Jono rarely needed her services, but silver and aconite poisoning was something every werecreature needed help with. His body couldn’t heal the damage on its own in a timely manner. He’d spent the better part of the night after Leon drove him home getting sick in the toilet. Leon hadn’t left his side, and everyone else had met them at the flat. Which meant there was no escaping Sage’s wrath, but at least Emma and Leon were making breakfast for him.
“Jono,” Sage said.
“He doesn’t need to know about this right now,” Jono gritted out as Victoria started taping a bandage over the poultice.
Sage frowned at him, mouth twisting angrily. “You should have let me tell him what was going on when he called last night.”
Jono shook his head sharply. “I don’t want to worry him.”
“The Krossed Knights are hunting you and you think Patrick will be fine being the last to know?”
“He won’t be,” Emma called from the kitchen.
Jono lifted a hand to rub at his eyes, wincing at the pull in his ribs. His skin felt clammy, and his head hurt. Sage’s anger was only making his shit mood worse, mostly because he knew she had a point.
“You know why Patrick was sent to Chicago. It’s not like he can just up and leave from working this case. I want him to keep his head in the game. If Patrick is worrying about me, he won’t be worrying about himself,” Jono said.
“All I’m hearing is an excuse. Patrick hates being lied to. You know that,” Sage argued.
“This isn’t lying. It’s…just not telling him the whole story.”
“Obfuscation doesn’t make this situation better.”
“No, but it’ll keep Patrick focused.”
“A hundred dollars you’re sleeping on the couch for the next few months when he finds out,” Marek said as he came out of the kitchen.
“A hundred dollars he’ll be sleeping on our couch,” Sage retorted.
Victoria straightened up and began putting bottles and jars away. “All right. I’ve done what I can. The purge potions are in the fridge. Take one bottle every six hours for the next two days. That should clear your system of the poison, but you’re going to find shifting difficult until it’s all out of your system. I’d advise against changing forms until you feel completely better in your human body.”
Marek approached Victoria and handed her several hundred dollars in cash from his wallet. “Thanks for coming by this morning. Do you need a ride home?”
Victoria held up her mobile. “I’ll catch an Uber.”
“Charge it to me.”
“Later. I’m going to sleep when I get home.”
Victoria pulled on her puffy coat and waved goodbye before leaving the flat. Jono glanced down at his chest and grimaced at the red and black lines branching away from the bandaged knife wound. At least he was no longer bleeding, but he still felt like shit.
“When Patrick finds out we kept from him the fact you were nearly killed, he’s going to be pissed at all of us,” Sage said in a low voice.
“Then don’t let him find out until he’s home,” Jono said stubbornly.
Sage glared at him, hands on her hips, the scowl on her face clearly showing her displeasure. Jono pushed himself into a more upright position on the sofa, the ache on the right side of his body making him clench his teeth. The pain burrowing into his muscles had faded some with the help of Victoria’s potions, but Jono wasn’t used to feeling so weak. The werevirus meant pain was an afterthought most days. Having to deal with it was annoying.
Sage spun on her heels and stalked over to the dining room table where she’d left her leather Louis Vuitton tote bag. “I’m going to work. Let me know if you come to your senses.”
Jono knew she wouldn’t tell Patrick because he’d given her that order before she even answered Patrick’s first call last night. He didn’t want Sage angry at him, but neither did he want Patrick in the wrong frame of mind while working an out-of-state case.
Sage left the flat, the front door shutting firmly behind her. Jono winced, almost wishing she’d slammed it. He’d always admired her furious control, just not when her icy temper was directed at him.
“Should you be moving?” Leon asked as he came out of the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee and one with a tea bag string dangling over the side.
“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Jono replied.
“It was decided, while you were puking your guts out all night, that Emma and I will be crashing in your guest room until the threat passes.” Leon set the mugs down on the coffee table, a serious expression on his face. “Sage gave that order. I listen to my god pack’s dire.”
“But not your alpha?”
“Not when you’re being stupid,” Emma retorted, coming out of the kitchen with her own cup of coffee in hand. “Leon and I can telecommute for the rest of the week. We’ll take our meetings through videoconferencing.”
“Patrick warded the flat,” Jono reminded them.
“Patrick isn’t here. We—”
Emma broke off and immediately looked at the front door, as did Leon, and their expressions told Jono he wasn’t going to like what had pissed them off.
“Who is it?” Marek asked.
Before either could answer, the front door was thrown open and Sage strode back inside. The faint flush to her cheeks was partly from anger and partly from the sexual desire that seemed to pour off Carmen like bad perfume.
Emma immediately put herself between the succubus and Jono. Leon joined her in guarding where Jono sat on the sofa while Sage stood between Carmen and Marek. Jono stayed where he was, wishing he’d thought to put his shirt back on after Victoria had left so his wound was hidden.
Carmen leaned against the doorjamb, her long, curly black hair falling loose to her waist. She smiled at Jono, and
