Page 24

“Don’t deflect,” Sam cuts in, looking up, his eyes narrowing like he’s Sherlock Holmes.

“I’m not deflecting shit, pup,” I say.

“Oh?” he asks, arching an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest. “You think I don’t know about last night? You think my woman doesn’t talk to me, huh?”

“What of it?” I ask, acutely aware of the intensity of Raul’s stare.

“You moved a whole tree? With your hands?”

“Brute force.” I shrug, flexing a bicep. “You should try lifting something heavier than a socket wrench, pup.”

Sam snorts, shaking his head.

“A tree?” Raul asks. “What the fuck happened?”

I give him the broad strokes of last night, bringing him up to speed. He shakes his head before returning his attention to the design he’s working on, muttering that I was probably an idiot.

“There was a stupid amount of sheer stubbornness,” I agree, the aches in my back throbbing. “Nearly pulled every damn muscle in my back. Felt like I’d run a marathon afterward.”

Sam snorts and shakes his head.

“Whatever… but hey—worth it if you scored a date with Stacy, huh?”

I pause, letting the humor fade just enough. “I want it to be.”

Raul frowns as he sets his laptop on the bench next to him. He leans in, a questioning look on his face.

“That’s not the tone I expected. You’ve been beating yourself up for days over her. Now you’ve got another shot, but you sound like you’re heading to a funeral.”

I rub the back of my neck as the concerns I’ve been pushing aside thrust their way in.

“It’s not that I’m not glad. It’s just… complicated. You and Monica, you two clicked right away. Easy. Natural. Stacy and I? We haven’t even been on a real date, and we’ve already had two blowups. Doesn’t exactly scream fairy tale.”

Before Raul can respond, someone knocks on the open garage door. All three of us turn around.

“Well, if it isn’t our favorite witch,” Raul says warmly, walking over.

Helena steps inside. She walks in like the air belongs to her. Not just confident—unchallengeable.

“Morning, boys. Hope I’m not interrupting.”

“You never interrupt,” I say, my arms folding across my chest, hiding the sudden shift in my pulse.

A faint smile plays over her lips but she barely nods an acknowledgment.

“I wish I could say I came by to chat. But I’ve got something more—and it can’t wait.”

“Something wrong?” I ask, straightening.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she says, tone dipping lower. “Five weeks back, a crew started clearing trees east of here. At first, I thought it was some rich human building a retreat. But when I saw it—” she pauses, eyes sharp. “It’s not a house. It’s cross-shaped, two stories, and wide open inside.”

“So what is it?” Raul asks, already frowning.

“Last week, I received reports that there were humans in lab coats moving around inside.”

“Alab? Out here?” Sam asks, scratching the day’s growth of beard.

“It seems to be,” Helena nods. “But what kind of lab… that’s the question. I don’t trust it and I want you boys to check it out.”