by W. J. May
A muscle twitched in the back of Gabriel’s jaw and he raised the gun again, only to drop it immediately, using his tatù to literally melt it into the interior of the car.
“...what’s this?”
Rae followed his gaze, then leaned forward in surprise when her own daughter scrambled onto the seat beside her. “Aria?” She shot Devon a questioning look. “What are you doing here? I thought Daddy already dropped you off at Grandma and Grandpa’s.”
While Devon mumbled something about Grandma and Grandpa being busy fighting drug lords in Peru, Aria simply shook her head with an oblivious five-year-old’s smile.
“What’s cocaine?”
Before either of her stricken parents could answer, Gabriel slammed his hands on the dash.
“Okay—that’s enough!” He twisted around in his seat, glaring murderously at each of them in turn. “This is Natasha’s first performance dancing the lead, do you understand? It’s opening night! I promised that I’d see her before it starts, and if we’re late I will personally dismember each and every person here.” His eyes narrowed as they fixed on little Aria. “Even you.”
She giggled delightedly at his savage expression, tugging on her father’s sleeve. “Why can’t I go to the theater with you? I want to be a ballerina like Auntie Natasha.”
He squeezed her foot with a patient smile. “Well, sweetie, you’ve already decided to be a doctor, a marine biologist, a poet, a panther, a mercenary, and a vegetarian chef. All that along with successfully graduating kindergarten. I think your schedule’s a bit tight for dancing.”
“Well, what if I just—”
She broke off as the car itself shook with a supernatural backlash.
“VÁMANOS!”
“Okay, okay,” Devon said quickly, catching Gabriel’s strained expression as he hurried to bring the engine to life. “It’s all right. Everything’s going to be fine. The daycare’s on the way to the theater. We’ll just swing by, and—”
“Wait for me!”
The entire car turned around to see a gorgeous woman racing down the sidewalk. One hand was holding up the hem of her gown, the other pressed protectively against her fiery hair. A short distance behind, a handsome man was struggling to keep pace, clearly baffled by her speed despite her staggering heels.
“WAIT!”
Gabriel slumped lower in his seat. “This can’t be happening...”
A second later, the door yanked open and Molly clambered inside. No less than twelve yards of crimson chiffon were soon to follow, and everyone clustered together to make room.
“Thank goodness I got ready so fast,” she panted, smoothing down her hair while flashing Rae a beaming smile. “Otherwise I might have missed you!”
Not everyone was so thrilled with the timing.
“Where’s your car?” Gabriel asked sharply, shoving his watch in Devon’s face as if to remind him that he had a car of his own. “The one you were supposed to take to the theater yourself?”
“Oh, who knows.” Molly waved her hand dismissively. “Luke tried to explain, but it was honestly too boring to listen. Something about getting hit with lightning too many times to run...”
The others shared a look, but before they could say anything Molly pulled a giant purse out of what looked like thin air and started rummaging about—inadvertently elbowing everyone around her in the process. She emerged a second later with a glittering tiara and pressed it on Aria’s head. “There,” she said with satisfaction, “now you’re ready for daycare.” When the little girl lifted her hands in wonder, her favorite aunt gave her a wink. “It’s what all the ballerinas wear...”
Aria let out a squeal of delight, while Rae rolled her eyes with a smile.
Molly might have had a son—a son who had thus far resisted her urge to dress him as a five-year-old James Bond—but her best friend had a daughter. A daughter who happened to look like a walking billboard for baby Prada.
“Hang on!” she cried as Devon pulled away from the curb. “We have to wait for Luke!”
This time, Rae didn’t dare glance over at Gabriel’s face. If she had to guess, she’d say he was stroking a finger along the chrome interior of the car. Considering resurrecting his trusty handgun.
Fortunately, the door opened just a second later and Luke climbed inside. Unfortunately for Luke, his wife—in a fit of enthusiasm for the royal ballet—had forced him to wear something that would have looked more at home back in the court of a sixteenth-century king.
Devon glanced back with an automatic greeting, but it froze on his lips. Instead, it was replaced with a rather transparent, “Nice... doublet.”
Luke’s handsome face soured as he ran a hand back through his hair, simultaneously ruining the perfectly-styled coif. “Yeah? Well, try saying that... I mean, let’s see you try to...” He gave up, bowing his head with a demoralized sigh. “...thanks.”
It was an argument he’d already had and lost many times. Many, many times.
The entire car graciously fell silent. Even little Aria knew to hold her tongue. After a few seconds they were about to ease into traffic and move past it, but just then, before anyone could say a word, the door opened yet again and a head of dark hair slid inside.
“Hey, guys! I thought you’d be at the theater already.” Julian glanced around with a curious smile before his eyes came to rest on Luke. They lingered there for a moment, trying to interpret, flashing up with a look of concern. “Were we supposed to come in costume?”
Rae didn’t know what was better. The look on Luke’s face, the fact that Gabriel smashed his head against the window, or the fact that Julian was seriously asking the question.
“Where’s Lily?” Molly reached into her purse again, oblivious to the damage her costuming demands were causing. “I brought something for her.”
