Page 97 of Swan

“Swan. Don’t go gettin’ any funny ideas, yeah? I wanted to come here. Or is it you don’t want me here?”

“No, it’s not that,” I rushed to say. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to be here just to… I don’t know, guard me.” I rubbed my hands together on my lap, staring down at them. “I-I have to move on from the past and not worry about if people will say things to me.”

“You can do all that, Birdy, but also try to understand that the people in your life just want to help you out at any chance we can. Besides, we’re doin’ it for our own selfish reasons, and that’s to ease our worry too. We know what pricks there are in the world.”

When he said it like that, it did help me understand it more.

“Okay, Drake. Thanks for coming to Caroline Springs with me, and I’m glad you’ve got some jobs to keep you from being bored.”

He huffed, strangling the wheel. “Believe me, I wouldn’t even be bored if I didn’t have ink to do.”

“That’s good, then.”

By the time we got back to Wolf and Ruin’s, it was dinner, and they were already in the dining room along with Wolf’s family. Even Ryo, Wolf’s personal security and assistant, and his partner, Link, were seated at the table. The room was noisy with chatter, and I thought it would be a little awkward with not knowing many of Wolf’s family members, but they made an effort to get to know Drake and me.

“Taro-sama,” Katon called as he bowed at Wolf’s side.

“Yes?”

“There was another on the news.”

Wolf nodded, jaw clenching as he waved Katon off.

“What’s this?” Drake asked.

It was Ruin who told us, “A friend of Taro’s cousin went missing. It turns out she wasn’t the only one. She’s the third missing woman from this area.”

My stomach dropped.

How horrible.

I glanced down the table to see if I could figure out which one was the cousin with a missing friend. When my gaze landed on her, I could see the pain clearly. She stared blankly down at her meal, playing absently with her fork.

There was another woman next to her who curled her arm around the sad woman’s shoulders and said something.

“We are looking into it,” Ryo said.

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said anythin’,” Ruin told me.

“No. Don’t feel like you can’t talk about serious things in front of me. You can.” I glanced to Wolf. “If there’s anything I can do to help your cousin, please let me know.”

He nodded and gave me a small smile. “I will.”

Later that night, after we’d gone to another room for a nightcap, Drake walked with me to our rooms.

“You know you don’t have to go to bed too,” I told him. He was probably used to late nights and late mornings. I was used to early nights and early mornings.

“Nah, Ruin was kickin’ my arse in pool anyway.” He stretched and yawned. “I could use some shuteye.”

I thought I caught a glimpse of some colour at his hip.

“Do you have a tattoo?” I reached for his tee and vest, but he danced out of the way with a chuckle.

“I just have the one for now.”

“Can I see it?” I asked as we stopped by my door.

He stared down at me with a smirk. “The only way my birdy gets to see it is when we fall into bed together.”

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