Page 12 of Call of the Ride
The vibration of Nox’s rumbling laugh against my chest actually brought a tear to my eye. “It wasn’t on purpose,lan,”he chuckled. “And trust me, I didn’t enjoy being a goddamn ghost, forced to watch you two fumble around Vasi curves like a couple of teenagers lost in the wilderness.”
Oh, how I missed you, my big grumpy bear.
“Nox?” Ace rasped behind me, and the tone of his voice gave me pause. I’d been expecting Vasi to claw me out of the way already, but when I turned to face my first love, I found him looking as raw as I felt. “Oh, thank fuck, you’re alive…” he choked out before pulling the larger man into a hug.
With a pang, I realized Ace had been grieving the loss of another family member, and carrying his pain alone yet again. He’d only just discovered Nox was his half-brother before he was ripped away, and although his mother wasn’t actually dead, finding out she was a legendary goddess had clearly fucked with him. I was also a demigod created for a singular purpose, but at least my mother was real.
Although she has some explaining to do…
I wasn’t remotely interested in humoring my suspicions about who my father was until I heard the truth directly from the source. Turning to Cass, I opened my mouth to demand she tell me where mum was holed up, but my words died on my lips when I spotted Vasi.
She was standing apart from the reunion activities, her arms crossed, eyeing Nox with what looked like wariness and suspicion. It reminded me so much of how sheusedto behave around him. I wondered if she’d accidentally turned back time while using her powers to rescue him.
“Vashka…” Having finished up with Ace, Nox took a step toward Vasi, our shared bond pulsing with exhaustion and relief. I could only imagine how horrifying being trapped in between worlds must have been for Nox, and I hoped whatever damage was done to my friend wasn’t permanent.
To my surprise, Vasi flinched and backed away from him, wrapping her arms more tightly around her chest as if to shield herself. “I’m glad you’ve been safely returned to us,” she replied, oddly formal. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Why the fuck isn’t she climbing our boy like a tree?
To his credit, Nox immediately stopped advancing, and he and Vasi simply stared at each other in awkward silence. I met Asa’s gaze across the divide and saw he was as confused as I was by our witch’s unexpected aloofness.
I awkwardly cleared my throat and faced Cass again. “I’ll take the address of wherever you’ve squirreled away mum now.”
As expected, Cass fixed me with the same judgmental look I’d been receiving since childhood. “Oh, absolutely, Tanny, whatever you want! And no need to thank me for helping you with your little problems. Carry on!”
Problems orchestrated by you, no doubt!
I half-heartedly muttered a few words of gratitude as Cass produced a slip of paper from within the folds of her hideous floral mumu. “I must know, Cass,” I growled in irritation upon reading the address. “Why did you feel it was appropriate to choose one of London’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods as the location for the safe house?”
She nonchalantly shrugged. “Because there’s nowhere safer! Even the most elite crime families won’t risk losing their muscle by sending them tothatpart of town.”
I begrudgingly realized she had a point, but it would be a cold day in the Nav before I admitted that out loud. Noticing Vasi and Nox were still fully committed to their standoff, I slung an arm over my witch’s shoulders and guided her away. “Come along,tutly juddah,”I soothed, desperate to fix whatever was broken. “We‘ll hail a taxi and get back to Catty’s so we canallcuddle our wayward Russian until we feel better, ya?”
“There’s a car waiting for you out front, love-muffin!” Cass sang out, as if she wasn’t the bane of my existence. “Keys are in the glove box and goodies are in the boot!”
And a tracking device under the chassis, no doubt.
“Thank you for your invaluable help, Ms. Moonstone,” Ace politely cut in, successfully stopping me from unaliving the busybody. “We will be sure to check back in while we’re in town.”
“Please do!” she called after us as I hustled everyone toward the exit. “I am ever available as a fount of knowledge.”
Ace shot me a sympathetic look, but Cass wisely allowed our party to leave the building without further harassment. I offered to drive as I was most familiar with London’s infamously confusing streets, but a few tense moments passed while we decided on the seating arrangements that would best avoid World War III on the return trip. In the end, Vasi sat up front with me while Asa positioned himself between Nox and Anthia in the back.
Brave man.
“Now that we’re together again,” Ace diplomatically began. “I agree with Vasi that we have work to do. Tomorrow, I suggest we start by…”
“I want to go shopping,” Vasi interrupted, and I sharply glanced her way. She was looking down, shoulders hunched as she intently focused on her clasped hands. “I…I don’t feel I’m appropriately dressed for this city.”
Not even remotely knowing how to answer that, I peered into the rearview mirror. “Eh, Anthia? This might be more your forte…”
“I won’t be available tomorrow,” the shifter brusquely replied, staunchly staring out the window to best dismiss the rest of us. Her answer didn’t seem to surprise Vasi, but if I could have figured out how to strangle the swan and keep my hands on the wheel, I would have done it.
Ace quickly spoke up again, pointedly catching my gaze in the rearview. “Nox and I can handle surveillance tomorrow if you would take Vasi shopping, Tan. Help her buyanything that makes her happy.”He practically enunciated the period in that sentence, so I got the hint it was important.
I liked to consider myself fairly calm under pressure, but the thought of this assignment caused me to experience a moment of blind panic. My mum preferred pastel designer brands and no way in hell would I subject Vasi to the monstrosities of Cass’ hippie fashion from Shoreditch…
Anthia loudly sighed from the back seat. “Take her to Camden Market, you idiot. Everything’s black, goth, and sharp.”
