She turned and hurried back, all but hopping through the short grass to get to me. I scooped her up, holding her against my chest as I waited for our mystery driver to make it up the drive. The car wasn't going fast, clearly being careful on the loose gravel. All of the windows were tinted, making it hard to see inside. Even more surprising, I couldn't quite identify the make and model of the vehicle.
It wasn't a Porsche or some more common sports car. This was the expensive kind. The type that was made in limited editions only. Maserati, Lamborghini, or something like that - I wasn't sure, but there was only one person I knew who was both rich enough and arrogant enough to drive something like that.
When the car pulled in to park beside Violet's Audi, I waited for the door to open. Behind me, the front door opened. I glanced back in time to see Luke slip out, his eyes looking past me at the fancy car. Without a word, he moved to my side just as the driver finally emerged.
The first thing I noticed was the suit. It was black, expensive, and perfectly tailored. Next was the man's hair, caught in that middle place between blonde and brown. His beard was one shade darker, making the tattoos on his neck a little less obvious. And that was when I was sure. When the man looked over, I saw the orange mark of a phoenix visible just above his high dollar collar.
"Well, well," I called over. "Talk about making one hell of an entrance, Billy."
The man chuckled. "I really do prefer Liam now that I'm not a kid. I'll accept William." Then he grinned. "Violet can call me whatever she wants."
Luke glanced over at me. "So you know him, huh?"
Billy strode over towards the porch, jogged up the stairs, and then offered his hand to Luke. "I'm going to make a wild guess that you're Emerald."
Luke accepted his hand. "I am."
"Blaze," Billy told him. "Sorry to hear about your daughter, but I'm glad everything worked out well."
Luke's eyes flared in surprise. "You look nothing like I expected. I was told you could be mistaken for a skinhead."
Billy laughed. "When I was arrested, they shaved my head. I had dyed my hair fire-engine red, and the jail thought it was some gang color thing. It wasn't. Still, the whole bald-head thing made people look at me a little different, so I kept it for a while. And then I grew the fuck up."
I had to laugh at that, because he really had. The last time I had seen this guy, he'd been lean, lanky, and had that hollow look in his eyes that made people want to keep their distance from him. Now, there was a certain charisma about him. The kind of charm that made him easy to talk to. More than that, he held himself with the same kind of dignity that politicians and the ultra-rich had. It was that look that said, "I am more important than you."
"You also put on a little muscle," I pointed out. "Hate to break it to you, but the suit doesn't hide it."
Billy just flicked a finger at the little fluff ball I was holding. "Is she wearing a sweater?"
"Don't knock it," Luke told him. "Trust me, watching Cy put clothes on his dog is the best thing you'll see all day."
"Fuck off," I told Luke. "She has allergies."
"And the vet gave her a shot to take care of those," Luke countered. "You just think she's cute in sweaters, and we all agree. Just own it, Cy."
Billy pressed his lips together as he tried to keep from laughing. "I think that's the gayest thing you've ever done, Cyan."
"Yeah, but I'm not gay," I reminded him.
Billy's eyes jumped over to land on Luke. "So, do I get any hint as to the status of this relationship? I know what Violet told me. What I don't know is how this is being presented in public."
Luke quickly glanced at the door, but I answered before he could get embarrassed. "We're a polyamorous quad. Everyone's with everyone else, and it works. Luke was publicly outed in court, so it's not exactly a secret. For the most part though, we tend to work as couples: Luke with Violet, and me with Ash."
"And the kid knows about this?" Billy pressed.
"Yeah," Luke muttered. "She was sitting in the courtroom when pictures of us making out were up on a screen." He gestured back to me to demonstrate who he meant by that.
"It seems that Paul Simmons hired a private investigator for Luke's ex," I explained.
Billy fought back a snarl. "Fucking Simmons." Then he turned to look at the door, his eyes narrowing. "Looks like Violet got the door clean, at least."
I lifted a hand in that direction. "Yeah, so you want to come inside to see who else is awake?" I started heading that way, knowing that both Billy and Luke would follow. "I'm guessing you drove all night to get here?"
"I had something to do in the area," Billy said, leaving it at that even as he followed me inside.
It wasn't an answer, and it certainly didn't explain what he was doing, but I knew better than to ask. This guy was not one we wanted to push too far. Sure, on the outside the man known as Blaze seemed to be easygoing and respectable. The truth was that he was completely faking it.
I'd seen him snap once. Most times, he was barely under control. I had my suspicions that the man was a psychopath, but never had the chance to diagnose him. Billy knew exactly what buttons to push, which expressions to wear, and how to convince people to do anything he wanted. It was what made him so powerful. The part that made him so scary, however, was that he had never learned how to accept limits.
