Chapter 24

"Now boarding flight S125 to Edinburgh. This is the final boarding call for flight S125 to Edinburgh."

"Sweet baby Jesus in the manger with the donkey," I muttered as I raced down the terminal with my adorable wheelie bag trailing behind me and my phone to my ear.

Fucking Dahlia wasn't answering, and for whatever reason, my text messages weren't going through to her. I had news. Big fucking news, and she needed every bit of it. The last thing I wanted was for her to get caught with her pants down, potentially literally.

"Come on, come on, pick up."

I was so focused on my chant that I didn't notice the six-foot wall of yum until he was slamming into me.

"Oh!" I gasped as my phone flew out of my hand and clattered onto the floor.

His hiss of surprise had me snapping my head up in time to see him grimace at the brown coffee stain on his white T-shirt.

"Watch it," he groused, but to his credit, he bent down to collect my phone before shoving it at me. "Here."

"Thanks. I'm so sorry."

Beautiful blue eyes met mine, and if this was a romance novel, we would've fallen in love right then and there. "Be more fucking careful."

Ooookay, then. This was going to be an enemies-to-lovers trope. My favorite. Challenge accepted, Broody McBrood Face.

He didn't even give me a chance to apologize before he did that sexy man prowl over to the customer service desk. You know the one I mean. It's all swagger and I be fuckin'. Like his internal monologue was telling everyone they needed to make room for his big swinging dick.

Keeping one eye on him, I tried Dahlia again as I lined up behind the rest of the people boarding the plane. Still no answer. Heaving a world-weary sigh, I gave in and decided to leave a message.

"If you've made it this far, you already know who this is. My number's unlisted, which means you're Kiki, so why haven't you texted me yet? You know I hate talking on the phone. Anyway, leave a message if you must. I probably won't listen to it."

Beep.

As the attendant scanned my boarding pass, I launched into my rant.

"Where the heck have you been?" I began, careful of the language I used because there was a little girl with pigtails right in front of me, and her mom looked like she might cut a bitch. "I've been trying to text you, and I've called you four times with no answer. I'm sorry, but you need to get the donkey di—uh, donkey kongs out of your, erm... hands? Oh, you know what I mean. I've got news. Big news, and it involves the... shmampire shmouncil and some serious stuff that's about to go down."

The attendant waved me forward, and I followed the other travelers down the jet bridge to the plane.

"I can't believe you've been so busy you would ignore me. Me! You better not have do not disturb on. I know I showed you how to give my number emergency access, and bi—babes, this counts as a nine-one-one emergency." I sighed gustily. "They'd better be worth it, and when one of them inevitably knocks you up, you'd better name them after me. Girl or boy. I don't care. Now listen to me, Dahlia, I'm on my way to mother... trucking Scotland on a red-eye for you. A red-eye. I don't fly overnight, ever. You know that."

I found my spot at the back of the plane and settled in my seat, looking out at the tarmac beyond.

"The last seat available was a fucking middle seat next to the bathrooms at the ass end of the plane, Dee. It already stinks back here, and this is an international flight."

The dude sitting by the window cleared his throat from where he was waiting in the aisle, and all I did was scrunch up a little so he could climb over me. It only took me one fleeting glance at him to recognize Mister Meet Cute from earlier.

"I'll be there in... some ungodly amount of time, but I'll be there. We have to get you out of that place before the"—I eyed the hottie and dropped my voice —"shmampire shmouncil gets there because all hell is going to break loose."

He made a soft grunt beside me and shifted in his seat. It was probably too much to hope he wasn't paying attention to my message.

"Anyway, Dee, I told you I would do the thing, and as always, your girl came through. You better have those bags packed and?—"

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to hang up the phone and put it in airplane mode."

"I'm almost done." I glanced at my seatmate near the window. "He has his computer plugged into seat power. Why aren't you yelling at him?"

