Page 43 of Siren in Love
“Let him see…what?”John was scrambling back to his feet.
Mike pointed.“Peter is here.Let’s go say hi.”
John looked startled, confused.Then, he went to the window.
“Oh, fuck.Are they…”
Mike was already heading back to the offices, to Corvin.He wanted Corvin, wanted to make sure he was all right.
“They are.Come on.”
John caught up with Mike.“They’re…they’re gone.I can’t—they’re dead now.”And they can never get to me again,the echo of his voice said.Mike had no idea what the werewolf had gone through exactly, but whatever it was, it made Mike not regret at all that he’d helped put down the loups-garous.
As the two of them descended the stairs, Mike picked up the noises of Peter dragging the dead loup-garou off the other staircase.Should it concern me that my boss is really good at disposing of bodies?If only he were as good at mediations as he is at corpse cleanup.
Mike headed back to the office he’d left Corvin in and pushed the creaking door open.
“Corvin?It’s okay, you can come out now.”
Corvin peeked up from under an abandoned desk.“I think I have a fucking spider in my hair.Did you call the cops?Is John okay?I don’t hear any sirens.”
You heard one siren, my love, but not the kind you’re thinking.Mike hated lying to Corvin, but he wasn’t going to tell him about the four bodies or how they’d died.Or what they’d really been.Having used his song on Corvin, even briefly, would make it so Corvin wouldn’t question most if not all of the events of the night, but a pile of bodies might change that.
“Peter is handling that.He just got here.The people that are after John got away.”
Corvin scrambled to his feet and brushed dust and cobwebs off himself, to little noticeable effect.“Shit, Mike, this was—”
Mike closed the distance between them and pulled Corvin against his chest.“I know, honey.And I’m sorry.I didn’t think anything like this would happen.Are you okay?”
There was indeed a small spider in Corvin’s hair.Mike plucked it off the strands and tossed it away.
“Yeah.You?And John?”
“I’m okay.”
“I’m peachy too,” the werewolf said from outside the office.
“Wonderful.”Peter, ever adept at sneaking up on people, was almost right behind John, making the werewolf jump.
Mike reluctantly let go of Corvin, though he reached for his hand and held it tightly.They joined the other two outside the mildewy office.
“Corvin, what a joy to see you again, although the locale and occasion leave much to be desired.”Peter’s smile probably wasn’t meant to look menacing, but it did.
“It’s… Yeah.They should find another cleaning person for this place, am I right?”Corvin huddled against Mike.Mike relaxed at the contact.
“Lovely sense of humor, Corvin.Humor is the light in the darkness.Well, regardless, Michael, I think you should take Corvin back home now.I’ll wait here for the authorities.”Peter made the lie sound smooth, and even as a siren, Mike barely picked up on it.“I think it would be best if John stayed with me until all this is resolved.”
John nodded in agreement.
“Are you sure?”Corvin looked at John.“He’s welcome at our place.Right?”
In the darkness, Corvin’s eyes looked more gray than green, but Mike saw the plea in them, heard it in Corvin’s voice.
He nodded.“Of course he is.”The things I do and say for my lover.
John shook his head.“Thanks, but I should stay with Peter.Maybe we can hang out for a movie soon though?That’d be fun.”
Corvin nodded.“You know where to find us.”
