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“I will happily leave you my contact information in Nashville, and you can pass it along to Celeste. We would be happy to make her feel at home.”

“Such a lovely boy. She will be thrilled to hear it when she gets to that point in her career. She was quite fond of you. Now, did you have any questions for me about the keys?”

Nix’s stomach pitched and rolled at the reminder of the things in storage, and he was smart enough to lock down the bonds at that moment, so as not to cause a four-alarm alpha stampede from two blocks over.

Gideon shivers when he does it, but he doesn’t comment on it—only offers a tense smile and plows ahead. “Thank you, Mrs. Stavros. Just the banking information, perhaps? The others are labeled.”

“Of course! Guardian Security is a private facility in Tampa. I have the will and other papers in a file at home. Rose and David appointed me co-executor to administer the estate.” Mrs. Stavros smiled conversationally.

“Oh, yes. The law protects minor beneficiaries, you know? I don’t know what your grandmother intended to do with this house, but…well, your grandmother wasn’t happy that the care of the house fell to me, along with other assets, Nix. Still, it’s an honor to be entrusted with this legacy—”

Gideon’s burner phone interrupts her rambling discourse. With a resigned sigh, he hands it to Nix.

It’s an opportune interruption, as nausea at the mention of his parents’ names and the wordsbeneficiariesandexecutorandwillswells in his stomach.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Stavros. Nix is going to take this call, and I can accompany you to retrieve that file. Would that be alright? He’ll see you later in the week to catch up.”

“Yes, of course. Goodbye, my dear.”

Nix returns her wave with a smile and listens as the screen door bangs shut after them. It shakes loose another memory of summers with his sister Ivy, but he sweeps it away with his finger on the answer button.

“Hello?”

“Nix?” It’s Rowan, and he’s whispering so quietly that the phone is barely picking it up.

“Ro? Why are you whispering?”

He pulls the edge of the window blind aside, and he can just see Mrs. Stavros disappear into her home while Gideon stays by the fence. He looks up like he knows Nix is watching and waves.

“What? No. I’m not whispering. But if you could keep your voice down?”

Hmm. That’s suspicious.

“Are you hiding from Jamie? Did you steal a phone so you could call me?”

“Steal is a strong word.”

“Rowan.”

“Well. The babies are hungry, right? And then you went and turned the bond off for a minute, and I was okay—” He squeaks and stops for a second when a door slams nearby. When it’s quiet, he starts up even quieter thanbefore. “Where was I? Oh yeah. I was—amokay, but Grayson is growly and glowy and now I have Finn’s phone with the app on it and—oof, ow! No! It’s my turrrrr—”

There’s a scuffle, and the phone hits something hard, followed by a smacking sound and a groan. Nix looks at the phone, wishing he could figure out what the hell was going on.

“Rowan?”

There’s another groan, and then Grayson’s voice comes over the open line, all casual-like. “Hey, Angel. Are you coming home soon?”

“Gray, what did you do to Rowan?”

“Beeeeep. Rowan can’t come to the phone right now, please try again later.” He chuckles darkly, sending a shiver of desire down Nix’s spine. “You’re okay, though?”

“I’m good. We’re coming now.”

“You’ll be the only ones coming for at least the next twenty minutes, isn’t that right, Rowan? No. Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he drawls breathlessly.

Mouth full? Of Grayson?

There’s another groan from Rowan, and Nix moans in response. What is Grayson doing with Rowan?