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“It’s barely sunrise,” I said.
Wesley shrugged.
“I’ll make myself coffee, but I’ll join you, if that’s okay.”
Wesley only sipped his drink.
I walked to the kitchen and pressed the buttons on the coffee machine I’d come to use a lot. I made myself a cup of strong black coffee and carried it back to the bar. When I came closer, Wesley pulled out a barstool next to him for me to sit on.
I slid into it and cupped my coffee with two hands, letting the warmth of the cup seep into my skin.
“Who runs the club while you’re off?” I asked.
“Rune and Zen, for now, until I can get a new manager.”
“What happened to the last one?”
“I had to kill him for trying to kidnap you,” Wesley said and threw back his vodka.
I went back to the day in the desert when we’d been attacked, two cars blocking us off from the front. It had been a bloody mess, and I hadn’t been aware of the conversation between the wolf that had shifted into a man before the dragon had killed him.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Wesley didn’t answer me. He only poured himself more vodka. I sipped my coffee, and we sat in silence for a while.
“It happens,” Wesley said.
“Does it?”
“It shouldn’t,” he said with a scowl. “But sadly, yeah… It does.” He shook his head and looked into his vodka glass. “It pisses me off that I can’t figure out what the hell is going on. It should have stopped after I killed Cullen. I figured he was the leader, but then there was that attack in the safe house.”
“You don’t know where that came from?”
Wesley shook his head, clenching his jaw.
“There weren’t any survivors to question.” He looked up at me. “That’s what happens when I lose my shit. I act first and think later.”
“It’s okay,” I said softly.
“It’s not. I should know better than that. Maybe I would have known what’s going on if I thought enough to keep at least one alive and get information, but... What’s done is done.” He scowled before he took another sip.
“I never said thank you,” I said. “I know it’s inconvenient, but we’re alive, and that means a lot. You brought Circe here, too. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Sure,” Wesley said. He watched me over the rim of his glass, eyes locking on mine, but when he spoke again, he looked away. “I figured we could do with a bit of help. The fae knows what she’s doing, as much as I hate to say it.” He frowned slightly. “You do know she’s fae, right?”
“This world is weird, but I’m learning. Emmie seems to be learning faster than me.” I traced the ear of my cup. “Circe told me she dreams a lot about these things because it’s like nature’s way of bringing them up to speed, even if they don’t have guidance in a pack. It doesn’t seem right to me.”
“Why not?” Wesley asked with a frown.
“It’s a lot of violence and gore for such a small child to deal with. She’s almost six. She’s not ready for this, but I think the death and violence all around her lately is something she expects. It traumatized me more than her, and I can’t protect her from any of it because I’m just human.”
“She had people looking out for her, and you’re right, her dreams are nature’s way of preparing her for what’s to come.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face before pushing my hands into my hair and cupping them over my neck. I let out a heavy sigh.
“It’s just so hard. I’m supposed to look after her. My sole job is to protect her and make sure she gets the education and the life lessons she needs to make it one day, and I feel so helpless. I can’t do anything to prepare her. I don’t even know what’s coming next. We don’t have much of a home right now…” I let my voice trail off, not knowing how else to explain what I felt.
We might have been safe and away from the danger we’d been in when we’d been kidnapped, but despite having our freedom, I still felt like my hands were tied.
