Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
TOM
It’s just after nine when we turn into the drive at Mannix Estate.
The car ride was a lot quieter than I expected—the boys alternated between eating the snacks Gabe bought them, messing around on their phones, and asking Gabe to clarify things.
They must have talked about it all after we left their room last night, because they had a bunch of questions.
That didn’t leave much time for me and Gabe to talk—although with Ian and Matt in the back seat listening avidly, we probably wouldn’t have anyway.
“Fiiinally,” Matt says, leaning into the space between the two front seats and peering through the windscreen. “I really gotta piss.”
“You should have said. We could have stopped somewhere,” I point out, creeping along the drive until I get to the turnoff that leads down toward Gabe’s cabin.
The estate is open to the public right now, so we’ll avoid the main house for the time being.
I don’t know if they’ve worked out where the boys are staying, though.
“Nah. I was fine holding it.”
As we get closer to the cabin, Ian says, “I don’t sense the demon. I thought he was supposed to be here helping with the plans?”
I side-eye Gabe, because this is totally not my area. He half turns in his seat. “You won’t sense him unless he wants you to. That’s something we learned the other night.”
“Great,” Ian mutters.
“So he can just come and go whenever, and we won’t have any warning?” Matt sounds outraged.
I park the car in the tiny space behind the cabin. “So far, he’s been following the rules. Mostly.”
We get out of the car, and I pop the trunk to get the boys’ stuff. I’ll check in with everyone and see what’s going on, and if they don’t need me, I’ll race back to town for a change of clothes.
“Is he here now?” Ian asks, staring at the back wall of the cabin.
Gabe shrugs, grabbing the suitcase and leaving the overnight bags for the boys to get. “I don’t know. But if he is, Con’s probably with him.”
“Con’s here,” the man himself says, walking around the side of the building. Ian drops his bag and lunges for his brother, Matt half a second behind him. It’s sweet, and I can’t help smiling. If I had siblings, I’d want our relationship to be like this.
When the hug breaks up, Connor looks both boys up and down. “You’re good?”
“What the fuck, Con?” Ian demands. “Like… what the fuck.”
“I know. Still getting my head around it. Last night I got ragey thinking about it, and Daniel thought if I chopped some wood, that might help me calm down.”
“Did it work?” Matt asks. “And was it fun? I’ve never chopped wood before.”
Connor shakes his head. “I owe him a new ax thing. Only he didn’t call it an ax. I don’t know.”
I laugh. “Did you damage anything else?”
He grins at me. “No, thank fuck. Kieran’s stressed enough as it is.” His gaze tracks from me to Gabe and back, as though he’s looking for something, and suspicion rises sharply in me. When he and Kieran booked those rooms, were they matchmaking?
I glance at Gabe, and from the way he’s glaring at Connor, I’m pretty sure he’s thinking the same thing.
“Ah, look at the little humans, standing in the dirt for their heartfelt reunion.”
Connor’s grin disappears even before Marc appears around the side of the house. “I told you to wait inside.”
Marc tsks. “If you think I follow your orders, you’re sadly mistaken.
” His gaze skims over the boys, who’ve both lost their smiles and straightened.
“Oh my, your little brother has grown up. He’s a baby hunter now.
And who’s this? Do your families have an agreement that you’ll pair up in every generation? ”
Before anyone can snap, I speak up. “Marc, why don’t we go in and let them catch up? I’m sure the boys want to stretch their legs, but I could use a coffee.” I can’t believe I’m volunteering to hang out with a demon again. Something must be seriously wrong with my sense of self-preservation.
“Don’t worry about it, Tom.” To my surprise, it’s Ian who speaks.
“We don’t need to be shielded from a demon with a smart mouth.
There’s too much work to be done for that.
” He picks up his bag and strides determinedly forward, nose in the air as he passes Marc and goes around to the front door. Matt’s quick to follow.
I turn away and close the trunk to hide my smirk, but Connor and Gabe don’t bother. “After you, demon,” Gabe says smoothly. “If you’re really planning to be helpful.”
To everyone’s disappointment, Marc chuckles. “How delightful you all are. Come on, then.”
As Marc and Connor turn away, Gabe grabs my hand. “Do me a favor?” he whispers, leaning close enough that I can smell the hotel body wash he used.
“Anything.” I didn’t intend for it to come out sounding sexual, but somehow, it does.
His lips twitch and his gaze warms, but he stays focused. “Have a drink with us and then get the boys out. I don’t want them—”
“Got it,” I interrupt. I know he and Connor are antsy about this. “I need to go home and change—I’ll take them to town with me.”
His face relaxes with relief. “Perfect. Thank you.” He closes the distance between us and steals a quick kiss.
“Gabe— Oh. Oh.” We pull apart in time to see the sly grin spread across Matt’s face. “Well, well… nobody mentioned this. Keeping secrets, are we?”
“Not secret,” Gabe says. “Why would you think that?”
Matt looks between us. “Because you’re sneaking kisses and didn’t tell us you were seeing each other?”
Taking my cue from Gabe, I blink innocently. “Sneaking? We weren’t sneaking. We’re standing here for everyone to see.”
The confusion on Matt’s face is hilarious. “But… are you guys dating? You didn’t say anything about it. And Gabe made all that fuss about the rooms last night.”
