It washuge. Easily twice the size of the Victorian monstrosity where the pack had been living before. This place looked modern, with big square windows and elegant arches set at regularly spaced intervals. I counted four chimneys coming out of the roof, and immediately pictured cozy fireplaces with bearskin rugs in front of them.
I was openly gaping—so taken aback by the sheer size and wealth on display that I barely noticed the ambulance crew lowering Gage out of the vehicle in his wheelchair.
“D’you like it?” he asked, and there was honest-to-godworrycoming through the bond—like he thought there was some possibility that I’d sneer at this insane display of Knox’s money.
“You’re kidding, right?” I shot back. “Gage, seriously—is this real life?”
He laughed, only to wince as his broken ribs complained. “Yeah, kitten... this is how the point-zero-one percent lives, when they aren’t slumming it in the woods.”
A set of double doors under the main archway thingie—the portico?—opened, and a familiar red-haired figure jogged down the steps. The nice ambulance woman wheeled Gage forward, and I followed, still staring at the huge building where I was apparently going to live now.
“Welcome to the most vulgar display of money you’re ever likely to see,” Heath greeted wryly. He gave the ambulance woman a tight smile and thanked her politely, taking control of Gage’s wheelchair. “Come on, you two. There’s a patio door on the east wing that doesn’t have so many stairs. Jez, once we get Gage settled in, I’ll take you downstairs to see the nest.”
I stopped cold, and Heath hesitated, turning to look over his shoulders at me.
My mouth felt dry. I had to swallow a couple of times before I could get words out.
“There’s... a nest?” I asked stupidly. “For me?”
FIFTY-TWO
Jez
THE HOUSE WAS EVERYbit as big as it looked from the outside. We’d entered through a patio door on the left side, leading into a library with dark wooden shelves built into every wall. My mouth fell open as I took in the couches and comfy chairs scattered around, along with the huge fireplace, just as I’d imagined it—right down to the fur rug.
“Oh, my god,” I breathed, rushing to examine the titles on the nearest shelf. “Knox really ownsall these books?”
“Yeah,” Gage confirmed. “He’s probably even read some of them, at some point. Hey, Heath—this place has an elevator somewhere around here, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Heath confirmed.
“I know I can’t manage the stairs, but no way do I want to miss Jez seeing her nest.”
Heath grunted. “You just want me to push you around like I’m your personal nurse.”
Gage snickered like a schoolboy. “Well, I mean... that, too.”
“Asshole,” Heath told him, not sounding mad about it. “You know I owe you five-star concierge service for the rest of my goddamned life, if you want it. Let’s go, then. Do you want to grab some books first, Jez?”
I blinked a couple of times. “Can I?”
“Kitten,” Gage said. “You live here now.”
“You can do pretty much whatever you like,” Heath added, “as long as it doesn’t involve grievous bodily harm.”
