Nero’s brows raised in a mocking gesture. “Think, Josh. Use that big brain of yours. How did we know that you were a werewolf?”
It took a moment for him to remember, and then his eyes widened in horror. “No.”
“Yeah. You’re a direct descendant of werewolves, most of whom don’t even know what they are. So no, we can’t convertanybody, but we’ve got a pretty good shot with your father, your brother, and your sister.”
Hell, why hadn’t he thought about that before? When he looked at his family tree, why hadn’t he realized that every single one of them could be a werewolf like him? “But you’ve got a less than 30 percent survival rate. If you convert them, two will likely die.” And with Josh’s luck, the only one to keep breathing would be his stubborn ass of a father. “You can wipe their memories.”
Nero shook his head. “It doesn’t work well on werewolves, even the ones who have never manifested.” He arched a brow. “Does that make you think twice about going wolf on your father?”
Of course it did.
“Then maybe you should think of a way to get his help without reverting into a sullen, stubborn child.”
Chapter 22
WHEN HADhe become one of those do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do people? Nero stared out at the Indiana freeway and tried not to feel like a shit as Josh glared out at the same flat landscape. Nero didn’t know if forcing Josh to face his father was the right thing to do. Every recruit had family issues, and generally, Nero thought it was best to leave them in the past. But over the last six weeks, he’d realized how very ugly Josh’s childhood had been. For some unknown reason, he’d been the family whipping boy. His father had blamed him for everything, his brother had enjoyed tormenting him, and his mother and sister had turned a blind eye to it all.
Which meant Josh’s family wound was a great deal bigger and darker than anyone had guessed, and maybe it needed to be confronted instead of swept under the table. Because stuff that big never stayed under the table. In short, Josh had to face down the demon of his father’s bullying before he could step into everything he was meant to be and do.
But the real reason he was pushing Josh so hard was because Nero needed to save his team now. He had a few more days until the fairy mulligan disappeared forever. A couple more days and all of this would be over, one way or another.
Plus, he’d already tried to get the special fabric. He’d done the research weeks ago and realized that the only stuff that had a prayer of working was Volcax. Except every attempt to get his hands on some had been rebuffed. He had to admire the company’s security measures. Even the burglary attempt was foiled. Which meant the only person who could get some under-the-table Volcax was Josh.
So Nero had used the nearest excuse he could find to force that to happen. Just because it might be good for Josh didn’t change the real reason Nero was doing it.
If only he could tell Josh the truth. If only he could break the thrice-cursed fairy contract on this one issue alone. He needed to tell someone, because lying to Josh was killing him. He needed to tell Josh the truth about why he was pushing so hard. He needed to say that despite all intentions, he’d bonded to Josh. No one had said the L word, but it was there like a big, fat accusing finger pointed straight at Nero.
He loved Josh, and that was going to kill him when he reset the timeline. Because the minute he went back in time and saved his team, all of this—everything he had with Josh—would disappear. And then how the hell was he going to go on? Because somehow Josh had become as important to him as his team, and he couldn’t have both.
He was fucking tired of losing everyone he held dear.
He shoved that thought away. He had a mission here, and the deep-down ache in his soul wasn’t going to go away if he spent the miles brooding on it. Right now his mission was to get that fabric. Then he’d get Bitterroot to duplicate the shelter thing that was right now sitting in his trunk and activate the mulligan. Fairy magic couldn’t create solutions, but it could duplicate an existing design. That’s why the fae needed humans. They didn’t have the imagination humans did, but once someone thought of a solution—someone brilliant like Josh—the fae could recreate it.
He’d always known that Josh would find an answer when no one else could. The guy obviously excelled at thinking outside of the box. The thought almost made him smile, but then he saw the first exit sign for Indianapolis and felt Josh stiffen so tight, he thought the guy’s bones might break.
Five minutes later Josh turned to him, his expression stony. “You missed the turnoff to the factory.”
“We’re going to your home.”
“The hell we are.”
“It’s Sunday, Josh. Your father is at home.”
He watched Josh absorb that with the confusion suffered by all new recruits. Training occurred on a remote estate where every day melded into the next. Everyone lost track of time. And given how Josh buried himself in his work, Nero wasn’t at all surprised that the guy had no idea what day it was. He probably didn’t remember what month it was, but Nero didn’t bother pointing that out. Instead, he gently tried to bring Josh back into the real world.
“What does your family usually do on Sundays?”
“Church. Dinner. ESPN.”
Nero glanced at the clock. “So we’ll find them at dinner.”
Josh didn’t respond. His eyes grew vague as he once again stared out at the landscape, and Nero couldn’t shake the feeling that a time bomb was ticking. Reuniting with family was the hardest thing any new recruit did, which is one of the reasons Nero had avoided the whole thing. But Josh needed to do it, and Nero needed the Volcax. So off they went to Sunday dinner while Nero prayed he could find a way to defuse the bomb building inside Josh.
“Do you want to talk about—?”
“No. I want to get in and out. No talk, no food, no nothing. Beg for the fabric, get refused, and then we can leave.”
“We have to make this work, Josh. I’ve tried other ways, and they failed. You’re my last hope.”