"I'm working, and I'm not plugged into anything, lady. Why don't you hang up like the flight attendant said?"

"Because I'm also working, and my bestie needs me. What are you working on over there, anyway? Something ridiculous like financial projections or... oh... a puffin sanctuary?"

"There was a crisis," he grumbled in what I dare say was an adorable fashion.

"You don't say. Please, tell me more. I love puffins. Did you know their beaks fall off after mating season?"

"Ma'am, your phone, please? I will have to ask you to get off the flight if you can't follow protocol," the flight attendant urged.

My phone? Oh, fuck me.

"Dee, I'm coming for you. Don't worry. We're going to fix this, and you're getting out of there."

"Lady, if you just get off your fucking phone so we can take off, I'll hack into the system and get you back on a call as soon as we hit cruising altitude." God, puffin boy's voice was H-O-T when he was leaning in and whispering in my ear.

I hung up without another word, smiling at the attendant before turning my attention to the man next to me. I gave him the sweetest smile and batted my eyes. "So, tell me about the puffins."

"My partners and I are opening a sanctuary in Scotland. I'm heading there to check out the progress."

"Oh, like business partners? Are you the CEO?"

"No. Like partners." He raised his left hand and wiggled his fingers in my face, crushing my dreams of falling in love with my airport meet cute. Or not so meet cute, as it turned out.

Oh well, better luck next time, Keeks. There's sure to be loads of eligible Scotsmen waiting for you. Maybe you have a bearded hottie in your future. One who doesn't have a weird affinity for puffins.

* * *

Dahlia

"Dee, I'm coming for you. Don't worry. We're going to fix this, and you're getting out of there."

"Lady, if you just get off your fucking phone so we can take off, I'll hack into the system and get you back on a call as soon as we hit cruising altitude."

I shook my head, chuckling to myself as the message cut off. For Kiki's sake, I hope the guy sitting next to her was single and ready to mingle. He sounded hot. Hopefully that would take some of the sting out of her middle seat on a red-eye. For as long as I've known her, Keeks only traveled first or business class. That she'd given that up to get to me spoke volumes.

"Everything okay?" Merri asked, taking a seat next to me before the group session got started.

"Yeah. My friend Kiki has been trying to get in touch. She is the queen of rambles. Somehow she takes what should be a one-minute message and turns it into a fifteen-minute memo. Which is funny, actually, since she's an editor."

Merri smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "At least you have a way to get in touch. I need to talk to my aunt something fierce, but I don't have so much as a phone number for her. She won't answer my emails."

"How does she not have a phone number? I'm basically the queen of the hermits, and even I have one."

Merri shrugged. "She told me once that it's important for a woman in her line of work to always be a bit unattainable."

"Her line of work?"

"She runs Iniquity. You know, the sex club?"

"Uh... no?"

"Have you never been there?" she asked, eyes wide. "I thought all supernaturals knew about it. It's a hub for them to gather safely."

"I'm not a supernatural."

"Oh, aren't you, darling?" Cas teased, entering the room and the conversation. "You seem pretty supernatural to me. Ghosts, necromancy, that scream of yours. You might be more supernatural than me."

Huh. He had a point. I guess it was hard to unlearn years of misinformation. "Yeah..."

Tor stalked in next. I could just make out Bruno in the hallway behind him, his expression strained. They'd resumed their daily sessions in addition to Tor's morning hunts. Today's must not have gone well since they both seemed to be simmering. In what, I wasn't sure, but neither looked particularly pleased.

Tor dropped into the empty chair next to me as Cas approached the same one.

"Hey, I was going to sit there," he complained.

"Not anymore," Tor growled.

My pirate must have sensed the same tension I did because he surprisingly kept his mouth shut and pointed to the chair across from me. "Guess I'll just take that one instead. It has the best view." He tossed me a little wink, making sure I knew he was talking about me. The man was astonishingly unflappable.

