H arlow relaxed back on the couch, his gaze flicking to Gavin, who was typing away on his laptop at the small desk in the room. The dragon was lost to whatever he was doing.

“You heard about the priest case, right?”

Gavin’s hands slowed to a stop as he looked over at him. “The Bloodless Saints, or whatever the fuck they liked to call themselves?”

“Yes, them. Did you dig into them?”

The dragon cracked his neck and stretched. “I was busy at the time, so no. But I’m guessing, since you are bringing it up, you were involved?”

“You could say that.” Involved would be a low-key way of saying they were the whole reason the group had been discovered in the first place.

“What about them?”

“I want the priests dead.”

Gavin’s brow rose. “All of them?”

“Every single one.”

The man let out a chuckle in clear disbelief. “Not that I’m not all for offing a bunch of bigots, but why?”

His rage bubbled up as he pictured Foxx laid out, pale and bloodied. But he wasn’t seeing how he actually found him, he was seeing the visions in his nightmares, in which Foxx was always dead. For some reason, Harlow found it hard to see the truth, when there were so many dream versions of it.

“They took Foxx from me. They took my little Sadistic Ball of Sunshine and they hurt him.”

He wouldn’t explain further. Because it was none of Gavin’s business that his vampire was still struggling to move past it. As much as Foxx had improved…and well, up until a few weeks ago, he’d have said the screaming nightmares had mostly stopped, but he now knew the vampire had just hidden them.

Either way, Foxx wasn’t…over it. Harlow wasn’t sure the vampire ever would be, and it was fine if that was the case. But he just knew that those priests still being alive didn’t help matters.

“Little Sadistic Ball of Sunshine?” Gavin asked with a smile.

Harlow smirked. “Mm, you didn’t notice the man gets off on it?”

The dragon’s smile dropped. “I didn’t need to know that, and I had, until this point, happily managed not to learn it. I’m a bit surprised that a bunch of humans managed to capture him though.”

He winced. “It’s complicated.”

“Clearly.” Gavin snorted.

“Can your group do it? Is what I want possible?”

“They can, and it is…but it will be a headache and a half. And it won’t be something we’d be able to do quickly, or all at once, but it's still possible. And…” The dragon grinned sadistically. “They will likely do it for free.”

“Free or not, I want it done. I had already assumed that a bunch of priests dying all at once, or over a short period of time, while in jail, would draw too many questions. But I don’t care how long it takes, I want them all dead, and I want every single one of them to suffer.”

“Suffering is extra free,” Gavin said with a laugh. “I’ll look into it, grab the numbers, figure out a plan, and then get back to you after talking with everyone.”

Harlow grunted in response, not really caring who ‘everyone’ was. At his reply, Gavin looked away again, going back to typing.

With that issue finally brought up, he couldn’t help but think about the many others he still had to deal with.

Pulling out his phone, he called Tony .

“ Did you find him ?” the human asked, his voice sounding too intense. “ Or…”

Fucking hell… Right, Iggy… “No, not yet. Gavin thinks he’s close though.”

For once, Harlow actually had an urge to ask what the hell someone’s relation was to another person, but he held back. As one, it would be weird, and two, he seriously doubted Tony would answer him.

“ Oh… ” Tony took a deep breath before clearing his throat. “ Why are you calling then? ”

Harlow would feel regret for obviously getting the man’s hopes up, if he normally could feel it, but he couldn’t, even if he did feel a bit awkward now. “Serenity.”

“ Charity’s niece? What about her ?”

“After the good fortune of her father’s passing, I want to make sure she doesn’t end up in a shit show.”

At least, not one bigger than she’d already been born into. It wasn’t just to make Foxx happy either, Harlow felt it was something he had to do. It sort of reminded him of the same compulsion he’d had to move Tommy’s grave. Just like back then, he hadn’t known why, he just knew it was something he had to do.

“ I understand your concern, and I am already looking into it, but all I can promise you right now is that I’ll see what I can do .”

Harlow growled, “Bullshit. We both know you readily placed children you found in the past, paranormal or not. You know people who would take her.”

“ It’s not that simple. I know plenty of paranormals who would, no questions asked, but the laws in place, for the most part, won’t permit that, even when they are paranormal children. You know that.”

“And the laws are shit.”

“ I’m not arguing that they aren’t. But they are what they are, and while changes are coming, they are coming at a fucking snail’s pace. And we aren’t dealing with a child I picked up during a case. We are talking about a child who is already in the system, and known by the government. I can’t just take her and give her to whoever I want to.

“ That being said, I’ll think harder on who could possibly be a good fit, and someone I actually have a chance in hell of getting her to. Meanwhile, you should reach out to your own contacts. Because yours will likely have more of a chance to do something than mine , considering your people are actually working within that system. ”

Harlow sighed. He did know people…a few child case workers, many that were now much higher up in the organization, people he had faked being normal around. He was technically considered one of the poster cases of a job well done in terms of a foster care child making themselves a productive member of society—whatever the fuck that meant.

