Page 94 of Fallen Court

“Channing almost got himself killed, and now you’re introducing him to vampires.”

I coughed, and Lach’s gaze flashed to mine. “Yes?”

He was definitely a little testy. I raised one brow—my own reminder that I wasn’t the person he wanted to challenge at the moment. “I believe you brought vampires into the equation when you woke him up from the coma.”

His face softened slightly. Being reminded of what led us to this moment was enough to temper his annoyance with his brother. “And now, thanks to Shaw, he’s socializing with vampires,” he corrected himself before he turned to his brother. “Are you trying to get him killed for good? And why are you spending so much time with vampires anyway?”

Or maybe Lach’s annoyance just couldn’t be tempered right now. Something he was going to need to work on.

“They accept me. I don’t feel like an outsider.”

Lach’s forehead creased, and I braced for another fight. But he remained silent.

Maybe he was tired of this argument, too.

Shaw shrugged out of his brother’s embrace and took a smooth step toward the elevator. “And if you want Channing to stay here, that’s fine.” He looked from his brother to me and back. “I’m sure he’d like to keep an eye on things as well.”

Like me. Because every time Channing got worried about me, he did something thoughtless bordering on suicidal. Any minute, innuendos would give way to action, claws would come out, and then things would get really ugly.

“Enough.” I took a step forward, pointing a finger at each of them. “Channing is going to stay here, because it’s the safest choice given the circumstances. But that’s not going to be a problem, because we’re all adults, right?”

Lach pressed his lips into a tight line, but he cast doubtful eyes at Shaw.

I groaned. “You’re both ancient, but you’re still behaving like macho teenagers out to prove something. You’re brothers. Act like it.”

“We’re ancient?” A smile twitched on Shaw’s face. “Honestly, I don’t care if he stays with me. It will be nice to have someone cool around.”

If looks could kill, Lach’s eyes might have bored right through his brother’s skull. “I’m entrusting Channing’s safety to you. Keep him out of trouble.”

“Always.” But the grin on Shaw’s face made me cringe. He turned back to me. “I guess that’s a no on joining us this evening.”

“Probably.” I wrinkled my nose. “You’ll have more fun without us.”

Because I had no doubt if I accepted their invitation, my glowering, irritated mate would come along, too.

He tilted his head. “If you change your mind…”

Shaw headed toward his rooms.

“I don’t like this,” I muttered, staring after him.

Lach hooked an arm around my waist and dragged me back into his own quarters. “I could find somewhere safer for Channing.”

“Where? We already tried jail.” But the lightness of my words didn’t match my mood.

“Send him to hang with Fiona and Romy. He can’t get in much trouble with them,” he suggested, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“You underestimate him.” I tipped my face back and searched his eyes. “You were right. It’s best if we keep him close. I’d rather know where he is than have him out there now that he knows the truth. If we don’t, he’s going to fall in with someone worse than vampires.”

“What if he didn’t know?” Lach asked softly.

I frowned. “It’s not like we can just erase his memory.”

He crooked his head meaningfully.

We could do exactly that. I’d seen it happen. All it would take was one more favor from a vampire, and Channing could be compelled to forget everything he knew about the Gages, the Otherworld, and magical New Orleans.

“Think about it,” Lach continued. “He forgets, and we get him out of town, away from all of this.”