by Mary Martel
I flinched at hearing his last sentence and Tyson sighed heavily.
"It's going to take some time for all of us to get over our guilt with this, Ariel. But it won't matter. We're here with you and for you because we're a family, and it's always going to be that way. We all love you more than anything else in this whole world, and at the end of the day that's all that matters. I'm going to take your advice and let it go that I was a dick, but I want you to listen to your own damn words and try to actually take them in yourself. It's over and in the past, let your guilt go and move the fuck on."
I appreciated his words, truly I did, but only time would tell if I'd actually be able to get behind them and practiced what I preached.
Tyson stood up with me in his arms and I applied pressure to his shoulders. "Put me down, Ty. I can walk!"
He smiled at me, full on with blinding white teeth and everything. I blinked at him, surprised he had that in him to give to me right now. It was a beautiful sight to see.
"I'll let you walk down the stairs by yourself."
I sighed and rolled my eyes as Tyson carried me out of the bathroom and through Dash’s and my apartment.
To say things were awkward would be an understatement.
We gathered in the formal living room that no one ever used, likely because there was no television in here and the guys weren't really big on sitting around on pretty furniture and shooting the shit.
True to his word, Tyson had allowed me to walk down the stairs on my own. He walked beside me through the house with his hand at the small of my back while we followed the sound of murmured male voices. A sudden bout of nervousness had me slowing down my steps, but Tyson wasn't about to let me put the brakes on. His hand at my back applied pressure and he pushed me harder toward the formal living room.
I scowled at him and things went downhill from there.
Everyone was there, including Isobel and Baxter. They both stood slightly back behind Rain, huddled together closely but not touching. Isobel's eyes were zeroed in on Romero, but he wasn't looking at her at all.
Oh no, his eyes were focused on the door like he'd been sitting there for years, and was waiting for me to walk through the doorway and would gladly wait however many more years it took me to get there.
And I had no idea how to act around him. He was Dash's father and I had seen his dick.
Also, unfortunately for me, I'd seen a whole lot of dick lately that I hadn't wanted to see.
Romero also said some not so pretty things to me because he was crazy, honestly, and free with his words. Hopefully, with time, he'd be able to adapt to things in this new to him world and he'd pick up a filter. I blamed him for absolutely none of these things, though, and didn't hold a grudge against him. I couldn't imagine going through what had been forced upon him, and if I had, I certainly wouldn't have come out of it sane, that was for sure.
Not that I thought Romero was sane, because he clearly wasn't. I don't know how he was before, but his experiences had clearly turned him into an interesting sort of fellow.
Whose dick I had seen. Whose son I’d had sex with so many times I'd lost count.
Jesus, I needed to get cocks off my brain before I started blushing like a virgin and people pointed at me and laughed. I knew the people in this room and several of them weren't adverse to it.
"Come sit over here between me and my son, Ariel," Romero spoke, his voice sounding hoarse and overused to my ears as he patted the seat on the couch between him and Dash. Well, harsher than normal. His voice always sounded rough, and it made me wonder how much he'd been talking since we brought him here.
My eyes roamed around the room curiously, taking in everything.
My Salt and Pepper twins were on the floor in a corner with their backs against the wall.
Rain stood stoically straight across the room from me with his back to the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and a look on his face that gave fair warning to anyone who thought to approach him and told them they better think better of it. I smiled at him sweetly and his lips curled up in a small, half smile meant only for me.
Quinton sat in an armchair off to the side and slightly isolated from the rest. I didn't know if he'd done it on purpose or if that had been the only chair available to him when he'd come down here late.
Damien and Julian sat alone on their couch, tucked in side by side but barely touching. I still hadn't quite figured out their relationship and I didn't understand why they weren't more open about it. There was room for Tyson to sit with them, and after giving me a little shove toward Dash and his dad, he went and sat down next to Damien.
Damien stuck his nose in the air and scooted closer to Julian. Julian turned to look at Tyson and grinned at him mischievously.
I honestly didn't want to know what their problems were with each other now. They could fight it out amongst each other and leave me out of it.
I stumbled toward the couch and dropped down onto the seat between father and son. Dash immediately reached for my hands in my lap. He placed his hand over them to stop my fidgeting.
I looked up at him nervously, and he must have seen how on edge I was because he cursed under his breath and released my hands. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. His fingers immediately began playing with my hair, which was hanging down over my shoulder, and he gave it a gentle tug.
His mouth came close to my ear and, for my ears alone, he whispered, "Don't look so scared. We're all family here and we all love you. I love you and my dad does too."
Yeah, I knew he loved me, but no way did he have any clue what he was talking about when it came to his dad's feelings toward me. That was just nuts.
Dash kissed the top of my head and his beard scratched the side of my face roughly. "You're a goddamn miracle worker. You brought me back my dad. What the hell am I supposed to do with you, my girl, my little warrior?"
