“And are you happy to leave it there?” Saint whispered. “To have him in your life but not cross that boundary to keep you both safe?”
“Yes,” Teddy said shakily, not knowing if he was simply lying to himself.
Saint didn’t seem sure either. He pursed his lips. “We should introduce him to the team. Make it seem like it’s a proper official meeting and he didn’t just crawl in through the window.”
Teddy winced, blushing slightly.
Saint’s eyes bugged. “He climbed through the window! I thought you snuck him in here?!”
“He was already in my room when I got back, asleep on my bed.”
“I’m ignoring how romantic that is. I don’t find it cute at all, you hear me?” Saint said, pointing a finger in his face. “It’s a recipe for disaster. Stop making googly eyes.”
Teddy looked down at his own feet.
“He’s just here for the case and will be staying a while,” Saint said. “That’s our story.”
“He is here for the case,” Teddy mumbled. “He said he has new info.”
“Well why didn’t you lead with that?”
Saint walked back to the door and opened it, jumping in fright to find Wren on the other side already, glaring at him from the confines of his hood.
“Oh, uh, hello again,” Saint said. “Sorry for barging in.”
“It’s fine,” Wren said but Teddy knew that voice, and it wasn’t his fine voice at all. “I have case information.”
“Damir said.” Saint nodded. “I’ll round everyone else up.”
He flounced off and Wren shrank into himself, shuffling on bare feet.
“You okay?” Teddy asked
Wren nodded. “Sure. Is everyone working on this case?”
“We have been treating it like a group project,” Teddy joked. “It’s mostly Saint and me, although the others have offered opinions. But since you’ll be staying here for the consult…”
“Right,” Wren said. “They do need a heads-up.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Come on. They’re a decent bunch.”
He led Wren out of his room, regretting having to share him but knowing he had to at least pretend this was all purely professional for them both.
“Everyone…” Teddy said as he walked into the living room to find his team slumped around the couch, glasses in hands and disgusted looks on their sleepy faces.
Echo had been on a rampage lately, getting them up early, making them juices to do a cleanse, having them meditate and do a short yoga session before starting their days. They were thriving. The rest of the team hated it with a burning passion.
But it beat witnessing Echo researching the best burial spots in Arcstead for when they died of neglect.
“Who’s that?” Heir asked, pointing at Wren, and for whatever reason that made him acutely aware of the fact Wren…his Wren was standing behind him. In his house. Surrounded by his team and the echoes of a decade of Teddy’s life.
The world ofTeddy and Wrenhad collided with the world ofTeddy without Wrenand he wasn’t sure he could handle it.
“I was about to get to that,” Teddy said, motioning for Wren to come stand by his side.
He did so reluctantly, Blu perched on his shoulder, head rubbing against his hair as if soothing him.
“Well…get,” Eerie said, head tilted, the feathers on one shoulder of his blouse making him look like a curious bird. He was in heels already and dawn had barely broken. He made a little swishing motion at Teddy with his fingers to get him going.