“I dropped her off at daycare about an hour ago,” Julian replied uncertainly. “I thought we were supposed to.”
“You were supposed to.” Gabriel clapped him gratefully on the shoulder, shooting the rest of them a fierce glare. “Thank you.”
“Dropped her off, huh?” Devon’s eyes twinkled as they caught Julian’s in the rearview mirror. “Was she alone? Or did she take Arrow with her?”
When Angel was pregnant and Julian was away, she had taken gleeful advantage of his absence to adopt what she described as a dog. In reality, it was actually a giant black wolf. It was one of those typical ‘raised beneath a cemetery’ situations that could have gone horribly wrong, except that the wolf in question, Arrow, was the most fiercely loyal animal they’d ever seen. And while she loved Angel and Julian, she had dedicated herself, body and soul, to protecting their little daughter.
It was like having an extra shadow. If that shadow was almost two hundred pounds, lived on a diet of raw steak, and came with a set of ferocious lupine teeth.
The third time that she chased away the postman, an inspector had come to the house demanding a special permit. Apparently, housing a beast of prey in residential London was frowned upon in certain circles. Mainly, the police. It should have been an open-and-shut case, but Julian had mysteriously good connections. The kind that were preparing to ascend the throne.
The inspector was banished, the wolf got to stay, and Lily Decker found a lifelong friend.
“There’s no separating them,” Julian answered with a sigh. “You wouldn’t believe the twin tantrums they threw last night when Angie and I tried to shut the door to give Lily a bath. You’d think we were setting them on fire. I thought Arrow was going to bite my arm off...”
He shook his head, but the truth was he didn’t really mind. Given how many times he and his friends had almost been killed over the years, his perspective on life had changed somewhat. If a terrifying forest predator had taken it upon itself to look after his child, so much the better.
Devon chuckled quietly. “Yeah, I heard.” Under his breath he added, “I also heard the bath time sing-a-long that followed...”
“Benji wan
ts one,” Luke interjected with a yawn. “Or rather, he wants a bear so that his pet will be bigger than Lily’s. Not too much out there bigger than your pet ‘dog.’”
“Sorry about that.” Julian grinned.
“I could always shift into a lion or something and play with him if you like,” Rae added.
A faint smile flitted across Luke’s face as he rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Yeah, that’s just what I need to explain to the homeowners’ association. Playdates with a lion...”
Rae smiled sympathetically as Molly squeezed his knee.
Luke had been working long hours on a case, and the weeks of frustration and sleepless nights were beginning to catch up with him. Every time he and the others got close it was like the man they were looking for simply disappeared, leaving not a single clue behind.
Man, Rae snorted under her breath.
Having lived the legend themselves, she and Molly had their money on the mysterious scoundrel being a girl. Julian and Devon thought it was a guy. Gabriel and Angel weren’t assigned to the case, and had made it very clear they couldn’t care less either way.
As usual, Rae’s husband was on exactly the same page.
“I’m telling you, buddy, any time you need help...” Devon offered with a bit of a smirk.
Luke shot him a dry look. “Thanks, but important as this one is, it seems that no one saw fit to call you. Strange.”
Devon mumbled something about that being because the president of the Privy Council was angry his son-in-law had beaten him at golf, while Luke eyed Julian speculatively. “We might request some time with that crystal ball you call a partner, though.” He grinned at the affronted look on the psychic’s face. “Can’t put a price on those all-seeing eyes.”
“They’re not for rent,” Julian said stiffly.
As if on cue, the entire car dissolved into a heated debate.
Knights versus Council. Clairvoyance versus intuition. The merits of kissing up to the in-laws if it meant they offered you the juicy cases before rushing off to Peru.
They were all so caught up, they barely noticed the breathtaking woman in the slinky silver dress. A dress which expertly hid the throwing knife that was no doubt strapped to her thigh.
She swept down the street in a cloud of billowing white hair, slid over the hood of the car like some kind of action hero, then gracefully pulled herself inside.
The argument was still going strong.
“—and I have other skills to offer besides just my clairvoyance, I’ll have you know.” Julian jutted up his chin with a look of supreme superiority. “Just because my earthshattering talent far surpasses all of your own doesn’t mean you can discount the rest of my skills.”
The interior of the car was suddenly alight, Rae’s eyes dancing with blue flames.
“Earthshattering talent, huh?”
Before Julian could reply, the park lit up as well—flashing with electricity as a bolt of lightning came down from a cloudless sky.
“You were saying?” Molly asked innocently.
Julian shook his head, muttering something about needing to find new friends, while Angel took his hand with a seductive smile. “Don’t worry, love.” Her eyes swept him up and down with a flirtatious twinkle, lingering pointedly on certain parts. “I never discount the rest of your skills...”
“The theater.” Gabriel had been so quiet, Rae had almost completely forgotten that he was there. By now, his forehead was pressed against the dash with his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth grinding together. “We need to get to the theater. NOW!”
“Oh. Right.” Devon pulled away from the curb like he’d almost forgotten. Sitting behind him, Julian glanced up at his new brother-in-law with a mischievous smirk.
“You know, Gabriel, it’s almost like you’re dating one of the—”
“JUST DRIVE THE BLOODY CAR!”
