He disappeared inside, blowing me a kiss, and I hid my smile as I trekked through the grass. I loved seeing this playful side of him and I didn’t mind the teasing, not when the payoff was his rich laughter and boyish grin. Good thing I had a lifetime to soak it all up.
Iwas itching with the desire to shift and shoot up through the heavens like a bullet. Sitting on the patio in the cooling night air was a welcome break from the chaos that seemed to follow this crew around. Not to mention this house was always busy. Staying in one location for extended periods of time hadn't been something we'd done since the academy, and I was getting restless.
Seeing everyone safe and together though, that was a huge relief. Fucking Asrael and my asshole father. And fucking PTSD. I’d never been more horrified at my own actions as I was when my eyes had fluttered open, and I saw my hand squeezing the life from the woman I loved. Yeah, I was a surly asshole, but I wasn’t an abuser. Then to find out she’s pregnant with twins, and carrying my child? Mine. And I could have hurt all three of them irreparably... I felt sick at the thought.
I’d have to get help with this before the babies were born. Being a danger to my family wasn’t something I could ever accept. No, I’d sooner remove the danger completely than risk them. There were parts of my memory that were nothing but flashes of images, and that worried me. Not that I wanted to know what I’d missed, but because I didn’t want to remember. The visions already circling in my head now were more than enough to haunt me.
The new phone Cam had gotten me vibrated on the glass table, pulling me from my thoughts. I frowned at the unknown number. Thankfully, everything on my old phone had been saved to the cloud, so everything had been easily transferred. Whoever was calling now wasn’t someone I had saved.
“Hello?”
“Captain. It is I—your sensei,” a man's voice said through the speaker.
“Who the hell is this?” Ugh. The guy probably just had the wrong number, but it got on my nerves. Like most things.
An exaggerated sigh came through the line. “After allowing you the courtesy of staying in my most prized guest room, I admit, I expected more from my best friend.”
My eyes widened and I'm pretty sure I mouthed the words “What the fuck?” but I said, “Roger?”
“Aha! Always playing the bad boy persona, huh? I see you, Cuke-Zuke, I see you.” Roger laughed down the line, and I found the corner of my mouth twitching, though I abruptly put a stop to that.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, unsure why he'd be calling me. “And how the hell did you get my number?”
I heard what sounded like water running. “Oh, well, I got it from your phone while you were asleep, of course.”
“Roger!”
“Settle down, I didn't look at any of those nudes that were saved in your private folder, I swear!”
“ROGER!” I shouted, my mouth falling open. My cheeks heated as I thought of the very erotic images I’d saved that Fischer had sent me over the years, as well as the ones of myself I’d sent in return. There were even some videos of us together, doing about every filthy thing a man could do to another man.
“I'm fucking with you— I got your number from Bette. Though if there is a private folder of nudes, you should probably change the file name or something. I mean, if I see something that says private, I’d definitely want to take a peek at it. Choose something less tempting, like oh... I don't know. Let me think on that and get back to you,” Roger rambled, and I ran a hand down my face.
“I'll consider changing that. Thank you,” I bit out. “Now, what can I do for you?”
He laughed and I could picture him shaking his head, his curly mullet bouncing with the motion. “No, no, my friend. I heard congratulations are in order. Papa Cuke-Zuke, huh? Oh my moons, those babies are going to be so beautiful and sassy. As their godfather, I just wanted you to know that I will be—”
“As... As their what?” I stammered and he ignored me.
“I will be happy to train them in the art of weapon combat, with a focus on using whatever is at their disposal. One must be able to fight with anything in order to win.”
“Dear gods,” I muttered. “How did you find out about the babies?”
“I keep forgetting you're still new to Emerald Lakes. It's all over town. Our sweet Saige meets her mates, and is now with child? Times two?” He sighed dramatically.
I leaned back in my chair as the door opened, and Bram poked his head out. “Well, thanks for the congratulations, Roger,” I said. Bram mouthed “Randy Roger?” and I nodded.
“You know, I was there when Laurie was born. I stayed with Bette for most of that first year and helped her as much as I could, since she didn't have anyone else. Then, when Saige was born and Laurie took off, I helped again. Whatever you guys need, you let ol' Randy Roger know, okay? Babies are hard work and you'll all be ready for a night off or an afternoon to take a long nap. I know you are going to be the best papa,” he told me, as if his words were a normal conversation that people had. Thing was, they probably were, between normal families—like something a father should tell his son.
My fucking eyes started stinging, and I swallowed the lump that had suddenly grown in my throat. “Thank you,” I choked out, my hand fisting on the table. It was silent on the other end for a moment, before Roger wished us well again and announced he'd be in touch. The call disconnected before I even said goodbye.
Placing the phone down, I sighed. Weird as the guy was, I felt warmth spreading throughout my body. Roger was more than just his eccentric personality and love of phallic-shaped produce.
Blinking away the moisture in my eyes, I focused on Bram. The big demon plopped down in a seat, and a strange clank had me glancing out of the corner of my eye to see what he was up to. A bottle of whiskey glimmered as the light of the moon caught it just right, and I watched Bram pull two tumblers from his hoodie pocket.
“What's happening right now?” I asked suspiciously.
Bram chuckled, unscrewing the bottle. “Well, Scorch... we're going to get drunk as hell, talk shit about whoever and whatever, and then maybe if our cocks still work after all the whiskey, we can track down our woman and see if she'll give our drunk asses a pity fuck?”