That was the second time he'd called me his little warrior and the first time he'd added his savior to it, unbelievably.
Words failed me. Most especially because emotions clogged my throat, making it impossible to speak. Dash was a complete psycho if he thought of me as a miracle worker though. I mean, geez, didn't he remember getting knifed up due to my crazy stalker BS back in the day? Okay, technically that one was Quinton's fault, but we wouldn't go there right now.
"Whatever you say," I muttered in embarrassment. I wasn't used to them telling me they loved me in front of the whole group. I hoped no one else chimed in, because I might get up and bolt if they did.
"Such an odd girl," Romero murmured quietly.
Everyone finally turned to look at the man, and I wondered if they were still being weird and ignoring him like they had been that first night we got him here. That had been odd, to be sure.
"What the fuck did you just say about my daughter?" Rain snarled at Romero. A look of pure wrath took over his face, and I knew if I allowed this to progress any further, Rain would lose his shit and things would get ugly. The formal living room would likely end up destroyed.
On the plus side, look at that! They definitely weren't ignoring him anymore.
Good times.
I turned to Romero, and even though it seemed weird as hell, I grinned at the man. I'm sure it didn't look natural in the slightest, but it was the best I could drum up. "I hate to be the one to break this to you, Romero, but you're not exactly the model for normalcy around here."
"Yes, well," he huffed, "that's to be expected, given the circumstances. Also" —he waved his hand toward my glowering father— "I've met your Rain that you called out for in our dream, and I must say he's just as odd as you are. Though you are far more charming than him. Not a quality you two share, obviously. And you're far prettier than he is, that's for sure. Though, if I were attracted to men..." He trailed off and left it be at that.
I snickered at the insinuation that he might find my dad attractive if he were into men.
"Who knows... I could like men now
and I might not even know it. Lord knows my dick never worked for all the women the Council sent down to visit me," Romero mused.
I choked on air as my eyes widened comically. I looked around the room and saw the others staring at Romero as if he'd sprouted another head or a third eyeball or something.
"He has no filter and says whatever comes to mind," I blurted. "And it's not always appropriate."
"I'll say," Rain muttered irritably.
At that moment, Trenton followed Simon into the room. They both zeroed in on me instantly and came right over to me. Without hesitation, they both sat down on the floor in front of me with their backs to my legs. They leaned back against me and I sighed as something inside me loosened and I found myself finally being able to relax for the first time since walking into this room.
"Hmm..." Romero hummed thoughtfully. "I've never seen the bond between Guardian's and their charges before. Interesting. Tell me something, are you three—"
I cut him off before he could possibly finish that last sentence. "Shut up, Romero, and maybe try thinking before speaking."
No freaking way were we going where his thoughts had gone, and no freaking way were we ever discussing it in a group setting or any setting ever.
"Yeah, Romero," one of the twins said. "Get with the program."
"Or Uncle Quint is gonna wash your mouth out with a bar of soap because you're naughty," the other twin chimed in.
People around the room started laughing, taking their lives into their own hands.
"Am I the only one who loves it when they call him Uncle Quint?" Julian wondered aloud.
"Or how about when they talk about him spanking people?" Tyson laughed hysterically.
The twins actually did talk about Quinton and spanking probably more than what was appropriate. I always found it incredibly amusing.
I sighed as I lay against Dash's side. I'd had nothing to worry about by being here with these people. They were my family, all of them, and they wanted this time with me to make sure I was okay because I had scared them.
I realized with a start that I did that a lot and promised myself I would try and do better.
"Ah," Romero cried out excitedly. "There you are, little bugger. I've been waiting for you to come to me."
He sat forward on the couch and held his hand down low in front of him, making a come here gesture with his fingers. Binx walked up to the man and immediately began rubbing his furry little head against Romero's outstretched hand. He started to purr loudly as he rubbed himself back and forth up against and around Romero's hand.
"Of course he likes you," someone muttered snidely, and I couldn't help but smile at hearing it. Binx was very selective when it came to whom he decided to give his affection to, and it often changed depending on what day it was. This was different though, it looked a lot like greeting a long-lost friend after years of being separated. Tears stung the backs of my eyes.
Romero scooped the little cat up into his arms. He sat back on the couch and clutched the cat to his chest reverently.
"You're such a good boy," Romero cooed affectionately. "You did so well, everything I asked for you did it. Thank you for looking out for my son for me, but I'm here now and you don't have to do that anymore."
Binx let out a pathetic meow and turned his intelligent eyes on the elder Flynn. The cat stared at the human for several long seconds before dipping his head down and rubbing it up against Romero's hand.
Romero whispered words in a different language that I didn't understand, and I felt Dash stiffen beside me.
"What are you doing?" Dash asked urgently as he pulled his arm away from my shoulders. "Dad, this isn't going to hurt him, is it?"
