CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURBetty hung up the phone and blew out a breath. It looked like Yardley would need plastic surgery again due to a fight a few hours ago. The girl never protected her face during a battle! So Betty would need to come up with another believable lie for her client-slash-sister-Crow.The last time this had happened, she’d let it sneak out that Yardley’s nasal passages had collapsed and had to be repaired due to her “tragic” cocaine use. But the truth was that Yardley’s nose had collapsed because it had been completely demolished by the ax head of a blood-soaked demon. A truth that could never be told, so they went with the cocaine story.Of course none of those stories could come directly from Yardley’s camp. Instead, to avoid any serious digging by the press, Betty would have this next story leaked to one of the gossip sites. She just needed to come up with a story first.“Maybe it’s time for her to get bigger tits,” Betty murmured.Betty shook her head and pushed her ten-thousand-dollar office chair away from her desk. She needed to see the wound. Find out if it could be treated by Tessa or if plastic surgery was really necessary. Then she could take it from there.Betty stood and went to her private bathroom. She adjusted her black skirt and bright silver blouse. She fixed her hair and redid her makeup. Satisfied with what she saw staring back at her—she knew her fellow Crows wouldn’t care what she looked like, but the paparazzi lurking everywhere certainly would—Betty went back to her desk. She grabbed her blazer from the back of her chair and pulled it on just as Brianna sauntered through the door.“Well, well, well,” Betty laughed. “Look who’s walked back into my office. And what brings you here, my dear? A little begging? A little pleading? I don’t know, I’ve already seen some great résumés for your position.”When she didn’t get a stuttering little “please don’t fire me,” Betty finally looked up at her assistant.Instead of listening to her, Brianna was wandering around the office, looking at the statues and paintings that past and present clients had gotten Betty as a way of saying “thank you!” The cheapest thing among them could be sold for over six figures. Not that Betty would ever sell any of this stuff. She loved it all too much.“Hello? Earth calling, dingbat. Come in, dingbat,” she joked.When Betty still received no answer, she began to get a little worried. “Brianna?” She walked over to her. “Are you all right?”Brianna turned to her, and that’s when Betty saw the torc around the girl’s neck. It was filled with power and if she looked at it too long it would blind her.“Brianna, where did you get that necklace?”“This one?” Brianna asked, the tips of her fingers stroking the gold. “I had it taken from my idiot sister when she wasn’t looking. Now it’s mine.”“Brianna, you can’t keep that necklace.” Not because Betty was worried that Brianna would use the power in it, but because she knew what it would attract. Something Brianna would never, in a million years, be able to handle.“That’s cute,” Brianna sighed, reaching out to touch the fifty-thousand-dollar diamond and gold necklace Betty had bought herself as a treat a few years back.Betty slapped the girl’s hand away. “What is wrong with you?”“I want that necklace.”“You can’t have my necklace.” Betty sighed. All right. Maybe Erin was right. She’d been too hard on this twit. Now Betty would have to pay for her mental health recovery. She hated when she had to do that.“Sweetie,” Betty said very carefully and slowly, “I think I need to take you to a nice, friendly doctor who can help you.”Brianna’s hand suddenly reached out and caught Betty by the throat, yanking her close. And now that flesh touched flesh, Betty saw her. All of her. And she wasn’t Brianna.“Do you dare put your hands on me, human?” she hissed in Old Norse. A language Betty had forced herself to learn so she could always understand what she saw.“Such a rude people. I have much to teach you.” She yanked the necklace off of Betty’s throat, pulled back her arm, and shoved Betty across the room and into—and out of—the big picture window. 

