“An accident?” I yanked down the collar of my tee to expose my clavicles. “What about this?”
Scrawled in black permanent marker were the words Highly Flammable.
“You did get blown up twice in one week.” Midas tried and failed to hide his smile. “He’s under a lot of stress.”
“I’m not going back to the infirmary, and you can’t make me.” I jutted out my chin. “So there.”
“How can I counter such a mature and rational argument?”
“It’s impossible.” I shrugged. “I win yet again.”
“Can you get to HQ solo?” He checked the time. “I can take you to the general area if you need a lift.”
“I bet you fifty bucks Bishop is on the fire escape waiting for me to let him in.”
Remy had been out there when we got in last night. She wanted to check and see if I was alive. Bishop hadn’t been letting me out of his sight since Natisha entered the picture. I didn’t see him relaxing his vigil now that we had declared all-out war on the coven.
“That’s a bad bet.” Midas shook his head. “I’ll take it if you take mine.”
“What’s on offer?”
“I bet you the same fifty dollars Ares is waiting for me in the hall.”
“How weird is it we’ve got people waiting to walk us to work like we’re children? Do they think we’ll bolt without adult supervision?”
“I notice you’re implying we’re not adults or able to supervise ourselves.” His lips pulled to one side. “That lends weight to the argument we should be walked to work.”
Peeling my lips away from my teeth, I growled at him until my ribs protested the vibration.
“I really do love you.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “Even if newborn pup growls are scarier than yours.”
“I’m offended, but I’ll let you get away with it this time because you kiss pretty good.”
“Pretty good?”
“Eh.” I rolled a shoulder. “It’s been so long since you kissed me, I forget.”
“I just kissed you.”
“My grandma kisses deeper than that.” I wrinkled my nose. “Gah. I had to go and make it weird.”
“You always do.” He rested his forehead against mine. “It’s one of the things I like best about you.”
“That I’m weird?”
His eyes sparkled. “Yes.”
“Then you’re in luck.” I flung my arms around his neck and hid my grimace. “I was blessed with a lifetime supply.”
“A lifetime sounds good.” He took me by the elbows and lowered my arms gently. “Where do I sign up?”
“I’ll have my people call your people. They can fax over the details.” Smiling, I started down the stairs from the loft into the living room. “Ignore the fine print, and I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
As soon as my feet touched the downstairs floor, Midas was there, hemming me in.
“You’re not scaring me off, Hadley.” He ducked his head to put us at eye level. “I mean it.”
“I know you do.” But it was hard to believe he knew what he was getting himself into with me.
Voice low and gritty, his jaw set, he asked, “Do you think you can ever trust me again?”
“I do trust you.” I did my best to let him read it on my face. “I also worry one day you’ll regret this.”
Regret me.
“Do you know how many one days have passed since I came home?” He drew back, and his past darkened his eyes. “You know what dating was like for me. You saw me at Joelle’s.” He cupped my face in his hands. “Do you think I would choose another decade of staring out a window across from a stranger over you?”
“I have issues.” I bet that shocked him to his core. “Mostly in the self-esteem department.”
“I’ve noticed,” he said carefully. “I don’t understand them, but I want to, when you’re ready.”
A knock on the glass ruined the moment, but Bishop was clearly tired of waiting on me.
Supernatural hearing meant he might as well have pulled up a chair to listen to us pour out our hearts. Linus might not have gotten around to making copies of the penthouse key to pass around, but it was clear Bishop had no qualms in climbing the fire escape to achieve the same direct access. Along with everyone else.
“That’s my cue.” I backed away from Midas. “Do you get more privacy at the den?”
“You’ve been to the den.” He quirked an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
“I hear it’s nice.” I mashed the button to raise the curtains. “Or that’s the rumor.”
“I’ve heard the same rumors.”
“Well?” I flung open the window on Bishop. “Where do you stand on privacy?”
“Currently, I’m standing on the fire escape of the woman who would be potentate.” He climbed in and shut it behind him. “Anyone who lobbies for an office can expect to pay for it with their privacy.” He flicked Midas a glance. “Same goes for anyone born into a dynasty.”
Squinting at Bishop, I got the drift. “You’re saying I only have myself to blame for this.”
“Pretty much.” He shrugged. “You can walk away.” He stared at me earnestly. “There’s still time.”
Curious about the tension in his shoulders, I wondered out loud, “Is that what you think I should do?”
“Hell no.” He ruffled my hair. “Who else would sign off on my expenditures?”
“You’re talking about the flamethrowers again, aren’t you?”
