“Hello?”
“Hey, Bas, it’s Hiro.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I caught that when I saw your name on the screen.”
With a sigh at his smartassness, I said, “I have a case I need help with.”
He was quiet for a moment before his voice came back on softer than before. “I can help. Where do you want to meet?”
My chest warmed at that. He didn’t need to ask for details or why I needed help, he simply helped because I needed it. “Are you home? I can pick you up.”
“No, I’m at BCA Headquarters. You wanna pick me up from here?”
I didn’t like going near the BCA, but that didn’t matter right now. “Sure. I’m about fifteen minutes away. Does that give ya enough time?”
“Yeah, I can work with that.”
“Good.”
“Hiro?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for calling me. I’ll see you soon.” He hung up before I could respond.
Shaking my head, I threw my phone in my cup holder and pointed my car toward the BCA HQ. A little guilt niggled in my mind and my heart knowing that he’d felt the need to thank me for calling him. He shouldn’t feel that way, but I knew I’d done that to him after countless times of pushing him away or not letting him in. I really needed to get the fuck over myself. Basil had done nothin’ but show me he was a good man; it was time I offered a little trust. Especially after everythin’ he’d done to help with Rasha the other day.
As I drove, a plan came into mind.
Pulling up to the BCA, I smiled when I saw Basil already standing outside waiting for me with the ever-present Blaze on his shoulder. I slowed to a stop, and he came over, jumping into the passenger’s seat. After he shut his door, I leaned over, gripped his chin, and tilted his head to bring his lips to mine. He grunted in surprise, but sank into the kiss immediately like he always did. I was really starting to love that.
When I pulled back, I gave his lips a last peck and said, “Hey, love.”
He offered a small smile. “Hey, dimples.”
I snorted at the ridiculous nickname, having no idea why he’d started calling me that. “How’re ya doin’, shadow boy?”
He rolled his eyes as he settled in the seat and buckled his seat belt. “I’m fine, how are you?”
“Pretty good now.” I gave Blaze a pat on the head and caught Basil’s smile before I pulled back out on the road.
“How’s Rasha feeling?”
“She’s feelin’ better, but she still hasn’t been able to take the oxygen tube off.”
“I’m glad she’s okay.”
Hearing the hesitancy in his voice, I glanced at him and realized he seemed uncomfortable, so I concentrated back on the road and asked, “What’s wrong?”
He sighed. “I thought you might yell at me for asking about her.”
My jaw clenched in anger—not at him, at me. I’d made him so unsure about our relationship, about me in general, that he couldn’t even ask how my daughter was doing without bein’ afraid I’d lose it on him. I had no one to blame but myself. “You’re allowed to ask me whatever the hell you want.” There, that should do it. Hopefully.
He was quiet for a whole minute before asking, “Are you sure?”
I sighed. “Yes, witch, I’m sure. I want you in our lives, okay? Both of us do.”
A happiness that wasn’t mine filled my chest, and I couldn’t help but smile. He was pretty damn easy to make happy, it seemed.
“I wanted to ask you somethin’,” I said after another minute.
“What?”
“Ulma’s goin’ out of town to see her new grandbaby in a few weeks. She’s gonna be over two hours away, and I don’t like the thought of Rasha not having a backup plan if I’m stuck at work or somethin’.”
“Okay…?”
I shot him a small smile. “Is it okay if I add your number to our emergency phones and give the school your name?” When he didn’t say anything I rushed to add, “You won’t have to do anything. It’s a just-in-case kinda thing.”
His hand squeezed my forearm. “I would love to be added, Hiro.”
Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, I patted his hand. “Thanks.”
He squeezed my arm again. “Thank you for trusting me.”
I lifted his hand with mine and pressed my lips to his skin before releasing it. When he went to pull away, I changed my mind, grabbed it, and placed it on my thigh. He squeezed my leg and sighed in contentment.
“So you wanna tell me about this job or am I running in blind?”
I chuckled. “I guess that would help, huh?”
“Probably.”
If I wasn’t driving, I’d poke him. “There’s a few orcs on the edge of town. One of ‘em’s wanted for murder. Apparently, he killed an incubus up north and now the guy’s family is seekin’ retribution.”
“So does that mean you want to kill the orc?”
“Nah. I don’t go in with the intent to kill, at least not usually. If I can apprehend my mark, all the better. Sometimes that choice is taken away from me.”
“Yeah, same with working for BCA.”
“Do you like workin’ there?”
I saw him shrug out of the corner of my eye. “Mostly. I like when I’m working with Jorah or Thayer better than all this solo shit Alec’s been giving me, but he keeps saying the three of us make too much of a mess, so he’s separated us the past few months.”
“You miss them.” It wasn’t a question.
He sighed. “I do. We weren’t meant to be spread out so far. Our magic is connected, and when we’re too far apart or go too long without being near, it’s like… it’s like the magic becomes sad or something. It makes us feel off.”
I didn’t understand how that felt at all, but I thought I got what he meant. “Have you told Alec this?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “I’ve reminded him a few times, but he’s been blowing me off.”
That made me frown. “Why?”
“My sister’s pregnant again, and he’s freaking out about it. He’s taking it out on me because I’m family, so he can.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine. Once they have the baby, he’ll calm down a little.”
“Maybe you should talk to him before then.”
He waved me off. “It’s fine. Jorah and Thayer already said they want the three of us to start meeting up for lunch on work days so we can get the magic to chill the fuck out. We’re figuring it out.”
Tryin’ to remember everything he’d told me about this magic so far, I asked, “Does this mean… you’ll have to go to Faela sooner, though?”
“Maybe. Nik and Talon will check us more often once we tell them. So far, we’re fine in that sense.”
“Nik and Talon are your guardians?”
“They’re the guardians of the Three, yeah. They’re both fae, so they can sense the magic, and because of their connection with us, they can tell when we need to go back to Faela to purify it.”