Gullveig watched the human female crash through the thick glass and fall to the ground below. She heard screams from the street and smiled.“What was that?” voices from the hallway demanded. “What’s happened? Did you guys hear that?”“Brianna? What’s happened?”Gullveig faced the human girl in the doorway. Carol. Her name was Carol. And she was one of the agents. Gullveig had Brianna’s memories, so she would be able to navigate this world quite nicely.“She snapped,” Gullveig said in perfect American English. “Threw herself out the window.”Eyes wide, Carol ran over to the opening, placing her hands carefully so she didn’t cut herself on the broken glass.“So sad . . .” Gullveig went on. “We’ll need to arrange for the funeral, though. It should be a classy affair.”“Wait,” Carol said.“We can’t wait. We have to think about people’s schedules. Everyone in Hollywood will want to come.”“No. I mean . . . she’s moving.”Gullveig spun around. “What?”“She’s moving. Betty’s not dead.”Gullveig went to the destroyed window, pushing the girl aside and looking down. The human had fallen five flights, landing on a small patch of grass outside the building. But that wouldn’t protect her from the fall, and going through the window alone should have killed her. Unless . . .“Gods-damn Skuld and her Crows!”“Sorry?”Gullveig glanced at the female next to her and quickly rearranged her plans.“She’s mad, you know. Insane.”“Betty?”“Betty.” Gullveig leaned in a bit. “She needs to go away. To heal. From her mental illness. For a while.”The female frowned. Then, slowly, she smirked.“You’re absolutely right,” Carol said. “We can’t have Betty’s crazy here. How will that affect our clients?”“Exactly. And our clients are the most important thing.”Carol nodded. “I’ll take care of it. I assume you’ll be managing things for Betty while she’s gone . . . ?”“Of course. I wouldn’t want to let her down, now would I?”“No, you wouldn’t.” Carol walked off, heading to the door. “I’ll call an ambulance and get Dr. Rosen on the phone. He’ll be happy to help.”“Excellent.”Gullveig moved to the desk, pulling over the leather chair and sitting down in it.She grinned as she put her feet up on the desk and placed the sparkly gold and diamond necklace beneath her torc. She didn’t even have to check to know the two looked absolutely stunning together.Glancing around the office, Gullveig nodded. “Oh yes. This will do quite nicely.”Laughing, Kera slapped her hands against the shower wall, trying to get her balance. Not easy when she had Vig behind her, buried deep inside her, and fucking her silly.Really silly. She couldn’t stop laughing. Not because it wasn’t one of the best fucks she’d ever had. Because it was.The issue was that this was supposed to be a shower only. It had felt like days since Kera had had one and she’d come in here just to get clean. Not to get laid. But try telling that to “But I’m a Viking!” Rundstöm. He wasn’t really good about the whole waiting thing and since Kera hadn’t really said “no” . . .Vig leaned over her, blocking the water pouring from the showerhead.“Stop laughing!”“I can’t help it!”“I’m a powerful Viking! You’re supposed to be in my thrall!”Now they were both laughing.“Vig! Stop it!”“Why aren’t you thralling?”“That’s not even a word!”Vig stood straight, bringing Kera with him. He slid his hand around to cup her jaw and turned her face toward him and up. He kissed her, the water from the shower beating down on them. And his hand slid down her stomach and in between her legs.Kera’s giggles turned to a gasp and she gripped his arm, her fingers digging into the skin.His fingers stroked her clit while he took her from behind, his cock still buried inside her.Vig’s finger began to make circles and Kera’s entire body tightened, legs shaking. She pulled out of their kiss so she could scream out, the orgasm rocketing through her.When she could think straight, she realized that Vig had her bent over again and he was pounding into her, his breath coming out in hard pants until he came, his fingers holding her waist tight.He bent over her, his lips kissing her neck, nibbling her ear, until he finally pulled out of her.“Are you okay?” he asked, which was when Kera started giggling again. “Woman, you’re still not thralling!” 

Vig pulled on his jeans and sat down on the bed. Brodie put her head in his lap and rolled over onto her back, a silent order for him to pet her chest and stomach.“She’s training you well,” Kera teased as she pulled on a pair of wonderfully tiny, cut-off denim shorts.“She was amazing in battle. And Odin always says you have to keep your best warriors happy.”“Does this mean that Brodie will be heading to Valhalla one day?”“Sure. They already have battle dogs. She’ll just be a battle Crow. Until then, though, she’ll be our dog.”“Our dog?”Vig froze, realizing his mistake. “Uh . . . I mean . . . uh . . . your dog. She’s your dog. Of course, she’s your dog.”Kera sat down on the other side of Brodie. She let out a long sigh.“Vig—”“Please don’t . . . run. Or fly away.”“Vig—”“I know. I know. I jumped the gun. I’m not trying to crowd you.”“Ludvig.”“Just give me a chance!”“Are you done?”“Yes.”“Good. Because all I was going to say was you may want to consider a doggy door because—”“Brodie Hawaii! Walk time!” a Crow yelled from outside and Brodie scrambled off the bed, shot out the door, and two seconds later a window somewhere in the house broke as Brodie most likely went through it.“Because I can’t keep buying you new windows,” Kera said with a shrug. “And I’ve fallen in love with you. But if you tell the Crows, especially Erin, that I said it first, I will tear your toenails out while you’re sleeping.”“That’s not a problem because I actually said it first.”“You did? When?”“Yeah. About five months ago. You walked to my table, brought me a fresh cup of coffee and another bear claw, and then you smiled. It was a really pretty smile. When you walked away, I said, ‘I love you.’ ”“I didn’t hear it.”“That’s because it was more like,” he mumbled through barely opened lips, “ ‘I love you.’ ” Vig rolled his eyes. “Kera, stop laughing at me!” 