Romero shook his head as he placed his freehand down onto the top of Binx's little head. The little cat's body jerked violently, and I blinked in shock as his color began to change. Starting at the tip of his tail and slowly working its way down the rest of his body, down his legs, up his neck, over his ears, and all over his face.
Binx turned almost entirely white. He was left with two little black spots. One on his face and one on the front of his paw, where they had once been the only white spots on him not five minutes ago.
He looked like he'd aged several years as he curled up against Romero's chest, laid his head down on his paws, and closed his eyes.
I made a startled noise as I lunged toward the cat. I put my hand over him and waited. He drew in breaths over and over again.
Alive, he was still very much alive.
"What did you do?" I asked in an accusing voice that cut through the otherwise silent room.
"He gave me my magic back," Romero said simply. "He's been holding on to it for me for a very long time, and now he's given it back to me. Don't worry about him, little angel, he's going to be just fine. There will be no lasting effects on his body, but I could not stop him from aging slightly, but that was to be expected. He is no longer a supernatural being but a simple, regular house cat."
I sat back against Dash stunned stupid.
Binx was now white, and Romero suddenly had his magic back after years of being without it and completely helpless while being at the mercy of others.
"What now?" Trenton asked as he turned his head to look back at me.
"Now," Romero answered for me, "my son is going to take us to our cottage so I can have a look around and inspect the damage that's been done to it. Then, later, Ariel is going to tell me everything she knows about the Council and that motel they are staying at. Afterwards, we will discuss how to move forward from this in a way we can all be comfortable with."
I refused to look at him.
I knew exactly what it was Romero wanted and I wasn't exactly opposed to it.
He wanted what Isobel wanted. He wanted what I wanted. He wanted to right the wrongs that had been done to him, but there were some things you just couldn't fix.
No matter how hard you tried.
Isobel hadn't learned that yet, but I had. It looked like Romero was right there with Isobel in her mindset of an eye for an eye, and if you fuck with me or mine you better get ready for me to return the favor.
I had never really been an eye for an eye kind of girl before all of this.
I had a sick feeling I was slowly turning into one.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Your Humble Servant
The letter came the very next day. Handwritten and addressed to me with no stamp on the damn thing and further, there was no return address. They'd showed up at our house without our knowledge and left the letter in our mailbox.
It put me on edge to know that they could come here at any time, and we wouldn't be able to see them coming. It scared the ever loving shit right out of me.
We had innocents here, or we did when they came over with Rain. We had Rain himself to keep hidden. And now there was Romero, and I feared they might storm the house at any second and rip him away from his son.
Everyone hovered around me, silent but restless, as they watched me rip open the envelope.
I pulled out the thick, expensive cream paper and unfolded it.
It was short, and written in a very pretty cursive that looked decisively feminine. Given the name on the bottom, I knew it had been written by a male.
The letter was from Adrian.
I read it aloud for everyone, making sure my voice didn't tremble and came out loud and clear.
My dearest Ariel,
I would like to apologize for anything I may have said or done that would have offended you so much that you thought to leave us before the party even started. I suspect it might have had something to do with the sex, or perhaps that useless thing Annabell. Either way, I am sorry to have upset you. I should have known better and had a care not to force you to bear witness to any of those things. For all your hardness and bravery, you are still very young and very innocent. Those are characteristics I happen to like about you, and I hope they were not tainted too much.
Therefore, I am willing to
give you the time you so obviously need. But, and I'm only going to share this with you once, my patience only goes so far. Do not test me on this.
When you are ready, let me know, and I will send a car for you.
Do not make me wait too long.
Your humble servant,
Adrian
P.S.
We failed to give you a gift when joining us, something else I must apologize for, my dear, but it looks like it's going to work out in my favor, because I've decided to allow you to keep Mr. Flynn as your personal pet. Since you seemed so fond of him you decided to take him with you, I've decided you may keep him. His care is now in your very capable hands. On one condition. He must remain dead to the rest of the world. I do not want other people finding out about his time in captivity. Please give my best to young Dash and tell him that the Council is not to blame for what happened with his father. If he's looking for someone to blame, then he should place blame where it is due: with his mother and his grandmother. They sold Romero to us. Money was exchanged, but also they both allowed us to remove their eggs and harvest them so that maybe one day we would be able to fertilize them. And, well, a deal is a deal and we are men of our words. Perhaps one day he will have a little half-brother or half-sister. Wouldn't that be lovely?
The letter ended there, and I was glad for it. I could read no more of Adrian's bullshit.
Humble servant my ass.
"Give me that," Dash snarled, as he snatched the letter out of my hand. "This is complete and utter bullshit," he muttered harshly as he read the letter over again.
I couldn't agree with him more, but it also felt vaguely threatening to me. Like if I didn't go back to their stupid motel then they would not only come for Romero, but they'd probably take Dash with them just to mess with me.