Now though, there was no stress at all. I barely even registered where we were going, too hung up on the very real risk we were facing. It was funny how my anxieties paled in comparison to that fear. Everything else suddenly seemed surmountable.
I just wished I knew how to keep Evan safe in a way that wouldn’t break his heart.
And my own.
Finn, Logan, and Calan were all sprawled over various pieces of furniture. Calan was in his usual high-backed chair by the fireplace, Finn on the sofa, his legs dangling over an arm, and Logan was lying on his back on Finn’s desk.
Even if Evan hadn’t told me what he’d learned, I would’ve known something was up the second I stepped over the threshold. The tension was almost palpable. Finn and Logan offered me nods in greeting, whereas Calan didn’t seem to register our entrance.
Evan led us over to the sofa, tugging me down beside him. I fidgeted in my seat, completely uncomfy.
“You okay?” Evan said quietly. “You seem restless.”
“This doesn’t feel right,” I muttered. “It’s not right.”
The other three shifters pretended they couldn’t hear our low conversation, which I appreciated. I’d accepted that they all knew how I struggled sometimes, but I didn’t want attention drawn to it.
Evan rubbed my knee. “What do ye need, Reid? What’ll make it feel right?”
I chewed on my lip, trying to focus on what exactly felt wrong. It was the sofa, I realised. I felt…unrestrained. Like I was going to tumble off at any second. The fibres were itchy, which was weird as I’d never noticed that on sitting on it before. There was an odd smell too. I didn’t like it.
How could I fix it though?
Just like that, I knew what the answer was. Without giving myself time to question it, I shuffled over until I was sat on Evan’s lap. His arms came around me automatically as I relaxed back into him. There. Now I was stable and safe. Evan’s scent comforted me, and the feel of his hoody was familiar. As it should be, given I wore it more often than he did these days.
Evan kissed my pulse point before whispering in my ear, “I’ve got you, sweetheart.”
He did, and now I felt better.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’tneedEvan to make me feelsafe or secure. I’d survived on my own before, and knew I could do it again.
The difference now was that I didn’t want to.
You might have to if the alternative is the Clarksons executing Evan.
I swallowed the sudden swell of bile. Maybe the inner circle had come up with a plan. They had to have done, right?
Evan appeared to be thinking along the same lines. “Any ideas?”
“Nope.” Logan scowled, tossing his dagger into the air before catching it again. “We can’t figure out what the catch is. Without that, we don’t know how to prepare.”
Fuck.
Undeterred, Evan addressed Finn. “Did ye get hold of Danny?”
“Aye,” Finn said heavily. “He’s in New Zealand, doing a tour of theLord of the Ringssets.”
There was a long silence before I broke it with the obvious question. “Why?”
Finn shrugged. “Apparently him and Riley love watching movies together, and one of Riley’s friends, Matty, has got super into them recently. They’ve travelled there with him and his mate, Sebastian.”
“Fucking Sebastian,” Logan muttered.
I eyed him, startled. In spite of his murderous tendencies, there were very few people Logan actually disliked. “Do ye know him?”
“Unfortunately,” Logan muttered. “He’s a vampire assassin and hacker, who now only does the latter. He fell in love with some human. How, I have no idea. Most people get stabby when he’s in the room.”
“Unfortunately, being a vampire, he can’t fly Dannyback like one of his other friends would be able to.” Finn scratched at his beard. “Apparently it’d take longer for one of them to fly out there and bring him here than just getting on a jet, so that’s what they’re doing. He’ll be here tomorrow evening.”
