“She hasn't gotten back to me yet.” Troian admitted. “But as soon as I hear back from her, I'll let you know what's going on.” He paused, his expression changing to something I didn't recognize. “Did Kroven tell you anything this morning? About the Rhodes family?”
My face imploded with uncertainty. “Why would he?” As far as I knew, Kroven didn't know a single thing about the Rhodes family.
“We were talking last night, and he said that his friend Exoworks for the ORBIT board in D.C.” I nodded as he spoke of Exo, only knowing the name because of Bas' connection with Kroven. I knew that he'd met Exo before, and I knew Exo was a sangamar like Kroven, but beyond that I didn't know much about him since my context was by proxy. “Police in D.C. just arrested one of the Rhodes siblings last night. She was behind the petrylle kidnappings.”
“So one of the Rhodes siblings outed themselves as the petrylle kidnapper the same day that Casper & Cheyenne kidnapped me?"
Troian nodded. “I’m not sure if it's connected other than perhaps Warren giving the go ahead at the same time, but it's something to bring up to police here, which I'll take care of.” Thank goodness because I didn't think I had another police visit in my system. “After Kroven’s insight, I called Madison and relayed everything to her and she said she needed to confirm things and she'd call me back.”
That was good. At least he'd been able to explain everything to Madison. What I hated was that we were back at square one.
“So we just have to keep waiting to hear back from her.”
Troian let one of his hands roam over the buzzed dome of his head. “I know it's not ideal, but you don't have to worry about this part. I've got this. You just keep pushing through and I'll take care of everything on the back end.”
I gave him a smile. “Thanks, Troian. I really appreciate everything that you're doing.”
Troian walked over and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I reciprocated as he said, “I’m always going to be here for you, Thayer. I promise.”
Squeezing him tight, I reveled in the fact that for the first time in the several years that had been built between us, I could rely on Troian again.
Chapter 25
Breakfast was wonderful.After getting appropriately dressed, Troian and I joined the others in the kitchen to enjoy the breakfast that Qwill had prepared for everyone. I was still a little worried about the fact that Cheyenne & Casper were still out there. The only solace I tried to grip on to was the fact that they both seemed to be attempting to flee from the family. With the potential coordination of what happened to me and what had happened in D.C. with the petrylle, I was more than a little disturbed by what the Rhodes family was trying to accomplish. But having breakfast with my little makeshift family felt like the most normal thing I'd been involved in for a while.
We'd eaten lazily, taking bites in between Bas regaling us with stories about Diana, the kitten he and Kroven had adopted when Bas moved in with him. Qwill had countered with stories about rooming with Teme and Garth Lo, giving me a tiny insight into what it was like for him to be living with a virces tribe. Kroven and Troian mainly kept quiet, interjecting when they felt like adding something. I was free to keep my thoughts to myself, which was my preferred status at the moment. I was listening intently and laughing or commenting when I felt theneed, but I was mostly just thankful they didn't bombard me with the dreaded questionare you okay?I didn't want to hear those words or dwell on the warehouse. I wanted to move on to the next stage of my life, and for the time being, I was able to enjoy the frivolous breakfast my boyfriend had prepared.
I mentally halted myself. Qwill and I hadn't had that conversation, but he sure as hell felt like my boyfriend. I mean, I'd just woken up to him making breakfast inmyapartment. Things seemed to be progressing in that direction. We just needed to talk about it to see if we were on the same page as much as I thought we were.
“That was delightful, Qwill.” Kroven vocalized, licking his lips in a showcase of validating his words.
“Thanks.” Qwill simpered, shrugging humbly. “I just threw together what Thayer had on hand.”
We shared a smile, our eyes locking and I could feel the ease of affection flooding my body. It was so easy to do this with Qwill, to be with him. Even with our friends surrounding us, I'd never felt more at home with someone than I did with Qwill.
“Well, I've got work in about an hour.” Bas said, standing from the chair he'd been sitting in at the kitchen bar next to Kroven. He gave me a dower expression. “Unless you want me to stay?”
“I’m good.” I smiled. “But I appreciate you being here.” I awarded each of them a knowing glare. “I appreciate it from all of you.”
They all nodded or gave me their smile to hold on to, and I was slightly overwhelmed by the sheer support. I was thankful to have my small band of encouragement, knowing how lucky I was to have anyone to lean on.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention.” Kroven cleared his throat. “It's about the Rhodes family.”
“I already told him.” Troian interjected. “I’ll handle mentioning it to the police and everything.”
“Splendid.” Kroven smiled. “I’ll let you know if Exo mentions anything else about the petrylle Rhodes situation.”
My brother gave the slightest decline of his head as a response, before he realized that Kroven still couldn't see him as he added, “Sounds great, thank you.”
Bas came over and offered me a hug from my seat at the bar. After giving a quick hug to him and Kroven, they said their final goodbyes to everyone and headed out the front door. As it closed, Troian shoveled in the last bite of his breakfast and stood up abruptly.
He swiftly chewed and swallowed before speaking. “I was going to head over to my hotel and shower and everything. I'll call you if I hear from Madison in the meantime, okay?”
I stood up and nodded, wrapping my arms around my twin. “Thanks again, Troian. For everything you're doing.”
“No need to thank me.” He said as we came out of the embrace. “Keep your phone nearby.”
“Will do.”
