Addict (Hunter #2)(14)

“Papa told me you were back, but he said I shouldn’t bother you while you were working,” Lee explained.

“But Lee said he was going to help you,” another voice said. I smiled over at Rhys, Lee’s twin brother. They were perfectly identical except for the eyes. Lee’s were a warm chocolate brown while Rhys had his father’s emerald eyes. Rhys also had Dev Quinn’s fertility powers. He was a cute kid, but he made me want to shield my womb.

“Lee says you’re a detective and that you need people to help you on your cases,” a third boy explained. He was Sean Quinn and he could certainly have been the twins’ brother. His father was the future king of Faery. Declan Quinn held the Faery seat on the Council. Sean Quinn looked me up and down. “She is pretty.” He nodded as he turned to Rhys. “I think she would do well. My father talked about her before she fled. I believe he was definitely interested.”

Rhys smiled up at me, looking like he’d come up with the best plan ever. My every instinct went on high alert. His plans usually involved kissing. “It’s a great idea. I think you’ll really like my Uncle Declan. He’s looking for another wife, and you would be perfect.”

“Except that she’s with Uncle Marcus,” Lee said with a huff. “Duh. I don’t think Uncle Marcus is into sharing.”

Lee Donovan-Quinn. The only freaking one of the bunch who knew me and he was nine years old. “He isn’t. Sorry. You’ll have to look elsewhere for your dad’s new honey.”

Sean Quinn shrugged. “Maybe it’s just as well. Father told Uncle Dev he also thought you would be a beast in the sack. I don’t know why he wants to put you in a sack, especially if it forces some violent change in you.”

“Yes.” I tried valiantly to suppress the wealth of laughter threatening to burst out of me. “I will avoid any sack your father tries to put me in.”

Rhys’s brilliant green eyes narrowed, all thoughts of matchmaking obviously forgotten as he moved on to more important matters. “If Uncle Marcus is here then he brought us candy.”

Lee high-fived his brother. “Yes!” He looked back at me in explanation. “Mama thinks my anger issues can be solved by keeping me away from sugar and soda. It’s not working, Kelsey. I just get angry about not having candy and soda.”

I smoothed back his hair. “Well, I happen to know your Uncle Marcus made a stop at a nice candy shop before we left Venice. You’ll have to go see him about it though. I would be quick. Your Uncle Marcus has quite the sweet tooth himself, and he might eat them all up before you have a chance to get any.”

Lee’s eyes got big at the thought of missing out, but Sean Quinn shook his head. He greatly resembled his superarrogant father in that moment. “Uncle Marcus is a vampire, Kelsey. He doesn’t eat candy.”

Hugo laughed behind me. “Oh, I assure you he can now. Your Uncle Daniel might be a king, but Marcus is an academic, like me.”

“One of Uncle Marcus’s superpowers is that he can taste the food I eat,” I explained. “He can only do this with very close female friends, but once the bond is formed, he can taste food through me.”

I heard Liv react to that. Of course, she was probably shocked a man like Marcus would form a bond with someone like me. I hadn’t been a hot commodity while we were friends. I ignored her, preferring to explain to the boys. “It’s been a really long time since Marcus had a girlfriend like me. He hadn’t even tasted Reese’s.”

“No way,” Lee said, dumbfounded. He tried to live off them. Peanut butter cups and Dr. Pepper were Lee’s dietary staples before his mother had outlawed sugar.

“It’s true. I bought a whole bunch of them because they’re the best stuff in the world and he didn’t believe me. He told me,”—I went into my best Marcus impersonation, complete with a bad Italian accent—“I have tasted chocolate and I have tasted peanut butter. I do not see how putting the two together makes them better, bella.”

“Did he like them?” Rhys asked, an expectant smile on his face.

“He made me eat the whole bag,” I assured them. “There’s an awful lot he hasn’t tried yet. I think we should make an afternoon of it.”

“He should try root beer,” Rhys said.

“And Skittles,” Sean offered.

I stood up and smiled at Hugo. “I’m so glad I have a werewolf metabolism.”

Liv was still there. “Kelsey, I need to talk to you.”

The boys were busy planning a menu that would kill a diabetic. As I looked down on them affectionately, I realized I was in perfect control. Hugo patted me on the back, and I knew he could feel my satisfaction in my own progress. I kept my voice down, and there was little anger in it as I spoke to the woman I used to love dearly. “I don’t have anything to say to you, Olivia.”

“Fine,” she replied dully. “You don’t have any interest in hearing me out. I get that. I make one mistake in ten years of friendship and the great Kelsey Atwood has no more use for me. Fine. I’m not here as your friend. You obviously don’t need me now that you’re in good with the vamps. But I am here as a client and you can’t turn me away. I’m still a member of this community and I need your services.”

I sighed, seeing straight through her. “Liv, I don’t have time to waste on some wild-goose chase you and Nathan cooked up to manipulate your way back into my life.”