“Holy shit,” Fox said on a laugh.
“Who’s that?” Bel demanded, and Winter couldn’t help but snicker. Yeah, Bel and the others had assumed he was alone and gotten burned.
“He’s the reason I’m calling,” Winter said. “I’m driving to Hartford…with the witch from the prophecy.”
There was a long silence and Winter glanced over to see Fox sinking down in his seat a little lower, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
“Bel, his name is Fox Turner, and he was kidnapped by Damon’s brutes. He’s coming home with me until we can get Damon taken care of. Then he’ll be able to return to his home.” At least that was what Winter was hoping at this point.
“Hello, Fox,” Bel replied, but his voice sounded strained, as if there was a lot he was holding back.
“Hi, Bel. Your brother has told me nothing about you. Well, other than the fact that you are very bad about rising each night.”
Winter smirked at Fox and the forced cheerfulness in his voice. The witch just shrugged at him.
“Of course he did,” Bel muttered.
“I could use your help with something,” Winter started again, trying to pull his brother’s brain away from the dark thoughts he was likely turning over. He didn’t want Bel thinking about the fact that Winter had in hand the witch that was supposed to be destroying his family.
“What do you need?”
“They grabbed Fox straight off his job, and then I kind of stole him from Damon. He’s got…”
“Nothing,” a new voice filled in. Winter smiled. He’d recognize River’s softer tones anywhere. “We can make sure he’s outfitted for at least a week by the end of the night.”
“Thanks, River.”
“No problem. Just need sizes.”
“Whoa…wait! I don’t want anyone to go to trouble. I-I…” Fox said quickly, but his stammers drifted off.
“Fox, you need clothes,” Winter said gruffly, not taking his eyes off the road. Late evening traffic wasn’t too bad, but they couldn’t afford to get tied up in a minor fender bender. They needed to get to Hartford safely and quickly. “I don’t mind loaning you some of mine, but I thought you’d feel more comfortable with something to call your own.”
“Yeah, but the expense,” Fox said in a whisper. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been fired from my job at this point for not showing. The money isn’t exactly flowing in, but I will pay you back.”
“You’ve been kidnapped…twice,” Winter muttered. He waved one hand as he tried to think of something that made sense. “Think of it as short-term hazard pay.”
There was a snort through the car speakers, and Winter wasn’t sure if it was from his brother or River.
“If that’s your rationale, I also need to pick up some booze for the poor guy,” River teased. “Speaking of…if you’re anything like Bel, there is no food in your house.”
“That would be correct,” Winter admitted with a sigh. “Do you mind…”
“We’ve got it, Winter,” Wyatt quickly said. “We’ll head out in the next hour.”
“Where are you?” his brother demanded.
“We’re still at least four, maybe five hours out. We won’t reach my place until morning. The locks are coded to Bel’s bio, so let him go in first. Leave it all in the kitchen. We can sort through it when we arrive.”
“Winter, I…”
“We’re fine, Bel. I promise. I got through Damon’s easily. Fox wants to help us. We’ll be safe and sound in Hartford in no time.” Bel’s worry was warm and reassuring. It helped to ease old feelings of loneliness and isolation.
“I’m not happy,” Bel grumbled.
Winter chuckled. That was likely an understatement. Bel might be the brother most likely to be distracted and lost in an experiment, but he also happened to be the most overprotective of all the brothers. Probably the scariest, though few people outside the family knew it.
Rafe and Marcus could threaten and rampage with the best of them. Winter could do some sneaky, scary things. But Bel, he was a total mad scientist with a sadistic streak when his family was threatened. Bel would torture and break a person if he had to.
“You’re really not going to like my last request, then,” Winter continued.
There was a long, drawn-out sigh before his brother spoke again. “You don’t want me to tell Marcus.”
“Or Rafe.”
“Winter—”
“Bel, I’m exhausted, and it’s going to be late when we get home. I don’t want to deal with all of them descending on my place when I really need to double-check my security.”
There was a long silence, and Winter looked to make sure the call hadn’t been dropped.
“Twenty-four hours,” Bel ground out.
“That’ll be enough,” Winter said, releasing a relieved breath. “Now hand the phone over to your wolves, so we can get Fox outfitted.”
“Oh, wow! He’s got wolves?” Fox said.
“Two of them,” River proudly answered. “Are you a real witch?”
“Trust me, it sounds cooler than it actually is,” Fox mumbled.
“Can you turn into a fox? You know, because of your name.”