“I will never not be talking about the flamethrowers. If we had to campaign for you like the mundanes do, I would have cartoon versions printed on your propaganda.” He slung his arm around my shoulders. “Seriously, kid. I’m glad you’re okay. You’re what this city needs right now.” He wrinkled his nose. “You smell crispy.” He withdrew. “Are you going to work in your pajamas or what?”
The reminder I had to buy clothes at some point unless I wanted to wear my remaining outfit, which was dirty, until it fell apart at the seams wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Now that Midas and I had ironed out a few wrinkles, I could picture us trying this cohabitation thing long-term. That meant I needed cute undies. And, you know, shirts and stuff. But mostly sexy sleep attire to coax him out of his pants…and into mine.
“Actually, yes.” I wrinkled my nose at him. “I’ll have to borrow some sweats to go shopping in.”
The fresh reminder as my hair crunched when I pushed it out of my face made me regret the earlier cuddling session as I absorbed the gorgeous blond with warm, blue eyes on mine. The smell had to be eye-watering for him. “See you at dusk?”
“I’ll be here.”
After making a quick mental note to get yet another haircut before I returned home tonight, I attempted to exit without assaulting his poor nose again, but Midas drew me against him for a lingering kiss.
“Be safe,” he murmured in my ear, “and I’ll bring you chocolate for dinner.”
“That is a bribe I can respect and accept.” I wiggled my fingers at him. “See you at dusk.”
“You already said that.” Bishop herded me from the penthouse into the hall. “You two will have to be cutesy on your own time.”
The ride down to the lobby gave me an eyeful of the smile I couldn’t shake in the silver panels.
“As a person burdened with my own peculiar dining habits,” he said quietly, “I believe you should know Midas handpicked a meal for Ambrose. He fed him to heal you.” He read my expression with ease. “I wasn’t sure who else to trust or how to get you what you needed.” He frowned. “I hope what I told him won’t make trouble between you two.”
Leaning against the wall, I recalled Midas herding the creature, but I hadn’t grasped the full ramifications.
Midas knew about Ambrose, thanks to the sight. Now he knew Ambrose ate magic, thanks to Bishop. He had stayed with me, though. Through it all, he was right there. As promised. According to Bishop, he had been willing to feed Ambrose. That…changed things. How, I couldn’t p
ut my finger on, but then I did.
The shift in my perspective was an emotion I had so little experience with, I had trouble identifying it.
Hope.
Midas’s swift rejection upon learning about me had been expected. I was used to that. It still sucked, but I could process it. I knew how to climb back to my feet after taking a brutal hit. But this was the opposite of that, and it confused me.
Midas wasn’t spouting crap about mating and love to slap a patch on us until he decided if he was in or out. He wasn’t pulling the same shenanigans as he had with Ford and me. He was showing me, and my friends, he was willing to accept the ugly parts of my nature, even the ones that scared me.
And let’s be honest—Ambrose, and my bond to him, terrified me.
Bishop and I didn’t talk much on our way to HQ, but the whole team was present when we arrived and chatting amongst themselves. I stole a moment to drag on sweats and a clean tee, but the chatter had turned to a roar by the time I emerged, ready to face whatever the night held in store.
“Tell her,” Lisbeth urged. “Tell her, or I will.”
“We might have the green light on the antidote,” Reece announced matter-of-factly. “Doughty and I have done all we can do short of launching a clinical trial. We’ve got Smythe checking behind us before we do that, but it could mean a cure in hand within the next week.”
“That’s amazing.” I did a little dance. “Do the gwyllgi know yet?”
“I sent Tisdale my notes,” he confirmed. “She’s cautiously optimistic, but she won’t share the news with the parents until we’re ready to ask for volunteers.”
“You deserve all the cookies,” I told him. “Thank you for your tireless efforts.”
“I’m plenty tired. Now that Smythe is on board, I’m going to sleep for a few days.”
The screen went dark before any of us could pat him on the back any harder.
“He’s been active for the last thirty-six hours,” Anca told us. “The poor thing is exhausted.”
“One more thing,” Milo added. “We ran down the location Remy gave us for the coven’s roach farm. No surprise, they’ve abandoned the facility. We can’t be certain if they brought any of their livestock with them.”
Exhaling through my nose, I managed a smile for him. “I figured we couldn’t get that lucky.”
“I also have news,” Lisbeth announced. “I’ve accepted a position with Abbott, working in the Faraday’s infirmary.”
There was no doubt in my mind what motivated her to accept a position that could get her killed: Ford.
“Wow.” I kept a smile tacked on my face. “Congratulations.”
