“I saw her with your husband in the kitchen about fifteen minutes ago,” Bub replied. “They were eating pickles and talking. The girl looked upset but her father seemed to make her feel better.”
“It probably had something to do with that detective she insists on dating,” Mom said, shaking her head. “What else? Did you hear any of their conversation?”
“I wasn’t in the house,” Bub said. “I was outside the house. I could only see them.”
“And you’re sure they’re all inside?”
“I’m sure,” Bub said. “They look to be playing a game in the dining room.”
“Probably Justice League,” Mom said. “I’m glad they still play that.”
Braden let out a shaky breath and locked gazes with me. Mom used to play Justice League with us when we were kids, insisting on being Catwoman so she could pretend to whip us if we were naughty. We spent hours playing with her.
“It’s still her, Aisling,” Braden whispered.
Part of me wanted to agree with him. The other part refused to give in. She was obviously hiding something.
“Well, well, well. Look what we have here. It’s a nice night for a walk in a really ritzy neighborhood.”
I frowned when I heard the new voice joining Mom and Bub on the street, clutching Braden’s arm and widening my eyes.
“Who?” Braden asked.
“John Anderson.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Braden muttered, his face falling. “Why would he be out here with Mom and Bub?”
“Maybe they’re having a midnight snack together.”
“Don’t make me thump you,” Braden warned.
“What are you doing here, John?” Mom asked, her tone clipped. “I told you earlier that your services are no longer required. I meant it.”
“Yeah, you really mucked this one up,” Bub said. “The girl figured out you were up to no good in five minutes flat. Way to be smooth, Mr. Undercover.”
“The girl didn’t figure out anything,” Anderson countered. “It was her obnoxious boyfriend who was suspicious. He was jealous. That’s the only reason I got caught.”
“Well, you almost paid him back today, didn’t you?” Mom challenged. “You almost took Aisling out in the process, too.”
“The wraith was supposed to be following the detective,” Anderson said. “I had no way of knowing he was going to work with your daughter. Isn’t that against the rules?”
“It seems Cormack is breaking a lot of the rules these days,” Mom said. “It doesn’t matter now. You’ve ruined your chance to get the detective. He’s under heavy guard at the hospital. They’re Cormack’s men. We can’t get near him.”
My heart rolled. Were they going after Griffin? I would kill her with my bare hands if it came to it.
“What should we do?” Anderson asked.
“You’re not going to do anything,” Mom said. “You’ve fouled up so many tasks I’ve lost count. Everyone is locked up tight for tonight. I guess tomorrow we’ll have to come up with a new plan.”
A new plan for what? Braden was obviously thinking the same thing because he shook his head, puzzled.
“I’m still in this,” Anderson argued. “I was promised a five-figure payout.”
“And you fouled up your job so you get nothing,” Mom said, her eyes locking on the spot where Braden and I hid behind a bush. I knew she couldn’t see us, but it was almost as if she could sense us. That’s crazy, right? “We’re done here tonight. Everyone needs to go home. I’ll think of something to fix this tomorrow.”
“Are you magic now, Lily?” Anderson challenged. “Did coming back from the dead turn you into an all-powerful being?”
“You’re probably not going to want to find out, John,” Mom replied coldly. “It doesn’t matter. You’re not a part of this any longer. If you get involved, I’ll make things miserable for you. Do we have an understanding?”
Anderson opened his mouth to answer, what I’m sure was a nasty retort on the tip of his tongue, and ultimately snapped his lips shut.
“That’s good,” Mom said. “Let’s clear out. We don’t want the wrong people to see us.”
Braden and I remained hiding until the trio disappeared, and then we hurried back to the house. We barely had the door shut when Braden exploded.
“What was that?”
“I have no idea,” I said, gasping as I tried to slow my heart rate. “We have to tell Dad.”
The lights flicked on, causing Braden and me to jolt. Dad stood by the far wall with Aidan, Cillian, Maya, Redmond and Jerry. He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed us with a dark look.
