Page 38 of Wonder
Sighing, I picked up my knife and gun and went to make sure Ruari never woke up.
CHAPTER 10
SIMON
“You don’t haveto help me.” He glanced down at my hand on his arm, so I let go and went back to my chair at the other end of the table.
I held in my exasperated sigh.Pricklydidn’t even begin to describe my mate. And then he went and did things like move my blood to the kitchen refrigerator while ranting about how I was an equal member of the household. Good thing I could handle a challenge, because the more time I spent with him, the more I wanted him, mate bond or not. “I can’t search for Marcas and Roibeart until we get a clue to their location. And I don’t want any Wonders trafficked, so if I can help, I will.”
He looked like he might object again, but he focused back on the laptop instead. “Okay, thanks. I’m going to finish my report so I can get it off my to-do list. Do you... you said you can hack?” He blinked at me over the top of his reading glasses, which was cuter than it probably should have been.
I smiled. “I can. And I’m pretty good at research. Would you like me to find out the name of the person who lives in the apartment?”
“Yeah, that’d be really helpful.” He picked up his phone and texted me the address before he started typing again. I had been assigned my task and dismissed.
It wasn’t a rule that your mate would be as excited about you as you were about them, I reminded myself for the thousandth time since last night. I was trying to avoid remembering how elated Reno had been at the park when he thought I could sever our mating connection, but the memory bled through every so often.
I put my knitting in its storage box and carried it into the guest bedroom, where I retrieved my laptop and brought it back to the kitchen table. We worked together for several minutes, and then I heard, under the sound of the television, Nicky saying something to Jackson in an insistent tone of voice. I turned around, and he was on his feet and walking, sort of. He was facing away from us, leaning half his weight on the back of the sectional sofa, and mostly sliding his feet along the floor. But he was doing it on his own. Jackson, hovering a few feet away, saw me looking and put their finger over their lips, so I didn’t say anything. I did lean toward Reno and tap my finger on the table to get his attention. When he glanced up, I mimicked Jackson’s finger over the lips and pointed.
Seeing Nicky, Reno grinned and silently raised both fists in the air. Fuck, he was beautiful when he smiled.
We both went back to our respective laptops. For all of Reno’s defensiveness and rejection of our mating, I enjoyed working alongside him. Companionship wasn’t something I’d had much of since the portal closed. I’d only been with Davi for a few months, and my memories of working with the other Guards were tainted by how evil so many of them had turned out to be.
I’d already determined who owned the apartment building, and now I was identifying their corporate server so I could hack into it to get the tenant information. By the time Reno sent off his report and closed his laptop, I had what we needed.
“Emiliano Duran, age twenty-six. Works as a machine operator at a steel pipe manufacturer. He has an Instagram account, but he hasn’t posted anything in a couple of months. Before that it was occasional pictures of himself at rock concerts.”
Reno pulled off his reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Doesn’t sound like someone who’d know how to make a gargoyle costume.”
“No. Which means it was given to him, or he paid to have it made. I’m not quite good enough to hack into his bank accounts, but tomorrow I can break into his apartment while he’s at work.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. “Let’s discuss it in the morning.” He raised his voice loud enough to be heard over the television. “Nicky and Jackson? Are you ready for dinner?”
Both were sitting on the sofa again, and they replied in the affirmative.
Reno and I stood up. I took my laptop back to the guest room before returning to the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
Grudgingly, he allowed me to make a salad while he heated up the remainder of the food Esperanza had left for us.
When dinner was ready, Nicky demanded to be allowed to walk to the table. “I won’t get any better unless I keep moving my muscles!” Jackson and I put our arms around his back for support. Since Nicky was a good foot shorter than I was, thatmeant he was mostly leaning on my forearm, but we made it work.
After he reached the table, everyone heaped a ton of praise on him. Even better, he was able to eat a little more than he had last night. After dinner we all settled on the sofa to watch a movie. Reno had arranged us so he and I flanked Nicky and Jackson. He was still blocking our connection, so I couldn’t tell what his mood was.
About an hour into the movie, which honestly I wasn’t paying attention to at all, Nicky and Reno were both asleep, their seats reclined back with their feet up. Jackson had changed to their panther form, but their eyes were still on the TV. During a quiet scene, I heard Reno’s phone buzz on the kitchen table. It was almost 10pm. How late did the Wonders think it was appropriate to text him?
I got up and collected the phone so it wouldn’t disturb him. I’d exchanged numbers with Tucker earlier, so I sent him a text.
Me:
What’s the passcode to Reno’s phone?
Tucker:
I feel like that’s something you should be asking him
Me:
He’s asleep and he probably wouldn’t agree. I want to respond to all the Wonders who keep texting him.