“I may have some pull, but I don’t know anyone. So get me a name. I’ll make contact and then pretend to be normal enough in order to convince them to do what I want.”

“ Normal, what even is that nowadays ?” Tony let out a heavy sigh. “ I’ll let you know. There is one other thing that may make things even more complicated. ”

“What?”

“ After she thought she’d exhausted all avenues on her end, Charity finally let me get involved. I was looking into this issue before her death, and I discovered something I never got a chance to tell her, as I was informed of the matter right around when you were first changed, and Maverick started all of this shit. ”

“If it’s about a judge purposely delaying things, it is not a problem anymore.”

“ Gee, I did already realize that, Harlow ,” the human growled. “ You three, stop murdering random ass people !”

“Who’s murdering anyone? I just commented that they are not a problem anymore.”

“ You all are such a fucking headache. But no, it has nothing to do with the judge. I found out that Charity’s fiancée was actively sabotaging the proceedings using her connections. The woman is a lawyer, with a whole family of connections. She wasn’t the sole reason shit kept getting delayed, but she sure did help that judge out by giving him the perfect reasons to delay further…missing paperwork, things not filed correctly, and so on.”

“You can’t be fucking serious,” Harlow snarled.

“ I wish I wasn’t. My best guess is she didn’t want children. But I don’t know if she will try to interfere now. Considering she seems to have washed her hands of Charity as a whole since her death, I’m thinking she won’t, but we have to be prepared to face the bullshit if she does. ”

Seriously, just what in the actual fuck?! “Okay, hear me out?—”

“ No, you can’t kill her !”

“It would solve the problem!”

“ No !”

“Fine! You just always have to make things more difficult than it needs to be,” he grumbled. “So, does the girl know about Charity yet?”

“ They should have informed her by now, yes. While we are still on the topic of her bitch of an ex, there is something I need you to ask Foxx for me .”

“What?”

“ Charity was cremated, which was something her will strictly stipulated. Mainly as the woman was terrified of ever becoming a zombie, but that’s beside the point. The point is, she had a burial plot for her coffin and ashes to be placed in after, however ? — ”

“Let me guess, her fiancée got involved.”

“ It was something they’d picked out together, but the other woman paid for it. So we are now looking for a new plot for her. And with her having no direct family, aside from a young child, and with so many at the Guild being out of commission or dead, it’s fallen on me. And I…just haven’t had the time to look with everything going on. It's been made worse, of course, by the fact that I can’t really get around that well right now with my broken leg. I also don’t feel as if I’m the right person to pick out a spot she’d like… So, I just figured maybe Foxx would be… ” Tony trailed off, the human sounded exhausted.

Harlow honestly couldn’t remember the last time he heard the man sound so done. “You sound like shit.”

The human scoffed. “ Thanks, Harlow. I feel like it too. I'm so glad to know it shows in my voice !”

“Just thought you should know,” he chuckled. “He’ll do it though, Foxx will. Just keep her safe until he finds someplace.”

“ I’ll do that .” Tony took a deep breath. “ Is there anything else ?”

“One more thing. How’s the protection shit going with that one priest case? ”

“ I’m surprised you care .”

“You know I don’t.”

“ Right, you are doing it for Foxx .”

“Yep. He’d likely ask himself if he didn't have so much going on already.”

“ Which is why you are asking for him. Right, it’s going. To be honest, the recent events have actually helped matters. With sympathies shifting towards paranormals, due to the whole poison thing, it’s looking as if we will be getting these poor people all the protection they need. And I think we’ll be able to pull it off before the first case goes to trial .”

“That’s good—” He cut off, cocking his head as he heard someone coming down the hall, smiling when he realized it was Foxx. “Foxx is back from talking to Wes, so I'm hanging up now.” He heard the man scoff loudly, just as he managed to disconnect the call.

Pocketing his phone, Harlow headed to the door, opening it before Foxx had a chance to knock. Whatever he had intended to say fell away as he took in the vampire’s red nose and eyes. The man had a pair of what looked to be Harlow's socks in his right hand, and his sewing bag with all his threads and needles on his shoulder.

Foxx sniffled and reached for him. Harlow didn’t hesitate. Wrapping the vampire up in his arms, he pulled him into the room, closing the door behind them.

“Do you want me to hurt him?” he asked, while Foxx clung to him and sniffled more.

“No,” the vampire said with a soft laugh. “It…it was a good talk… I think…maybe it helped… You’re up, by the way…”

So a good talk could mean…crying? How the fuck did that make sense?

Tony stared at his phone, before rolling his eyes and tossing it down on his borrowed desk. Oh, it was so strange witnessing Harlow actively do things to make someone else happy, when it didn’t involve maiming or killing that was.

