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When we finished telling all we knew of the skins, he said, “There’s a lot you aren’t telling me.”
“We’re only telling you what Marco and his people cannot. They should be present so they can help tell the rest of it,” I said. “And there’s a lot. What do you know of Leonardo, who apparently used to be called—”
“Madrigal,” Nathan interrupted. “Fuck, what the hell does he have to do with this?”
Ranger rested his hand on my forearm, “We should have the others here for that part of the story.”
I sighed and told Ryan, “Ranger is right, but since it’s still daylight, it makes the most sense for us to go to Homewood. Are you okay with Mordecai taking you back with the rest of us?”
“So long as someone can get me back here when we finish, it’s fine.”
“Everyone stand up and group together,” Mordecai told us. “I’ll flash us into the hallway outside of Marco’s office at Homewood, since that’s where they are, so we need to be in a configuration I can fit into that space.”
“How about just down the hall from his office,” I suggested. “We don’t want them going into attack mode before they have time to realize it’s us.”
He tilted his head in what I took as agreement, we all stood in somewhat of a double line, and then we were standing in one of the halls in the underground of Homewood.
I watched closely as Ryan approached Etta. He’d been a wall while we’d told the story, so I had no idea if he was concerned for her, pissed at her, disgusted, or something else entirely.
She stood when he stepped into the room, and when he made his way to her, she walked a couple of steps to him as well, so it was more as if they went to each other.
And then she was in his arms, and they held each other as if it’d been weeks since they’d seen each other, rather than days.
I couldn’t be certain, but I felt as if they were telepathing. I didn’t sense either was mad or angry, but with these two, I wasn’t sure I would.
“Let’s move to the conference room down the hall,” Kirsten said. “There’s a refrigerator in there stocked with things to drink, and I’ve asked Chase to put some snack foods from the freezer into the oven and bring them down when they’re ready. Nothing fancy — pigs in a blanket, cheese sticks, fried mushrooms.”
“She’s learned it’s best to keep shapeshifters well-fed,” I said with a laugh, and I pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for taking care of us. Have him throw a few pizzas in as well, and maybe some chicken nuggets, please.”
“If all of you can go on into the conference room,” Etta told us, “Ryan and I will join you in about five minutes.”
“They didn’t have a choice,” I told Ryan.
“There’s always a choice, but that isn’t why we need a moment.”
“If you hurt her, I’ll hurt you. If you kill her, I’ll kill you.” Before he could respond, I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me. There probably aren’t many people capable of killing a slayer of Ryan’s caliber, but Kirsten and I in all likelihood could pull it off, so it wasn’t an empty threat, and we all knew it.
If I’d thought he wanted time alone with her to kill her for wearing the skin, I wouldn’t have left them alone. Still, it’d felt as if I had to say something, so I had.
“Threatening a slayer is probably not wise,” Marco told me when I stepped into the conference room, “but thank you for having my Etta’s back.”
I opened the fridge and pulled a bottle of lemonade out. We stock a brand that uses actual squeezed lemonade with honey in it, and enough vitamin c to keep it from going bad in the bottle — and nothing else. It’s nearly as good as fresh squeezed, and that’s saying something.
“We have bottled water if any vampires need to hydrate, and most all sodas and fruit juices for the daywalkers,” I told the group.
“And protein power packets to go in the water or juice, if you need more than simple carbs,” Nathan added.
Furio added a vanilla protein packet to a bottle of orange juice, and Ranger opted for an unflavored protein packet in a bottle of purple grape juice.
Marco telepathed me, I find the idea of a protein packet in purple grape juice to be enticing, but I’m not certain it’s a good idea to consume it around the rest of the group.
That’s going to have to be your decision.
Could I have some of your lemonade before Etta arrives with the slayer?
I handed him my bottle and he drank half of it in one swig.
Drink the rest, if you want it. I can get another bottle.
