2. Killian

Chapter two

Killian

T he tour was brief. I brought my things in and followed him to the master bedroom through the kitchen, den, long library, and billiards room. There were three doors into the space, two of which were French doors that led to the pool room with a glass ceiling. In a nook by the door I’d entered was a nursery.

I dumped my bags on the hardwood and raised my eyebrows. “I have so many questions.”

“Well, the answer to the first is I have a son. Maisy will be bringing him in the morning around ten.”

“Is she the mother?” I asked, grabbing my bags of clothing and taking them to the enormous walk-in closet, which led to the bathroom.

“No, she’s the nanny. Jules is two. Please make him yours. Maisy is not expecting to see me tomorrow. I told her someone would be here, and that person would-”

“Hire her?”

He laughed. “Possibly. She’s not expecting anything. Mom told me I needed an heir, so I had one. Then I was dead.”

“You just said he was two, Axl.”

“You’re quick. I did. The truth is, Ezra was wearing me after. I haven’t been in my Vessel since,” he frowned and counted on his fingers, “the Halloween party King Di Gatti threw in Scandals.”

“That was last year!”

“Yep. Been wearin’ the tux since.” He shrugged. “So, how did you find out I was dead?”

“Well, Lou Barstow married Cian Di Gatti last night. Ignatius showed up as Ezra.” I wrinkled my nose. “That’s just creepy since Ezra was trying to get Indy to mate him to Ignatius.”

“Back that up?” Axl arched a brow.

“The last Council meeting was last week.”

“Why Indy?”

“Oh, because Lou and Cian fucked up, and Indy got staked. Echo Donovan staked him. Ignatius killed King Campbell Fowler and Xeno Barstow, too,” I said. “The Original Council made Indy King of The Prides. Indy’s mated to Gio and Dante now.”

“I’ve missed a lot,” he murmured.

“Yeah, well, Ignatius killed your Vessel tonight,” I said. “The gods sent me here to take your place.”

“Mom said you were my Uncle, and if I needed anything, you’d help me.” He smiled winningly, and I arched a brow.

“You ain’t cute. So, who paid for this house?”

“My dad. Mom didn’t have a damn thing. Xeno took all her money and then some. You’ll have tabs to pay all over Banthard for her.”

“Lovely,” I said, heading into the bathroom with clean clothes, and started stripping down.

“You should have access to my money,” Axl said. “I left a will.”

“Not that I need the money, but where’s the will?”

“Safe deposit box. Coleen Di Gatti is my personal banker,” he said.

She was mine, too, but Axl didn’t need to know that. “Where’s the shower?”

“Behind the wall.” Axl led me in that direction, and hot water pelted me when I stepped under a showerhead. “Designed a whole shower room. Well, at least I’m in the house now.”

“How did you get the key?” I asked as I scrubbed my head, missing my four feet of curls.

“Oh, well, The builder, um, Zander Luciano? Yeah, he took the key to MacLaden House. I paid for everything upfront and spent a week discussing what I wanted.” Axl patted the light gray tiles. “It’s exactly what I asked for. I don’t know what to do now.”

“Tell me about Banthard? I’ve never been there.” I needed to keep him talking because he held all the information. The gods didn’t know a damn thing.

“So, Charlene MacLaden runs the diner. You want to meet her. Make sure Mom doesn’t have a bill there. Barnham runs the furniture store. He builds custom wood pieces. You have the people Xeno took everything from when he married Mom. I haven’t met them. They hide.”

“Where did you find the builder?”

“Oh, he lives in Banthard. Met him at the diner one afternoon. So, I need you to tell Maisy who you are and that you’re my Uncle.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. Where are you going?” I turned to look at him then and could see right through him.

“You’re my unfinished business, Uncle. Be careful, and watch out for Gerald.” He was gone before I could ask who Gerald was and why I needed to watch out for him.

Most of what he said made sense. For the last two months, the Axl I met behaved strangely. I’d heard he’d refused Ezra and had taken his mother home when Xeno died. Cassandra was at the wedding, and she looked okay, but I hadn’t talked to her.

I’d find her tomorrow afternoon. The diner would be the first stop because there wasn’t food in the kitchen.

I pulled on a pair of shorts and checked out the rest of the house, finding another door leading to the other hall, which had five more bedrooms. It led me back around to the kitchen. I had a huge empty pantry save for small appliances, a laundry room, and a six-car garage.

Why was the place so big?

To replace MacLaden House, Yael, my lion, thought.

That did make sense.

When I walked through again, I found a letter and a packet on the kitchen island. The packet contained the remotes to the garage bays.

Dear Killian,

The security system code is 1922, and the Wi-Fi password is CR0WKN0WS1. You can download the app for the security cameras on your phone and laptop. Call me if you have problems or need anything. I’ll be by on Monday to clean the pool.

Zander

How in the hell had he known?

We met him tonight, Killy. Right before Erebus snatched us away, Ozzi Luciano introduced us to his brother using a terrible pickup line, Yael thought. We bled on Zander and had to excuse ourselves.

Oh, yeah. He was cute.

He was, Yael grumbled.

Come on, now, don’t get huffy. We had to feed, I thought on my way back to the bedroom. I put Zander’s number in my phone, plugged it into the charger I’d tossed onto the bed when hunting my clothes, and laid down.

Tomorrow would be the longest day.