Home > Basil(3)

Basil(3)
Author: Michele Notaro

I smiled at that. Ailin and I didn’t really acknowledge the brother-but-he’s-also-my-father thing very often, but I had to admit that I liked when he referred to Remi as my little brother and not my nephew. Ailin put me in the same category as all the other “kids” except Opal and Aspen. They were closer in age to Ailin than me, so it made sense that he called them his sisters—since they were already teenagers when our parents died.

“Can I carry him?” I asked.

“If you don’t mind getting wet.” Ailin passed me a towel, so I scooped my little brother up into my arms and playfully dried him off, making goofy sounds and kissing his round cheeks every chance I got. He was an adorable little kid, and I was happy Ailin and Seb brought him into our lives.

Ailin patted my shoulder and pushed me in the direction of the house as I continued making Remi giggle. When we walked inside, I heard Seb’s voice in the living room, so I automatically went in there.

Seb and Ailin’s adopted daughters were in there with him, and Seb looked exhausted. He was helping them with their homework, but when we walked over and Seb saw Ailin, his eyes lit up. I’d never admit it, but I might be a little jealous of the love they’d found together. They deserved it, and I was happy for them, but sometimes I wished I had someone to look at me the way Seb looked at Ailin or vice versa because he was just as heart-eyed as Seb, maybe even worse.

Seb walked over, smacked a kiss to Ailin’s lips, and smiled at me. “Hey, Bas. Staying for dinner?”

I glanced around and saw a couple of my other siblings laughing around the dining room table, and I could hear Tio and Opal in the kitchen. I wanted to find out more about that hunter and that witch that was killed, but everyone was so happy in the house, it made me want to stay.

“Bas!” my little brother Delaro called from the table. “Come help me beat Gray and Nik at cards. I swear they’re cheating.” His two viramores started laughing.

I smiled over at Seb and said, “Yeah, I think I am.”

“Good. Want me to take that little booger out of your arms?” Seb held his hands out to Remi, who started laughing at the booger comment.

I grinned and passed the kid over. Remi wrapped his arms around Seb’s neck and yelled, “Papa, Daddy kept splashing me!”

Seb chuckled and wrapped the two-year-old tighter in his towel. “Of course he did, little man. Did you splash him back?”

Ailin chuckled and wrapped an arm around Seb’s back, leaning in to kiss the baby’s cheek, then Seb’s temple. I decided to leave them to it, but ruffled the hair of my thirteen-year-old little sister on the way to the table. She yelled at me and smacked my arm, then threw her pen at me, making me laugh.

When I settled in the seat beside Delaro, he immediately pulled me into the card game they were playing, and I decided to let my family wrap me up in their craziness for a little while. It was a good kind of crazy to be wrapped in.

 

 

Chapter Two

 

 

Basil

 

 

“It’s not in our jurisdiction, Bas. The BCA out in Owentine has it covered,” Alec said. He was the Chief of the Brinnswick Central Agency, which meant he was in charge of everything agent-wise regardless of jurisdiction. He was also the viramore of Aspen—my sister—and therefore my brother-in-law and a part of my family and coven. And he was being a total asshole. I swore he was becoming grumpier and grumpier as he aged.

“Why are you being such an asshole about this?” I yelled at him.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I can’t just give you any case you want, Basil. That isn’t how this works.”

I held in the growl that wanted to work its way out. “Why?”

“Because you work in Arronston. Period.”

I let the growl out that time and started pacing his office for a few minutes. I understood what he was saying, but I wanted that fucking case.

Alec sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t want to have another station war over this when there’s no reason for you to be brought in.”

“A witch was assassinated, Alec. And I think I know who did it.”

“Owning a crossbow isn’t evidence of a crime. I passed your information along to the Owentine station. If they need help, I’ll send you, but until then, you’re needed here. I need you to bring in a vampire that’s been on a rampage down on Truin Street. Can you handle that?”

Blowing out a frustrated breath, I asked, “If Owentine doesn’t get this case solved by next week, will you put me on it?”

Alec stared at me for several beats before nodding. “Fine. But only if you catch this vampire first.”

I shot him a cocky grin. “When have I ever let you down?”

“Jesus, you look like your brother when you do that, and usually when he makes that face, things get blown up.”

I laughed. “I’ll try not to blow anything up.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. You’re worse than Ailin is.”

With a snort, I took the case file he was handing over and headed out the door to go catch me a vamp.

 

 

Sitting in the corner, I nursed my beer as I watched the patrons drinking their fill and having a merry old time. The vampire in question was currently shooting pool with three other vamps while drinking glasses of blood. The bar we were in was on the seedier side of town and served magical creatures and humans alike, so they had all kinds of weird and disgusting things on their menu.

This vamp was a real ass. I’d watched him try to compel three different humans in the past two hours, although whether it was for the purpose of draining them dry or for just a sip they wouldn’t otherwise have permission to drink, I didn’t know for sure. The only reason he hadn’t gotten away with it was because one of his friends kept stopping him. His friends kept exchanging looks, too, so it was clear that they knew he was becoming a problem. Most dens wouldn’t take kindly to one of their vamps taking advantage of humans—it was illegal to kill, and even illegal to drink from someone without their uncompelled permission. It wasn’t surprising that his friends were trying to stop him. If word got out that a vamp in their den was breaking the law, the den leader could be prosecuted, and the den would be under investigation. I didn’t think they realized that the guy had already broken several of their laws and that the BCA was going to be in their business as soon as I brought this guy in anyway.

As I scanned the bar, my eyes were drawn to a figure in the corner opposite me, and as soon as I realized who it was, I muttered, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Hiro Grimsby—also known as Grim The Asshole Hunter, also known as my suspect for the witch murder—pulled his hood off his head and stared right back at me. I could see the anger in his gaze. It was as if his entire body was humming with it.

He took a last swig of his beer, slammed the bottle on his table, and got up, marching right over to me. Without the ghillie suit hiding his body, I realized that he was, in fact, a lot bigger than me. Not only did he have a good five or six inches on me, but he was also covered in muscles. Lots of muscles. He was the sexiest damn thing I’d ever seen. He wasn’t bulky by any means, but it was obvious that the man took care of himself. His body was full of muscle you get from hard work, not from a gym, and even under his shirt, I could see them rippling with every move he made. Every angry move he made toward me. Shit.

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