“I start next week,” she said, almost bouncing in her seat. “Abbott said to come to him or you if I have any questions.”
What are you thinking? Are you crazy? Is a guy you barely know worth this? Do you have a death wish?
Those were the questions running through my head, but I was impressed when none of them escaped.
Humans weren’t allowed in the Faraday for a reason. One slip, and they were lunch for one of the predators in the building. But Lisbeth had a clearer picture of the inner workings of the Faraday than most thanks to her time nursing Ford back to health. She was a grown woman, and she was aware of the risks. She was choosing to accept them. All I could do was support her and pray acting on her crush didn’t get her killed.
“Ask away.” I resisted the urge to lecture. “I’m happy you’re happy.”
Mentally, I warned Abbott I had a foot enema with his name on it. I was going to kick his butt for this.
“Thanks to you guys,” I said, getting us back on track, “we dealt the coven a major blow.”
“This won’t be the end of it,” Anca warned. “I’m worried the worst is yet to come.”
A call interrupted our meeting, and I would have let it go to voicemail if it hadn’t been Addie. For the fifth time. Gah. I must have left my phone on silent again.
“Give me a second.” I took the call into the kitchen. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I wanted to warn you.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re coming to Atlanta to see you.”
“Okay?”
“There’s an art installation Dad really wants to see, and I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to spend time together as a family.”
Code for see and be seen as the Whitakers. “Why the panic?”
“Boaz wants to come with me.” She hesitated. “He wants to see…” She left a long pause where my name once would have fit. “Anyway, he asked if I wanted company, and I said yes.”
A giddy thrill shot through me at the chance to see my brother, and my sister. “That’s great news.”
“Except his mother is interested in the art installation too.”
A chill traipsed down my spine. “Oh.”
“She noticed him packing a weekend bag and asked where he was going,” she explained. “Boaz only told her to get her off his case, which backfired. Big time. When she heard I was going, she launched into one of her lectures on familial responsibilities and keeping up appearances. She said he was too old and too engaged to be running off to party in the big city, and she, well, invited herself along. To chaperone us.”
“Did you point out your—I mean, our dad—was coming too?”
“She implied he would be too drunk to make sure Boaz didn’t slip into my room at night. She also hinted at how I was expected to be a virgin on my wedding night and provide an heir within the year, but the math better work in my favor.” She snorted. “I stopped listening at that point.”
I thumped my head on the table. “I don’t blame you.”
“Are you okay?” Addie fretted. “We can cancel if it’s too much.”
“You’re fine. It’s fine.” I sighed. “I’m fine with it.”
Regular visits from Addie and her dad went a long way toward cementing our legitimacy as a family.
“Call if you change your mind.” A happy note rang in her voice. “See you next week, sis.”
“See you then.”
I ended the call to make banging my head easier. The noise must have attracted Bishop, who sat opposite me and let me dent my forehead to my heart’s content. I only stopped because my ribs hurt, not because I wanted to, and I leaned back with a pained groan.
“Anca was right,” I told him. “The worst is definitely yet to come.”
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About the Author
USA Today best-selling author Hailey Edwards writes about questionable applications of otherwise perfectly good magic, the transformative power of love, the family you choose for yourself, and blowing stuff up. Not necessarily all at once. That could get messy.
www.HaileyEdwards.net
Also by Hailey Edwards
The Foundling
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Death Knell #3
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The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy
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How to Claim an Undead Soul #2
How to Break an Undead Heart #3
How to Dance an Undead Waltz #4
How to Live an Undead Lie #5
How to Wake an Undead City #6
The Potentate of Atlanta
Shadow of Doubt #1
Pack of Lies #2
Change of Heart #3
Black Dog Series
Dog with a Bone #1
Dog Days of Summer #1.5
Heir of the Dog #2
Lie Down with Dogs #3
Old Dog, New Tricks #4
Black Dog Series Novellas
Stone-Cold Fox
Gemini Series
Dead in the Water #1
Head Above Water #2
Hell or High Water #3
Gemini Series Novellas
Fish Out of Water
Lorimar Pack Series
Promise the Moon #1
Wolf at the Door #2
Over the Moon #3
Araneae Nation
A Heart of Ice #.5
A Hint of Frost #1
A Feast of Souls #2
A Cast of Shadows #2.5
A Time of Dying #3
A Kiss of Venom #3.5
A Breath of Winter #4
A Veil of Secrets #5
Daughters of Askara
Everlong #1
Evermine #2
Eversworn #3
Wicked Kin
Soul Weaver #1
Change of Heart (The Potentate of Atlanta Book 3) Page 27