Carrick glances at me and Pyke. While I know him well enough to realize he’s vibrating with fury because Pyke holds a dagger on me, it’s with complete nonchalance that he bends and picks up Kymaris’ arm. When he tosses it underhand to her with a smirk, she hisses as she catches it.
It’s with ease that she magically reattaches it, but her anger is palpable. She snarls at Carrick. “That was a mistake.”
“I said Finley wasn’t to be harmed,” he reminds her with a shrug.
“Give me the Blood Stone,” she demands, holding her reattached arm out and shaking it as if to get the blood flowing again.
“Finley first,” Carrick demands.
Kymaris cuts a glance to Pyke, nodding curtly.
Pyke removes the dagger, puts his hand between my shoulder blades, and gives me a rough shove in Carrick’s direction. I don’t need any further prodding as I hurry to his side.
“You good?” he asks without taking his eyes off Kymaris. I can hear the unspoken statement, though, which is if I’m hurt, he’s going to kill her here and now.
“Peachy,” I reply because I’m fine.
Without any delay, Carrick tosses the satchel to Kymaris. She deftly catches it. Pulling the flap open, she peeks inside and her eyes start glowing with victory.
Before she can even look up, perhaps to prepare for her and her crew to leave, Carrick points a finger at Pyke and yells, “You.”
Pyke, who had been gazing at Kymaris with a victorious smile, turns to Carrick.
His smile slides from his face.
“A reckoning is coming, Pyke,” Carrick says in a voice that promises severe retribution for the kidnapping. “I suggest you put your affairs in order.”
I want to laugh when Pyke goes a little green in the face, but I don’t have time.
Carrick nabs my hand and bends distance, then we’re stepping into the kitchen in his condo.
CHAPTER 5
Finley
I no sooner plant both feet on the kitchen tile before Carrick has me engulfed in his arms, face mashed to his chest and his chin on top of my head so I can’t even turn it to take a breath. He squeezes—not in the demi-god way that will crush bones, but the way a man does when he misses his woman—and I cherish it, just as I cherish everything about him.
When he releases his hold, it’s merely to take my face in his hands and kiss the breath out of me—far more effective than the hard squeeze of his hug, and he does this while everyone watches.
“Are you okay?” he asks, pulling back slightly to look me over. He even turns me around to check my backside, before turning me again and pulling me into another hug.
“I’m fine,” I assure him.
“Good,” I hear Rainey say before I’m pulled from Carrick right into her embrace. She’s a brave woman, holding back her tears but fervently whispering in my ear that she’ll kill me if I ever scare her like that again.
“Noted,” I laugh, and then Myles is hugging me.
Then Titus.
Then Maddox.
Zaid is sweet, with his usual awkwardness and tiny pats on my shoulders, but as we release from our embrace, the relief in his eyes is great.
And finally… I turn to Boral.
The only time I’ve ever touched the mass murderer Dark Fae was when he protected me from the pine tree top about to crush my body.
But fuck it… he’s a proven member of our team, and I’m the one who moves in for a hug. I get just a glimpse of his eyes widening in shock before I throw my arms around his neck for a hard squeeze, which he returns far more exuberantly than his son had.
“Are you hungry?” Zaid asks, and I nod effusively.
“The dungeon fare was awful,” I quip, and everyone around me looks horrified.
Carrick steps forward, taking my hand. “How about we get you into a hot shower while Zaid prepares you something to eat, then we get you to bed?”
I smile at Carrick—a smile that says, ‘you’re sweet but a little patronizing’. I shake my head. “How about we sit down and talk right now about what we’re facing because things have drastically changed and I know we’re all reeling.”
The dubious look I get from Carrick is expected, but because he knows I don’t want to be coddled and he respects my grit, he glances at Zaid and says, “Fix her up some food and let’s talk.”
Everyone gathers around the kitchen island at their usual seats, but this is the first time Boral has taken a meal with the entire team. It’s the first time he was not specifically excluded.
Zaid pulls out the fixings for a club sandwich, and I grab a bottle of water from the fridge before I take the stool in between Rainey and Carrick.
While I’m sure they all heard from Zaid what had happened at Arwen’s home in Faere, Rainey asks me to tell it again.