Sin & Salvation (Demigod of San Francisco #3)(43)

“I’ll make something fresh, thanks.”

“Did you get Donovan’s message?”

“About the knocked-down camera?” Kieran waited for Jack to nod. “How do you think it happened? Donovan said he didn’t see any cause for concern.”

“The camera caught a brief blur before it went out, like the flap of a wing or something.” Jack scratched his cheek. “The moisture from the constant fog had weakened the bindings and the weight of the camera stretched ’em out. The other cameras needed to be re-secured.” He shook his head, frowning at the laptop. “They were high in the tree and nothing else was messed with—I agree with Donovan’s assessment. I’m more concerned about Amber.” He looked up at Kieran. “If Alexis is planning on hanging around here with us, of course.”

Kieran filled the coffee pot and set it to brewing. He felt a smile as he placed a pan on the stove before opening the fridge. Despite the new threat and mountain of odds and ends he had to see to, at least Alexis would be close. It was one huge worry off of the table.

“She decided to stay,” he said, and couldn’t help the smug tone to his voice.

Jack nodded, going back to surveillance. “Good deal. What are your plans?”

Kieran gestured at the breakfast preparation, feigning a relaxed manner even though he felt anything but. He had to see how far Amber had gotten and try to head her off as well as he possibly could while he continued organizing a war effort with dwindling time and resources. Knowing Alexis could feel his inner turmoil, he needed her effectively distracted so no one would see her resulting worry, all while he played it cool to his peers.

He took a deep breath and focused in on the moment. “I’m making my lady breakfast in bed, what does it look like?”

Jack grinned and shook his head. “Late to the girlfriend game, and you’re still going to make us all look bad.”

Kieran laughed. “That’s because I intend to keep this one.”

He took the eggs out of the fridge, his thoughts slipping back to the danger at hand. “I need to figure out how far Amber has gotten,” he said. “And I have to start putting things in motion. Ready or not, we need to move.” He gritted his teeth. “I don’t know where I’m going to find any more troops. We’re going to be the underdogs in this one.”

If Jack heard the uncertainty in Kieran’s voice, he didn’t let on. “We were always going to be the underdogs, sir. But that’s just fine because the gremlin says we’ll win so long as we have her family on board.” He shrugged. “Thanks to you, we do. We’re good.”

The gremlin was what the guys and Bria had started calling Daisy because of her vicious fighting style.

Kieran wished he could believe Jack—he just didn’t know that they’d be enough. He needed a miracle.

“You and Zorn are on Alexis and the kids today,” he said, cracking an egg. “She’ll probably want to go shopping for the house, which is fine as long as she stays in the dual-society zone and you stay out of sight. We don’t need to help Amber connect the dots. But the second you sense danger, get her out of there. My father is still following breadcrumbs, so I doubt he’ll act just yet, but it’s better to be safe.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kieran paused in whisking the eggs, a pang hitting him center mass. He had wanted to be there for Alexis’s shopping spree, watching her eyes glimmer as she roamed her favorite stores without compromise. He remembered the way she’d argued with herself over that blanket she’d wanted to buy for Mordecai. She wouldn’t have to hesitate anymore. Anything she wanted, he’d give her. Anything in the world. Except, at the moment, his time.

Fire burned in his middle, but he pushed it down. It couldn’t be helped. He was too far on this path to walk away. It wasn’t just about vengeance, anymore. His father needed to be stopped. A lot of people would die if his father’s plans were realized.

Valens had to be stopped, and his allies needed to be torn down.

One thing at a time.

“So long as the coast is clear when she’s shopping,” he said, “let her take as long as she wants. I’ll be furnishing her with a credit card. Make sure she has a good day of it.”

“Of course, sir. She’s great at spreading her good mood. A pity she couldn’t go to better stores, though. Dual-society stores sell cheap crap. It all breaks too easily.”

“Maybe you should be kinder on her things.”

Jack smiled. “Maybe she should gain some muscle and feel my pain.”

Kieran layered the pan with eggs. “You’ll probably live to regret those words.”

He sure hoped so, at any rate. He’d need all the help he could get.





19





Alexis





“Wait. Stop right there.”

I barely heard Bria as I paused in the entryway of my new kitchen. I’d left Kieran’s as noon waved goodbye. While part of me had hated leaving his warm body and exhilarating touch, another part of me was desperately excited to check out my new digs. Like this kitchen.

I had a new kitchen.

“I said stop right there.”

I kept ignoring Bria as I swept my fingers over the kitchen table, then looked out the window at the windswept trees swaying in the backyard.