Faris guided me to my closet. “Get dressed, Firefly,” he urged.
“But, we're not going to go wake him up are we?” I asked, grabbing a t-shirt dress from a hanger.
Fischer shook his head. “Of course not. Cam would kill us if we woke his brother up and got to see him before he did.”
“Okay, let's head downstairs and get some food. I’m starving. Plus, we need to check out what the note says,” I reminded them.
As much as I was trying to be positive, I had an unsettled feeling that something was wrong. While I hoped Cam and Bram had gotten some information regarding Annie, it simply didn't make sense that they would have taken off so suddenly after the events of last night. Especially since Cam was beyond excited to see his brother again.
I dressed quickly and brushed my teeth. A hasty look in the mirror didn't show any cuts or bruises, thanks to my new ability to heal quickly—but my hair? Holy Medusa. This was why you didn’t sleep with wet hair. I brushed it out and put it into two loose braids; that’d have to do.
“You look so innocent with these braids, Firefly,” Faris teased, twirling one around his finger.
“I think we know she's anything but innocent.” Fischer chuckled, tugging on the other. “Kai already went downstairs, he's antsy.”
I nodded. “He is. I think we should all try to give him extra love,” I whispered, not wanting him to overhear me.Those damn cat ears...
“Is he okay?” Guppy asked, a brow raised.
“Yeah, I think so. He's just… going through some stuff,” I replied slowly, unsure of what he would be comfortable with me saying to everyone else.
Fish tugged me against his body. “And you? Are you okay, sweetheart?” I inhaled his spicy scent and relaxed.
“Yeah. I mean, I'm relieved. I'm not happy Laurie is out there somewhere, but I feel like a weight has been lifted now that I don't have to worry about Bry—”
Faris hissed, cutting me off. “Don't speak that name. He's gone. I never want to hear his name from your lips again. Makes me want to slice up some bitches.”
I glanced up to see Fish giving Faris the evil eye. Spinning around, I wrapped my arms around my stabby boy.
“Viper. We don't slice bitches up. We find their weaknesses and destroy them from the inside out,” I said, patting his back.
“I love when you talk dirty, Firefly,” Faris growled, and I felt his rapidly hardening length against my belly.
Fish rolled his eyes. “Let's go,” he murmured, slipping his hand into mine and leading me from the room.
* * *
We foundKai sitting at the table, note in hand. As I passed Maven’s bowl, I automatically went to toss in a scoop of food but noticed the bowl was still full. My grumpy fox sometimes preferred hunting though, so I didn’t give it another thought as I made my way over to Kai.
“Well?” Fish asked, sliding into a chair. “What's it say?”
I saw Kai's jaw tick, and I immediately knew it was bad.Gods dammit. Why can't we catch a break?
“Sloane missed a check in, but Cam was asleep so he didn't realize it. By the time he woke up, a few hours had already passed. He says he had Bram jump them to the prison because Sloane's phone is shut off. He wrote this note four hours ago,” Kai gritted out. “I’ve tried calling both of them, but the service must be shit up there.”
I felt a trickle of fear run down my spine. “Oh no,” I whispered. Looking over at my Guppy, I saw his face was a mixture of worry and anger.
“They should be back soon then,” Faris said calmly, pulling out a chair for me. I dropped into it and bounced my leg as my nerves took over. A moment later, a plate full of delicious French toast and bacon was in front of me.
“Thank you, Viper,” I murmured, grabbing a piece of crispy bacon and taking a huge bite.
“Oh good, you're here,” Gran called cheerily, bustling in through the back hall. “Had to run home real quick to water my plants. Gonna be hot as balls today! Did those agents make it last night? I saw the barn was empty, so I assume everything went okay?”
“Ugh,” I groaned. I didn't have the energy to go over the whole story again. In fact, I'd prefer to not think about it. Ever.
Fischer must've picked up on my feelings, because he offered to explain. Grateful, I nodded, immediately tuning him and Gran out while I focused on eating. I still picked up on certain things that she said, though. Like:
“A motherfucking dragon? By the sun's rays—I have never met a dragon shifter. Explains the grumpy attitude, am I right?”
