Hayden snorts, West shakes his head, and Kole gives me a tight smile while Sam chuckles, rolling his eyes. “She is an excitable one.” The other voice says. “Tell us, Nikolai, what do you need from us? I’m assumingOtetsdoes not know you are out and running wild?”
“Correct, and we would like to keep it that way. Declan has a rat. All of his safe house locations are compromised. We need a place to lay low until they find a way to expose this…Prometheus and anyone beneath him. Declan has said he will owe you a favor if you come through.”
“Prometheus…” one of them muses.
A female voice sounds in the background, and Kole groans. “Are you really talking to me while still in bed after sharing a woman?”
“You are the one who called us at four in the morning, Nikolai.”
He gives me an exasperated look, and I shrug. “He does kind of have a point, Sugar Bear.”
A snort of laughter comes over the line and Kole’s cheeks pinken slightly. “Sugar Bear?” Either Ilya or Luka snickers.
I shake my head and roll my eyes. Men.
“Fuck off, Ilya” Kole huffs, irritated. “Can you help us or not?”
“Calm your tits,Bratishka,” one of them, I’m assuming Ilya, laughs. “Yes, we can help you, but we’re in a bit of a tough situation. You see, currently Mikhail has us on lock down. It’s like he thinks we’re going to kill him or something.” He chuckles. “My point is, we kicked up quite the fuss when he sold you to Thornfield, and he has questioned our…loyalties. We really don’t have any power at the moment. If we go asking for a safe house, he is going to ask questions. Get suspicious.”
Luka cuts in. “If he finds out it isyouwe are hiding, well, the game will be over before it has truly begun.”
“So you want me to kill him first?” Kole sighs, resignation clear in his voice. “How am I supposed to accomplish that, exactly?”
“You are our trump card, Nikolai.” Luka answers, his voice sounding nonchalant. “We have been moving the pieces the last three years, waiting for an opening. We did not imagine it would come in the form of you breaking out of the asylum. He still thinks you’re locked up, so he’ll never expect you.”
“That does not change the fact that we are driving through Maine in the middle of the night, in need of a place to sleep.”
One of the brothers sighs, and we all hold our breath. I’d rather not have to sleep in the car, if I’m being honest. “We own a cabin in New Hampshire. Depending on how close to the border you are, it shouldn't take more than a few hours for you to reach it.”
Relief fills my chest, and I shoot a grateful smile to Kole. They rattle off the address, and I plug it into the GPS. Two hours and forty-seven minutes.
Easy peasy.
“We will meet you there in two days to formulate a plan. And…I think we might know a thing or two about this ‘Prometheus’.” Before Kole can protest, they hang up.
Hayden grins as Kole hands me the phone. “Welp, looks like we’re gonna have our pack ‘meet the family’ gathering sooner than expected. Sorry, Hot Stuff,” he reaches forward and pats Sam’s shoulder, “I know you wanted your padre to be the first one, but it’s time to let the Big Guy have his moment to shine.”
Sam scowls at Hayden through the rear-view mirror, and West sighs. “You’re just asking for it, aren’t you?”
Hayden straightens, his eyes lighting up. “Oooh, asking for what? A spanking? Wait.” He shakes his head. “No-can-do, Daddy-o. The only one allowed to spank me is Jo. You’ll have to imagine the real thing when you’re beating your meat at night.”
Kole snorts, shaking his head. “Daddy-o?”
Hayden has an expression on his face like he thinks it should be obvious. “He’s up my ass enough that he should be referred to with paternal respect. But I already have a dad, and he’s not my daddy, because, ew. Hence, Daddy-o.”
“Whatever makes your tail wag, Sparky.” Sam smirks, apparently deciding that playing Hayden’s own game against him is better than being annoyed all the time. He turns the car onto the main road before getting on the highway.
My Fire Demon isn’t the least bit perturbed though, and simply shrugs. “Woof, woof, Daddy-o.”
Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to Kole. “Who’s older, Illya or Luka?”
“Illya. By two minutes.”
West looks surprised. “Twins?”
“It would appear that way.”
I laugh uncomfortably, playing with the ends of my hair. “Like…real twins, or raised-together-from-birth-to-make-you-think-you’re-twins…twins?”
