“I don’t think we’ll need backup for this,” Angel says, snapping me out of my daydream of our first kiss.
“Look at the muscles on this man!” Seiji points to the picture, shrieking like a fucking banshee.Again.
“We’ll have to be careful. I don’t like anyone knowing the Horsemen are in the human realm before we find him,” Grace mumbles, still pacing the room restlessly.
“The tattoos!”
“Can Khatri stay with August? I don’t trust anyone else to—” Seiji cuts me off like he’s been doing to everyone.
“Grey fucking eyes!”
“SHUT UP, SEIJI!” everyone roars in sync, fed up with his constant wailing.
“You don’t understand! He looks likethatand hastattoos,and OH MY FATES!!” Seiji continues to screech how unfair life is.
I don’t understand why he’s going off the rails. Yes, my best friend is somewhat good-looking, but not enough to make a man completely lose his shit.
“It’s the sameevery. single. timehe finds someone attractive, and they’re not gay or his mate. Suddenly it’s the end of the fucking world.” Hazel ignores Seiji’s meltdown, tossing a grape in the air and catching it with her mouth.
“Oh, mama, I’m in love with a criminal…”
And now Seiji is staring out the window and singing his heart out, not even trying to sound good.
Angel bangs his head on the table, grumbling that Seiji needs to find his mate soon. I slide my hand between my mate’s now slightly red forehead and the table to stop him.
“You guys are so cute,” Grace sighs dreamily. She leans in to rest her head on Hazel’s shoulder, but thankfully remembers who she’s sitting next to and jerks away at the last second.
“It’s not cute, it’s disgusting.” Hazel makes a face, and I think she might actually throw up. “I’m going to leave before my eyes start bleeding.”
Angel grabs my hand and stands. “We should get ready anyway. It’s a long drive, and I don’t want to miss Harvey.”
So… we found Harvey!
Khatri stormed into the penthouse this morning with photos of my best friend leaving an exclusive ghoul club about an hour and a half outside the city. According to the Warriorhead, Harvey visits the place every two days at the same time to gather intel on the coven.
The lack of news about Harvey had started to weigh heavily on me. I was slowly slipping from the present into darker times. The group made it their mission to keep me distractedand grounded, but it was getting hard to ignore the burning hole in my chest.
Angel hasn’t left my side at all in the last few weeks. He is worried that my anxiety would spiral out of control and unleash my Divine in a way no one here knows how to handle. It was humiliating to admit that he was right. If I slip, I have the power to seriously hurt them, and knowing that doesn’t help me stay calm.
At first, their concern made me uncomfortable and suspicious, but they showed me that this is what families do.
They’ve managed to get under my skin. I don’t know when or how, but somehow, they became my safety net.
“Yeah, because that’s what we need. Another Horsemen.” Hazel rolls her eyes, then squints at Harvey’s picture like she’s trying to figure out his deepest, darkest secrets.
Harvey has changed a lot from the boy I once knew. He looks like a wall of muscles—broad shoulders and biceps three times the size they used to be. The permanent bags under his eyes, which I’d grown used to seeing, are nowhere to be found.
He looks…healthy.
Once the final details are hashed out, Grace grabs my hand and drags me away from Angel, asking Hazel to follow us over her shoulder.
When the tiny Bookkeeper declares that she’ll be dressing us tonight, Hazel and I exchange a wide-eyed look over her head. According to Grace, we have no idea what dressing fancy means, and she is the only one who can save us from ourselves.
I don’t understand what’s so wrong with wearing my mate’s hoodie. His scent keeps me from gutting people.
I’ve been patiently sitting in this chair for twenty minutes. My butt has gone numb, but when I tried to argue, Grace shot me a sharp look, and I immediately shut my mouth.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to piss off someone holding a fistful of brushes near your face. Grace may look sweet and harmless, but behind that front, there’s a fiery black woman.
