CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Cassander jerked Finn’s front door open, ordering, “Get in here. I need to talk to you.”
Finn and I stood on the front porch. Shocked.
We had just arrived home.
And we were already being bombarded with more drama. All I wanted was a turkey sandwich or a piece of leftover pizza, and not with a helping of drama-on-the-side. Even though I didn’t think he was speaking to me, I followed them inside.
I would have left the two alone if Cassander hadn’t chosen the kitchen for whatever meeting he wanted to have with Finn. The pleasant surprise came when we entered the kitchen, and there was lunch laid out on the counter.
Cassander motioned at the food. “Eat while I talk. We don’t have much time.”
Finn grabbed a hamburger from a plate. “What’s going on?”
The fox cringed. “I finally saw what was going to happen. There’s only one way to stop it that I can see.”
Finn’s bracelet buzzed. He glanced down at it.
“Answer it,” Cassander ordered. “Tell her to come over here to talk.”
Finn tapped his bracelet. “Hello, Poppy.”
I grabbed a hamburger and bit into it.
If I didn’t need to stay silent, I would have groaned.
It was excellent.
“Thank damn you answered. I need you to talk some sense into Godric. He’s telling me I can’t go tonight and that his father is going tobabysitme while you’re out. I’m a soldier. I’m an asset to you guys. There’s no reason—”
“Just come over here, and we’ll see what I can do,” Finn cajoled, his eyes on his friend. “Sound good?”
“Thank you. Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”
“See you soon.” Finn tapped his bracelet, ending the call. “Do you want to tell me what this is all about now?”
Cassander paced in front of us, running his fingers through his silver hair. “I need you to kill Poppy when she gets here. Do it in a way that she won’t reform until after midnight when you guys will be back.”
I lifted my hamburger, my eyes enormous with shock at his words. But I took another bite and watched the two stare each other down.
“What?” Finn finally asked.
“Jimble-Wamble-Boom.”
Finn’s entire frame flinched. “You can’t call a Jimble-Wamble-Boom on God’s fucking mate!”
They went back to their stare-down.
I swallowed another bite. “What’s a Jimble-Wamble-Boom?”
Did I really just say that?
Cassander glared at his friend, explaining, “If I kill a shifter or a mate, they die permanently. But if someone else does it, they come back to life. Finn and I made a pact when we were much younger. If I ever needed someone dead but didn’t want them permanently dead, I would say Jimble-Wamble-Boom. Finn gave me his word of honor that he would do it, no matter what.”
“Interesting.” I took another bite of hamburger, almost done with it. I wanted another one…and maybe water to drink too. “Sounds to me like Finn will need his sword instead of the blades he has on his body right now.”
Finn snapped his attention to me. “That is God’s mate, Mina. You saw how he acted when she was just knocked out. Imagine what he will be like if I slice the little redhead up.”
“You gave your word.”
He ground his teeth together. “He is the alpha king,myalpha king. My loyalty is with him. If it were any other person, I would slice and dice, but it’s fucking Poppy!”
“You gave your word,” I repeatedly slowly. “Or does that not mean anything to you?”
“Don’t go there,” he muttered. His eyes flicked back to his friend. “Give me a reason. Just one fantastic reason.”
Cassander’s lips thinned. “If you don’t kill her tonight, God is going to die.”
