37. Thirty-seven

thirty-seven

Drym dove into the vehicle and crushed me to his chest. "What are you doing here?"

I squeezed him as hard as I could and pressed my ear to his pec. Hearing the steady beat of his heart let me breathe. "We were the closest vehicle when Wasp called for exfil. Bull wanted to keep going and let someone else come, but I convinced him otherwise."

From the driver's seat, Bull called out, "As in, she pulled a gun on me."

"It worked, didn't it?"

Drym's arms pulsed around me. "You should have listened. You could have been hurt."

"Me? I could have been hurt?" I pulled back and poked him. "You were captured by mad scientists. I've gone crazy thinking about what they were doing to you in there! No way was I going to make you wait one more second if I could help it."

The SUV hit a pothole and Drym pulled me onto his lap. "You would have felt it if they'd hurt me."

"Don't use logic. This is no time for logic." I wrapped my hand around his muzzle and pulled his head down so I could look into his eyes. "Four days, Drym. You were in there for four days."

He licked my forearm, the two sides of his tongue trailing up the sides of my wrist. "I missed you."

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're distracting me. I'm going to let it work because I missed you, too."

I snaked my arms around his neck and leaned into him. He ran his claws through my hair, careful not to scrape my scalp.

"I'm going to have Cavi remove my claws."

I sat back. "Absolutely not. I found a solution, and they'll arrive in a day or two."

He flicked one ear back. "What is it?"

"You'll see." I smiled at his grunt.

Bull pulled into the gravel drive and Drym's ears perked. "Where are we going?"

I grinned. "Y'all have new digs. The sleeping arrangements are temporary, but construction starts on Kragen and Cavi's houses next week."

I hopped out when Bull stopped in front of what we'd dubbed the common hall. It was still the only structure on the property, but not for long. One wall had pallets, piles of blankets, and one blow-up mattress spaced along it. I couldn't convince any of them to get mattresses, but I hoped they'd come around.

We all moved in as soon as the paperwork was finished. I didn't want to be too far from Drym's brothers, just in case something else went wrong and they had to rescue him early.

The day after I signed the paperwork, I followed our bond lights until we came to a locked and guarded gate. I pointed out where Drym was inside the low-slung, gray, concrete block building. They wanted me to go home after that, but I no longer felt like my apartment was home.

The long, live edge wooden table that served as a centerpiece in the cave now stood in the middle of the common room. One end was scattered with laptops and the other held stacks of blueprints.

The brothers rushed forward and surrounded Drym. They didn't hug, but Kragen put a hand on his shoulder.

"You are unharmed?"

"Yes. It was strange. Only two scientists and the one I assume is Mr. Blue entered. They took standard readings and asked standard questions, but I think they were hoping I'd give up your location. I managed to unnerve Mr. Blue, and the lab became a blur of activity, but I was on my way out with Wasp by then."

Kragen nodded. "Our contact on the inside confirmed they were hoping to use threats of violence against us to persuade you to divulge our location."

I caught Kragen's slight tilt in Roul's direction. Drym told me in the car that Isabelle stayed embedded with BioSynth, and that she had never left. She was still trying to root out every evil tendril of the company.

I wasn't sure if Roul would appreciate knowing she hadn't abandoned him, or if he would be more heartbroken that she wouldn't give up the pursuit.

We all turned toward the door as Zeus, Bull, and Wasp entered. Zeus clapped Drym on the back.

"Good to have you back."

Drym dipped his nose and pushed me a step away from Wasp.

The smart dressed man just laughed. "I think I scare him."

"Your enthusiasm for explosives doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence in your mental stability."

I shoved at Drym. "That's rude."

Bull barked out a laugh. "But totally accurate."

An entirely unrepentant Wasp shrugged.

Bull set up his laptop in the only space that remained on the table. "We've had a cursory look at the data your insider sent. Both BioSynth and the fae have done a good job covering their tracks and their asses. Mr. Blue—whose real name is Robert Willis—has an operating agreement with the normals government, and a writ of sanction from the fae council."

"He didn't flinch." Drym's growl was low.

"What's that?" Zeus asked.

"Willis didn't flinch when I revealed that we'd unearthed his secrets. I knew then he was dangerously powerful. That he feels untouchable."

"Those two endorsements are certainly why. Even if brought before the entire Society council, he could say he thought the fae were speaking on their behalf. No one in normal government would dare question him."

Zeus and Bull shared a look. "I think it's time for the full council to meet the wyrfangs."