Gabe strolls over to his brother, slings an arm around his shoulders, and turns him toward the house. “It may shock you to hear this, Matty, but not everything I do is your business.”
“So it is a secret!” Matt sounds triumphant, and I stifle a laugh as I follow them.
“No. Just because we didn’t announce it to you doesn’t make it a secret.”
“You’re just fucking with me now.”
We go up the step of the tiny porch and into the cabin, where Marc is, as always, perfectly at home on the couch, while Ian sits tensely at the kitchen table and Connor pours coffee in the kitchen.
“Who’s fucking with you?” Ian asks, seeming relieved to have the distraction.
“Gabe. He and Tom are together. Or at least fucking.”
Gabe smacks his little brother across the back of the head. “Show some respect. Tom might not want you gossiping about his personal life.”
Rubbing his head, Matt grimaces apologetically at me. “Sorry, Tom.”
“Um, excuse me, they’re fucking? Since when?” Ian demands, then ducks as Connor puts his coffee on the table. “I’m being respectful!”
“Are you, though?” Connor looks over at me. “Do you feel disrespected, Tom?” There’s a glimmer of laughter in his eyes, but also curiosity. He’s dying to know what’s going on.
“Kinda,” I say, seizing this opportunity. “I mean, I drove all the way to O’Hare and back to pick you guys up, and now you’re talking about me like I’m not even here?” I shake my head and cluck my tongue. “I feel like you should make it up to me.”
The boys exchange glances. “Like how?” Matt ventures.
I shrug and accept a mug from Connor, then lean against an armchair. “I don’t know. I have to run some errands in town later. You can come along and carry things.”
Ian’s eyes dart toward Marc and then to his brother. “I don’t think we should leave here.”
“Really?” Connor says mildly. “Because I think you should prove to Tom that you’re not assholes by helping him run errands.”
“Me too,” Gabe agrees. “This whole mess will still be here for you to help with later.”
Matt and Ian do that whole talking with their eyes thing again, and then Matt says, “Fine. We’d love to help Tom.”
“Aren’t you all just precious?” Marc drawls, sounding supremely bored. “No coffee for me?”
Connor grits his teeth, and I get a strong sense that he’s trying to resist throwing his own coffee in Marc’s face.
“Wait, you drink coffee?” Ian demands.
Marc rolls his eyes. “Of course I drink coffee. This body is human, you know.” He flicks imaginary lint off the knee of his pants. “With some enhancements.”
Ian’s expression takes on a sick cast. “You stole a human body? Like a meat puppet?” He turns to his brother. “We can’t condone this kind of shit.”
“No,” Connor begins, but Marc is sighing and rolling his eyes.
“You were more interesting last time,” he tells Ian. “Meat puppet. What is wrong with you humans? This body is mine. I didn’t steal it from anyone.”
Both boys eye him dubiously, and then Matt says, “So higher demons look the same as humans? How is that possible?”
“When we choose to,” Marc corrects.
I’m pretty sure the next question is going to be along the lines of “so what do you really look like,” and honestly, I’m not sure I’m ready to know that, so I straighten and put down my still half-full mug.
“Time’s wasting,” I declare. “You guys ready? We should stop at the house and see if anyone needs anything.”
The boys look reluctant, but Gabe says, “Great idea. With all the chaos of the last couple days, I’m sure there’s stuff that needs doing.”
“Actually,” Connor adds, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys, “if you could swing by our place and grab us some more stuff, that would be great. Kier and I will text what we need.” He takes a key off the ring and slides it across the table to Ian, then glances at me. “You know where the house is, right?”
“You’re still in Kieran’s place that he’s renting from Mrs. Harker?” I confirm, and Connor nods. “Yep, that’s fine.”
“Wait, you need stuff? Why? Are you staying here?” Matt asks.
“Kieran doesn’t like to leave when unusual things are happening,” Connor explains, like he also didn’t refuse to leave while Marc is around. “We’re staying in the crash room for now.”
“So where are we staying?” Ian demands.
Gabe clears his throat. “You could stay at Kieran and Connor’s place in town,” he starts, but the boys are shaking their heads before the words are all out of his mouth.
“No fucking way. We’re not leaving you alone here.”
I squint at Ian and wonder when the meaning of “alone” was changed to mean “in a group of seven humans and eight ghosts,” but decide it’s better if I stay out of this for now.
“Fine,” Connor says. “I talked to Ewan, and he said you can stay in his room at the manager’s cottage. He spends most nights with Josh in the apartment anyway.”
The boys take their victory grudgingly. “Fine.”
Everyone looks at each other, nobody completely happy.
“How charming these little familial interactions are,” Marc announces. “I can totally understand why your pa—”
“Time to go!” I shout, grabbing Matt by the arm and beckoning Ian. “Come on, we’ve got a lot to get through, but we can stop for lunch at the restaurant.”
“What restaurant?” Matt asks, reluctantly turning toward the door.
“Tom’s family owns the Italian restaurant in town,” Gabe informs him, smiling at me gratefully. He knew what Marc was about to say just as much as I did.
The boys stop dead and look at me. “Pizza?” Ian asks hopefully.
I nod. “Sure.”
They move a lot faster now, and Gabe catches my hand. “Thank you.”
I give his a little squeeze. “Anytime.”