Page 66

F oxx stared blankly out at the road, not really focusing on what he was seeing, while Harlow drove them…well, somewhere.

They were back home, and he was finding it weird being there. Now July 3rd, it had been four days since they’d killed Maverick and found Iggy.

The Guild was a mess. Everyone was working out of the police station, and would be for a while, since their building was still in the process of being rebuilt, with supposedly plenty of delays likely to come, just due to the materials they were using.

Tony was… Tony wasn’t out of the hospital yet. The stents were set to be put in, and then they wanted to monitor him for a few more days. On top of that, the higher ups were insisting that the human take two weeks off once he was out. Which, with their Assistant Guild Director dead, had somehow ended with Harlow being put in charge of the Guild until Tony was cleared for duty again. He wasn’t sure how Harlow ended up being the most senior person, but Foxx could only guess it was due to the deaths.

In true government pointlessness, there were already hunters from other Guilds there… And Harlow had been instructed to have someone make job flyers when they were officially back working. Foxx had a sinking suspicion that he was going to be the one making those flyers and online ads when they returned to work in four days.

The higher ups had given them five days off, this being day one, until they both had to be back. Foxx wasn’t sure what he’d be doing, aside from the flyers, but the dhampir was not a happy camper about his future burial under the no doubt mountain of paperwork that was still building even now on Tony’s borrowed desk.

They weren’t done with Maverick’s group, but with the man dead, there was no point in tracking like they had been, and…well, they now had to put it on pause while they dealt with shit here. It was likely that afterwards they’d just work their normal cases, and go whenever Gavin sent them new locations.

Tony, unhappy camper number two, wanted to get the fuck out of the hospital, and had attempted to escape three times in his five days of captivity. All attempts happening only after learning that they’d found Iggy changed, but alive. The human wanted to see for himself, and none of the pictures had been proof enough.

Iggy was… They weren’t sure what had been done to him. He was currently acting like a stronger than normal new turn, which just meant he was violent and murderous, and not cognitive. For now, they were just waiting to see what would happen once he hit the point where he should regain his human form.

They’d tried to test his blood, but Doc said there was too much going on from the change that if something was done, it wouldn’t show up until his DNA settled. So it was a waiting game.

Foxx had visited Jerry and even Wes… Wes seemed well enough, but Jerry was violent and murderous still. They were thinking, due to the lost limb, the process would lean towards the longer end of transitions, so it would probably be a few weeks more before he’d change back.

Foxx couldn’t say he wasn’t a bit worried about the man having to deal with a missing leg on top of the normal werewolf changes. That would be a lot to take in and deal with.

Had his sister been visiting? Maybe he could coordinate a visit with her? He’d forgotten to ask Zane, the wolf who changed him, and was keeping watch over the man. Next time… He’d remember to ask next time. Foxx was sure the woman would like the company and reassurance from someone less involved.

He sighed and looked towards Harlow. Foxx wasn’t sure where the dhampir was taking him, but really, the place he should be going was Charity’s grave. He should have gone already…really, he should have. Foxx just…hadn’t gotten the courage to go yet.

“Are you really not going to tell me where we’re going?” Foxx asked, before he gasped. “Oh—are we going to check out the property?!”

“No, I have a surprise.”

Frowning, he glanced back out at the road and actually focused on what he was seeing. “We’re near Sephira’s! Oh, OH, is it witchy baking?! Is it?!”

Harlow chuckled. “You’ll find out soon enough, Brat.”

Foxx pursed his lips into a pout, but it dropped away a second later as his excitement built. Who cared what it was! He loved surprises.

Smiling as the man turned down Sephira’s road, his smile slowly dropped when he caught sight of the two people sitting at a mini table, covered with a fancy lace tablecloth, and a miniature tea set on top, out in front of the witch’s house.

One of the people was Sephira. A beige sun hat on her head, the witch’s full figure was perfectly accentuated by the red sundress she wore. Long curly black hair flowing around her shoulders, the woman’s medium brown reddish hued skin seemed to glow in the sunlight.

But next to her, in a much frillier version of the same sundress, and fitting better in the other small chair, on which Sephira was more or less just partially perched on, was a young child with bob length platinum-blonde curls, pale cream-colored skin, a heart-shaped face, large baby-blue eyes, and a soft dimpled chin.