ONLY TEN MINUTES LATER—THANKS to Devon’s lunatic driving—the gang had dropped Aria off at daycare and was racing across the bridge to the Royal Opera House. Rather, they wished they were racing. They were trying to be racing. In reality, they’d yet to break thirty miles an hour.
“I’m going to find someone to blame for this.”
Gabriel’s quiet voice left the car in a sudden chill. The friends shot each other looks of discreet panic, and those seated closest casually edged away.
“You’re never going to know who it is, or when I’m coming for you.”
From anyone else, something like that could have been dismissed as a hollow threat. From Gabriel? Not so much. The man didn’t make hollow threats.
Especially when Natasha was involved.
Sensing the blame was going to fall on either her or her husband, Rae leaned forward and murmured in Devon’s ear. “Babe, the guy used to kill people for a living. Can you drive any faster?”
He shot her a helpless look in the mirror, speaking softly enough that only those gifted with his unique ink were able to hear. “Not without driving on the shoulder.” At this point, it looked as though that was something he was perfectly willing to try. “Do you still have those diplomatic flags Sarah gave you? Or maybe you could try conjuring a siren—”
“DAMNIT!”
There was a collective gasp as Gabriel seized the wheel, tilting the entire car up on its side as they careened wildly towards the railing of the bridge. The friends flew forward in their seats, then slammed back again as the tires smashed down upon the pavement. Just inches from the edge.
“I forgot to get her flowers!”
For a second, nobody moved. Then each of the friends glanced discreetly out the window at the hundred- foot drop off the bridge before returning their eyes to Gabriel.
Almost ten years of fighting the world’s worst evils, and a bunch of peonies almost ended it all...
Strangely enough, no one dared mention this in the silence that followed. Instead, they each handled the situation in their own unique way. Molly crossed herself, sending up some sort of religious flare, as Devon pulled out his phone to make sure he’d updated the car’s insurance. Luke had eyes only for his wife, and Angel predictably failed to acknowledge that anything was wrong.
Which only left two.
You do it, Rae insisted telepathically, leaning forward to catch Julian’s attention. You’re the one who’s technically his brother.
But as fate would have it, that ‘brother’ was suddenly having a hard time meeting her eyes. In fact, he chose the moment to make a shameless escape into the future—probably checking the next day’s accident reports to make sure they weren’t on it. Leaving Rae stuck in the present, tasked with the impossible chore of trying to talk Gabriel down.
She did so like one approaching the cage of a wild beast.
“I could conjure some flowers.” She lifted her hands, mentally scrolling through a list as she envisioned the bouquet. “It’ll be beautiful, I promise. What kinds does she like?”
It was a good try, but those sorts of rational compromises had never worked on Gabriel. He was a man raised on ultimatums. It was all or nothing. Every time.
“You can’t CONJURE something like that!” He dismissed it outright, staring across the gridlocked traffic in despair. “I need to BUY it!”
Rae hesitated, following his gaze before returning with a tentative, “...you could pay me?”
She’d thought it was a brilliant solution, but apparently not. Angel started snickering in the back seat, and both Luke and Julian smacked her at the same time. Rae’s mind went completely blank, and for the fifth time in less than two minutes she considered simply jumping from the car. But not a moment later, there was a blur of crimson hair as the most unlikely savior swept in to take point.
“Don’t worry about a thing, Alden.” Molly unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled up towards the front of the car, thoughtlessly elbowing people out of her way. “I got this.”
This is less about Gabriel and more about getting a chance to wear her new dress...
“Can everyone
just take it easy with the back seat driving?” Devon said nervously, slapping away her hand as it reached for the wheel. A bolt of lightning was quick to follow.
“Step on it, Wardell,” she commanded, shocking him into submission before steering them off the main interstate. “I know where I’m going.”
And so it was.
Moving at a strange, jerking pace, the overpacked little car weaved back off the bridge, away from the onslaught of traffic, and on to a quiet side street bordering the residential district. With the combination of no less than three superpowers they were able to find parking, and the second the wheels hit the curb, the doors flew open.
The dresses spilled out first. The people followed after.
“This had better work, Skye.” Gabriel’s eyes were locked on his watch and the rest of his body kept leaning subconsciously towards the theater. “I’m not above killing a woman.”
“Relax, it’ll work.” The tiny redhead hurried ahead of the rest of them, lifting the train of her gown. “There’s a flower shop right up the road.”
Rae followed along with the rest, listening with one ear as her best friend prattled on about a party she’d hosted using the same florist, hoping against hope they could still make it to the ballet in time. She was so distracted, she almost ran into Julian when he stopped suddenly in his tracks.
Both she and Devon reached out automatically to steady his arms as his eyes glassed over with their prophetic white, taking him into the future. He was already frowning when he came back.
“...oh crap.”
Before they could even ask, there was a distant groan. Devon glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening as they stared out towards the river. “Is that—”
“Yeah,” Julian nodded grimly, “they’re lifting the bridge.”
“What was that?” Gabriel called over his shoulder, torn between them and Molly.
The trio froze guiltily, then flashed matching innocent smiles.