Page 11 of Eternal Light

Boy does Gideon know,and he’s also fucking glad.

“I’m never living that down.” He sighs and opens his arms.

Leo shakes his head again, even though he takes a step closer. He wants Gideon to come to him, and he has zero problem with that.

“So that’s how it is? You’re not going to hit me in the face with the other glove?”

Nix giggles and steps back out of the line of fire—his offer of moral support is no longer necessary, but always appreciated. “You got what you deserved.”

Feeling like maybe he can get a hug without getting a smack upside the head, he pulls his mate into his arms. “It’ll be okay. We have the best reasons to be extra careful, and to come home in one piece.”

“Alive. I want you alive and in one piece,” he says, uncrossing his arms so he can hold Gideon close. “Can you do that?”

“We can,” Gideon whispers into the cinnamon-scented hair behind Leo’s ear.

He hopes.

Leo’s whisperedgoodis accompanied by the second, still-wet glove getting rammed into the waistband of Gideon’s sweat shorts, but Gideon just grunts stoically and holds his mate tighter.

“Hey, Nimue has time for Grayson at the Guild. The Master of Novices can see him tomorrow at 2:00 PM,” Finn announces from his spot on the couch.

There’s quiet commotion from the hallway, and Grayson arrives with a still-naked, beanie-clad Luca on his back. Jay and Rowan bring up the rear, two large garbage bags each in hand.

“At the Guild? I’ll need a guardian and a ride,” Grayson says, and offloads Luca onto the couch.

“My radio interview and meet-and-greet are at 1:00,” Jay says from his perch on the corner of the dining table, a new, dry black t-shirt in place. It was a charity meet-and-greet with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and a short interview afterward. Margot had expressed her condolences for Jay’s loss, and promised that everyone, everywhere, was going to know Jay was back in Clearwater.

Jay had been quiet about the events immediately following the car bomb explosion, but Leo had said their hired car had exploded in the valet parking lot. There had been two bodies in the car, and several other injuries to passersby. The police had all kinds of questions about Jay being at the golf club that day.

No, they didn’t know why his parents were in their car, but there had been an argument, they’d canceled their golf game, and were walking off the hard feelings. They’d been returning to the car for a trip home when they felt the explosion. Yes, they were heartbroken. No, they didn’t know of anyone who would want to hurt them. Thank you for your condolences.

Jay refused to let his parents’ deaths interfere with “the plan.” He said he couldn’t care less what the public thought, and if he could make the day of the sick kids who loved their music, then he was going to do that, too.

With Jay and Gideon fielding the court of public opinion and anticipating Carnell’s next move, there’s a logistical problem with getting Grayson to The Guild. With four drivers currently in the pack, and two of them at WRBY 88.1 Indie Rock Radio, no one thinks Rowan is the right choice for the uber-conservative Guild visit.

“That leaves me with Gray and Finn,” Leo says.

“Then I’ll stay with Nix and Luca,” Rowan offers. It might have been a sacrifice if Gideon didn’t know what the three ofthem get up to with sexualcarte blanche, the highest sex drives in the pack, and unlimited time to themselves. “I don’t mind.”

“Sure you don’t,” Finn mutters. “Such a sacrifice.”

Jay smiles. “Okay, Leo with Gray and Finn at the Guild, Gideon and I at the station, and the three of you at the new safe house. Any word from Lauren?”

Sure enough, there’s a text with an address about twenty minutes from the radio station, and five minutes from the Coachman Park address of the Florida Magic Guild.

“The address is down near Coachman Park. Looks like it might be a bit more defensible than anything else we’ve stayed at to date. At least physically. She said it’s the best she could do.”

“Wish Lauren was here,” Nix says, leaning into Finn’s side on the couch.

Gideon does too, actually. Lauren has proven a solid ally, but one who can’t touch Florida soil without a certain protocol, given her previous role.Her words, not his,when he’d subtly implied this morning that he could use the backup.

What? Don’t judge.

She had not even made him grovel. Much.

Gideon hadn’t told anyone, but the plan was essentially hers. He’d led Jay to it as gently as he could, and Gideon’s guilt made itself known in a crawling sense of doubt and a smidge of fear.

If Gideon had any choice at all, he’d have done the whole damn thing by himself.