Kera sat down on Vig’s porch and checked her phone. She smiled when she saw a text from the soldier she’d help get a dog. He’d attached a picture of the two together and both looked happy and much healthier.Okay. So maybe this was what she should be doing with her life. There were definitely worse life choices she could make. Besides, she already knew she’d be good at it. And she couldn’t put it off any longer. The soldier had already told a few friends about Kera and they’d sent her e-mails asking for help getting a dog “as great as Dustin’s.” She couldn’t turn them down, so she’d help. Of course she’d help.“So are you going to be around, like, all the time now?”Kera looked up from her phone at Stieg and Siggy. “Yes.”“Yeah. All right.” Then they walked up the porch steps and into Vig’s house.Kera smiled. It was nice being accepted by the “boys.”Vig came out and sat down behind Kera, his legs on either side of her. He pulled her back so that she rested against his chest.He kissed her ear. “Feel free to tell them to go away when you need to.”“I don’t mind them. But if I want them to go away, have no fear . . . I’ll tell them.”“Good.” After a moment, Vig asked, “What’s wrong?”“I still haven’t found that necklace. Freyja’s necklace. Will she make me give back the hammer? I really like it.”“Doubt it. But just to be on the safe side . . . I’d keep looking for it.”“Okay. Wanna take a drive with me later?”“Sure. Where you going?”“Figured I’d go check on Brianna. I’m guessing she went back to her apartment and I want to make sure she’s okay. I heard she quit her job with Betty,” she finished on a whisper.“Okay. Why are you whispering?”“I don’t know. I guess I feel bad for her.”“Don’t. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”Erin, Annalisa, and Leigh walked toward Vig’s house. Kera couldn’t believe it, but she was happy to see them.“Hey, guys.”“Hey.” Erin smiled at her. “Wanna go for a drive?”“Where to?”“Betty’s in the mental hospital. We’re going to go break her out.”“Only if I can’t get her out myself,” Annalisa clarified. “By legal means, I mean.”Kera glanced at Vig, then asked, “Why is Betty in a mental hospital?”“It’s Betty, so who knows. But Chloe wants her out. You coming?”“Sure, I’ll go. I’ve never been to a mental hospital before.”“Yeah, but you thought Vig had.”“Erin . . . shut up.”Laughing, Erin and the other Crows headed back toward their car.Kera slid off the porch. “Bet ya ten bucks that if they have the SUV, Jace is in the back . . . baking to death in the sun. While reading Dostoyevsky,” she added.Vig grabbed Kera’s hand and pulled her close. He kissed her and Kera’s bare feet curled in the dirt.When he pulled away, she said, “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”“And miss a chance to see Betty Lieberman in a straitjacket? If I get pictures, I can make a fortune selling it to the gossip sites.”Vig jumped off the porch and looked back at his house with the broken windows. “Hey. We’re going to a mental hospital. You guys wanna—”Vig didn’t get to finish because Stieg and Siggy ran out toward where Erin usually parked.“My friends,” Vig said. “They make me so proud.”“They could be worse,” Kera said, putting her arm around Vig’s waist.“How?”“They could be like your great-great-great-great uncles.”“Excellent point.” His arm around her shoulder, they started walking. “So . . . going to a mental hospital to break out one of your Elder Crow sisters. Kera, you can’t say your life hasn’t gotten more interesting.”“No. I can’t say that. But when I think about all you did to make this happen, I can’t help but think there has to be an easier way for you to get a date.”“There is, but nothing is ever easy when it comes to the Crows. Getting a Crow, however, is always worth the trouble.”