Page 14 of Deadly North

“I’m fine,” I say. “There was a potential intruder, but he’s gone.”

“Jesus,” he repeats, running a hand through his wild hair. “Fury, you scared the fuck out of me!”

I only have a split-second to be surprised that Mack would be that worried about my well-being. Connor tells him what happened in a few short sentences, glancing at me for confirmation. Mack’s eyes narrow in anger as he listens. “You think it’s that fucking asshole Scorpion?” he asks me.

“It might be,” I admit. I don’t know who else it could be, though I can’t imagine how he figured out where I live if it is. But could the person who tried to get in just now be the same person who left the bejeweled knife? My head is starting to spin.

“That settles it,” Connor growls. “Just having protection on you while you’re working ain’t gonna cut it, G. We’re gonna have to have eyes on you all the time.” He turns to Mack. “I’m callin’ Magnus to let him know you’re on guard duty for G twenty-four-seven, starting immediately. From now on, you two are joined at the hip.”

“What? No!” I shout. I look at Mack, expecting him to protest, but he doesn’t say a word.

But Connor isn’t taking no for an answer. “Mack’s the only one I trust to keep you safe, G. Until I can get to the bottom of this, he goes where you go. Case closed.”

“And I don’t get any say in the matter?” I say sarcastically.

“Nope. Mack’ll sleep on your couch for the night,” Connor tells me. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll get some guys over here to fix your door. Call me if anything else happens, no matter what time it is.”

“Ugh,” I mutter. “I’d rather take my chances with the stalker.”

Mack gives me a disgusted look. “You’re welcome.”

“Fuck off,” I shoot back. “Con, this is just for tonight, you hear me? I amnothavinghimstay here with me until God knows when.”

“We’ll see,” Connor says, with a determined look that I don’t like one bit.

7

MACK

“Here,” Gigi huffs, tossing a pillow and a patchwork quilt at me. “I hope you don’t snore. With my luck it will be loud enough that I can hear it all the way in my bedroom.”

Her words are the same biting sarcasm she always uses with me, but her heart’s not in it. Gigi’s putting up a good front right now, but she’s rattled. I can tell. Her face muscles are tense, brows knitted. Her breathing is rapid and shallow. She’s scared, and she’s trying her damnedest not to show me.

“I don’t snore,” I say. Picking up the quilt, I shake it out and drape it across the couch. It looks handmade. “Did you make this blanket yourself?”

“My grandma did.” She crosses her arms in front of her and lifts a hand to her mouth, nervously chewing on a thumbnail.

“Your grandma?” I say, confused. “Your dad’s mom?”

“My mom’s mom. I never met her.” Gigi’s eyes flick away from me. “I just know she’s the one who made it. It was just always in the house growing up. She must have given it to my mom at some point. I kept it in my room. I didn’t want my dad and Connor wrecking it.”

I contemplate her words. Gigi and Fury’s mom died in childbirth with Gigi. By the time I met their dad, he was already a full-blown alcoholic: a broken man, rarely sober and never around, even when he was physically present. He finally drank himself to death not long after Gigi graduated high school. G and Fury definitely got the shit end of the stick in the parental department. I imagine it must have meant something to Gigi to have a keepsake from her mom’s side of the family, even if she never met her mom’s mom. As old as it is, the quilt is in perfect condition. An image comes to me, of young Gigi wrapping it around herself for comfort when she was feeling low.

Just then, a flash of gray fur appears. It streaks across the living room and jumps up on the couch. When it comes to a stop, I see it’s a cat with bright green eyes and long fur. It stands in the middle of the quilt, eyeing me suspiciously.

“That’s Tedward,” Gig tells me, sounding relieved to change the subject. “He’s not friendly, so don’t try to pet him.”

“Is that right?” I ask. “He doesn’t look like the violent type.” I take a step closer.

“I’m warning you, he’ll take your arm off,” Gigi says, her voice pitching higher. “He’s had his shots, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need stitches.”

I sit down on the other end of the couch from Tedward. His green eyes fix on me, tail swishing back and forth. I don’t move. After a few seconds he comes closer, nose twitching. I reach out a hand for him to sniff. After a moment, he rubs his face against my knuckles and starts to purr.

“Aww, he’s just a big ol’ softy,” I say, scruffing him under the chin. I look up at Gigi, who is gaping at both of us like she can’t believe her eyes.

“How in the hell...?” she breathes. “He hates everybody! How did you do that?”

“Dunno. He seems perfectly fine to me.”

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