He wasn’t sure what Foxx had that so many others didn’t, but…oh fuck, he really hoped they’d never break up. He was way too fucking old to deal with the nightmarish fallout that would come with that.

Tony groaned, pulling off his reading glasses as he roughly rubbed his eyes. Sagging in the chair, he looked around the office that wasn’t his—a loaner from the police department. With gray walls and floors, it was pretty bare bones, only a desk, a few chairs, and some filing cabinets, but that was about it.

Absently rubbing his chest in an attempt to lessen the tightness there, he stared blankly at the door and just tried to not think. Tony really would like to not…even if just for a moment.

He sighed when there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

Tony smiled slightly as Oceana walked in. The vampire had become one of the people who seemed to regularly check in on him now. Interestingly enough, she looked as tired as he felt, with thick bags under her eyes.

She met his smile with a hesitant one of her own while she took one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Any news?”

“Afraid not. In fact, I just got off the phone with Harlow.”

“Oh…” She swallowed, her smile slowly dying as her eyes flooded. “I…” Oceana hesitated.

“It’s fine, say what you want to say.”

“I wish he’d been partnered with someone else. I’d still be back at the other Guild if he had… Which is awful for me to say to you, but—don’t take this the wrong way—I hate getting attached to you humans. Because it really does seem to sneak up on me every time. And it always, always ends with me hurting.”

He chuckled. “And I wish I had sent him away. He would have hated me, it would have hurt him emotionally, and he probably would have even felt abandoned by me, but at least he’d be safe.” Tony clenched his jaw as his damn eyes started to water.

“He’s alive… I just have this feeling,” she whispered.

Tony smiled. “That I have no doubt about. Because if he wasn’t… Maverick would have let me know. ”

She hissed. “That fucking bastard…” But her snarl slowly dropped, turning to a frown as her eyes narrowed on him. “Are you…okay?”

Tony blinked. “What?”

“You keep rubbing your chest.” His gaze flicked down, and he was indeed still doing that. Dropping his hand, he laughed. “I’m fine.”

“Your pulse is a bit elevated, and your threads are a bit dimmer than they should be. Maybe you should get checked out.”

“Oceana, I’m an old man, who has put my body through a lifetime's worth of shit, and too much stress. I’ve been poked and prodded enough lately as it is. I’m also on antibiotics that are likely playing hell on my system, and my leg is aching, so shit being elevated isn’t a surprise. I’m fine.”

Though he barely felt the pain in his leg over the ache in his chest. But Iggy was still missing. He doubted that the ache would lessen until he was found…and possibly not even after…depending on how they found him…

“If…you’re sure…”

“I’m sure,” Tony assured her firmly. He was stressed, worried, and tired, but he was fine.

“She what?!” Foxx hissed as he sat down on the bed.

All he had wanted to do was come in the room, get a little snuggle time in before sending Harlow off to annoy Wes, and not think as he worked on his next embroidery project. But no, that would be too much to ask for!

“Yeah, and on top of the whole trying to block Charity from gaining full custody of her niece, in recent events, she refused to allow Charity to be buried in the grave plots they’d picked out together. Tony asked if you’d be up to looking for a new spot, and I told him you would?” Harlow winced. “Now that I’m saying it, I realize I probably should have asked before saying yes. ”

“I-I…” He took a deep breath, but failed to calm down. “She denied Charity her place of rest?!”

“Yes.”

Why the fuck had this woman even been dating Charity, let alone set to marry her?! Like, how could anyone say they cared about someone and do all this?! Charity deserved better.

His hands clenched around Harlow’s socks, as he ground out, “I want her dead!”

Harlow smirked. “Your wish is my command.” The man gently ran a hand over his curls, before tracing his thumb under one of his eyes, and leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead. “She, and anyone else who interfered, can go down, just as those other two fuckers did.”

Foxx giggled, a mischievous smile slipping onto his face. “You may want to rephrase that first part, considering who you are saying it to.”

The dhampir chuckled. “Yeah, I had that thought as soon as the words were out. So, correction…your wish is my command, sometimes. But, about the burial plot?”

His smile dimmed a little and he sighed. “Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll start looking this week. I’ll let Tony know.”

“Right, relax, I’ll be back.” Harlow started to leave but paused, glancing back at him and down at his hands. “Are those my socks?”

Foxx smiled innocently. “Yes?”

The dhampir groaned. “My socks now too?”

He just giggled and shooed him away.

Shaking his head, Harlow left.

Foxx sighed again, looking at the black pair of socks before glancing at Gavin, who might as well not even be in the room with him if he went off his expression. The dragon was in what he now called full concentration mode. Meaning, while he likely knew Foxx was there, and would respond if spoken to, Gavin was blocking out everything that was going on around him.

He glanced back down at the socks, and then at the dragon. A slow smile formed on his face as he tossed the socks aside and slowly looked towards the man’s open suitcase.