“You take such good care of me.”
He snorted but didn’t reply.
Jezebel climbed onto my lap from the back seat, so I greeted her and continued scratching her behind the ears as I sipped my delicious coffee. I reached into the back and petted Nadia a little, too. She nuzzled my hand for a few seconds before settling in for a nap. I’d missed our familiars yesterday and last night since we hadn’t been able to justify bringing them to Laz’s parents’ house. Izzy remained silent for a long time.
When he still hadn’t said anything after thirty minutes passed, I asked, “You alright, honey?” Godsdamn, I kept letting honey slip out. Before last month, I hadn’t called him that in years. He’d asked me not to, and I’d listened. I had no clue why it was slipping out so often now, but at least Izzy didn’t seem angry about it. Actually, focusing on our link, I could feel that he enjoyed it. Well, that was a relief.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night,” he finally said.
“Neither did I.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “Can we not.” It was more a statement than a question, and I winced.
“Yeah, fine.” When he didn’t respond, I couldn’t help but say, “You told me to go to him, Isiah. I asked you a million times; so did Laz. You’ve been fine about everything else, you’ve been with us almost every step of the way until last night, so I don’t know why you’re pissed. You told us we should—”
“I know, Raphael, but I’m still allowed to have feelings about it, aren’t I?”
“But—”
“I’m not mad at you—either of you. I swear I’m not. I’m just… I was alone last night, okay? We haven’t spent an entire night apart in a very long time, and I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you know what today is. It made me feel out of sorts, especially when you weren’t with me this morning. And knowing where you were, who you were with, that I wasn’t there with you guys—” He cut himself off with a loud gasp, then swallowed audibly.
“Pull over.”
“What? No.”
“Pull the car over, Isiah Keanu Shadowend. Right the fuck now.”
He sighed, but pulled over. As soon as the car was in park, I pulled him into my chest, embracing him with everything I had over the top of the console. “Raph…”
“Shh. Just let me hold you.” If I could, I would’ve pulled him over the damn console, but there wasn’t enough room, so I settled for holding him tighter. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, and no matter what happens, you will always be mine, Isiah. You are mine, you hear me?”
He nodded against me, and I felt some wetness on my neck, so I rubbed his back and kissed the side of his head.
“You’re mine, Izzy, and I’m yours. No matter what. You’re my soul-pledged, and no matter what the hell else is going on in our lives, you always will be.”
He choked out, “I know. I do, but last night—”
“Shh. I get it, honey. You’re fine.”
“Don’t tell Laz I cried.”
“Why?”
He took a deep, shaky breath. “I don’t want him thinking he did something wrong. You two are good together, and I like Laz a lot. He’s a great person, and I don’t want this… whatever the hell this is to scare him off, okay? I want him in our lives.”
“I know you do.” It felt weird hiding something like this from Laz on purpose, but I understood what Izzy was saying, and I believed that he truly did want Laz in our lives. So with a sigh, I agreed, “Alright. But if this keeps happening, we need to—”
“I know. I know. I’m good. I just… thanks, Raph.”
I kissed his head, then leaned back to rest our foreheads together. “Anytime.”
He shot me a tiny smile and closed his eyes. We stayed that way, in the warlock’s way of showing camaraderie and affection, for a few minutes before he sat back, gave me a nod, and pulled back out onto the road.
Once we were going, I pulled one of his hands off the steering wheel and held it between mine to maintain our connection.
Almost as soon as we got to our place to change and get ready for our meeting, my cell rang, so I pulled it out, surprised to see my brother’s name on the screen. I’d been hoping it was Laz, but I’d told him I’d call him when we got here, so I supposed I couldn’t blame him for listening to me and trusting that I’d follow through. I’d call him as soon as I hung up with my brother.
“Hey, little runt, what’s up?” I said into the phone.
“Raphie, hey. Um, is Laz with you?” Alaric asked.
“What? Why would Laz be with me?” I asked.
“Because you’re sleeping together.”
That made my nostrils flare. “We’re not just sleeping together, we’re dating, Alaric. He’s my boyfriend. I’m not just using him to get my dick wet.”
Alaric made a choking sound on the phone, and I cringed. My baby brother wasn’t used to talk like that. A second later, Grady’s voice replaced Alaric’s. “Raphie, can you please just tell me if Laz is with you?”
“He’s not here, Grades. I left him at home this morning. He was barely awake when I kissed him goodbye, but I swear he’s not here.”
“When’s the last time you talked to him?”
Alarm bells started going off. “Right before I left for New York. Why?”
“We can’t get a hold of him.”
I jumped to my feet and rushed to the table by the front door where I’d left my wallet and keys. Jezebel climbed my body and curled around my neck, a silent comfort. “Tell me everything.”
Izzy was right behind me with Nadia on his shoulder, and he said, “Put it on speaker.”
Alaric came back on as I hit the speaker button. “He hasn’t answered his phone all day, and he didn’t open up the shop today. We know he was opening late, but he still hasn’t come in.” I checked the clock to see that it was well after three in the afternoon. Fuck. Alaric continued, “And he didn’t meet Grades for lunch like he was supposed to. Grady drove by his house about an hour ago, and there was no answer.”
“Hold on.” I set the phone aside, closed my eyes, and called upon the spell I’d used on the bracelet I’d given Laz. It only took a moment for my magic to grab onto it. I felt my fingertips flaming a little, probably because I was starting to panic. From everything I could sense, Laz was at home. No wait, Laz… he wasn’t wearing the bracelet, I didn’t think. Opening my eyes, I whispered to Izzy, “The bracelet’s home, but I don’t think he’s wearing it.”
Iz closed his eyes in frustration and breathed, “Fuck.”
To my brother and Grades, I said, “Does Grady have a key to his house? Can he go inside and make sure he’s not… hurt or something?” It pained me to say it, but it needed to be said.
Grady answered me, so I assumed I was on speaker also. “I did that already. Raphie… I’m really worried. He’s never done anything like this before. He’s always called if something came up. He’s never backed out of lunch or anything. Not without letting me know what’s going on. Something feels off.”