“It’s the closest thing we have to one. An office, game room, and television all supervised by a clown.”
“How’s your ass?”
“Firm.”
“Any more splinters?”
“Perhaps you should give me a thorough examination after the meeting.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Any second thoughts about going to the family reunion tomorrow? You look like the dead.”
“Just let me sleep in. And tell Viktor I’m not up to cooking breakfast.”
“All part of the master plan?”
“Yep. I deliberately drank all that dark light just to get out of scrambling eggs.”
Claude appeared in the distance and looked as bad as I felt. Gem was trying to be his crutch, but Claude wasn’t about to lean on a woman. Especially a petite one half his size. His arm was in a sling, his shoulder bandaged, and he had a noticeable limp.
When we locked eyes, his brows drew together. “Are you hurt, female?”
“She has a raging bout of diarrhea,” Christian announced. “It’s grisly. Perhaps someone should bring a chamber pot and air freshener in case the meeting goes on too long.”
I glared up at him. “Are you sure you aren’t an escaped mental patient?”
As we entered the room, Wyatt was clearing trash off his long desk. Niko held up the wall by the door, his eyes closed and arms crossed. I let Claude and Gem take the couch and decided to sit down in one of the beanbag chairs so I’d have a direct view of the doorway. I half expected Viktor’s wolf to trot in, tail wagging. But instead, Viktor swaggered in wearing a dark robe tied at the waist and pajama bottoms underneath. He pulled out a leather computer chair and sat facing the room. Gem switched on the floor lamp beside the sofa to give us more light.
Wyatt shoved the overflowing wastebasket under the desk.
Viktor gave him a peevish look. “This is stolen property.”
“Found,” Wyatt corrected, crossing his ankle over his knee.
Viktor stroked his beard and didn’t bother arguing the details. “I want them returned tomorrow.”
“You want me to just walk into a store and give them a box? It doesn’t work like that.”
“Nyet.I want you to locate the company from whence they came and leave them on the property.”
“Better do as he says,” Gem piped in. “You’re starting to grow a tire around your waist.”
He winked. “A woman needs something to grab on to.”
Christian sat on a roller stool next to Wyatt. “I’ll handle breakfast in the morning,” he announced.
A few eyes darted my way, but no one said anything.
“Sorry I’m late.” Blue strode in, the baby cradled in one arm and a bottle in the other hand. “I had to give him a quick bath.”
Claude reached out. “Let me feed him.”
She looked at him warily. “Hold him gently. Have you ever fed a baby before?”
Claude took the baby in his good arm. The moment the baby started to cry, Claude released a purr that was more felt than heard. The vocalization was different from previous ones he’d made, and it delivered the same comforting embrace of a mother or father’s hug. The baby instantly shushed, delighted by the sound as he gripped one of Claude’s long fingers. Blue rubbed the nipple against the baby’s lips, and when he opened his mouth and began sucking on the bottle, Claude took over.
I studied Christian, curious where the bottle and formula had come from. “Did we stop for baby supplies, or do you guys just have that stuff lying around?”