“I told you he would catch me,” I muttered.
“Yes, you know all and see all, genius,” Braden deadpanned.
“What do you have to tell Dad?” Dad asked, his tone no-nonsense and his eyes flashing.
“That we love you,” Braden offered weakly.
“There are some days I truly hate having children,” Dad muttered.
24
Twenty-Four
“Do you need another pillow?”
I tucked the covers in tighter around Griffin the next afternoon and fluffed the pillows behind him. Griffin was amused the first time I did it. I guess my nurse routine grew old fast, though, because he’d taken to rolling his eyes.
“Aisling, I’m fine,” Griffin said, patting the mattress next to him. “Sit down before you fluff me to death.”
“Yes, Aisling, sit down,” Dad ordered. He was still agitated from the previous night. While he was happy for the confirmation of Mom’s relationship with Anderson, he was beyond annoyed Braden and I had snuck out without telling anyone. He wanted to yell, but he also wanted Griffin to have a quiet convalescence. He was doing the best he could not to crack my head against Braden’s and lock us in the dungeon. “You will drive everyone to distraction if you don’t stop fidgeting.”
“I should probably get a chair,” I said, scanning the room. “I don’t want to hurt Griffin by sitting next to him.”
“Okay, that will be enough of that,” Griffin said, grabbing my hand and tugging me down on the mattress. “Sit there and rest your brain for five minutes.”
I opened my mouth to argue but Dad silenced me with a look.
I was careful to settle with as little movement as possible despite the incredulous expression on Griffin’s face.
“I have never seen you like this,” Griffin said. “I hit my head, Aisling. That’s the only thing that’s sore. Stop doing … whatever it is you’re doing.”
“I’m being your nurse,” I argued.
“You’re being weird,” Griffin shot back. “Just … come here.” He grabbed my head and forced me to lean over and rest the side of my face against his chest. I considered fighting the effort, but I didn’t want to accidentally hurt him so I held as still as possible. “Oh, come on. Roll on top of me or something.”
“No funny business,” Dad warned, wagging a finger. “You’re to remain quiet for at least another twenty-four hours, and Aisling is grounded so she’s to remain quiet for two weeks.”
“I told you last night you can’t ground me,” I snapped.
“And I told you I will lock you in the dungeon if you don’t stop being a pain,” Dad said.
“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what happened last night?” Griffin’s gaze bounced between Dad and me. “I’m asking you, Mr. Grimlock, because I know Aisling will make up some outrageous lie so I won’t worry.”
Dad grabbed the chair from my vanity and pulled it closer to the bed before sitting. I shot him a panicked look, and for a moment I thought sympathy would win out. I was wrong.
“Aisling and Braden saw Bub in the back yard last night,” Dad supplied.
“Dad, he’s supposed to be resting.” I was desperate to keep Griffin from yelling … or hurting himself when he tried to shake me.
“Yes, well, he won’t rest if I don’t tell him what happened last night, and I have no intention of l
ying,” Dad said. “Now … rest your head on your boyfriend’s chest and remain quiet!!”
Griffin snickered. “What was Bub doing here?”
“Apparently he was spying on the house,” Dad answered. “The only reason we know this is because Aisling decided to follow him, and she took Braden along for the ride.”
“Dammit, Aisling,” Griffin, muttered, tugging his free hand through his hair. “You were supposed to stay safe in the house.”
“I was perfectly safe,” I protested. “I was outside for a grand total of twenty minutes, and when Dad stopped swearing off children when we got back I played games with my brothers for hours.”
“Yes, I love the bra you put on one of my lions,” Dad deadpanned.
“I got the idea to stuff it from Angelina.”
“And the lipstick?” Dad prodded.
“That was Jerry. I didn’t even bring makeup.”
Dad muttered, shaking his head. “Anyway, Aisling and Braden followed Bub to the end of the block, where they witnessed him meeting with Lily … and John Anderson.”
