King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(139)

“I just…” I cleared my throat, trying to reign in my emotions. “I just wanted to prepare you.” Rubbing my forehead, I sighed, pushing over our past. “At least we can get out of this f*cking city tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?”

I blinked. “Yes.” My forehead furrowed. “Is that a problem?”

He sighed. “No.” A pause. “I think I’m going to take a walk. When will you be here?”

I heard the car pulling up. “A walk?” Visions of what his dad had done on his walk bombarded me. “Ezra…” I said softly. “Your dad already took care of your mother’s burial wishes.”

Dry words. “Sweetheart, Dad told me what he did, so you don’t have to sugarcoat it.”

“And you’re still going walking?” I asked hurriedly, hearing the key jingle in the lock.

“I’m not using the term walking as metaphor for doing something heinous.”

The door opened, and I held up a finger to Mr Johnson as he stepped inside and opened his mouth. “Alright. We’ll probably be there in a few hours.” I turned, whispering, “Be careful out there.”

“Always.”

I snorted and hung up, turning to face Lynn Johnson. Protective dad. A man who didn’t like to be controlled. Yay, me.

Lynn’s arms were crossed, his eyebrows lowered even as his nostrils flared. I walked to him and patted his shoulder. “Brann’s the new Prodigy.” His eyes slowly closed and he dropped his head to rub his forehead. “We need to leave soon. He needs to be kept safe.”

“Where?” Lynn whispered.

Good, he wasn’t ignorant enough to argue with facts and destiny.

I cleared my throat. “First, we’ll be traveling with Elder Zeller, who just recently lost his mate, King Zeller, and Elder Farrar to find the Prodigy Vampire. Once the Vamp child is found, we’ll be heading straight to Connecticut. King Cave.” When he hunched, I squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not a five-star hotel, but it sure as hell beats a sewer.” I squeezed again. “It’s really not that bad. Most of the Shifters adore it. It has a wonderful forest to run and hunt in. Plus, the entire area’s protected.”

He tilted his head, one golden eye peeking at me. “You spoke truth.”

“I wouldn’t lie about that.” I knew how Shifters needed their open space. “Now, how long before you and your children are ready?” I paused, and asked very carefully, “And is there a mate we need to call and have return?” There had been too much blood, I could tell from the fading scent, but I needed to double-check.

“I’ve never mated,” Lynn said quietly, turning his face away. “But my wife died in the attacks.” He was even more rigid than before. He cleared his throat. “We can be ready in a few hours.”

“You aren’t going to run from me?” I had to ask, scenting the air.

“No,” he said softly. Truth.

I pulled the Prodigy ring off my pinkie. “The ring’s now your son’s until he passes it to the next Prodigy. Tell him to keep it on him always when he’s old enough.”

He stared at it before fisting it, and nodded.

Duty f*cking done.


It was my damn luck Brenna had taken a shine to me since the scowling Com had brought her inside. The tiny monster wasn’t such a damn monster, as I discovered over the next hour, even though she made a bad habit of clinging to me. It was hard enough to keep a firm grip on my emotions, just seeing her cute face, but add in the fact that she was like a damn monkey on me, holding tight around my neck as she talked about everything she looked at, giving me a tour of her house…well, by the time we arrived via Lynn’s SUV at the vacant house, parking around back where no one from the street could see us, I was ready to sit down and bawl. The only thing keeping me from doing so was Brann’s sly antics for antagonizing his sister. A ‘rascal’, he most definitely was.

“The place is empty,” I told Lynn quietly, lifting some of his bags over my shoulders before Brenna managed to jump on my leg, demanding to be picked up. “I hope you brought a few toys so the kids will be entertained tonight.”

Lynn evaluated the house, his eyes assessing as he shouldered a few of his own bags. “Why not a hotel?” A snob, he also was.

“We ran into trouble last night,” I whispered, picking Brenna up. “That’s all you need to know.”

His lips pinched, but he nodded once. “Here, let me take one of those bags if you’re going to carry her.” He lifted one of the many from my shoulders, and for the first time, I think he actually looked at me…well, like a man notices a woman. Not as someone barging into his house, turning his world upside down. His head cocked, and he touched my glasses softly. “You look better without these. They hide your features.” He was almost shy in his flirting, which was actually a bit endearing, really.

But it was time to cut that off. “That’s the point, Mr Johnson.” My eyebrows rose as I hefted Brenna higher on my hip, my tone pure business. “Shall we get inside?”

His lips lifted on one side. “Sorry, I’m a little out of practice detecting if someone’s interested in me.”

I did smile then. “No worries. Let’s just get the rest of the bags and get in the house.”