“I can’t,” Grey repeated, his voice growing stronger. “It’s too dangerous.”
“What are you talking about?” Clay demanded.
Grey’s jaw muscles clenched, and he glared at Clay. “Remember? When we were talking the other day…about wiping memories and how dangerous it is. I need a lot more practice, and Wiley has already spent so much time with Baer at this point. I could mess up and erase everything. He’d end up forgetting who he is. Or I could even melt his brain.”
Beside Baer, a little whimper slipped from Wiley, and Baer struggled to rein in the need to wrap his arm around the blond’s slumped shoulders.
“And Dane is still figuring out his powers. Do you think he wants to test them out on trying to fix Wiley’s melted brain?” Grey continued.
Dane visibly paled and leaned heavily against Clay. “I do not want to try to fix that,” he whispered. “I don’t even know if I could.”
“See!” Grey said with a wave of his hand. “Too dangerous. Wiley has to stay here.”
More communication seemed to pass between Clay and Grey, but it was all done in strained looks that Baer couldn’t even begin to understand. But before he could ask either of them what the hell was going on, he felt Wiley shift on the couch so that he was practically folded in half under the weight of Grey’s words.
“Oh!” Clay said suddenly. “No, you’re right. Wiley has to stay here.”
“What?” Wiley and Baer demanded in unison.
“Yep, he’s right. Wiley has to stay,” Clay continued. “It’s too dangerous for Grey to wipe Wiley’s mind without some more practice, and it’s not like he can practice on Wiley. Plus, we don’t know if there were more pestilents in the area of the bakery. If they noticed Wiley with you, they might now mark him as a target. Definitely safer if he stays here with us.”
Baer’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no sound came out. His brain couldn’t keep up with what was happening. He hadn’t had enough coffee to start his day. He’d battled pestilents, thought he’d rescued a brother, discovered that he’d technically kidnapped an innocent person, revealed all their secrets to a total stranger, and now the poor guy was stuck with them. Yeah, he was really batting a thousand.
Wiley, on the other hand, didn’t look disappointed.
“Are you serious? I get to stay here?” Wiley demanded.
“Yes,” Dane said with a grin.
Wiley jumped to his feet, thrusting both of his hands into the air. “Best. Day. Ever!” He did a little dance that largely encompassed him shaking his cute rear end far too close to Baer’s face.
“Wait, I thought you were nervous about being here. You know, creepy kidnapper and all that,” Baer countered.
Wiley snorted. “Yeah, well, you’re not that creepy.” Which earned more laughs from Clay and Grey. “Plus, you let me tell my grandmother where I am and allowed me to keep my cell phone, so I don’t feel like a prisoner. And…if I have to choose between hanging here and getting my brain melted, this doesn’t seem like such a bad place.”
Baer dropped his face into his hands and groaned. Really, if this went down as a kidnapping, it was the world’s worst ever.
The couch shifted and Baer looked up to find Wiley sitting right next to him, an expression of hope and excitement on his adorable face. “I promise I won’t cause any problems. I bet I can even help you. I’ve devoted my entire life to comic books and studying fantasy stories. I know all about magic and secret societies. Maybe I can help you find your missing Weavers or research magic. Oh, my God! This is so cool!”
Well, at least he wasn’t upset about his temporary imprisonment.
“Where is he going to sleep?” Baer turned his attention on Dane. The aunts had originally hired the handyman to work on renovating the three-story, six-bedroom plantation house. And the place needed a lot of work and updating. Dane had been doing a great job. Some of his progress had slowed unfortunately, because not only were there people living in the house after it had been abandoned for roughly thirty years, but he was now involved with someone the pestilents were actively trying to kill. It was a damn good distraction.
“He can have my old room,” Grey quickly interjected.
Dane scratched his jaw as he looked over at the Soul Weaver. “That will work. I can shift gears and start working on another bedroom in case a new Weaver does show up.”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t stop working on the armory—”
“You have an armory?” Wiley gasped, practically vibrating where he sat.
Dane snorted. “It’s just the dining room. They keep storing all their weapons in that room because it’s big and open.” He looked over at Clay. “We could always move the weapons to the billiards room so we can bring that formal table from the attic to the dining room. I have a feeling it needs to be refinished, and it would be better to get started on it before the weather turns cold and rainy.”
Wiley squeaked as if someone had stepped on a mouse. “A billiards room too? It’s going to be like living in Wayne Manor.” Wiley flopped back onto the couch as if he’d fallen into a swoon, and sighed happily. “Please tell me you have a trusted butler who keeps the manor tidy and monitors the Bat-computer.” Ruby nosed her way closer to Wiley laid her head on his lap. The young man immediately sat up and scratched her ears. “And you’re just like Ace, Batman’s dog!”
Like him. Let’s keep him.
Ruby’s enthusiasm matched Wiley’s, and Baer had to shove away his dog’s thoughts. There was no keeping Wiley. The longer he stayed at the plantation, the safer he would be. But at least he wasn’t upset about having his life derailed for a while.
“Baer, why don’t you show Wiley around the house, so he can be comfortable here?” Clay suggested.
“If I’m going to be here for a while, is it okay if I run to my apartment? I need to get some clothes, my stuff for work, and my cat. Plus, I have to move my car.” Wiley turned his attention to Ruby, scratching the side of her face. “Do you like cats? Are you going to play nice with my Queenie? She’s such a sweet and fluffy princess. You’re going to love her.”
“Ruby will be fine with the cat. She likes all animals,” Baer said. The cat wasn’t his concern. “You mentioned you draw comics. Do you need to go into an office for that?” They couldn’t let him leave the plantation alone. Not even for work.
“No, all my work is done digitally, so I work remote,” he explained with a breezy smile. “Just need my computer and some other basic supplies, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“No, that’s no trouble at all,” Grey said before Baer could answer. “Baer can take you to get your car and follow you to your apartment as protection.”
“Assuming the cops have left the bakery by then,” Clay added.
Wiley shivered and wrapped his arms around his middle. The happiness and enthusiasm bled out of his features, causing him to sink down into himself. He turned those big brown eyes on Baer. They looked bleak and full of worry. “Is that a normal day for all of you? That kind of violence and danger?”