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Wyldan stalks forward with leonine grace, slapping his palms onto Bonner’s desk before leaning over it. “If we do this, we do this properly, all five of us, and everything I’m about to say stays between us and this room. Got it?”

Lukaz readjusts and Fox sits forward, his fingers steepled under his chin. His dark, straight curtain of hair partially obscures his handsome face, but I can tell by his astute body language that he’s hanging on every word Wyldan is about to deliver. We all are.

“Fine. Go ahead, Elijah.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Elijah

MALCHOYDIAN PEPPERBERRY 2.0

Jackson looks up at me, leaning through the trash on his desk that somehow grew into another knoll in the short time since I cleared the last mountain. If this was up to him, he’d sing like a fucking siren. My reserve is present while his inclination is to overshare when his attention drifts. We need to unite like ying and fucking yang if this is going to work. We are pieces of a pentagon puzzle now.

I exhale. Where do I start? Not at the beginning; I can’t. I need to enter sometime in the second or third act, at a point where it’s believable and beneficial.

“Jack and I are familiar with your father.”

Her eyes bulge, the whites looking like twin full moons.

“Let him get it out, Pen.”

“Thanks, Jay,” I chide, but continue before she has a chance to unpack the pet names they used on each other after the Moose and Goose. That snippet of information falls into the superfluous category at present, and there are way more pressing things to discuss. “We understand your father was working on a significant breakthrough at the time he disappeared. What we can’t speculate on is whether your safety is at risk by continuing to work on his findings. Before you go off about anyone breaching your trust, no one on your side of the desk told us anything. We were privy to some very general knowledge of Arthur’s work. Botanical science isn’t a vast industry, and it can be tight-knit, or cutthroat.”

“And what side do you two fall on?” she demands, and Jay flinches. He’s the overprotective one, with both a soft spot and a hard on. Pick a lane, buddy.

“Guess,” I seethe, calling her out. Fuck, if she only realized what strings I pulled to get her up here, what favors I called in, what threats I had to make. She’s clueless, and I can only hope it stays that way. She wriggles free of Vaskari’s hold, no longer content with the cage of his arms. She needs to pace, like me. We’re more alike than she’d care to admit. We both hate being restrained, especially when we’re annoyed.

Jackson steadies. “Aspen. We followed Arthur’s progress; we saw the breakthroughs and read the papers. Both Eli and I are keen to discover more and get the enzyme to where it needs to be to do the most good. We’re not your family’s adversaries. We are the loudest cheerleaders.”

Aspen stops pacing. Her claw-like fingers, which were tearing at her skin, hang limply by her sides. She’s spiraling. Christ, she’s never had an advocate, and this was unexpected. Fox reaches for her, and as their hands touch, an electric current crackles through the room. This is more than Luk being an obstacle for Jack and I, Fox is part of the package deal, too. Four fucking men, and Aspen Aldereyne.

“No one leaves this room until we hash this out properly. No one! By the time that door opens, we will have a plan and a full, clear understanding of the expectations of ourselves and each other. If you can’t commit to that, to this, then get the fuck out.”

I eye the invisible thread connecting their fingers. The little tree and the towering Tutchone native. “You better start fucking talking.”

“That’s your opening salvo? Great way to get a mute on board, Eli. Well done.”

“We understand he’s limited, but vocal. Isn’t that right, Muir?”

Fox nods his head, pulling his hand back for a moment so he can type out a message on his app. Aspen looks set to slap me, her eyes narrowed to fine slits. I thrive on the heat of her anger, the fuel of her hatred. Yeah, he’s a friend, right? Along with everyone else here, honey, he wants you just as much as the rest of us. What I want to understand is how much? What would he give up to keep you safe?

“I’m in,” was his first message. “We know about the Pepperberry. Aspen told Luk and me when she stayed with us.”

Christ, this is getting more convoluted by the minute. “Stayed with you?”

Lukaz stares at me. “Prof, we’re together.” It’s the motion he makes with his hands that are crude and unnecessary.

Aspen stares at Jack, who gives nothing away. “Jay, you and I…” she trails off. “Was a one-night thing. I never thought you wanted to⁠—”

“I told you on day one I wanted to,” Jay protests. “I don’t give a fuck that you’re my student. I can’t protect you if you’re not with me.”

“You slept with the Doc?” Fox types, while Luk stares with a jaw near the floor.

“Aspen?”

“Lukaz, yes. We did. Before school started. We ran into each other, literally at the Moose and Goose; I didn’t know he was a lecturer.”

He rubs the stubble on his jaw, his mouth pulling into a twisted oval shape. “And I’m tipping you didn’t share the fact that you were a student. No, of course you didn’t.”