“Mmm.” I flipped over to face him, taking care not to disturb Jandro. Eyes still closed, I nuzzled my head under his chin, kissing his chest while curling up and burrowing into him. “You?”
He was silent for a moment, stroking my back.
“I talked to Daren.”
“Hm?” That forced my eyelids open, hands lifting up to rub the sleep and fatigue from my eyes. “When?”
“Just now, before I woke up.”
I tried to listen carefully to his tone, to piece together his feelings from his voice, but it was impossible with him speaking so softly. “What did he say?”
“Shit that wasn’t good.” He pushed himself up from the mattress with a groan, blinking at the pre-dawn light coming in from the window. “Take a walk with me, sugar?”
“Yeah, coming.”
We climbed out of bed carefully, crawling over the splayed arms and legs of Jandro and Gunner to get dressed. I pulled on my thickest jeans, wool socks, and a gray flannel shirt. Every day grew colder, and the air before the sun came out was downright chilly.
Reaper got ready in his leather jacket, jeans, boots, and cigarettes, and together we headed out the front door of the Four Corners B&B. Right after stepping off the front porch, we heard the door open slowly again and turned to see who was following.
Hades had pushed the door open with his front paw, and he and Freyja followed us out to the quiet street.
“Can’t go anywhere alone,” I chuckled as Reaper lit up. “So did he come to you in a dream like,” I tilted my head toward the animals, “they said?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed my hand and started walking, sucking on his clove with the opposite hand. “I was riding and it was too perfect to be real, you know? Perfect weather, full gas tank, smooth road. I stopped to look out at the edge of a canyon and he just walked up behind me.”
“Did it feel like you were really talking to him?” I snatched his cigarette for a quick drag. “Or just your brain pulling up memories of him?”
“It was really him, sugar. Well and alive.” His eyes brightened on a distant focal point as we walked together. “He said he saw the whole rescue mission in Blakeworth, thanks to Freyja.” He looked at the cat over his shoulder with a chuckle. “He’s seen you, seen all of us. Sounds like he’s into you, sugar. I knew he would be.”
“I would’ve liked to meet him,” I said, with a squeeze to his hand.
“I wouldn’t,” Reaper laughed. “He’d steal you away from me.”
“Never.” I held onto his arm with both hands, pressing my cheek against his shoulder. “What did he say that wasn’t good?”
My husband’s smile dissipated, green eyes hardening as he sucked on the last of his cigarette before tossing the butt away.
“I keep running it through my mind and can’t even decipher it. I told you his visions were just random bits of information, right?”
“Yeah, that they didn’t make any sense without context.”
“Right. So he told me I needed to break down the door.” A scowl crossed his face. “That ‘she’ would die if I didn’t. Now, is this ‘she’ Noelle? Is it Freyja? Mrs. Potts? Gods fucking forbid, is it you?” He released my hand and lifted his arm to wrap around my shoulders. “It’s driving me nuts that you might be in danger. And that I could—” he swallowed, “I could…lose you if I don’t act fast enough.”
I slid an arm around his waist, our footsteps on the street the only sounds as I absorbed his words. Breaking down a door could mean any number of things, depending on how literal or metaphorical Daren was.
“Did he tell you anything else?” I asked as we turned a corner.
Reaper looked over his shoulder at Hades sniffing the ground a few paces behind us. “That I had to obey the order when it came, and that it would hurt a lot, for a long time.” He squeezed my shoulder, pulling me into his side. “Sugar, I have this bad fucking feeling that I’m gonna have to kill someone to protect you. Someone close to us.”
I nodded with a deep breath. For the Steel Demons, killing someone could be business as usual. Or it could be one of our own, someone we trusted, and therefore catastrophic.
We had dealt with a betrayal before, with Python. Another person working against the Demons from the inside didn’t seem likely, especially after making such a public spectacle of Python’s death. I didn’t have a single suspicion about anyone else in Reaper’s club. Some people I personally liked more than others, but had no doubts about any of their loyalty. Big G was on thin ice, but he seemed eager to correct his behavior.
We could speculate and walk in circles all day. With so little information to go off of, there was just no way to narrow it down.
“Whatever happens,” I looked up at him with my head on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be the right choice.”
“Daren said something like that too,” he muttered, the wheels still spinning in his head. “That it would hurt, but it would be the right thing. God, fuck.” He rubbed his forehead. “This shit’s giving me a headache.”
My hand slid up his back to his neck, where I rubbed the tight knot of muscles. “Do you want to tell the other guys?”
“I don’t know if I should,” he said. “What if that changes things? He made it sound like I was the only one who could do it. I dunno. Fuck, I hate this.” He turned to address the animals silently stalking behind us. “Any input you all have would be fucking great.”
Hades lifted a leg and pissed on a fence post. Freyja paused to lick her paw.
“Perfect.” Reaper turned back around with a snort, fishing for another cigarette.
I held on to his arm again as we continued our walk. “Hades said he was here to guide you and protect me. And I have all of you.” My fingers laced through his. “How can anything bad happen to me when I’m loved by Demons and watched over by gods?”
“I fuckin’ hope you’re right.” His finger rubbed affectionately over my ring. “I need something better to talk about. How’d it go with Shadow last night?”
A lightness lifted in my chest, the smile on my face instant. “Good. We talked for a bit and…kissed.”
“Kissed?” Reaper coughed. “You mean that guy knows how to do something with his mouth besides suck down booze? Ow!”
“Don’t be an asshole,” I growled, jabbing my fist in his ribs a second time.
“Sugar, do you know who I am?” He grinned, catching my wrist before I could smack him another time. “I’m kidding, but can you blame me for being surprised?”
“He’s a good kisser actually,” I said smugly. “And he’s…just really sweet.”
“Sweet? Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”
“There’s a whole side of him that is just so tender and gentle,” I went on. “I saw moments of confidence that had nothing to do with his killing skills. He laughed and cracked jokes with me. He just held me and didn’t try to take anything further than kissing. It was refreshing, honestly.”
“So you want someone who will just kiss you without trying to get in your pants?” Reaper squeezed my ass and laughed when I smacked his hand away.