Page 18 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
When one of them looked up and saw me through the glass panel, he shouted something, and all eyes focused on me as they began to try to take photos and get closer to the house. I slipped out of the main foyer and out of sight, hating that the only way downstairs was literally perfectly in their line of sight. I shook my head, wondering how the heck we were going to do anything with all this attention on us.
Especially things like finding Malcolm and the other phoenixes.
“Maya.” Marco’s tone was harsh and panicked when he saw me. He was standing at the island as I made my way towards the kitchen, his jaw clenched with tension. I had almost jolted at his tone, but I knew the harshness wasn’t directed towards me. No, he was upset at the idea of me being exposed to the people outside. He was just protective like that…but I still didn’t like how he said my name.
I took the kiss Atlas offered me, making me blush before noticing that the others were spread through the house, some talking to security and some watching the group out front. I felt like we were on display for these reporters, and I had a feeling, if the helicopter sounds above were part of this, that there was no easy way to get rid of them.
“Maya.” Marco’s voice was still pinched.
“Don’t say my name like that.” I frowned at him as guilt flashed through his gaze. I walked around the kitchen and leaned into Marco, nuzzling against his chest as he wrapped me closer and buried his nose in my hair. When my eyes opened, I noticed the mug that Atlas was drinking out of and couldn’t help but smile. It was pretty adorable, the outside of it adorned with swirls of pink and purple, with a cursive font on the front that said my name. Now that was amazing.
“That is so cool,” I pointed out as he winked at me, making Marco grumble under his breath.
“Don’t pay any mind to Marco, angel,” Atlas goaded. “He’s grumpy because he didn’t sleep all night, and then these fuckers showed up early this morning.”
“They are fuckers? Like, they’re fucking?” I frowned, looking out at the news trucks, figuring I would have seen that… I immediately shook my head, realizing in our current context that he was describing them in a negative fashion and not saying they were having sex. Atlas gave me a smile and kissed my forehead before he walked towards the front of the house, leaving me with Marco.
Turning back into him, I reached up and cupped his jaw. His frown deepened.
“How do you feel after yesterday? I was worried about you, baby girl.”
My entire body softened at the honesty behind his words, and I couldn’t help but step closer into him and tilt my head back so he knew I wanted a kiss, which he gave me before I answered.
“I’m okay…” I hesitated and tried to formulate my thoughts. “It was never about you guys, Marco… I am a bit more aware now of what you guys normally do as a team, but you guys didn’t do anything wrong. You protected me, just like I would have you. I mean, they had been attacking us, it was completely justified… It’s just more that I was okay with it, even liked it, and after everything I’ve been through, that felt wrong. So incredibly wrong. But Ledger is right—it does feel natural to my shifted side, so I have to believe that means something.”
His eyes warmed as he nodded, grasping my hand and running his lips across my ring, seeming to relax completely. “Good. I have good news then, and some even better news.”
“What’s the good news?”
“I have someone in Louisiana looking into the compound, and they are going to report back by tomorrow morning, as well as someone looking into the local witch territory,” he explained as I offered him a smile. I knew what we would find could be bad, but it made me feel hopeful that we were a step closer to figuring out how deep this went.
“And the better news?”
“We are going Halloween costume shopping today and going to a party tomorrow downtown,” he muttered, looking grumpy but pretty cute. I immediately threw myself into him and kissed his face, unable to help the smile that broke onto my face.
“I am so excited,” I admitted, unable to contain my elation.
“The only thing I had to arrange was where the boys should spend the night, so I had to figure that out this morning,” he explained easily. “I called up Alpha Creed, and he said that the younger kids in the pack were having a bonfire and that they were more than welcome to come, as well as stay in the large guest house on property for the night. I figured it would give them a chance to meet some local shifters.”
“That’s a great idea,” I agreed and then frowned. “Did you find out if Lorn…”
Marco let out a hiss. “Yeah, he escaped when Malcolm did. I don’t think it was intentional—I think Anna was there to break out Malcolm and Lorn happened to just catch a damn break and made a run for it. I haven’t been able to get eyes on him yet, but I have people looking.”
“Okay, good.” I nodded. “And what about Jordan?”
“I talked to Marcellus and invited them to come with us. Apparently Jordan has something today, but they will be coming over tomorrow.”
My smile only grew as he spoke. “Thank you so much, Marco, I really need this,” I whispered.
“Anything for you, baby girl.” He kissed my forehead before pulling back. “But expect me to be a bit insane about your safety, especially with Malcolm at large. I am trying my best to keep relaxed, but the idea of you being in danger scares the hell out of me.”
“I like that you care about my safety,” I admitted. “Always have.”
His lips kicked up. “Good. Then hopefully you won’t be mad at me for telling you to not leave the house until we are ready to go. I don’t want those fuckers taking any more pictures of you. We have been trying to get them out of here, but because it’s national news, we can’t exactly manhandle them without creating a massive problem. Plus, that would be the exact type of thing the FBI would love, so they could get involved even further.”
“That’s frustrating,” I murmured, slightly distracted while looking towards the living room where the younger boys were sitting, watching the television. “While you handle that, I am going to meet them officially.”
“Sounds good. I’ll keep an eye on Bella.” He nodded towards our kitten, currently playing on the counter, as I offered her a small smile, unable to get over how adorable she could be.
