Okay, so there was an obvious price that came with Fox not being afraid of Winter. Only his family had ever talked to him like this. Part of him wanted to strangle Fox, but it was a very small part. Most of him wanted to bend the man over the desk and fuck the sassy attitude right out of him.
But the terrified part wanted to lock Fox far away from the reach of Damon, witches, and anyone else who might harm him.
“This is dangerous,” Winter said carefully.
“I know. I have no delusions that it’s not. I’m in the middle of a vampire war that now includes witches and possibly werewolves. And I’ve got no magic. But my reasons for staying and fighting far outweigh my reasons for running and hiding. So, let me do this with you.”
Winter flopped back in his chair and huffed. He wanted to shout at Fox that he was the one being ridiculous and risking his life, but he couldn’t because he saw his point as well. He’d been involved too deeply already. He deserved to fight to have his old life.
“Fine, but if you start taking too many risks, I will tie you up again.”
“Fair enough,” Fox agreed with a regal nod of his head. He leaned back and placed his feet on Winter’s desk. He waved his spoon in Winter’s direction. “Now eat your cookie. If we’re going to date, I want to make the rule that we kiss after our arguments.”
“That wasn’t an argument,” Winter said to be stubborn, but he still ate the cookie.
Fox didn’t say anything, just smiled around another bite of his cereal. The man was going to drive him insane.
“Since Aiden and Rafe are focused on trying to talk to Zelda, I think our next step should be discovering what Damon’s plans are. How was he planning to use you against the Variks? What would he do if he can’t get you back? Does he know where you are now?”
Fox finished his cereal and placed the bowl on the floor under his chair. “How did you get your information about Damon and his clan before? Were you making that many trips into his mansion?”
Winter shook his head. “No, grabbing you was my first trip inside his place. Information had come from ghosts of people he’s killed. They’re usually happy to get some revenge. The other came from his little minions.” Winter bit the inside of his mouth, praying that Fox left the comment like that and moved on. He didn’t want to talk about the number of vampires he’d killed or tortured in the name of protecting his family. He couldn’t become that version of Winter for Fox.
“Oh,” Fox murmured softly. “I guess that means tagging along to help isn’t going to work so great since I hide the ghosts from you.”
Winter’s heart soared with relief and he smiled. “Well, a lot of my questioning goes on in the dead world. You know, so anyone who sees me doesn’t think I’m talking to myself.”
“That makes sense. I’d hate for anyone to think you’re crazy.”
Winter glared at Fox for a second. He couldn’t tell if the man was mocking him or not. Fox didn’t know about his mother or his family’s long struggle with her mental illness. It was probably just silly teasing.
“There is one other option,” Winter said, scratching his chin.
Fox sat up and leaned an elbow on the edge of Winter’s desk. “Please tell me it involves sneaking, spying, and using gadgets that might be found in your Bat Cave.”
Winter groaned and dropped his head back against the leather of his chair, making it creak. “I’m going to kick River for ever mentioning it,” he muttered before looking over at Fox. “Bel’s secret escape room is far more interesting than mine. It’s actually an underground garage with its own private driveway. When the Ministry started leveling threats on his head because he was searching for the cure to vampirism, he thought it would be useful to have a good escape route.”
Fox waved one hand at Winter like he was trying to gather together all his words in a single cloud. “I don’t understand a lot of what you just said, but I’d love to know more.”
“The short of it is, the Ministry was the ruling body over the vampires, and they have not been fans of Bel’s scientific experiments.”
Fox shrugged. “Afraid of his cure being weaponized?”
“Maybe. Mostly I think they’re just afraid of change.” Winter sighed and shook his head. This was getting off topic and they needed to focus. “It doesn’t really matter anymore. The Ministry has fallen apart, and Damon is trying to claim it all as king or dictator. He’s bad for vampires and humanity.”
“And it sounds like his road to the throne runs through the Variks. That sucks.”