“James! You just made us break into someone else’s lab. You don’t have the right to suddenly have a moral compass now.”
“Whatever you say, Scott,” he replied with a shit-eating grin.
Somehow, I’d been able to help Larkin, and as embarrassing as it was to ask James to do this, I felt it might be the only viable option. Gray couldn’t ask because Hunter would figure it out easily, but if James prayed, and I found a way to answer, this could be over quicker than expected.
“I feel like we’ve risked enough for the night,” I said, excitement bubbling in my stomach at the prospect of finishing this project and getting an answer on my life. “We’ll look at them in the morning. See what he’s done and what we can emulate.”
“Can I start at ten tomorrow?”
“You just tried to kink shame me and now you want a late start?” I replied.
“I did not kink shame you. I would never. I just wanted to know if you called him Daddy.”
I shoved James and shook my head. “I do not.”
“I would. Any Gods or Goddesses looking for a mere mortal as a partner?”
“Even if they were, you would get in so much trouble.”
“You didn’t.”
“I’m an anomaly.” It was meant to come off as light-hearted but sadness weaved its way into the sentence.
James wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. “Some of the best discoveries come from anomalous results.”
“Bullshit. They fuck up data sets and drive us mad.”
“I never said they didn’t.”
My laughter was cut off when my intuition grew, pressing against my ribcage. Turning my head, I looked outside the lab to see wisps of electric blue.
“Get under the bench,” I hissed at James. “Now.”
When he didn’t move immediately, I grabbed his wrist and pulled hard. The skin-to-skin contact was a mistake. Images flashed quickly through my mind. James lifting a trophy, being awarded a head boy pin, closing on a flat. His successes in life were displayed before me without any hesitation.
As they cleared away, James stared at me curiously, but I took us to the floor, crawling under the table. Squashed together under the desk, I listened as footsteps walked across the lab. I didn’t trust myself to get us out of the room without alerting attention. The one time I’d used my aura to transport myself anywhere had been out of sheer anger.
James’ hand landed on my knee and squeezed. Turning my head towards him, I pressed a finger to my lips. He gave a curt nod in return, and my breathing became shallow.
“I thought the news of my divorce might make you smile.” Hunter’s voice was patronising. “And yet, you are still in my ear about things. Will anything get you off my back?”
It didn’t take long to figure out who he was talking to.
“Getting what I want,” Archer replied.
“We have that in common.”
“It seems like I’m holding up my end of the deal and you’re doing everything you can to get out of your commitment.”
“Watch your tone,” Hunter hissed. “I’m doing this in a way that won’t raise too many questions.”
“You’re taking your time.”
“We have plenty of it. You should be grateful. She’s still here, isn’t she? In the comfort of the world, she knows.”
“With him.”
“I won’t be rushed by the likes of you. I’m not going to risk making a mistake because you’re growing impatient.”
