“Right.” Franklin intercepted what was sure to be an awkward moment where I was still trying to believe what I’d just discovered, and agreed to. “Here are the new cell phones,” he spoke as he started handing us phones with sticky notes indicating our names on their cases. “These are for Jack and Grim,” he directed as he passed me two more. “Your new laptop has already been set up and left on your desk. Palmer has another, and when you and Novak return in the morning we can transfer his stuff to this one for him to use while we send them off to be checked. I’ll have the search of the property done before you get back and I’ll text you if I find anything. Though, I don’t expect to.”
“Novak and I will head to the apartment and pack a few bags. Text me what you guys need,” Stone spoke to the group. Vaughn looked exhausted, and I didn’t think he’d had any sleep. Palmer was messing with the computer from CBP and didn’t seem to hear a word Stone said. Briggs was already dozing in his chair with his head resting on his arms where they sat crossed over the tabletop. They needed sleep.
“I’m gonna go jump in the shower and wash all this filth off.” I motioned my hands around my body. Stone and I had come in covered in dirt and dried blood. “Franklin can show you guys around the house when you’re ready. Make yourselves at home.” I had too much shit running through my head to be any more polite than that. “Franklin, when I’m done, you can drop me off with Novak. Then, go buy whatever supplies we may need for the trip to Kentucky that we don’t have here or in storage. I’d like to have all the weapons and bags packed so we can leave in the morning. Also, get a rental van too. I don’t want to take any personal vehicles that can be traced back to us. Am I forgetting anything?” I’d been slowly backing up to the door as I spoke. The dried blood didn’t really bother me, but the dirt? Yeah, I didn’t like it.
Tomorrow was going to suck so bad, but I’d get to kill some bad guys, so that would help. Then it would suck some more as we made our way back to wherever we ditched the van. I wondered briefly if I could teleport people. Probably best not to practice that on my mates.
“I’ll have everything ready, Madam,” he assured me before my mind really derailed.
“One last thing.” Palmer regarded me before he continued. “I, ehh, think I may have found a spell ta turn yer hellhounds into somethin’ other than dogs. I don’t know what yer limits with magic are, but I could probably change them into somethin’ like mice that would fit in yer bag.”
“Thanks, Palmer.” I smiled coquettishly at him. I hadn’t found a limit to my magic yet. I’d have to explain that, eventually. But not right now. “Send me a picture of the spell when you get a minute, and I’ll see what I can do.” I winked at him as I exited the basement and made my way back to the ground floor of the house.
As I leaped up the stairs that led to my bedroom two at a time, I let my mind wander over the last two days. Too much had happened, and I hadn’t had a moment to digest it. I started shedding my clothes as soon as I shut my bedroom door. I made it to the bathroom and stepped into the shower before I even turned it on. The blast of Baltic water brought me back to reality for a brief few seconds before I nose-dived into the rabbit hole of spiraling emotions all over again. Except this time I let it happen. I didn’t stop the tears that fell from the corners of my eyes. I needed this breakdown to happen now, not tomorrow when we walked into an unknown situation, and not later tonight when I wasn’t alone. Right now. It was going to happen and then I was going to move the fuck on. Let me list the shit I was dealing with:
I bought a company to put a stop to a horrible drug that had hit the black market, then realized the previous owner's son had started stalking me.
I found out I had mates. Plural. And one of those mates was the asshole that broke my heart two years ago.
I found out my parents may have been bugged, and I was being followed by someone other than the stalker I’d carelessly collected.
I needed to make alliances and build an army, even though I had no idea what that meant.
Then, I found out the fucking druid mentioned above was kidnapped and in deep shit, and we had to rescue him before he was killed.
The thought of bringing York back into my life was what had me really and truly twisted. I wasn’t ready to face him. Not by myself anyway, but also not with an audience.
Time to pull up my big girl panties and dry my eyes. I had shit to do. The rest of this breakdown would have to be penciled into my schedule for a later date.
15
Sloane
Saturday Late Afternoon
I threw on some light gray jeans and a black crop top when I got out of the shower. This was one of my favorite tops. It crisscrossed between my breasts and wrapped around my neck and waist. The back was open and exposed, and the fabric felt like a well-worn t-shirt. I admired the way it hugged my chest as I waved my hand around my hair and magicked that shit dry. I then twirled my fingers to add some beachy waves to my straight silver locks. Sometimes I found myself loving magic. Sometimes, I was bitter that I had to learn it on my own and not from my mother. That was the cycle of my life on any given day.
Snapping my fingers, I applied my makeup. There was no way I could do makeup so effortlessly by hand. Magic was cheating, I know, and I don’t care. You use what you’ve got. Now I just needed shoes, and I’d be ready to leave. Wait, scratch that. I stuffed a short black skater skirt in my purse first, and then I started searching for shoes. Shoes, shoes… Why could I only find one of almost every pair of shoes I owned? Mother fu-
“Helios!” I snarled his name as I marched down the stairs and stomped through the house, “You rotten fucking hound! Where are my shoes?” I yelled, completely forgetting there were actual, live people in my home who would hear me screaming at the hellhound.
“Here.” Palmer tossed me one of my black Vans and a half-chewed tennis shoe. “I've no idea who’s who, but I snatched these from the red one before he made it out the back door.”
“That’s Helios. He didn’t burn you, did he?” Palmer didn’t realize how lucky he was to still have eyebrows, or pants. Or fucking skin. He was a brave one to go toe-to-claw with Helios so soon.
“Nah, but you’ve got a burn mark on the outside of yer door now, because I slammed it right in his fire breathin’ face.” He huffed a laugh and rubbed his hands together, looking embarrassed.
“Thanks. That asshole stole half of my shoes. Atlas will bring them back, though. He’s the fawn one. He’ll be nice if you see him running around. Cronus is the brindle one, dark with stripes in his fur.”
“Yeah. I, ehh, don't think I'll be gettin' too close ta them if the others are gonna be tryin' to light me on fire as well.”
“Atlas will like you. Cronus is hit or miss, and Helios is almost always a miss. They’ll stay outside while I’m gone, but Atlas might come inside. He likes company. Just, uhm, text me if the other two are being rude. I’ll tell them to stop.” It was my turn to be embarrassed. I didn’t typically admit to being mentally connected with my hounds the same way I was connected to Jack. After some time, I’d be able to make that connection with my mates too.