Riptide
Delores
Chessie was right about the nap, but the tension in the vehicle when I wake up is thick as pea soup.
I don’t know what happened; however, Fitz and Chess are determined to brush the topic off.
Felix is still asleep, which he must desperately need, so I don’t get him involved.
Aubrey and Rennie have switched places, so the gargoyle is driving the last leg of our trip as he and the grumpy librarian argue about some historical era that I sure as hell wasn’t alive during.
Normally, I’d listen in, taking their personal experiences in like a sponge, but the odd vibe back here is distracting me.
“Fitzy, are you sure you don’t want me to help you relax?” I whisper it in his ear, hoping to get him to ignore whatever is pissing him off on his phone. “I can be very soothing.”
He pauses, turning to look at me with a soft grin and crazy eyes.
“You definitely can, my delicious little bunny rabbit. However, that will also distract the drivers, and I’m working on something important.
Also, that wasn’t nearly enough sleep given how little you’ve gotten during travel, right, Chessie? ”
The cheetah rumbles a little against my back, squeezing me temptingly close. “Definitely, my love. I think she’ll be much happier when we get home and everything is full of activity, if she rests just a wee bit more.”
That raises my bullshit antenna—of course they want me to take care of myself, but never at the expense of fooling around.
“What are you working on?” I try to peek over his shoulder, but the wily tiger tilts his phone so the privacy screen keeps me from viewing. “Aw, come on, baby…”
Chuckling, Fitz turns to kiss me lightly and then murmurs, “You don’t want to spoil my surprise, do you? I promise you’ll enjoy it and it doesn’t break any of the rules we’ve all agreed to.”
Arching a brow at his addendum, I frown. “No, but when you have to qualify it like that, I wonder what fresh hell is coming after you’re done.”
Chess laughs as well, pressing a kiss to my neck. When I sigh softly, he smiles against my skin. “Angel, you know his greatest joy in life is expressing himself in the most insane ways possible. You encourage it, in fact. Why so suspicious now?”
“Because there’s a tsunami of shit coming when we arrive home in… less than an hour?” I pout a little as my brain rebels against being ‘back’ from vacation. If it were just schoolwork and the Pred Games, I’d be fine, but my life is not that simple.
Returning to l’Academie means I have to deal with shitty classmates, vampires, enormous conspiracy webs, schoolwork, pissy professors, and to top it all off…
that skeevy vulture who won’t stop picking at me until I’m a corpse.
I’ve enjoyed the respite from all that while we were gone, especially the bitchy counselor, and now it’s unavoidable.
Very depressing, if you ask me, and I wrinkle my nose as I burrow in between my kitties at the thought.
“See?” Chess whispers in my ear. “Just thinking about what’s waiting for us is making you want to stab something. A little more snoozing would definitely help.”
I recognize that they’re tag-teaming me again, but the idea of my overloaded life is…
well, overloading me. So I sigh and nod, letting my adorable cheetah cuddle me close as Fitz keeps fiddling with his phone.
My eyes flutter closed as Chessie purrs again, and I push aside the worry about whatever mischief my tiger has planned.
I trust him, and if he says it’s okay, I have to believe that until I know otherwise.
But if something explodes and I have to clean it up, his ass is mine—that’s a promise and a threat.
The sound of everyone talking and a huge bump wakes me again, forcing me to sit up and crawl over to the side window to look out. Fitz is with Felix on the bench seat, and my winged mates are gesturing out the front window. Squinting as I get my head clear, I realize we are finally back on campus.
Well, almost back. We’re entering the stupid fancy gates and heading for the space we’ve made our own.
“Man, that went fast,” I mutter as Aubrey navigates through the school roads and toward the library building. “I was really more tired than I realized.”
Fitz beams at me over his shoulder, looking smug as fuck. “I told you so, Baby Girl. You should listen to me from now on.”
I snort, and Felix groans, shaking his head. “You’ll never live this down, Princess.”
Chess chuckles, sitting up finally to gather up the blankets and pillows we used for the sleeping area. “Felix isn’t joking. You’re going to hear about Fitz’s brilliance at every turn now.”
Rolling my eyes at them, I shrug. “Unlike everyone else, I always listen to Fitzy, even when he’s a bit off the beaten path.
It doesn’t mean I have to take his advice; that’s silly.
Not every idea is a gem, nor is every thought one that will help the situation.
But I consider his suggestions anyway, although they’re not always linear. Maybe you should do that, too.”
The younger tiger is over the seat and has me pinned to the floor of the SUV before I can blink.
He smiles at me like I invented the moon and stars before he says, “Delores Diamond Drew, you are the best fucking thing to happen to every one of our sorry asses and I will happily march into the fires of Hell to keep you at my side. Don’t you ever forget that, got it? ”
I guess I really triggered something in him with that statement, but I’ll take it.
“This little display of Fitz’s whipped-ness aside, we’ll be home in a few moments,” his twin says wryly.
