Page 5 of The Wayward Sons & the Seattle Sirens

The what-ifs had taken over my brain. I couldn’t stop them if I tried. I just wanted to keep him safe. Here? Here I couldn’t see what was coming until it was too fucking late. It scared the shit out of me.

Probably feeling everything I was, Ryder reached across the console and took my hand. His fingers laced through mine, and he squeezed tightly.

“It’ll be fine,” he said quietly. I didn’t have a damn thing to say, so I nodded, lips pressed together tightly. I knew he was trying to comfort me, but it didn’t work.

My gut told me otherwise.

I glanced at him. The small smile he gave me did wicked things to my heart. Fuck, I didn’t want to lose him.

CHAPTER 05

The woman standing outside our motel door didn’t look like my sister. Not really. She was softer somehow—happier. Whatever the hell she was doing with her life, it suited her. Her auburn hair was shorter than I’d ever seen it, tossed up in a clip with wild flyaways everywhere. Those pale blue eyes that matched mine sported a few extra laugh and worry lines. She dressed more comfortably than before, wearing a hockey sweatshirt and leggings. But that smile? That same big smile lit up her face when I answered.

“I’ve missed you,” Tessa said tearfully as I pulled her in for a hug. The intense emotions rolling off her were overwhelming. That was new. She’d always been reserved and organized with her feelings.

“I’ve missed you too,” I replied. “You look good.”

“You look better.”

“I look best,” Gray chimed in as he exited the bathroom. I shook my head, but Tessa laughed and crossed the room to hug him. “How you doin’, darlin’? Holdin’ up okay?”

“That depends on your definition of okay,” she admitted. “I just… keep going through things.”

Her voice cracked as she faltered, eyes watering all over again. I frowned. Tessa wasn’t a crier—even as a kid. The last time I’d seen her cry was at Zeke’s funeral.

“They don’t tell you just how much having a baby will fuck up your feelings.” She gestured to her face before rubbing her eyes with the edges of her sleeves. “I cry at everything. Everything! I cried at a dryer sheet commercial. Don’t you laugh at me, Grayson Charles Harper.”

His smirk vanished under her menacing glare. Oh, having a kid really fucked with my sister’s emotions. And I’m sure her power wasn’t helping any.

“Okay,” I interjected. Taking my sister by the shoulders, I led her to a chair. “Let’s just sit and talk this out, okay? We need a plan, but we need to know everything you know.”

“Crap!” She popped right back out of the chair. “I forgot everything in the car.”

“I’ve got it,” Gray said and waved her back into her seat. “I’ve got it.”

“I’m sorry,” Tessa whispered when he was gone. “I’m not usually so much of a mess. It’s just…”

“You’re fine, Tess,” I told her, taking her hand. The wild emotions rolling off her were intense, and I wanted nothing more than to soothe away some of it. I couldn’t begin to imagine the thoughts going through her head. “We’ll get them back.”

“What if we can’t?” Tears gathered on her bottom lashes. “What if it’s too late? What if—”

“No, what-ifs,” I interrupted. “They won’t help us. Let’s just start with the facts, and we’ll go from there. If we treat it just like any other hunt—”

“But it’s not any other hunt!”

“It is. There’s a demon, it’s hurting people, and it needs to be killed.” Maybe I sounded cold, considering it was Mal and her husband on the line, but it was a fact. Making it too personal would cloud our judgment. “We’ll get Mal and Jake out of whatever hellhole those two have found themselves stuck in.”

“Promise?” She chewed on her lower lip. Fuck, the sadness in her expression killed me. I always was a sucker for my baby sister. There was a reason she got away with literally everything as a child.

“I promise I’ll do whatever I can,” I said. “We both will. Do you have any pictures of Jake? I’m pretty sure I remember what Mal looks like.”

That earned me a wet laugh. I’d take it. Anything to distract her. She pulled her phone out from her bra of all places—I wasn’t about to ask how the hell she hid it in there.

“Here.” She scooted the chair closer so I could see the picture on her phone. I took it from her, studying the man my sister decided to marry without so much as calling me once. Okay, I fucking judged him. He had unruly blond hair, blue-green eyes, a clean-shaven face, and a smile too wide for his face. The man wore casual firefighter gear as he held Tess tight to his side, beaming like he’d won the lottery. The expression on my sister’s face in the picture matched. I couldn’t remember ever seeing my sister so happy.

And then it dawned on me.

“Do not tell me the man is a descendant of Uriel,” I muttered and glanced up at her, watching her nod. Of course. The man could control fire like Gray could control the earth and the air. It made him a prime fucking firefighter. “Fire and what?”

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