From the research I'd done the extra steps I added to the process were minimal. I'd reach out to the person who'd helped me relocate to Boston to make sure we did everything correctly.
"Sounds good. Why don't you grab your shit and we'll go to the gym?” he added.
“There is something that I need to do. Maybe I should do that first? Or perhaps after depending on where things are, I don’t know where anything is in relation to each other yet.” I frowned.
“What do you need to do?” he inquired.
“Important administrative assassin things.” I put my cup in the dishwasher.
“Do you have to go register at the local assassin's office?” He pondered that.
“More like I need to let the local mafia know that I’m not here to cause problems,” I replied, not seeing any reason to hide it from him.
“Sounds dangerous? Do you want me to come with you? I mean, I know you can take care of yourself, but safety in numbers,” he offered.
Concern flowed through his scent. Scents were a lot more pronounced now, though I’d always had a very good nose. It was an important tool for an assassin.
“It’s fine. I checked it out with the home office. I literally have to go to a deli and talk to someone named Zia.” The fact that everyone simply called her Auntie was definitely a sign of respect.
Dusty paused. “Oh, you’re going to see Zia at the deli? I love that place. Wow! They really are mafia. Huh.” His voice went a little hushed. “I’ve always wondered, because sometimes there are people there that have that vibe, but I didn’t want to judge.”
“You go to that deli?” I blinked, a little surprised.
“Zia’s black and white cookies are better than my mamma’s. But never tell her I said that. The meatball subs are great, and they make giant sandwiches with all these different kinds of meat and cheeses on them. And they have pickles!” He grew very excited.
“A pickle sounds really good. I suppose you can come with me if you’d like. I don’t know if it’s anywhere near your gym.” It wouldn’t hurt if he already went there.
“That’s how I know about it. The guys at the gym love their sandwiches.” He rested his head in between my neck and shoulder again and held me. “I’m sorry you’re still feeling shitty.”
“Thanks. I don’t know what kind of cold or stomach bug it is, considering none of you were sick.” I sighed.
His look went thoughtful. “Are scents getting really pronounced? What about food not being right?”
“Yes, and my stomach has been a bit off. Usually I love eggs, but right now I want nothing to do with it. A pickle sounds delicious, but I probably need electrolytes. Do we have any sports drinks or vitamin waters?” I rummaged through the fridge, and I found one of each.
“Okay.” Dusty nodded. “Yeah, let’s go to the gym. I’m excited for you to meet everyone.”
“You’re always welcome here and not just because you’re Dusty’s mate. Anyone who fights like you has a place here,” Marv told me. Everything about the alpha was big, including his voice and personality.
He had been the one to arrange the whole apology outing to see the fight that Dusty brought me to after he wrecked one of my jobs. I actually knew of Marv, he trained a number of famous fighters.
“Thank you for the invitation. It’ll be nice to get back to a regular workout. I spent the past few months living in Boston and couldn’t find quite the right place,” I admitted.
Working out today felt incredible. Dusty was a good sparring partner.
He put a sweaty arm around me. “You did great.”
“You’re sweaty and gross.” I laughed, pushing him away.
“So are you. Let’s shower real quick, then go get those sandwiches. I think we earned them,” he said, taking a big sip of water.
“Sounds good,” I replied, downing the rest of my sports drink. While I had water, I wished I had more of these.