Page 88 of Wreaking Havoc
Sascha knew his brother well enough to recognize the offer for what it was: the closest thing to an olive branch he was ever going to get.
“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. He looked around for the first time. “Where’syourdemon?”
Ivan’s tapping stopped abruptly. “My apartment,” he answered shortly.
“And are you going to be…okay with all that?”
Anything that could have been construed as warmth in Ivan’s expression dissipated immediately. “Everything is under control,” he said tightly.
“I meant what I said yesterday,” Sascha told him, a little concerned by what—for Ivan—might as well have been a whiplash of conflicting emotions. “You can come visit if you want a break from all this.” He paused, then couldn’t help but add, “You kind of seem to be falling apart at the seams a bit.”
Ivan’s tapping started up again, his face blank. “My seams are just fine, Sascha.”
“And the mole in your organization?”
A vein in Ivan’s temple pulsed. “Everything’s under control.”
“All right.” Sascha knew that was the best he was going to get. He rose from his chair. “I’m going now. I love you,” he added.
Because if Ivan was extending olive branches, Sascha could too.
He received a stilted nod in return.
Back in the car, Kai was waiting in the passenger seat in human form, poised in a way that suggested he was willing to leap out of the car and avenge Sascha’s honor if Ivan had slighted him in any way.
Sascha leaned across the dash to kiss him. “We’re all good.”
He caught Matteo’s eye in the rearview mirror. He was hunched in the back seat in an oversize sweatshirt Kai had plucked out of thin air for him, chewing on his nails like they were his last meal. “Ivan doesn’t think we’ll run into any trouble bringing you with us,” Sascha told him.
Matteo nodded jerkily, his eyes flitting away again in the next moment.
Yeah, definitely the start of a beautiful friendship.
But maybe there really was some secret sweetness hidden somewhere in Sascha, because he still only wanted to take this traumatized kid back with them and tuck him under a million blankets, keep him safe until he stopped flinching at every word.
Sascha turned to Kai. “Let’s go home, shall we?”
23
Sascha
Compared to the chaos that had been Sascha’s life lately, the next few weeks were almost a dream.
Even with a new human roommate who jumped at every other noise.
There’d been a nagging fear in Sascha’s mind that they’d return to Maine and Kai would realize how small Sascha’s world was. Would realize that he was free to move on. To explore. To roam. He’d been stuck in one place for so long before this; how could he bear to settle down?
But if anything, Kai seemed delighted to stay put. He’d taken to… Well, Sascha could only describe it as nesting, like he and Sascha were newlyweds and Matteo their new baby.
Sascha hadn’t put much effort into making the Maine house a home during his two months in Seacliff—he’d made do with what was already there or the little Ivan had let him bring with him. It might not have been as impersonal as his New York apartment, but it was lacking a certain level of comfort.
Kai’s first act had been ordering Sascha to drive them into one of the bigger towns to buy better bedding—soft blankets and sheets with a thread count comparable to Kai’s age. He’d insisted they couldn’t order it online, that he’d needed to feel it all himself. Sascha had thoughthewas the one with expensive taste, but apparently it was nothing compared to a demon making a home for his mate. He supposed it was Kai’s human-world version of draping him in the finest furs of the demon realm or whatever.
Sascha had time before he was supposed to start officially working for his brother—the first real job of his life—but it was still Kai who deep cleaned and straightened and did away with the extra boxes in the attic.
Apparently Sascha didn’t need a maid service anymore—he had a house husband instead.
Kai liked to tuck Sascha under the new blankets on the couch, plop Matteo next to him (“for friendship bonding”), and turn on trash TV for the both of them while he made the house suitable. Although, he could never resist the pull for very long—Kai would hardly make it an hour before he was joining them, hoisting Sascha onto his lap and tucking the blankets around both of them.
