Page 79 of Bitter Heat
Caleb nodded. “I see. Janus had feelings for me. Loved me. Wanted me. Admired me.”
Kerry’s jealousy twisted like a hundred snakes in his gut. What was the point of this?
“But he never once treated me the way he’s treating you.”
“Meaning?”
“He walked away from me. He left me vulnerable to wolf-god only knows, rather than sacrifice his desires, or negotiate, or even just talk it over. The hurdle of loving me was too high for him.”
Kerry stared at Caleb, trying to comprehend. Was he warning Kerry off from Janus? Trying to expose him as a player and untrustworthy?
“Now, look at this situation here with you,” Caleb said with a kindness in his tone that would have melted any other man’s reserves, but Kerry couldn’t let them go just yet. “You’re pregnant with another alpha’s child, contracted to a criminal, dealing with in-laws who treat you without the respect you deserve, and legally hamstrung in ways that will make a future for you both difficult. And yet he’s fighting for you, isn’t he? He had Ray contact Yosef. He went with you to Blumzound to protect you from the Monhundy family, to fight for you if need be. That’s what true love looks like, Kerry. The kind of love men share who are meant to build a life together, and be more than, well, just dear friends.”
Kerry blinked. “What if I don’t deserve that kind of love?”
“What if none of us do?” Caleb shrugged. “Have faith in him, and us as his friends—now your friends—that we won’t give you up easily.”
“We won’t give him up at all,” Janus growled from the doorway.
Kerry jerked, surprised to have been so captivated by Caleb’s words, and so desirous of their truth, that he hadn’t heard or scented Janus’s approach. Now that he saw him there, there was no denying his delicious scent filling the air.
“Cheep chirrup reeep!”
Kerry laughed and slid carefully from the sill, again much less elegantly than he would have liked given Caleb’s graceful presence, and hurried into the bathroom to retrieve Kiwi from the basin. Soaked and happy, he fluttered his wings and cheeped at Kerry before flying up to his shoulder to prance.
Janus crossed the room, saying, “I have to go, but Yosef is ready for you now.”
Kiwi fluttered on Kerry’s shoulder and then launched himself over to Janus where he promptly shat on Janus’s clean white shirt. Janus blinked. Kerry froze. And Caleb’s pretty laugh bounced around the room again.
“He’s jealous of how Kerry cares for you,” Caleb said, rising.
“It’s good luck,” Kerry said quietly, moving forward to remove a shameless Kiwi, and putting him back into his cage. “Or so Pater says, but Kiwi shits on me all the time and my luck is far from good.”
“I…” Janus stared at the white mark on his shirt. Then he shrugged and focused on Kerry again. “I came to tell you that Yosef is ready for you and that I have to leave. Please, Kerry, it’s safe to…” he glanced toward Caleb, “to trust Yosef with the truth. Even if it’s hard.”
Kerry swallowed thickly and said nothing at first, double-checking that he had locked the cage. “You should change and get going. Dr. Crescent will be crabby that you’re late.”
Janus nodded and then, with another fast glance at Caleb, tugged Kerry close and kissed his forehead. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you again. I promise.”
“Go,” Kerry said, smirking at the attention. “You have shit on your shirt.”
Janus rolled his eyes, kissed his chin and then his cheek, seemingly not caring at all that Caleb was observing, and then left the room.
“Where’s Bekhem?” Kerry asked as he and Caleb headed back downstairs.
“Your pater has him out in the garden. He’s asleep in a small basket in the shade. Your pater likes babies. He’ll make a good grandpater for this one.”
Kerry smiled tightly, and while it was clear Caleb knew he’d said something wrong, he didn’t have time to explain what. Yosef met him at the bottom of the staircase and guided him into the living room to start the interrogation.
As Yosef shut the door behind them and Kerry settled on the couch, he rubbed his sweaty palms over his stomach and waited.
“I can’t promise this will be painless,” Yosef said, sitting down across from him in a chair, holding a notebook that already held many scribbles. “But I need you to be honest with me in every way. I need the details. Even the ugly ones.”
“Where should I start?” Kerry asked, his throat dry and aching.
“Start with the first time you met Wilbet Monhundy. We’ll go from there.”
Janus hadn’t quiteunderstood the line of questioning Yosef had guided him through earlier that day. He’d assumed that he’d spend a lot more time clarifying and recapping the conversations he’d overheard between Kerry and the Monhundys in Blumzound the week before.
