Jazz drooped as the fight left him; a larger yawn stretched his mouth obscenely. "I am a little tired."
Seeing his mouth gaping open weakened my resolve, but the battle was already won. I pulled the blanket back from our bed, settling Jazz on his side while tucking my pillows around him. He mentioned feeling better when he slept that way, but I also preferred surrounding him with my scent before leaving. Even if it was just to the other room.
His eyes closed before he burrowed his head into the pillow like a cat kneading a cushion. I kissed my sleeping prince and then stepped into the nursery. Peering over the side of the crib, I spotted two blue eyes staring back at me. His eyes weren't the most noticeable thing about him at that minute. The stench surrounding him like a toxic green cloud was.
I'd spent time in countries with zero sanitation services. We'd once transported a decomposing body in our trunk through the Guban Desert. We'd ended up having to torch the vehicle since nothing else would get rid of the persistent stench.
And despite all of that, picking up my perfect infant son brought me to tears—and not in a Hallmark type of way. I didn't want to unleash this stench so near my sleeping mate. He might suffocate on the stink cloud.
Lifting Angus from his crib revealed the problem was larger than I'd imagined.
This problem had leaked over his diaper, up his back, and into the tight sheet that covered his sleeping pad. No amount of wiping would clean this. There was only one solution.
Total decontamination.
***
"He doesn't like his arm like that."
"How do you know what he likes? He looks the same no matter what."
"No, there's a dip in his eyebrows."
"He doesn't have eyebrows!"
I pointed the sprayer toward the bickering twins. "He has eyebrows. They're just still light."
Huntley's gray t-shirt turned black and clung to his shoulders as he growled and lunged forward. The urge to retaliate made his fingers curl.
Jagger caught him around the middle, effectively halting his forward progress. "You'll hurt the baby."
Huntley visibly relaxed but shot me a look that said he'd get back at me when I least expected it.
"Your bickering was hurting the baby," I barked.
Huntley smiled. "No it wasn't. He likes it. See, he's smiling."
Angus lay on his back in a baby bath chair made to fit in kitchen sinks. After the initial rinse-off that had spurred tears from both sides of the skirmish, Angus had mostly surrendered, content to lay back and let what would happen happen.
The sheet and the clothes he'd been in had gone straight into the fire. That hadn't been my most reasonable moment, and we couldn't start throwing items away when Angus pooped on them, but I knew a lost cause when I saw one.
The twins had been drawn by the smell. Like twisting your neck to stare at a crash on the highway, they'd wandered in, curious about the source of the smell. Then they'd made it their job to offer commentary.
Faust and Dog waltzed in the kitchen. Dog lifted his nose into the air and promptly turned back around.
"That means you need another rinse," I told Angus, who stared serenely.
"We got the air flow controller installed onto the existing ventilation system. Diesel went to turn it on while I told you in case something—"
The hotel started humming.
"—happened." He cocked his head to the ceiling with an expression of trepidation.
We waited for something to explode or fall apart. Repairing the ventilation in the hotel had turned into an endless list of smaller tasks. The existing ducts needed to be repaired and clean. A new system had to be delivered and installed. But once Faust got it working, we'd finally be able to tackle the largest problem the hotel had: mold.
"It sounds really goo—"
A muffled boom shook the floor just enough that we all noticed the vibration. I wrinkled my nose against the pervading scent of exhaust and burnt oil.
Faust scowled at me like I had anything to do with it. "You cursed me," he spat, turning on his heel in the same second as he strode out the door.
They'd get it figured out, I had no doubt. I'd put money on the system up and running by the next morning at the latest. Lifting Angus from the water, I turned to Huntley, who had his towel out and ready. He wrapped Angus burrito-style before handing him back.
When I brought him to the table to dry, lotion, and redress, I couldn't help my moment of smug accomplishment. The baby was clean. The hotel became more of a home every day, and with each success, my faith in my brothers strengthened. We'd been broken, but that didn't mean we couldn't mend.
Chapter Seventeen
Jazz
"And you're sure the message can't be traced back?" Knox asked Faust.
Both men sat in the front of the Hummer while Angus and I sat in the back. I pulled down Angus's new onesie, smoothing the front image. The Walkers had sent their care package, and Knox had driven into town to pick it up. It included diapers, bottles, rattles, and a tablet that Angus was a long while from being able to use. He wore one of the onesies now, a mustard-yellow color with blue lettering that said, Howlin' good time. I assumed it was a wolf joke. Thankfully for Angus, he didn't seem to have quite as bright red hair as I did, and yellow didn't turn him into a hot dog with mustard and ketchup.
"There's nothing to trace. The worst Portal can do is not reply, but then we're in the same spot we are now."
Once the guys started learning all they could about Portal—the company whose name kept popping up in strange places—they'd been like fleas on a dog. Early on, they'd learned all they could about Portal from information readily available. Particularly how BrimNet, the company they sourced their mineral wool from was actually a business financed by Portal. I didn't know the details of the email Faust had sent, but it was meant to be exploratory, testing the waters to see how they reacted.
And Knox was worried about the danger, which meant all systems were operating normally at the Hotel Royal Paynes.
"It's the weekend, so I don't expect a response," Faust continued. "Depending on what they say, I want to take Diesel and stop by for a visit to the west coast branch."
Knox nodded, smoothly pulling the Hummer into the parking lot of Cat's Fresh Catch, or as it was known by myself, The only restaurant in Rockshell. That wasn't one hundred percent accurate, but it felt true enough. Cat's Fresh Catch offered more than seafood. They were a catchall type of place, opening to customers who were looking for a greasy spoon breakfast in the morning before slowly transforming into a seafood restaurant at night.
The hours in between were anyone's guess.
This was where Hallie had suggested we meet when I called. I was hoping for a place more private, but maybe it was best to introduce Hallie to Angus where she wouldn't be as likely to make a scene.
Though I wasn't sure what sort of scene Hallie would make. The woman was unflappable, which was why it was so disturbing to spot her outside standing in decorative gravel as some guy aggressively gestured at her chest.
"What the…" I opened my door before the Hummer came to a stop.
"Jazz," Knox growled. "Wait here."
He had to know I wouldn't. I hurried with Angus's buckles. Faust and Knox were out of the vehicle and eating up pavement. Neither Hallie nor the man she argued with noticed their approach. I stopped with Angus several feet away while Knox called out Hallie's name.