Blood and Fire (McClouds & Friends #8)(114)

“An *,” Sean informed him cheerfully.

Bruno considered different responses to that jibe, but he was so damn tired, he just went for the one that used the least amount of breath. “Fuck you, man.”

Sean made wet smooching sounds. “Aww. I love you, too, honey.”

Bruno stumbled, slipped. Dropped the damn shovels every which way, and slid down the slope for about three meters, arms flailing.

But when he’d drawn back from the brink of death, he was grinning.





“Not a chance in hell. Not a snowman’s chance.” Val made a furious gesture toward the group of women by the garage door.

“Snowball.” Tam tapped his shoulder from behind, with a long, gleaning black fingernail. “The correct term is, ‘snowball’s chance in hell,’ my love. Get them straight, or don’t use idioms at all, please, OK?”

“Snowman, snowball, iceberg, I do not give a shit.” Val folded his arms across his chest, radiating unquestionable authority. A skill all the men around this place tended to be scarily good at, Lily had noticed. Bruno being no exception.

“Val, I do not want to miss this exam,” Sveti explained. “I have studied for four months for this test, and tomorrow morning is the only testing date. If I do well, I will pass out of freshman year and save, oh, forty thousand dollars that I do not have? Maybe more?”

“I will give you the forty thousand dollars!” Val snarled. Sveti shook her head. “You are sweet, but you and Tam already give me enough,” she said. “I am too much in your debt. Truly, I do not think bad guys will be interested in me and my exam.”

“And since she has to go anyway, I might as well ride along. I need to get back to my bookstore,” Liv said briskly. “My manager is short-staffed and coming down with the flu. So Edie’s coming to help, and Margo and Erin are coming over with the kids tonight, so we can—”

“You are stupid to go out now!” Val glared toward the three women gathered at the entrance. Miles slouched in the garage doorway behind them, wearing his habitual long-suffering expression. Baby Eamon was playing enthusiastically with one of Miles’s ears, cooing.

“Val, come on,” Edie coaxed. “Nobody is after our blood. Sveti just has to take her test. She’s worked so hard for this. Life goes on. You can’t ground everybody. It’s just not practical.”

“I do not give a shit about practical. Why do you not call your man? See what opinion he has about this f*cking trip to Seattle, hmm?”

Edie sighed. “That would be silly. He’s always paranoid. It’s just a McCloud thing. We have Miles with us. He’s armed. He’s tough.”

All eyes swung to Miles. He stood up straighter, making an effort to look tougher.

“Why not just wait until the guys get back?” Aaro asked.

“Then I will miss my exam,” Sveti said. “I cannot take it again until next year. Please, Val. It is important to me.”

“Ah, shit,” Val muttered. “I cannot even accompany you, not until the rest of the men get back! This is not fair to put me in this position!” He glared at Liv and Edie. “You know very well that Sean and Kev would throw screaming fits if they knew you were taking off without them.”

“They can lecture us later,” Edie said briskly. “Come on, let’s go.”

The women slunk out the door. Miles trailed behind, throwing an apologetic, what-can-ya-do-with-’em glance over his shoulder.

Val made an explosive sound of disgust, spun, and stalked away, muttering to himself. Tam hurried to follow him, leaving Lily to stare out, watching the garage door grind shut after the car left, blocking out the rare gleam of real outside air. Rainy and gray though it was today.

Clang. Shut in. In the darkness. As usual. Lily sighed. It was self-indulgent and ungrateful to feel pissy because she was left behind. The little girl who didn’t get to go on the school trip, waaahh.

She was grateful for the first three genuinely safe nights in she couldn’t even remember how long. She was starting to feel better. But that translated directly into the desire to move, fight back. She wondered when, if ever, she was going to get her life back. Such as it was. It was flawed, sure, but she wanted a chance to make it bloom. Why couldn’t she have a chance, too, like everyone else? Restless anger prickat her, like thorns.

This was not the fault of the people around her, of course. They weren’t her jailors. In fact, they were the only reason she was still breathing. Be grateful, damnit. She took to pacing again.

Fortunately, the house was huge and rambling, with lots of nooks, towers, and overhangs, beautiful details and incredible overlooks, even a walkway like a floating bridge over a sea of green to a different zone in the house. A leisurely stroll through the whole place, stopping to admire each vantage point, genuinely did kill some time.

She ached to have Bruno back. To hear his laughing voice, feel his kiss, his hard, tight embrace, his muscles shaking with emotion.

Not that she’d have him for long. Their brief conversation the night before, when he’d called her from the motel, had settled that issue. Nothing had changed for her, in spite of his having found the next piece of the puzzle. He’d just hare off to the East Coast to dig in his estranged grandmother’s attic for some ancient jewelry box, while she stayed here, safely folded flat and hidden in a locked drawer. It was enough to drive an independent woman insane. She’d always had to fight for everything in life. Passivity was counterintuitive for her.