I stroke her translucent fur, the sensation like touching mist, and wait for Malachi to elaborate.
“Calloway has a knack for staying below the radar. There are very few people who know where his property is.” His tone shifts, becoming more serious. “It should be safe for us to stay there and regroup.”
The thought of all four of us staying under the same roof makes my stomach flutter with a mixture of excitement and dread. Cade and Malachi in the same space for more than five minutes?
They’re going to kill each other.
“What’s happened?”Cade asks as he opens the door for us. It’s late, and by the looks of it he just tumbled out of bed. His dark hair is sticking up in every direction, and he’s only wearing gray sweats that hang low on his hips. The sight of his bare chest makes my pulse quicken despite everything that’s happened tonight.
“Put on a fucking shirt, Calloway, and tell me you have a phone line that reaches this place.” Malachi brushes past him without ceremony, hanging his jacket on the rack and headingstraight for the kitchen where an old rotary phone hangs on the wall.
Cade smirks at me as I walk by, his eyes lingering on my face like he’s reading every detail of what I’ve been through. I settle in front of the fireplace where embers are still glowing with stubborn life, and Mish immediately curls up beside me at the hearth.
“Here, let me help.” Cade grabs the poker and starts coaxing the flames back to life, adding fresh logs until the fire roars and crackles. The warmth hits my skin, and I practically melt with relief, pulling off my jacket and shoes to soak up more heat.
“What’s going on?” Aurora appears from down the hall in cute pink button-up pajamas, her wild curly hair creating a halo around her sleepy face. She looks like she stepped out of a fairy tale, all soft edges and innocence.
Malachi hangs up the phone with a sharp click and comes to sit beside me on the floor. “I talked to Bash. He’s working late in the lab and says everything’s fine there, but he’s put the Depths on lockdown. We’ll go there first thing in the morning.”
“Hi, nice to see you again. I’m Aurora.” She gives Malachi a pointed look, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now, can you tell me what the hell is happening?”
I bite back a giggle. Aurora’s sweet exterior hides a backbone of steel.
Cade returns from down the hall, pulling a gray T-shirt over his head. The fabric clings to his chest as he settles on the couch across from Aurora, and I force myself to focus on Malachi.
“Everything’s gone. Gary, Rupert, and someone else I didn’t recognize showed up and burned the entire property to the ground.”
Cade sits up straighter, tension coiling through his shoulders. “Irina?”
His face pales.
“She wasn’t there. She packed up earlier and left for the Southern District. It was only me and Katja.” Malachi’s voice is carefully neutral, but I catch the undercurrent of something I can’t place.
“There was a tracker in one of the boxes from Marcos,” I add. “We heard it go off before they arrived.”
“Shit.” Aurora tucks some wild strands of hair out of her face.
“You think they wanted to kill you and Kat?” Cade leans forward, deadly serious. The playful smirk is completely gone now.
“I’m not sure. They searched the house before they blew it up, but we’d already snuck out.” Malachi’s jaw tics. “Maybe they would have captured us. One thing’s certain—they didn’t want us going through those boxes, and my father’s clearly pissed. He’s not afraid to take it out on his sister anymore.”
“Yeah, I never thought he’d do something like this to Irina.” Cade shakes his head. “What does this mean for the Syndicate? How is Rupert involved?”
Malachi runs a hand down his face, and I notice how exhausted he looks—more than I’ve seen him in weeks. The events of the last few days are catching up to him. “I don’t know. I need to get hold of my aunt. I’ll try her again before I go to bed, but you guys should get some sleep.”
He looks over at me and reaches out to rub slow circles up and down my back. The touch is possessive and comforting all at once.
“About that, there are only two bedrooms,” Aurora starts, but Cade jumps in before she can finish.
“You two can take my bed. I’ll sleep onthe couch.”
Malachi makes a face like he tasted something rotten, clearly disgusted by the thought of either of us anywhere near Cade’s bed.
“Kat can sleep with me, and you boys can figure out your shit.” Aurora gets to her feet and reaches for my hand, tugging me up with surprising strength for someone so small.
But Malachi stands too, intercepting me before Aurora can drag me away. He pulls me close to his chest, looking down at me with those dark eyes that seem to see straight through my soul. His fingers brush the loose strands of hair from my face with infinite tenderness.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asks.
