“This isn’t like you.” I cocked my head. “Are you sure you want in?”
Remy tended to cause trouble, not snap on gloves to clean up the mess left in its wake.
“I’ll handle surveillance from the rooftops.” She gestured to the mini Remy army. “We’ll make sure no stragglers escape.” She chuckled amongst her selves. “How many times in life can you say you watched a giant roach stampede through downtown Atlanta?”
A knock on the door kicked my pulse up a notch, and Remy rolled her eyes as if she could tell.
Expecting Midas, I raked my fingers through my sleep-flattened hair then opened the door. “Oh. Um. Hey.”
Hat. Plaid shirt. Jeans. Chaps. Boots.
Ford couldn’t be more cowboy chic if he rode up on a horse.
“What’s with the getup?” I swept my gaze over him. “Or should that be giddy-up?”
“Heard you could use some help.” He pulled a lasso from behind his back. “So here I am.”
Arms folded over my middle, I reminded him of what he had once told me. “It’s rude to assume that all Texans are cowboys.”
“Yeah, well.” He tipped his hat. “I wanted to see you smile.”
“You asked for time.” I tried for the smile he requested. “You’re over me that fast?”
“You were never mine to lose, and you were always upfront with me about how you felt.” He tapped the lasso against his thigh. “You handled the situation better than me start to finish. The whole time I should have been listening better to what you were saying instead of to how I was feeling.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said softly. “I want us to be friends, when you’re ready.”
“I want that too.” He flung the lasso onto the empty mattress I was pretending not to notice because I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach last night had been a dream. “This was like stubbing a toe, darlin’.”
“You just compared me to one of life’s most painful experiences.”
“It was a flash of blinding pain,” he elaborated, “and then it was over.”
Obviously gwyllgi healing abilities meant he had no proper respect for stubbed toes.
“In that case, welcome to the rodeo, partner.”
“There’s one more greenhorn who’d like a ticket to the show.” He gestured to someone in the hall. “It’d mean a lot to her if you gave her a second chance.”
Ares eased into view holding a candy bar bouquet stuck in a vase. Even the leaves were edible paper.
“I was wrong to pin my fears on you.” She thrust it at me. “I knew the kind of world I was bringing a child into when Liz and I started this. I got overwhelmed, and you were an easy target. I can’t promise I won’t freak out again because the whole impending-motherhood thing terrifies me, but you’ve got my word I won’t turn it around on you.”
“I can’t say no to chocolate.” I accepted her offering then sobered. “I don’t have many friends.” I toyed with a curling ribbon I was pretty sure I couldn’t eat and made a mental note not to try later. “I’m glad to have you back.”
“You’ve got seven friends right here,” Remy called. “And none of us abandoned you.”
“You’re not pack.” Ares shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“I understand Hadley needs me to watch her back.” Remy reabsorbed her other selves. “She can’t trust you two not to dip when it hits the fan. Same with Golden Boy.” She curled her lip. “Bunch of traitors.”
Crossing to her, I slung my arm around her shoulders. “You’re a good friend, but they’re my friends too.”
Mollified by the attention, she sniffed. “They’re not one-seventh as cool as me.”
“No one is,” I assured her. “But maybe cut them some slack.”
“Like she did for you,” Bishop said from the hall, nudging Ford and Ares out of his way. “You’re a murderous little fiend,” he told Remy, “and yet Hadley made you her full business partner.”
“To be fair,” she allowed, “I didn’t give her much choice.”
“Best decision I never made.” I set my candy arrangement on the counter. “You ready for this, Bish?”
“Have you ever noticed how that nickname makes it sounds like you’re calling me a—”
“I am hurt and offended.” I put a hand over my heart. “That has never crossed my mind. Not once.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He passed me a café mocha and a bag with a chocolate croissant. “I see you’ve called in old favors.” He handed Remy her own bag. “I trust everyone here can play nice for one night?”
“They’re here of their own volition,” I said between bites. “I didn’t coerce them.”
Given how most of us had parted, I didn’t have the nerve to call in those kinds of markers.
“The hall smells like Midas,” he said casually. “Are you guys okay?”
After everything that had happened, I was miles from okay, but I was getting there. “Yeah.”
“That didn’t sound very convincing.” He glowered. “Linus gave me explicit instructions.”
Cold dread wormed through me. “What kind of instructions?”
“Let’s just say he was considering a new rug for in front of the fireplace at Woolworth House.”
Since I didn’t have a father figure in my life, or regular contact with my older brother, it was nice to hear someone else cared enough to threaten their fellow man if he hurt me. Forget shotguns. Linus was a nuclear option. It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
“Where is the belly-crawler?” Bishop angled himself to see up into the loft. “Gone again?”
“Okay, okay.” I shoved him. “Knock it off.”
Bishop understood better than most why Midas had flipped out on me, and we hadn’t gotten into the gory details of my past. Then again, Midas went to Savannah. He could learn anything and everything about Amelie there. No conversation with me required.
The window rattled, and then it thumped. No. Someone was knocking on it. I had to hunt for the remote that operated the blackout curtains, and it took a minute to figure out which button to