It was a relief to see. The last couple of nights, I'd woken up to him crawling into my bed, mumbling to himself about ticking and whispers. He had near-constant dark circles under his eyes and, more often than not, seemed to zone out of conversations. His only reprieve seemed to be when he was with me. I was worried about what would happen when even I wasn't enough to soothe his restless mind.

Kai and Hades both walked in at nearly the same time, Asshole barking and running up to me, his sweet little face begging me to pick him up.

"At least one of us should get to be close to her," Hades grumbled, clearly talking to the dog.

"Later," I whispered, his smoldering stare making my blood heat. He and I hadn't had a chance to be alone since his return from the underworld. As grateful as I was that he was able to come and go at will, either thanks to the weakening wards or just his own godly power, I'd hated being separated from him. Maybe it was the ghost's warning, or maybe I was just codependent on my men after these months of forced proximity. Either way, I wanted to spend some alone time with him to make up for it.

Another flash of desire rocked me when thoughts of my alone time with Kai came to the forefront of my memory. My cheeks burned, and I was certain they could all tell exactly what I was thinking. Oh wait, they fucking could, and I'd completely forgotten to shield my mind.

Hades chuckled.

Kai smirked.

Tor growled.

And Cas? He spread his legs wide and offered me an invitation to sit on his lap without even saying a word.

I cut a glance at Merri and wondered if she truly had been able to put the lid on her succubus powers. Were my wandering thoughts due to her influence, or was this just me being thirsty?

The roll of Hades's laughter hit my ears again, and I had my answer.

This was all me. It had always been this way when it came to my men.

Dr. Masterson came into the room after we'd all settled. Wisps of hair had come loose from the no-nonsense bun she always wore, her lips pursed and shoulders tense. Very different from her typically calm visage.

"Everything okay, Doctor?" I asked, unable to ignore the sense that something was wrong.

She blinked at me as if surprised by the question. She attempted a smile that I suspected was supposed to be breezy. Instead, it just looked strained. "It's just been a challenging day. Temperance is missing, and Swift returned home unexpectedly, leaving me to deal with the unrest in the town along with overseeing the residents all on my own."

It took everything in me not to flinch when she mentioned Temperance. She could never know. It would crush her to find out her friend and colleague had been a psychopath. "Is there anything we can do to help? Do you really think the townsfolk will try to hurt us?"

Her stare was hard as stone. "They can try. We won't let them."

"Oh, Dr. Masterson, I didn't know you had it in you to be so fierce. I'm a little scared and a tiny bit aroused, if I'm being honest," Cas teased.

"What else is new?" Hades muttered.

"I think it's my fault," Tor said, drawing everyone's attention. "The unrest, I mean. Some folks saw me after one of my hunts and assumed I was the Ripper. I've already adjusted my hunting grounds and cut back on the time I spend in the forest. That should help settle some of the tension."

Masterson smiled at him. "You don't have to take the blame all on yourself, Tor. The Ripper has created a problem for all of us. You are just an easy scapegoat, but it could have just as easily been any one of us. Blackwood is shrouded in mystery and suspicion, as has always been its lot. We will weather this storm as we have every other."

"Would it help if I stood watch in my tower?" Kai asked. "No one willingly comes up against a dragon. If they see me, perhaps it'll scare them away from any ideas of attack."

"Or encourage them to take up arms," Hades said softly.

"What was that?" Masterson asked.

Hades cleared his throat and exchanged a look with Asshole before clarifying. "In my experience, once the fuse is lit, the bomb always goes off. If you give the people a target, they will take aim. Fear is a powerful motivator, and it has a way of making people bold when they should be scared."

"Wise words, Cain. For now, none of you need to worry about what you should be doing. We have security for a reason. I assure you, we have everything well in hand." She straightened in her seat and put her little recorder on the table next to her chair. "Now, let's get down to business," she said, pressing record, "This is Dr. Elizabeth Masterson..."