“I’m sure you’ll survive.” I rubbed his back. “Neely has invested too much time in my dress, hair, and makeup to let you die before he can take credit publicly for his masterpiece. Funerals just don’t generate the same kind of buzz.”
“I heard something about a strip club.” Midas winked where Linus couldn’t see. “You better make sure you come prepared with a stack of bills.”
Uncertain if Linus had ever seen a dollar bill, let alone held one, I made a mental note to hit the bank so he would be prepared if that was on the agenda. If he tipped his usual fifty bucks, he would have women lining up to dance on his lap. The mental picture made me snort. Linus would hate it, all those strange women touching him, but he would endure it if that’s what the guys wanted to do. He was a good friend that way.
I wasn’t brave enough to ask what Lethe had in mind for me. The only swinging sausage she enjoyed came from the butcher shop.
I hated to answer my phone while we had company, but when it rang, I couldn’t afford to let it go to voicemail. Between the wedding calls, the work calls, and the Volkov situation, it was too dangerous not to stay informed.
“We’ve got a problem,” Neely said in a rush. “I’m at Flower Power.”
“Please don’t tell me they sold all our arrangements.”
“They’re not selling anything.” He waited for a siren to quiet before he kept going. “It’s on fire.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I flopped down on the sofa next to Midas. “Is everyone okay?”
“The boy is on a bus with his football team, so he’s fine, but Mr. Laurent is missing.”
“Can I skip the wedding and move straight on to the honeymoon?”
“Girl, I just drove four hours round trip to pick up Linus’s new tux. You are not depriving me of seeing the man wear it. Plus, I had to triple the price to get the rush order done in time.”
“Do you believe in signs?”
“Yes.” He shut a door, probably after getting in his car. “There’s one in front of me right now that says One Way. I believe if I don’t do what it says, I’ll get creamed.”
“Smartass.”
“The universe is not telling you not to marry Linus. I will wash your mouth out with soap if you even think it.”
“You mean my brain? You said think it, not say it.”
“One you would survive, one you wouldn’t. I’ll let you choose.” Music blared until he killed his radio. “Stop distracting me. You are getting married. That is that.”
“I’m not doubting whether I want to get married.” On that score, I had none. “I was thinking about eloping. All the guests could show up, you could announce we had run away together, and then you could all eat cake. See how romantic that sounds? How fun?”
The topic furrowed Linus’s brow, and I gestured him over so he wouldn’t worry. He perched on the arm of the couch, and I invited him to listen in.
“Oh, hell no.” Neely’s temper, rarely witnessed, dialed all the way up to ten. “You are not ruining my fun just to get to your fun. You think weddings are about you? Uh-uh. They’re about your family, your friends, and your enemies. You have to look your best, smile your brightest, and take so many photos you can thumb through them and watch the day unfold like one of those flip animation books.” He sucked in a breath. “I have planned, I have plotted, I have sweated, I have bled. This wedding is going forward, and you are going forward with it. Or I will call up your future mother-in-law and tell her you’re a flight risk.”
The low blow stunned me into silence while my gaping earned me concerned looks from Linus and Midas.
“I’m sorry,” Neely said, not sounding apologetic at all. “You forced my hand.”
“You would get his mother involved?” I clutched Linus’s arm. “That hand I forced? Did it happen to have a knife in it?”
“I would get his mother, his father, his granny, and his grampy involved if it meant this day goes off without a hitch. Suck it up, buttercup. You’re getting married, I’m living vicariously through you, and that is that.”
The call ended, and I reared back to stare at the phone.
“Just so you know,” Midas said, aware there was no point in pretending he hadn’t overheard every word, “Lethe would spit-roast you over an open fire, and Mom would carve the first slice.”
“Javier lost his life because of—” I almost snarled that damned wedding, but I caught myself. Crumbling under pressure gave Volkov what he wanted, and I would ruin our wedding without his help if I didn’t pull myself together. “I wouldn’t dishonor his memory, not after all the work he put into my dress and Linus’s original tux design.” I leaned my head against Linus’s side. “Not to mention the florist.”
“None of this is your fault.” He slid his fingers through my hair. “You can’t control Volkov. He’s responsible for his own actions.”
