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Zach ended his call and looked at me, expectantly.
I nodded, indicating enough that Mary Jane was crossing over.
As I glanced away from him, squinting against the piercing light surrounding the recliner and inhaling the scent of the peanut butter cookies I had made earlier coming from the kitchen, Mary Jane’s eyes fluttered closed.
Only a second later…poof…she winked out of existence.
I stared at the spot where she vanished, and then looked around our house, waiting for the bomb to hit. After a good minute of Zach giving me a hard look and of total silence, nothing happened. “Wow,” I gasped. “That’s it?”
Zach chuckled. “You expected something more dramatic?”
Turning in my seat to face him fully, I gave him a firm nod. “I expected someone to die or at least for there to be danger, or something.”
Zach hesitated, and then he stood. “I prefer less drama.”
I snorted, watching him approach my front door. “You and me both.”
“Come on. We better go.” He opened the door and waved me forward with urgency, looking mildly afraid with a pinched expression. “Caley might kill me if I keep you here any longer.”
“Might?” I laughed, understanding his worry because I knew we both faced a certain wrath—Caley style. “Will is more like it.”
Zach grunted. “I know.”
I followed Zach out to his truck and we wasted no time getting on the road. Zach even used his police sirens to get us to Caley in quick time. Memphis streets were a blur around me as Zach sped through the city.
When we arrived at a local gallery and gardens, Zach turned off the sirens. He drove by the historic red brick plantation that was now used as the gallery. Near the entrance to the gardens, he slammed the truck into park and we exited in a damn hurry.
The moment I shut the door behind me, I froze in my tracks. Kipp strode toward me with a huge smile planted on his handsome face. My heart stuttered and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
God, the man was beautiful in his black T-shirt and faded blue jeans. He approached with long, fluid strides. Somehow, the knowledge that this man walked to me made me giddy.
I loved being Kipp’s entire focus.
However, even if that was enough to make me a little weak in the knees, the group of people following him erased any heat he might have built. I looked over at Zach, who settled in next to me, for clarification, and he shrugged.
Turning to Kipp, I nibbled my lip as he settled in front of me. He gazed over me from head-to-toe, as if memorizing my details into his memory. Then his eyes lifted to mine and his smile warmed. “Christ, you’re beautiful, Tess.”
“Err…thank you.” Sweet and all, but my attention remained fixated on the other people. Most I didn’t know, but I glanced at who I did recognize—Gretchen, Amelia, and Dane.
Feeling more tha
n uncomfortable, since they all stared at me—including the people I had never met before—I narrowed my eyes on Kipp. “What have you done?”
He chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist and tucking me up against him. “Go and meet them.” He pressed against my back, urging me forward.
I dug my white high-heels into the grass as goose bumps rose on my arms. “Meet, who?”
When I didn’t budge at all, Gretchen smiled at me, and gestured toward the elderly woman on her right, who had the soft blue eyes. “Tess, this is Greta, my aunt.”
“Oh.” I stopped struggling against Kipp’s hand, which made him chuckle again, and then I offered Greta my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” I gave Gretchen a look, since the way she had talked to me, it sounded as if she didn’t have any living family.
Gretchen’s eyebrows rose. “Stop looking at me like that. Most members of the Animus don’t like to be outed.”
At that, I scanned the group again, now realizing they weren’t just people, but were people like me. Maybe that explained the goose bumps trailing over my arms, which clearly hadn’t been caused from the light breeze in the air.
The group of fifteen ranged from ages of mid-twenties to elderly. “You’re all members, then?” At unison nods, I turned to Gretchen and pointed out the obvious. “If they don’t like to be outed, why are they here?”
“To meet you,” she replied with laugh. “Besides, today is an important day for you and we, your family, are here to support you.”
