Hidden Passions (Hidden, #7)(47)

It was great. Tony swallowed back his urge to ask if Chris could come to the house with them.

"I'll bring Cass's cat," he said.

Ari flashed a grin. "Adam says your brother was really brave. And his new half-faerie girlfriend is badass. I can't wait to hear the whole story!"

Ari had hung her weight on the doorframe as excitedly as a kid. "Me either," Tony said as she bounced one last time and then trotted down the stairs.

"So . . ." Chris said.

He didn't get a chance to say more. The tiger called Jonah, the one next in rank after Chris, stuck his head in the door. His glance flicked scornfully toward Tony before shifting back to Chris. "You hear, boss?"

"I heard," he confirmed.

"We're gonna head to the station, if that's okay with you. Cook a big feed for everyone."

That he meant everyone who was a tiger was obvious.

"Okay," Chris said. "Anyone need a ride?"

"We're good, boss. See you there in a bit."

"You need help closing up things here?" Tony asked.

"I'll be fine," Chris assured him. "You go be with your brother. It's been a long time since you've seen him."

It had, but Rick wasn't the only person Tony cared about. This place wasn't somewhere Chris ought to be alone.


"Shake a leg, boss!" someone called from downstairs. "Vasur's going to barbecue spareribs."

Because it seemed the circumspect thing to do, Tony extended his hand for Chris to shake. The other man looked at it like Tony was crazy.

"Please thank your crew for their help," Tony said.

Chris gripped his palm cautiously. "Tony . . ."

The door was wide open. Tony didn't allow him to continue.

"I'll see you around," he said. He pumped his hand once, briskly, before releasing it.

~

Evidently, the battle to save the dragons had been epic, involving fireballs, magical doppelgangers, and faerie zombies whose life force had to be sucked out to the last drop before they died. Tony heard everything Ari knew by the time he drove her and the baby to the mansion in Westchester.

Tony had gone to high school with Jin and Bridie Levine, but the half elf cousins hadn't lived here then. This was quite a spread, set in the sort of gardens people paid good money to tour.

"Holy crap," Ari said as they pulled up in front of the sprawling ivy-covered edifice.

Few things cowed their alpha's wife, but this seemed to do the trick. Ari's origins in the human world were humble. For a while, she hadn't had a home at all.

"It's just a house," Tony said, reaching over to squeeze her arm.

"They're on TV, aren't they?" Ari asked, meaning Jin and Bridie. "I think I've seen them throwing parties here on the gossip shows."

"They host As Luck Would Have It, the program where the guests have had a big stroke of good fortune."

"Uh-huh." Ari bit the side of her thumb.

"Jin used to fart in math class," he informed her. "It was after lunch, and she had . . . issues with Mystery Meat."

Ari narrowed her cornflower blue eyes at him. "You're trying to make me feel better."

Tony grinned. "Is it working?"

She swatted him but got out of the car in a better mood. She only cursed once while reversing the enchantment that helped secure Kelsey's super-safe car seat. Kelsey was used to her mother's occasionally salty language and didn't bat an eye.

An actual human butler in an actual uniform opened the door to them. Since the guy looked like he could handle anything, Tony handed him the cat bucket, explaining that the pet could probably use a meal.

"Very good," said the white-haired man. "If you follow me, I'll take care of this."

With measured steps even Ari had to slow down for, the human showed them to a large sunroom where the others were waiting.

Rick didn't see him immediately. He sat on a flowered couch next to Cass, holding the beautiful half fae's hand. Their sides were pressed together, and their auras were intertwined. They weren't radiating like Nate and Evina had at their wedding, but Snow White was definitely more than Rick's "new girl."

Unless Tony's wolf had lost its knack for sniffing out these things, Rick and Cass were soulmates.

The discovery rocked him. His big brother had found someone.

"Tony," Adam greeted, spotting him from the other side of the room.

Rick looked over and saw him then.

He patted Cass's hand before releasing it to stand up. A big happy smile spread across his face. Tony felt his legs move--one stride, two--and then he and Rick slapped their arms around each other.

"Bro," Rick said, hugging him.

Tony was nearly as big as he was, but he still hid his face in his brother's shoulder. Holding Rick was like coming home himself. He was pretty sure they hadn't done it this unabashedly since he'd fessed up to being gay.

"Bastard," he said into Rick's neck. "You ran off without telling me."

Rick laughed and pounded his back some more. Tony pushed back and dried his cheeks. "Had to keep the hero stuff for yourself, didn't you?"

"I needed the advantage," his brother joked. "You are the good-looking one."