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He made it three steps before his foot connected with something on the ground. It skittered away, but caught everyone's attention. The color of it was the same as the grass around them, but the shape? Dahlia was pretty sure she recognized it, and Nikki's reaction proved it.
"What the actual fuck?" the witch hissed, storming over to grab the wooden cross from the grass. "This? I gave it to Karsen. The fucker said he didn't want anything too girly."
Letting out a deep grumble that would make a normal person's skin crawl, Cain marched over to the barbecue and yanked it from the ground in a single motion. He braced to throw it in his rage, but paused as if changing his mind. Instead, he carried it over to the corpse.
"We're going to need something to tie this to the body," Cain said, his voice once again completely calm and professional.
"I'll see if there's anything in the park," Nikki offered, still clutching that cross.
But the sound of a truck door opening gave Dahlia a better idea. "Give me that and help him. I'll see if there's anything in Thane's truck."
Nikki passed the cross over, and Dahlia headed around the trees one more time. Sure enough, Roarke was heading around the back of the truck. He saw her and glanced down, but a little smile took over his mouth. Yep, that said enough. Not only was he walking with a bounce in his step, he also had a little hint of pride in that smile. She now knew exactly how he'd been recharged.
"We're going to need to know what happened," she told him, keeping this on track so they could get out of here without getting caught.
Roarke nodded and headed that way just as the back door closest to Dahlia opened. Thane stepped out with his shirt untucked, but that was really the only thing that had changed. Heading right to him, she opened the driver's door and leaned in to put the cross on the center console. When she leaned back to close the door, Thane was there.
"So, uh..." he mumbled. "I, uh... he's..."
"Fine," Dahlia finished for him. "He's also walking, which means you healed him. So long as you gave consent, I don't care."
"Ok," Thane said. "I did. I mean, he's cool, but it's not like that."
She just reached up to cup his face. "He's my friend too. I know what it's like to want to take care of someone. Just know that this won't be the only time a man needs vitality, so you need to figure out your own limits. I won't pressure you either way."
"But we're ok?" he asked. "I mean, me doing that with someone else - anyone else - still feels wrong."
"Consent," she told him. "That, and only that, is the line. If you consent, then so do I. Tell me about it before, after, or whenever you're ready. Hint about it or give me details. Those things don't matter. Rape?" She shook her head. "I was a woman in some pretty rough times. I do not tolerate rape." She swept her thumb over his cheek. "Especially not when it's someone I care about. Makes me get a little vengeful."
Thane nodded. "Ok."
So she gestured to the back seat of the truck. "You don't happen to have any rope or chains in there, do you?"
His brow furrowed for a second. "No, but I have a few tie-downs."
Dahlia breathed a sigh of relief. "Perfect. We need to sink this body. Willing to donate one to the cause?"
"Shit," Thane breathed. "And I forgot about the fucking bubble."
He simultaneously leaned into the back seat of his truck and spoke a Word. The rush of its power washed over Dahlia and kept going, making a shield to keep any prying eyes from noticing them. A thunk made the back of the seat flop forward, but didn't seem to bother the power of Thane's Word at all. Then, only a few seconds later, he leaned back, holding a small wrap of nylon and metal. Of course it was properly put away. It seemed Thane was just that kind of man.
"You might not want to watch this," Dahlia warned as she took the ratchet-style tie-down strap. "It won't be pretty."
"No different than working as a hunter," he assured her, following as she made one more trip around those trees.
"...And just as I was about to get him off, something slammed into me from the side," Roarke was explaining. "I didn't see anyone, and I'm normally pretty twitchy. I mean, gay-bashing is a thing, but also inquisitors, you know?"
"Same for being Black," Cain agreed. "So how'd you get drained?"
"Cross in the back," Roarke admitted. "But that's the thing. I never saw them. Someone impaled me with that thing - and I still don't do crosses so good - while someone else was tearing up poor Matteo. All he wanted was a little excitement..." Roarke said, his voice cracking.
"C'mon," Thane said, grabbing Roarke's shoulders and turning him away. "They can handle this. I want to hear everything you saw. Any little hint about the attackers that you can remember."
As he led Roarke away, Dahlia caught his eye and nodded. Thane offered her a weak smile back, but it was enough. They were on the same page. He would protect Roarke one way and she would protect him another. The strange thing was that it made Dahlia like him even more. It made Thane feel... right.
But she wasn't close to done. "I have a tie-down," she told the others. "Nylon, so won't rot quickly."
"Need to get his chest and gut open," Nikki said, leaning back to make sure Thane and Roarke were out of sight. "And this is going to leave a bloody mess."