Griffin twirled a finger in my hair, forcing me to keep resting my head against his chest, and exhaled heavily. “I wish I could say I was surprised. Did they overhear anything?”
“You know I’m right here. You could ask me that yourself.”
“Shh,” Griffin said. “I’m talking with your father.”
“Apparently John Anderson sent the wraith after you,” Dad explained. “You being with Aisling was not on their agenda. He wanted to take you out of the equation because he blames you for figuring out he was up to no good. Lily argued with him and told him he was out of a job – apparently Anderson was getting paid – and then they said they were going to have to come up with another plan.”
“What do you think it means?” Griffin asked.
“I have no idea,” Dad said. “I’ve doubled security around the house, though, and we’re not collecting souls today. The home office brought in another team to handle our duties. They agree that having any of us out in the field will be nothing but a distraction.”
“I guess that means there’s a full house,” Griffin said, chuckling. Despite myself, I found my eyelids growing heavy.
“Yes, and I’ve warned them about waking you,” Dad said. “You need sleep.”
“I’m a little tired,” Griffin conceded.
I was about to offer to leave the room to let him nap, but for some reason I couldn’t muster the energy to lift my head. It was as if the simple act of sitting down had sucked the life out of me.
“Someone else is tired, too,” Dad said, nodding at me. “I think you both need some sleep. She’s been a ball of nerves since waking this morning. I thought she would kill me because I wasn’t driving fast enough to the hospital to pick you up.”
“She’s kind of cute,” Griffin said, rubbing the back of my neck. “She’s a little manic, though.”
“That’s because she hasn’t been able to get you out of her head,” Dad said. “You two need to take a nap. I’ll have lunch ready when you wake up. Aisling said your favorite soup is French onion, so I had the chef whip some of that up, and he’ll serve it to you in a bread bowl.”
“That sounds great,” Griffin said, his voice slowing as sleep stalked him. “I’m sorry I’m so tired.”
“I’m not,” Dad said. “At least I know the two of you will be out of trouble for the next few hours. Now I need to find Jerry and Aidan to make sure none of my other statues are getting makeovers.”
I WOKE to twin sounds of light snoring, and it took me a moment to place myself. Griffin slumbered next to me, his arm wrapped around my back. Dad dozed in the chair at the end of the bed, his feet propped up on the mattress.
As if sensing my gaze, Dad shifted and opened his eyes.
“Were you watching us sleep?” I asked, keeping my voice low so as not to wake Griffin. “That’s a little … weird.”
“I was checking to make sure Griffin was all right,” Dad clarified. “This is the only quiet room in the house, because your brothers are on a mission to drive me crazy. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“What about your office?”
“Cillian is using it to conduct research.”
That seemed a convenient excuse. Cillian could conduct research in any room of the house. There was no reason for him to displace Dad. “I think you like Griffin and can’t help yourself from fussing over him,” I challenged.
“I think you’re a pain in my posterior,” Dad shot back.
“I think you’re both pains,” Griffin said, opening his eyes and stretching.
“Oh, see! Now you woke him,” I groused, lifting my head. “How do you feel? Your head isn’t going to fall off or anything, is it?”
Griffin chuckled. “Not last time I checked,” he said. “I feel fine. There’s no reason to go manic again. How do you feel?”
“A little better after my nap,” I admitted. “I’m sorry I fell asleep. I’m supposed to be taking care of you. Instead, my father sat here and did my job.”
“Yes, you should be flogged,” Griffin teased, poking my side. “I really am fine. I need you to chill.”
“I think that’s a fine idea,” Dad said. “In fact, why don’t you go down and tell the chef to bring your lunch up here, Aisling? Your brothers have already eaten, and if they know what’s good for them they’ll hide so I can’t get my hands on them for the rest of the day.”
“Okay,” I said, rolling off the bed. “Wait … did they do something fun without me?”