“First thing we need to do is get this shit inside, and Chess will contact the company to retrieve the car. Then we need to unpack, eat dinner, and get all the dirty shit ready for the laundry tomorrow. We won’t stay up too late; tomorrow is going to be packed to the gills with school crap and returning friends. ”
Once I get out of my crazy tiger’s grasp, I pop my head over the seat to give Felix a dirty look. “Of course you want to do all the boring stuff before anything else. Talk about the end of our vacation.”
He ruffles my hair, smiling at me knowingly. “No one said we can’t have fun before bedtime if we get everything done on time. Perhaps you should focus on that, hmm?”
The Raj is a stern brunch Daddy, that’s for damn sure, and he knows exactly how to get what he wants.
“Fine,” I huff as the car pulls up behind our building and stops. “You win, buzzkill. We’ll do all the work and then we can play.”
“Good girl,” he replies with a smirk. I stick my tongue out at him anyway, and he laughs softly.
When Aubrey turns off the engine, everyone kicks into gear.
I shove all my things back into my bag, and Chess grabs the linens.
Fitz scoots down to open the trunk so he can jump out, whooping happily as he stretches his body.
I watch him for a moment with a fond smile, and then follow suit to exit the vehicle.
Once all three of us are on terra firma, the younger tiger pulls the luggage out and closes the trunk.
“I do not like traveling this way,” my dragon says as he rounds the side of the SUV to grab two suitcases grumpily. “It’s far too cramped, even with the modifications we made.”
Rennie winks at me as he joins us. “Flames is quite perturbed about our cramped front seat. We should find another solution if we travel that far again. We’re lucky I kept him calm enough not to explode and tear the damn thing apart by now.”
I frown at Aubrey, and he shrugs. “Big guy, I know you don’t like it, but we didn’t have options. It’s not like everyone and all the stuff could get here on your back.”
“I’d be willing to fucking try next time,” he mutters as he leans down to kiss my cheek. “Or we’ll fly like normal preds and keep you occupied enough not to worry about planes and physics.”
“All for that!” Fitz calls with a grin. “I can even start stocking up now.”
“Get inside, you perverts,” I grumble as I walk away with my spine straight. “Just because I’m validly worried about how planes work and whether my mother has planted explosives in them doesn’t mean you get to be assholes.”
Chess waves his hand in front of the sensor and looks over his shoulder at his fellow boyfriends. “Leave her be, guys. The likelihood that we will have to travel that far again any time soon is way too low to get into a tiff about. Come on, Angel… follow me inside and we’ll air this place out.”
I smile at him thankfully, taking his other arm as we leave the tigers and the old guys in our dust. As soon as we’re halfway down the hall, I wave my hand in front of my face. “Ugh, Chessie, you weren’t kidding about airing this out. It’s musty as fuck in here.”
He nods, leading me into the living room.
“If the Captain and his crew hadn’t gone on a walkabout to the prey folks, I would have asked them to come in occasionally and keep it fresh.
Unfortunately, no one we trust was here, so we’re coming back to a home that was closed up for three months.
At least, I’m fairly certain we are because Fitz never said any alarms went off. ”
“Thank fuck for that,” I mutter. “If I ever come home to my personal space covered in piss again, it’ll be me going on a rampage.”
My cheetah smiles at me as I drop my stuff, taking both of my hands in his.
“Not that I’d want that to happen to you, Angel, but it brought you to the Tower to live.
Having you there helped you get close to all of us, and it made our family possible.
If they weren’t mostly missing, you might send the bitchy Heather girls a thank you note. Hell, I might send them one.”
“Aw, Chessie…” I wrap my arms around him and kiss him softly. “You know, you guys are getting really squishy with me today. Does it have to do with Fitz’s surprise?”
He snorts, shaking his head. “Nice try, but I’m not spoiling his fun.
He’s quite good at making his displeasure known when people do that.
Ask the librarian what happens if you ruin one of Fitz’s plans; at the time Apex was destroyed, there were still about a zillion snap pops hidden all over that Tower hoping he’ll stomp on them and piss his pants. ”
I cover my mouth, snickering as the image fills my brain. “I will not ask what he ruined. I have the feeling I don’t want to know.”
“You don’t.”
Turning as Felix comes up behind me, I give him a very serious salute. “Sir, yes, sir!”
“Don’t think that will get you out of the chores we all have to do so our home is habitable again, Princess. Now get moving,” he growls softly before he gives my ass a light slap. “You, too, Chess. We have a shit ton to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Who’s taking the laundry?”
“Not it!” Fitz and I say, making the elder tiger groan in annoyance.
Aubrey tsks as he passes by with his and Rennie’s stuff. “Sorry, Raj. I must get the library systems booting and updating prior to morning. I am unable to assist.”
“Et je dois ouvrir le clocher pour la nouvelle session*. Tragic, I know.” My gargoyle gives Felix a pretend disappointed expression as he sneaks by to head for their room.
“Saying shit in French won’t get you out of this… get back here, you lazy statue!”
I look at Chessie with a mischievous grin before I whisper, “Hurry! If we get to the kitchen before he comes back, we won’t be on laundry duty.”
Of course, that’s assuming that anyone takes it and it doesn’t befall on our beleaguered prey friends when they come here tomorrow morning.
* And I have to open the bell tower for the new session.