“I taunted him.” I had gone to see him with Linus as part of a bribe to get enough of his blood to tattoo the sentinels during the Siege. “I threw our engagement in his face. I pretty much stuck out my tongue and sang nanny nanny boo boo.”
“That’s it.” Midas fished in his pocket. “Just remember, you forced me to do this.”
Dread blossomed in my chest. “Do what, exactly?”
“Grier is taking responsibility for Volkov.” Phone to his ear, he shot me an apologetic glance. “Yeah. I figured she would make it another hour or so at least. Guess I owe you five bucks.”
“You and your sister bet on my guilt?”
“You have a savior complex.” Midas shrugged. “How else did you end up a self-appointed potentate?”
Heat rocketed up the back of my neck, exploding in my cheeks. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You saved the city.” Linus came to my defense. “The decision wasn’t ego driven, it was necessity. Not everyone would have been brave enough to try, and very few would have been strong enough to succeed.”
Or survive. That’s what he meant but wouldn’t say.
Since Linus had lectured me for days afterward, pointing out all the ways I could have exploded my brain by bonding with the city unaided, it was kind of nice to hear him coming to my defense. The whole united-front thing was a major benefit to coupledom. It was our duty to call each other out when necessary, but respect kept those comments behind closed doors.
“Potentates are definitely a breed apart.” Midas rubbed his thumb across his phone screen, like he was contemplating making another call or wished for one that hadn’t come through. “You can’t let one psychotic vampire break your goodness of heart, Grier.”
Volkov didn’t deserve all the blame, and neither did vampires in general or Last Seeds in particular. Lacroix had done his part, and so had Odette. So had a lot of others. And the more I thought about all the ways they had attempted to control me, to manipulate me, to ruin my life, the more determined I became to have this huge wedding to show anyone who ever thought they could keep me down that I had made my own choices, and they could suck my big toe if they didn’t like it.
Make no apologies for surviving.
I hadn’t then, and I wouldn’t now.
“How can you be so blasé about this?” I wanted to rip out my hair. “Eva—”
“We’ve doubled down on protection for Eva. She was your weak spot and an easy target. You love her, and she runs wild all over your property and Lethe’s.” He opened his mouth, shut it, then shook his head. “We’ve got this in hand.”
Much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn’t shake the prickling sensation between my shoulder blades.
“When do the festivities begin?” I searched their faces. “I can’t even remember what day it is, honestly.”
“Remain vigilant and wear clean underwear.” Midas coughed into his fist. “That’s all I can say.”
“Goddess,” I breathed, already terrified of being at the mercy of Lethe’s imagination.
“I should be getting back.” Midas stood, his back to us, and finally put the phone away. “Linus, did Hadley mention where she’s staying?”
“Not to me.” He glanced at me. “Grier?”
“I assumed she would stay in the carriage house.”
There was a slim possibility she might stay with Adelaide, but it was up in the air last week.
“She’s been invited to stay with the Atlanta pack.” Midas hesitated. “At Lethe’s.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. Lethe hadn’t mentioned it, but she might not know if her mother was the one who extended the invitation. Alphas tended to take for granted they could do whatever they wanted, regardless of whose hospitality they tread on. “She accepted?”
“Not last I heard.” He rolled his shoulders, as if he could feel my gaze heavy on his back. “Let me know if she shows up here?”
“Sure thing.” I bit my bottom lip. “She’ll be at the bachelorette party, right?”
“As far as I know.” He paused at the front door. “Grier…”
“I won’t mention you asked,” I promised. “And I won’t tease you about Hadley.”
“To my face?” A smile warmed his voice. “I know how sisters operate.”
Sister.
That he included me in his definition of pack never ceased to amaze me. That he viewed me as a sister…
I was grateful he kept his back to me. I didn’t want him to see me cry and think he had overstepped.
Woolly held the door open for him, and he smiled up at the foyer chandelier.
About to leave, he hesitated on the threshold. “What’s Oscar doing?”
“Corbin was playing hide-and-seek with him last I heard. If they’ve moved on from that, your guess is as good as mine. Be careful, though. Corbin sent him a paintball gun for his birthday, but he hasn’t visited to play with him in person until now. I predict the woods are about to become a war zone for as long as Oscar can manifest, and he’s been sleeping for days in preparation.”