Page 87 of A Thousand Cuts

“I know, honey.” Fix kissed his head. “But you’re so strong and so brave for me. I’m proud of you for holding on.”

“It feels like they won.”

“They did no such thing. They’re pathetic and worthless and we’ll find them and make all of this go away. Okay?”

Liam nodded against Fix’s shoulder, a tear disappearing into Fix’s sleeve.

“Will you tell me what they did to my door?”

He felt Fix tense under his cheek and lifted his head to look up. He found Fix looking at him in concern.

“Do you trust Daddy to keep you safe?”

Liam swallowed heavily before nodding.

Fix leaned in to peck his lips softly. “Then trust me when I tell you there are things you don’t have to know.”

Liam opened his mouth to argue but Fix placed a finger over his lips.

“I’ll tell you if you want. I’d never keep you in the dark against your will. But like I said at your apartment, I’d rather protect you from some things if I can. You’ve seen enough ugliness to last you a lifetime. Let me shield you from some of it.”

Liam warred with himself. On one hand, he wanted to know because he spent a lifetime dealing with his own problems alone and that was all he knew. But on the other, wasn’t it so much better to just let someone else—let his daddy deal with it for him. Wasn’t that what he’d always wanted?

“Okay,” he said finally.

Fix smiled. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Liam returned it, small but sure. “You were wrong, you know?”

“About?”

“Having you looks like everything,” Liam said with a blush, looking away when Fix’s face bloomed into the biggest smile he’d ever seen on the man. He stared at Liam as if he’d hung the moon and Liam pushed himself away, lifting a hand to block Fix’s view of him. “Stop looking at me like that!”

“Nope! I’m gonna look at you however I want. Now come on. Let’s get something to eat and take a nap. We’ve had one hell of a night.”

“That sounds good.” Liam got out of the car, letting King bounce out with him.

“If you’re comfortable with it, leave him out to stretch his legs,” Fix said. “Wren’s car is here and he has an uncanny ability to sniff out animals he hasn’t pet before. King will be well taken care of.”

“Oh, um…” Liam looked around at the vast expanse of the property they were on and gnawed his lip. “I’m not used to him being unleashed outside.”

“Our property is fenced,” Fix said. “Kind of mandatory with all the specimens Wren brings home. But King is welcome inside ifyou’d rather have him close. Plenty of beds and pillows and food bowls around.”

“I think I’d rather have him with me.” Liam held his leash tighter. “Who’s Wren?”

“Cursed animals specialist. Completely obsessed with anything scaly, furry, fuzzy, or otherwise non-human. You might meet him if we can catch sight of him. Slippery dude.”

Despite his frazzled nerves, Liam chuckled as he followed Fix into the large house. It looked like something rich people who were completely unaware of their wealth would call a cabin in the woods.

It was huge. While only one story high, it stretched across the clearing in the middle of the woods while not disrupting how serene the place looked. It was painted dark brown, which made it blend even more. A few stairs led to a wide porch that seemed to wrap around the entire house, a wooden swing perched just left of the front door. There was a blanket on it and it looked rumpled, like someone had been sitting there wrapped up in it before leaving in a hurry.

He followed Fix up the stairs and inside, King hot on his heels sniffing everything in sight. As soon as he walked in, his eyes were assaulted by the chaos of seemingly unmixable personalities living under the same roof.

Fix clearly read his mind.

“The motivational posters are Hart’s, the fancy knickknacks are Midas’s, the scratch marks are Wren’s, and the scorch marks are Ash’s. The general clutter everywhere is Black’s,” he said as they walked through the hallway.

“And what’s yours?” Liam asked, smiling when he saw King beeline toward a large fluffy pillow in one corner, sniffing at it a few times before sprawling in it and promptly falling asleep. His poor baby was clearly tired from the excitement of the day.