“I remember,” she said before standing and walking over to us, holding her hand out to shake theirs. Lynx took it quickly, moving in front of Saros, obviously not wanting to tell my sister about his abilities or invade her memories without invitation. She gave him an odd look, noticing it despite Lynx’s effort.
He guided her back toward the couch, taking the other end of it while Saros sat in the loveseat.
“Why don’t I take Aspen on a stroll and you guys can chat?” I offered, not wanting to make things awkward as to whether or not I should be in the room with them. I was guessing I shouldn’t stay. Plus, leaving would be easier than letting curiosity over what my sister had been through get to me.
“That’s a great idea,” Lynx replied with a smile. I returned it halfheartedly, still unsure where we stood.
“Be back soon, sis.” I walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then I nodded curtly to the guys before heading out the garage to get Aspen situated in the stroller.
* * *
The street was quietersince word had spread about Acacia’s death and my sister’s return. The only times I usually saw folks out were for Lynx’s workouts or to grab their coffee or smoothies from Luna’s. Not that I’d looked out there often to see if I could catch a glimpse of two handsome witches…
The pounding of footsteps hitting the pavement behind me brought me to a halt. I turned around, spotting Lynx sprinting toward me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Hazel gave Saros the go-ahead to…do his thing. So I figured I’d keep you company,” he replied, only a little breathless as he started walking next to me. I continued down the street with the stroller. “How’s she been doing the last week?”
I kept my gaze forward, inhaling the fresh fall breeze. Leaves trickled down from the branches in beautiful shades of fiery reds and mustard yellows. “She’s been doing pretty well, considering. She seems to be most at ease when she’s watching Aspen, and I can’t lie, I’m enjoying the extra set of hands. But I know there’s no way to be asfineas she says after all she’s been through.” I finally looked over at Lynx, giving him a resigned shrug. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“Give her time. She will come around when she’s ready. Just being there for her right now is huge.” He placed his hand on top of mine on the stroller bar. “Sometimes that’s all you can do.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” I stared down at where our hands touched, then my attention darted to the street, wondering if anyone was out and what they would think. As far as they all knew, Lynx was happily married and helped run the coffee truck with his husband when he wasn’t training clients. How would this look to them?
I nudged his hand away, not wanting to do anything that could put his undercover status in jeopardy. “I was surprised I didn’t hear from you sooner.”
He frowned, running a hand through his sandy-blond waves. “We wanted to check in, but between being swamped with filing reports, waiting on evidence, and keeping up the training and coffee shop—it’s been nuts. Plus, Saros thought Hazel might need some time without our presence in case it triggered anything before she was ready.”
“I get that.” Of course it didn’t have to do with me. It was about the case. “Honestly, I barely believe a whole week has already passed. Anything new on the case front?”
“We did get the autopsy report. I can’t say much more until we hear from toxicology, but…Acacia was murdered. We still aren’t sure how your sister’s disappearance fits into the picture. They seem related, but usually it was the whole household taken, not just one person from it, and we’ve never found anyone else who disappeared.”
Shit.That would mean there could be even more to my sister’s kidnapping than I’d thought. Hopefully whatever was happening with Saros right now gave them some clues. If someone else was out there, did that put Hazel in more danger? “Maybe they didn’t realize Aspen and I would be there since she moved in first?”
“I’m not sure. Ideally between your sister’s report and the evidence we sent in, something will shake out. We’ll be going through our notes again at home tonight after he’s done talking to Hazel.”
Home.Did he even really think of it as his home? How could he when he spent most of his time undercover traveling wherever the case took him?
“Wicked, there wasn’t a day that I didn’t think about you,” he admitted, coming around in front of the stroller so I’d be forced to stop. He knelt, making silly faces at Aspen, who giggled wildly in response. “Both of you.”
“Really?” I bent down next to him, whispering low. “And here I was thinking you were trying to speed up this investigation so you could be rid of Celestial Haven.”
“I’d love to have the case solved, but I’m not complaining about getting to stick around while we wait to hear from headquarters.”
“What happens once you do?” I asked, not sure I wanted the answer.
“I don’t know, Wicked.” He put his hand on my knee, making my heart race. “All I know is that I can’t stop myself when it comes to you.”
“I don’t want you to.” My mind flitted back to when he’d held that knee and devoured me… The way his Empathy flowed through me and the hours afterward. Desire swam in my veins, eager to reach the source. For more. “But I have to ask…do you know what’s going on with Saros?”
“I promised him I wouldn’t interfere.” His lips pulled into a line, reminding me of his grouchy faux hubby. “He has his own way of handling his emotions—”
“Or lack thereof.” I chuckled, eliciting a frown from Lynx that quickly had me shutting myself up.
“As someone who has a front-row seat to how much he keeps bottled up, I’ve learned not to always read into his stoicism.”
I shrugged. “It’s hard not to.”
