Without waiting for a reply, she rushes out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Then it’s just the two of us sitting in incredibly awkward silence. We exchange a look, a silent communication passing between us, before Stryker bends his knees slightly, threading his fingers together.
“You’ll get way more wiggle room than me. Ifyougo apeshit and attack her brother, she’ll think it’s endearing. If I do, I’m a problem. So here’s to hoping you’ve brushed up on your charade skills so you can fill me in when you get back.”
Surprised, but following his lead, I step on his clasped hands and push aside one of the panels from the drop ceiling. Stryker boosts me up, and I’m careful to kneel on the grid instead of any of the actual tiles as I navigate the dusty space. I follow the sound of my mate’s voice until I’m hovering directly above her, carefully sliding the ceiling tile an inch to the side so I can see what’s happening.
It’s easy to tell they’re related. While her brother’s hair isn’t purple, it’s just as uniquely vibrant. Reddish brown with enough gold threaded in to catch the light. They share the same shade of blue-green eyes, and even their scents compliment each other.
I don’t like him.
“-phone was broken and I didn’t get it replaced today. See?”
Her brother sighs. “I know you wanted your space when we came here, but it’s been six months and I have to admit, I’m not adjusting well. I worry about you all the damn time, Kia. Especially when you ghost me for days on end and I’m stuck imagining the worst! What if we compromise? I talked to Ellis, and there’s a house available a few down from yours, and he said it wouldn’t be a big deal for me to swap. Then I could be closer if there was a problem, but you’d still have your space. We could do weekly Sunday dinners to catch up or something.”
Kiara snorts. “I love you, Kills, but that’s a hard no. At some point, you’re going to have to accept that I’m not a little girl anymore. It’s not your job to take care of me anymore.”
Clearly, she doesn’t trust him with the job anymore. I puff up my chest. She trustsme, though. Otherwise she wouldn’t be sleeping in my nest.
Distracted, I miss part of what her brother replies, shaking my head to clear my muddled thoughts.
Gotta focus. My bondmate entrusted me with this task; I need to prove that I can handle it. That his faith wasn’t misplaced and I’m not past salvation.
“- come with me Saturday.”
My breath stutters. He’s trying to take her away.
I could kill him. It wouldn’t even be hard.
She hums low in her throat. “Honestly? That sounds exhausting.”
He waggles his eyebrows. “Would your big brother lead you astray? Free foodandan open bar, Kia. Not to mention how good it could be for business if you network a bit. These are all rich, connected assholes trying to make themselves feel like they’re balancing their karmic scales by donating to charities. Who knows, maybe you’ll charm a couple into donating to the clinic for supernatural creature conservation efforts or some nonsense.”
I don’t care if theyshowermy mate with money, I don’t like the sound of this. Atall.
Rich people are the worst; they treat crime like pay-to-play. If the punishment for a crime is a fine, it’s only illegal for poor people. If you can make a call to a ‘family friend’ and a judge sweeps it under the rug, what’s the point of even having a justice system?
Fuck that noise. My mate is staying home, far away from all that bullshit.
Chapter 24
Kiara
Zpushes up the skirt of my dress and I chuckle, stepping back out of his reach. “As tempting as this is, we’re going to have to put a pin in it. If you’re good, though, maybe I’ll sit on your face when I get home.”
Like that isn’t more of a reward for me than him, but let’s be real. If my mate is this excited to eat pussy? I’m going to ride that train as long as it lasts.
Making sure the silver bracelet one of Ever’s mates gifted me that prevents any bonding potions someone might try to slip in my drink from taking effect is firmly in place, I give Devlin a stern look. It’s harder to pull off than I anticipated while Z gives me sad kitten eyes like he understands the dress means I’m going out for the night, hence his repeated efforts to take it off.
“Remember, Stryker’s working security for some rich prick tonight, and I’ll be at least an hour away. So youcannotlet Z outside for any reason short of the house being on fire, okay? I’m trusting you to be responsible for him tonight.”
“Wouldn’t call in someone I haven’t had a chance to meet for help, anyway.” Devlin leans against the door, watching me finish getting around with a heated look. “Don’t worry, sunshine, I’mon it. I kept my hamster alive for three whole days when I was a kid; I can handle a few hours. Dehydration takes at least three days to kill someone.” He frowns, tilting his head to the side as he connects the dots. “Wait a minute.”
Not confident atall,now, I fill up a few glasses of water and leave them around the house in case Z takes a turn for the worse while I’m away and forgets how to work the sink. I’d rather be overprepared than under when Devlin is so easily distracted. The heaters I bought- well,Havocbought since no one in this damn city will listen to me, so I decided to embrace ruining his credit card until he gets the message- have made the house semi-habitable again. I’m still in the process of moving us to the clinic, but I still have about a month before I have to be out and hand over the keys. Since Killian insisted on picking me up, it made more sense to have them hunker down here for the night so he wouldn’t ask questions I’m not ready to answer.
“Maybe I should stay home.”
A hand threads through the hair at the base of my skull, and Devlin takes control, forcing my gaze up to meet his. “Pretty girl, I’ve got this. The only people dying on my watch are those that deserve it. I’ll take care of your pet, and when you come home, you can thank me properly.”
Succumbing to the confidence he commands, I let every fear ebb from my shoulders, if only for a little while. Devlin will either keep Z out of trouble, or be right there beside him when it goes down. But he won’t leave my feral mate to wander off alone, because he knows how much Z means to me.
