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Thane just moved to grab the railing and ducked his head, closing his eyes. "Would you get your phone, babe?"
It was such a casual little term of endearment, but she still felt her lips curl in approval. "Yeah. Be right back."
So while he stood there holding the bubble that would keep them from being caught, she headed into their apartment and found her phone. But before she headed back, Dahlia stopped in the bathroom to make sure that she no longer had anything on her face. Luckily, it wasn't bad. A handful of water, a wipe with a towel, and she was good enough to get kissed again.
Because she truly cared about this man. She wanted him to call her babe more often, or baby, sweetheart, and anything else that came to mind. She also really hoped Brice wasn't a deep sleeper, because even though Thane wouldn't say it, he was worried about this. Laird was all he had left of his family, and tonight they may have just accidentally sacrificed him for her cause.
"Number?" she asked as she returned to where Thane was waiting.
He woke up his phone, swiped a few times too many, and then recited it for her. Dahlia typed it in and hit the button to call. On the other end, she could hear it ringing and ringing. Just when she was sure it would go to voicemail, something grunted on the other side.
"Brice?" she asked.
The man sucked in a breath. "What? Who is this?"
"It's Valerie," she told him, remembering the name Thane had used. "Are you alone?"
"Is everything ok?" he asked, sounding like he was moving.
"You got him?" Thane asked.
"Yeah, I got him," she said. "Brice, are you alone?"
"It's fucking four in the god damned morning. Yeah, I'm alone. I'm also supposed to summon you in a little over twenty-four hours, and I'm freaking the fuck out, because shit's bad here."
"Wait," she said. "I have Thane right here, and we have problems of our own. Let me hand you to him."
"Why didn't he just call?" Brice asked.
She huffed out something like a laugh. "Because a ghost broke his phone. This is mine. Keep the number."
"Promise," he said. "And yeah, hand me to him. Shit. I'm gonna need some fucking coffee. If you're calling me at this hour, means I need to get my ass in gear."
"You do," she said. "Here's Thane." And she offered the phone to him.
ChapterForty
THANE
Accepting the phone from Dahlia's hand, Thane pressed the button to put the call on speaker. "Brice?" he asked. "I have you on speaker so Dahlia can hear. Have you heard from Laird? He wasn't answering my texts."
"Fuck," Brice groaned. "Yeah, um, it's not good."
"What's not good?" Thane asked, feeling his entire chest clench. "What the fuck happened?"
"He had his last trial, but when I tried to talk to him, I was told to get back to the hunter barracks. I said I was trying to get updated on when you're coming back, since you didn't exactly give a date. I mean, since Laird isn't supposed to talk about this shit, you know? Well, the priest trying to order me around said that he didn't know about you, didn't care, and that Laird wouldn't be able to answer anyways. Thane, he said your brother is a confessor. That's a white robe, so it means he passed!" Then the man paused, but it sounded like he wasn't done. "He also said he's with the healers."
"What?!" Thane growled, and around them, the bubble of protection wavered.
"Thane," Dahlia said, pointing out towards the parking lot to remind him. "They're still cleaning up."
"Cleaning up what?" Brice asked, having heard that.
"No, you explain to me why you didn't let me know that my brother's in trouble," Thane snapped.
"Because I don't know if it's true," Brice shot back. "Look, you said it yourself. The Cardinal is trying to play you and Laird against each other. Well, if they know that I'm talking to both of you, then what better way to set a trap, right? I heard a couple of priests talking about the demons fucking some guy up, and I'm hoping like fuck that wasn't Laird, but the truth is that I don't know."
"And so you were just going to leave me in the dark?" Thane asked. "Fuck. Shit just blew up here, and my brother might be dying?"
