Page 54 of April's Fool
“It didn’t,” Damon agreed. “But there are always loopholes. I’ll protect Mori, Cody and Toth with my last breath.”
The air felt like it had been punched from my lungs. “No, Damon, please. Don’t speak like that.” I reached for his hand. He felt so far away, like he was shutting himself off from me. “We’ll do this together. Me and you, okay?”
Finally, he let me have his hand. “Yeah. Together.”
“Since Cody is Basil’s prime target, I think he should get out of the area. The demon realm isn’t safe. Where can they go where they will be protected?” Blake asked. His team was on edge. They probably wanted to get Blake out of there. This wasn’t the shifters’ fight. At least not yet. It might never be.
Silence stretched out between the group. We were settled in one of the lounges made for the demons. Most of the other guests had left, some without even realizing just who had walked among them as if he owned the place. By the magic, I hated Basil. Hated his threats against my son. For the words he had spoken to Damon. Something about Basil’s reaction had shaken Damon to his core. I hated that he had that power.
Where could Cody and Toth go where they would be safe and protected? The demon realm was out, of course, just because we didn’t know if Basil had any other demon names. Toth wouldn’t be comfortable in the elven world, Cody would be too far away for me. No, they couldn’t go there.
Suddenly, the ideal place came to me. “Vegas!” I cried at the same time Damon did.
I turned to my lover, seeing a grin on his face. It soothed me that we were on the same page with this.
“Great idea,” Alpha Blake stood. “We’ll leave you to your preparations. If you need us, please just call. I’ll send a couple of elves to you tomorrow. They can try to find loopholes for you, Damon. We want him gone as much as you do.” He gave Damon and then me hugs. I wasn’t aware we were on such friendly terms, but I liked it. I liked the young Alpha.
“Okay, I have triplets who are giving their papa a hard time. I need to go rescue my mate.”
The Alpha and his team left quickly.
“Damon, could I have a word?” Thyme asked hesitantly.
“Could it wait for a bit? Please? I just need a minute with Mori. We need to get Cody out of here before you say whatever you need to.”
Thyme sighed. “It’s waited this long. I suspected before. I tried to tell you what I—You know what? It can wait a bit longer.”
It was Damon’s turn to sigh. “Sorry I dodged your attempts.” Thyme had tried to speak to Damon alone before? Why? Also, why was Damon so reluctant to listen to the witch? Was it just because of what he was?
The witch waved him off. “It’s fine.”
A distant clock rang out. April first. I laughed bitterly, an odd sound, not one I was accustomed to making. “Basil’s timing was off. An hour later and we could have passed it off as one of those April Fools’ jokes.”
Damon’s smile was an echo of his usual one. “If only this was one big prank.”
“I’ll wait here. Maybe get another cocktail,” Thyme said before heading up to the bar.
“Do you want me there while you speak to Thyme?” I wrapped an arm around Damon’s waist, letting him know I was there for him.
“Please. I just… something tells me it’s big. Life changing. I… I can’t take anymore. Can’t we just have peace? This was supposed to be a fresh start.”
“Whatever happens, I’m here, okay?”
“Okay.”
Cody did not take the news well and kind of threw a tantrum, which was a first for me on my parenting journey. Then I got to put my foot down as his father, another first, and insist that he go far away so he could be safe.
Then there was a lot of back and forth about putting myself in danger but not allowing him to take the same risks where Damon had to step in and count all the ways I was in a better position to defend myself and others thanks to the training of Keren and Gregoris, the man we were sending my precious son to.
Things with Gregoris may have not ended well, yet he was still my friend, the person who had been by my side for so long I hardly knew how to function without him. I’d managed, though I still missed him with a fierce ache. Having Damon with me helped with the pain.
Gregoris was the only one I could trust to look after Cody properly. Alongside me, he had watched Cody grow up. Now he was mated, he would have a new name, making him safe from Basil. Only Parker would know that name.
Finally, Cody agreed with a huff. Toth thanked us quietly, then joined Cody in their room to pack. Damon sat with me on the couch as Barr lingered in the kitchen, eating some leftovers from the opening. I was glad the food wouldn’t go to waste.
“Barr, would you take them to Vegas, then return to us?” I asked, catching his attention.
He swallowed the bite of sandwich he’d just taken. “I, uh, well, I need to spend some time at home first, to replenish before I return to you. Would that be okay, Mori?”
