I have him back.I have my best friend back. I can’t believe we made it out.
“Still a smart mouth, I see.” Harvey shakes his head in mock disappointment as if I didn’t copy-paste my attitude from him and Papa.
Harvey was my role model growing up.He still is. Every curse word in my dictionary is Harvey’s blessing. Papa helped too, but it was mostly Harvey.
Holding my hands, he backs up slightly and adores me with a rare loving smile. “Look at my monkey all grown up…pretendingto be a lady.”
“Better than your fake ‘bad boy from Hell’ look when everyone knows you’re a complete softy at heart,” I coo childishly, knowing he will hate it.
“Take that back,” He glares, giving me his scariest look, which doesn’t do shit for me. I’ve been watching that face since he was six, and it only makes him look like a constipated pig.
I snort, but before I can retort with an incredible comeback, a throat clears loudly behind me. I don’t have to turn around for me to know it’s Seiji.
Shoving our banter aside, Harvey takes a protective stance before me, falling into his overprotective papa bear routine.Ignoring his glare atourfriends, I swat his back before the claws come out.
“Oh, back off Papa Bear, they’re with me.”
Standing between them, I ask Harvey to take a deep breath before his rage emerges. The only reason he can’t recognize the group of weirdos behind me is because my presence has knocked him off balance.
He scrutinizes the people behind me one by one. Taking extra long on Grace and not nearly enough on Rick. Harvey was born with a crazy good bullshit radar. He can separate the good ones from the dickheads in a single interaction, and I know he’s trying to figure out if they are worth our time.
The second his eyes land on Anxo, he finally realizes who these people are. With his gaze bouncing between Anxo’s face and his ring, I wait for the shock to fade.
After a second glance at the group, Harvey stumbles a step back, eyes widening with every face. “You’re a Horseman,” Harvey whispers in awe, standing shell-shocked.
“Prince of Famine, Horseman Conquer, and how the fuck are you a Bookkeeper, my little human?” Harvey breathes out. “You are a Bookkeeper, rightdarling?” Grace nods shyly, making Harvey’s gaze linger a little longer than expected.Interesting.
A subtle gesture from Grace and Harvey immediately conceals his excitement, but not before I witness it.Oh.
I hate that a couple of months with Angel, and I know it’s not my place to say anything when all I want is to bang their heads together until they give in to what Fates have decided for them.
They could both use a miracle made just for them.
I’m not surprised Harvey identifies everyone so quickly. Our Divines have a way of knowing who belongs to which mythical species and what rank they hold. The only reason I couldn’t was because I was practically dead when I first saw them.
Angel steps towards a dumbfounded Harvey to welcome him into the family, and I see the moment my best friend realizes hisoath familysurrounds him. A family that tried their best and suffered to find him.To find us.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,brother.”
Clutching the hand offered to him, Harvey takes a shaky breath and looks sideways at me. We did this all the time when we were young. Whenever one of us was nervous, the other would stand as close as possible to offer that extra boost of emotional support.
It’s so strange that I remember every detail about him and our childhood, yet simultaneously lost almost every other part of my life. It’s like my subconscious refused to leave his memories behind, even when I lost everything myself.
Before Harvey can get sentimental about Angel calling himbrother,Seiji pokes his nose into their heart-warming moment, making us groan at his hilarious but untimely interruption.
“Welcome to the twisted family, brother!”
In his excitement, Seiji throws himself into Harvey’s arms—who malfunctions for a second before throwing his head back in laughter. When Seiji starts poking his biceps and asking for his workout routine, Harvey steps back, shaking his head in unconcealed amusement.
Papa always said that Horsemen have a bond stronger than blood, and seeing the three men interact like they’ve known each other for years joins another piece of the puzzle in my heart.
Shaking me like he hasn’t yet gotten used to our size difference, Harvey fires off, “But how did you find them? And how did you get out, monkey? I’ve been trying to find a way into the bitch coven for over a year, and none of my efforts or contacts have ever come close.”
“Add that to the list of things we have to talk about because it’s alongstory. I would gladly tell you when we get home.”
“Homehome?”
Patting his back, Angel replies, “Home, brother.Our home. The Tetrad kingdom has been awaiting your return for a long time.”
