Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

SEER

I snicker as Leah rushes off like her ass is on fire.

I keep watch until she's safely inside the old building, which has questionable structural issues. I frown as I look at the rundown porch, cracked first-story windows, and unkept lawn.

I rub my thumb across my bottom lip in thought.

It's not your place to judge where she lives.

Kai's voice floats through my mind, and I roll my eyes at his mental presence. Sighing, I turn to get back on my Harley when something catches my eye. I bend over and pick up a delicate piece of silver.

It's Leah's bracelet.

I examined the thin metal and saw exactly where it snapped when she fell. I glanced back at the house. She was adamant about getting away from me tonight, stopping me from returning the jewelry.

I grin as I pocket it.

I'll get it fixed and give it to her later. I rev the engine louder than necessary so she hears me pulling off, but I watch the windows for any movement. I see the curtains on the top floor move as I pull off.

Now I know which is her room.

I smile the whole way home. When I walk into the house I share with my partners, I groan. It's a fucking mess, as always. I'm about to yell for Kai when he enters from the kitchen, shaking his head.

"Not tonight," he whispers, and I stop short.

"She has to stop," his hand raised, and I bit my lip.

"She will. When she's ready." I sigh and nod.

I start picking up the furniture and placing it where it goes. Kai gets a broom and starts sweeping up broken glass. I bend over and pick up a picture frame, brushing a few chards off so Kai can add to his pile.

"It's been a year," I touch the face of our missing lover.

Our Poly family suddenly lost a member last year. We'd all gone to sleep like normal. Kai, Sam, and Phoebe had all climbed into bed together as I left for my shift at Spirits. A few hours later, I got the most devastating call of my life.

Sam wouldn't wake up.

When I got to the house, the ambulance was already rushing off to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It was weeks before we found out what happened.

Aneurysm.

They were only twenty-eight years old. The doctors called it the silent killer and assured us we couldn't have done anything to stop it, but Phoebe has been stuck in the anger stage of grief.

With the anniversary coming up, she's been lashing out more than normal.

"Is she still avoiding the therapist?" I carefully removed the photo from the broken frame and laid it on the coffee table for now.

"No, actually. She went today." He waves at the current state of the living room and I nod.

"Where is she?" He points at the stairs.

"Wish me luck," I say over my shoulder.

"There isn't a God I know that can save you, mate." I chuckle because Phoebe's mood swings are legendary.

The fact that she's a prized Muay Tai fighter isn't going to help me get my block knocked off if she gets violent with me.

"Knock, knock," I say as I glance into the open doorway.

"I wish you two wouldn't talk about me like I can't fucking hear you." She's sitting up in bed with her knees under her chin.

She's rocking back and forth slowly, with tears falling freely down her cheeks. I take my boots off and climb on the bed with her. I scoop her up and place her on my lap. Thank fuck she comes willingly.

"Baby, we can't afford you wrecking the house like this." She sniffles as she snuggles into my chest.

"I miss them." I nod as I hold her together.

"Sam wouldn't want you sad like this. They'd be the first to say move the fuck on. You're not doing their memory any justice." Her sobs break my heart.

I remember the first time I met them six years ago.

Kai and I had just bought Spirits, and Sam came in looking for a bartending job. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and tits are so big I'd have wagered my last dollar. They were fake. Then, next to them was Phoebe. Short, black bob haircut, eyeliner so sharp it could cut a bitch. Wearing combat boots, a wifebeater, and jean shorts.

When they said opposites attract, they weren't kidding.

Kai and Sam hit it off instantly. Phoebe and I had a love-hate relationship that took time to overcome, but eventually, we became one big happy family. One that shattered when Sam died.

We haven't been the same since.

"We all do, Baby." I rub her back until her body finally gives out from the sadness, and her sods turn into light snoring.

"Thank Christ," I turn to look at Kai in the doorway.

"She hasn't been sleeping." I brush my lips across her temple.

"She doesn't do well alone. Get over here." I tap the side of the bed, and he grunts.

"We aren't at work, Fabien. I don't take orders from you here." I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Fine," I can't hide my smirk.

Kai outweighs me by a good fifty pounds and is in charge of security at the bar. But when it comes to the bedroom, I am most definitely the man in charge.

"Lose the pants." I shift Phoebe into his arms as soon as he's in bed so that I can get out of my clothes.

"Did you get Leah home?" Kai grins as he looks over Phoebe's head at me.

"Shut the fuck up." He laughs softly.

"I need a jeweler," I say to myself, but Kai jumps on it instantly.

"Well, that was fast. Are you proposing already?" I want to throw a pillow at his head, but that would wake Phoebe.

"Dick." I get comfortable and throw my arm over Phoebe to play with his hair.

She sighed between us, and I could feel her body relax further in her slumber.

"Maybe later," Kai winks at me.

The room grows quiet as we all find our sleep. Leah invades my dreams like she has recently, but tonight, she's the star among Phoebe and Kai.

She's gorgoues Fabien.

Sam's voice startles me out of my dream, and I sit up, disoriented. I glance around, looking for them, and when my brain turns back on, I remember.

Now, it's me quietly crying in the dark room. Not from the pain of loss but happiness that their spirit approves.

"We miss you, Baby," I whisper into the darkness.

My phone lights up, and I rush to answer the call before it wakes the others.

"Seer?" Leah's scared voice fills my ear.

"What's wrong?" I stand and pull on my pants, knowing instantly that she needs me now.

"Fire," I'm out the door before she can finish whatever she was about to say.

"I'm on my way."