“They’re extremely loud,” Dad answered. “I forgot what having all of you under my roof for long stretches was like. It reminds me of snow days when you were all here and couldn’t leave. I abhorred snow days.”
I knew he was playing to his audience, so I dropped a kiss on his cheek and moved toward the door. He was all bluster today. “Griffin, do you want juice or water?”
“Water is fine.”
I found the chef in the foyer at the bottom of the stairs, saving me a search through the house. He promised to bring drinks up, so I returned to my bedroom quicker than anyone expected. I wasn’t surprised to hear Griffin and Dad talking, so I took the opportunity to eavesdrop.
“How is she really?” Griffin asked.
“Better now that you’re here,” Dad answered. “She had a bit of an … emotional thing … last night in the kitchen.”
“I need you to be more specific.”
“She was worried that you would be better off without her,” Dad said, causing my stomach to twist. How dare he betray my confidence? “She was upset and thought maybe she was bad for you.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Griffin grumbled. “I knew she was going to do something like that last night. I wanted to keep her with me, but I was so tired and I didn’t think the hospital was safe. Now it turns out she ran off into the night anyway. I should’ve kept her with me.”
“She messaged you and when you didn’t respond she worked herself into a frenzy,” Dad supplied. “I talked her down. She’s … a lot of work. I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into when you share a roof with her.”
“We’ve been sharing a roof for months,” Griffin said. “Now it’s only a different roof. She is a lot of work, but she’s worth it.”
Dad nodded. “We don’t have a lot of time because she’ll get back here quickly, but I need you to know that I want the two of you to be happy. She lights up when you’re around. If you are going to break her heart, though, do it now.”
I pressed my lips together, afraid to hear Griffin’s response.
“I have no intention of breaking her heart,” Griffin replied. “I love her.”
“I know you do. That doesn’t mean it will be easy to live with her.”
“I think you guys assign motivations and actions to her that aren’t always true,” Griffin said. “She has the best heart of anyone I’ve ever met. She is loyal … she’s ridiculously sweet when
she wants to be … and her laugh makes me warm all over.
“I won’t live my life without her,” he continued. “I don’t want to, and I cannot imagine going one day without seeing her face. I know you don’t want us living together … maybe you think it’s too soon … but I’m never going to love anyone like I love her.”
“I don’t think it’s too soon,” Dad clarified. “It’s strange for me, but I’m fine with you two living together. I want her happy. You love her in a way no one else can. I appreciate that. I need you to understand that I also love her in a way no one else can.”
“I do understand that,” Griffin said. “I’ll talk to her. I won’t let her put distance between us over something like this. I’m aware of the dangers of your world. I live in a dangerous world, too. I cannot let her do something stupid and push me away, though. I don’t have it in me.”
“Well, now I like you even more,” Dad said, sighing. “Damn. I was really looking for a reason to start calling you Detective Dinglefritz again.”
Griffin snorted. “Thank you for letting me stay here, Mr. Grimlock. Knowing she’s surrounded by all of you allows me the opportunity to rest and recharge. I have a feeling that’s going to be important for what’s to come.”
“Call me Cormack. You’ve earned it.”
“I could call you Dad,” Griffin teased.
“There are already too many obnoxious people calling me that,” Dad said. “In fact, one of them is standing outside the bedroom door eavesdropping right now.”
Crap! How could he possibly know that?
“Aisling, if you’re done letting us boost your ego, I think Griffin would like to reassure you that he’s happy and he’s not going to let anything stupid get between the two of you,” Dad called out.
I trudged into the room, resigned. “How did you know?”
“You’re my child,” Dad said. “I know all and see all. I have a sixth sense for when you’re doing something naughty. How else do you think I know your brothers are sliding across the marble floors in the foyer and it will turn into a game of human bowling before the hour is out?”
I brightened. “I love human bowling.”
Grim Reunion (Aisling Grimlock Book 4) Page 21