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I let myself look over at Jade as the car slowly creeps forward. We’ve never brought anyone outside of us and those we trust in Vengeance here before, not our parents, not our few friends, and never a woman.
Before this mission, we had intended to keep it that way, but it’s hard to watch someone and plan to take down a sex trafficking ring with them if they can’t come to your home. Not to mention, she needs a place to live, and on campus isn’t an option we can guarantee to be safe. I don’t even mean from people trying to snatch her for the ring. No, we can’t guarantee it's safe from sleazy guys, and with how naive Jade can be, I would rather not test what would happen should someone pressure her.
As she turns her head from the trees to the house, she lets out a gasp before quickly leaning forward to better look out the windshield, bracing her hands on the dash.
Yeah, definitely worth watching her reaction. Somehow I knew it would be good.
Zander’s gonna be pissed.
I don’t even bother trying to hide my smile as I watch her or the idea of Zander's reaction. Usually, I don't like people to know what I’m feeling or thinking, but judging by the look on her face. I’m the last thing she’s paying attention to right now.
I pull the car around the front of the drive farthest from the house so that she can see the fountain out front. She shoots me a look, and I can see the excitement in her eyes. It's so real that I can’t do anything but nod in the direction of the door as an encouragement to get out.
She unbuckles and is out of the car so fast that I have to rush to catch her before she disappears. When I get out, I half expect her to be at the house already, but one look around and I find her at the fountain instead.
I shake my head. I should have known she would start there. The house is huge and expensive, but that's not what Jade cares about. She doesn’t care about the price tag on any of this. Hell, she hardly understands most price tags. She only wants to see what interests her, what she likes. She might have been impressed with the size of Jake and Amanda's house, but this reaction isn’t quite the same.
Our house seems to have her in a sense of wonder. Like a child who’s shown unicorns are real, whereas, with their house, she was more shocked at how large the house was and how many people were there.
She reaches over the fountain's edge and dips her hand in the water before pulling it back to look at it as if she thinks it might turn her hand red.
It doesn’t, but I can see why she might think it would.
In the center of the fountain is a beautiful copper statue of a female demon. She is in a long dress that flows down to her feet, with large horns and bat wings, a snake wrapped around her waist, and up her arm with skulls littering her feet. The water in the fountain has been tinted red and falls from the tips of her wings and out of her eyes. The plaque at her feet reads Lilith. It’s a darker piece, but Zander insisted on it, and it really does fit well with the dark old Victorian house.
“Zander insisted that the water needed to be red when we put this in.” I tell her as I finally catch up to her and nod toward the fountain.
“It’s beautiful.” She says, her voice barely more than a whisper as she continues to look up at the statue as if trying to memorize each detail. I watch her for a moment before I make my way toward the house, letting her stay there while I shut down the alarms and unlock the front door.
“Jade.” I call back to her once I have it open, and she still hasn’t moved from her spot in front of the fountain. Her head snaps in my direction before she heads my way in a slow jog.
“So, is this Zander’s house then or…?” She lets her question trail off as though she doesn’t have an alternative idea as she reaches me at the door—her head on a swivel as she tries to take in everything around her as she goes. I highly doubt she can see it all, but she will have plenty of time for that later.
“No,” I say as I close the door behind us and turn on the lights. “This is our house, Jade.” The moment the lights are on, Jade’s hand is on her mouth as she mutters something under her breath.
She turns to look at me with wide eyes, and I give a small huff of laughter at her reaction, even though she’s no longer paying attention to me. She drops her hand from her open mouth and turns to take in the foyer as she whispers, “oh my god,” just loud enough for me to hear.
If she’s this impressed by the foyer, I can only imagine how she will feel about the rest of the house.
That’s not to say it’s not impressive. When we bought this house, a lot of things had to be remodeled, but one thing we all agreed had to stay was the curved dual grand staircase that sits before us. Unfortunately, none of the original wood was able to be saved, but we had it redone with dark iron to match the original chandelier that still hangs above it.
The whole house is done in tones of whites, grays, and blacks that give it a modern feel, even though we kept as much of the original aesthetic as possible when renovating.
I move to walk past her, but I don’t make it more than a few steps before she reaches out to grab my arm. I look down at her hand and back at her before she drops it.
“This,” Her eyes dart around the room, looking all over, “is your house?” She asks.
“Yes, Jade.” I tell her with a nod of my head, “And while you are under our care, this is where you will be staying as well.” I continue walking, and after a moment, I hear her quiet footsteps following on the hardwood behind me, albeit at a much slower pace.
I reach the kitchen and turn on all the lights in this room as I go. It’s been a while since we were here last. I make a mental note that one of us will need to go shopping before the weekend ends, though I know it will probably be me. Spencer is too focused on finding Jade, and when Zander shops, we mostly end up with Mac and Cheese, junk food, and other simple things with no real food for meals.
I grab two bottles of water from the fridge, setting hers down for when she finally makes her way here before I crack mine open and take a large sip.
It doesn’t take long before she comes around the corner. Stopping dead once again as her eyes roam the room, a smile tugs her lips as her eyes find me across the room.
“This kitchen seems to fit you much better.” She says, and this time I actually choke, the water in my mouth goes down the wrong pipe, and I have to cough a few times to clear my airway.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask her when I finally get my shit together again.