His gaze trailed over the little girl's features again, tears pricking at the corner of Foxx’s eyes as he blinked a few times, just to make sure he wasn’t imagining what he was seeing.

But he wasn’t. It was… It was Serenity… There was no doubt in his mind. And the girl looked even more like Charity in person than in her pictures.

“How…?” Foxx rasped.

Harlow cleared his throat. “Well, Tony pulled some strings, and I made some calls…and Sephira agreed. With Tony’s recommendation and connections, it was easy to get her placed in her care, since she ha s no family left. Sephira informed Tony quite clearly that she would be delighted to adopt her, once the little girl agrees.”

He looked at him, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the unassuming expression on the dhampir’s face, and smiled, even as a tear dripped down his face. His smile widened at the slight bit of panic he saw flicker in the man’s eyes, Harlow’s gaze seeming to trail after the water droplet.

Ah, my emotionally confused, but very sweet man…

“Thank you…thank you,” Foxx said softly, before sniffling. “Love you.”

“Mm, mine ,” Harlow growled.

Giggling at that, he brushed his tears away.

“Want to…go out and meet her?” Harlow asked hesitantly.

“She…” He trailed off while his gaze flicked back over to the yard, once again tracing her features, before sadly saying, “She doesn’t know who I am. Wouldn’t it just be uncomfortable for her if I approached?”

“She knows.”

Foxx blinked, before looking in question at the dhampir. “Knows what…?”

“That she has two uncles who were friends with her aunt, and that they worked hard to make sure she was okay.”

“Uncles, huh?”

If she knew about him, or rather them, then…it would be okay to meet her, right?

Harlow nodded as he eyed the vampire’s watery and now hesitant smile. “Mm, uncles.”

He couldn’t say he felt anything for Charity’s niece, but he supposed he’d eventually place her in the category of people he’d be pissed if someone hurt. She was already in the category of people he would kill for, simply due to her connection to Charity, and because Foxx would no doubt murder indiscriminately to protect her .

“Okay.” Foxx swallowed hard and slowly removed his seat belt, but stopped as he went to open the door. “What if she’s…afraid of me?”

Harlow blinked. “What?”

“I mean…my sunsuit would give me away, right? What I am.”

The vampire nervously plucked at the front of his bear sunsuit, the man looking about as threatening as any frilly teddy bear would. It seemed to be a replica of the bright yellow daisy one the man had been wearing when he been kidnapped that second time, aside from being baby pink in color that was. But the sunsuit had daisies in the ears, the same white daisy pattern, along with the same leaf belly pocket and leaf buttons—not to mention the frilly white gloves.

Instead of pointing out that he likely wouldn’t be able to scare a baby in the outfit he currently had on, as long as he wasn’t trying to do it on purpose, Harlow just said, “She knows we both aren’t human.”

“Okay…” Foxx took a calming breath, before finally getting out. He quickly followed, and together they approached the two.

On seeing them, Sephira remained where she was, the smile that had already been on her face widening. Serenity, however, stood up and began to grip the sides of her red frilly sundress, as if a bit unsure.

He eyed her when they reached them. Man, children were short… Serenity couldn’t have been much more than three feet tall.

Harlow stayed standing as Foxx crouched down in front of the little girl and extended his hand out to her. “Hello, there. I’m Foxx Honeywell, a friend of your Aunt Charity’s. Both of us are.”

Serenity looked sad at the mention of her aunt, but she hesitantly released one side of her dress and took the vampire’s outstretched hand. “Are you…Uncle Sunshine?”

Foxx's head snapped in his direction, his eyes wide.

Harlow shrugged, keeping his expression blank. Uncle Sunshine and…Uncle Grumpy Cloud were what Tony and Sephira had come up with. He couldn’t say he exactly liked his half of the pair of nicknames, but he’d been outvoted, because it HAD to match with Foxx’s, according to them.

As a beaming smile broke across Foxx’s face, right before he turned back to the little girl, Harlow quickly decided he didn’t fucking care anymore.

“Yes, Serenity,” Foxx rasped, his voice shaky with emotions. “I’m your Uncle Sunshine.”

Yep, he would be Uncle Grumpy Cloud for as long as Foxx wanted to be Uncle Sunshine. Who the fuck gave a shit about dignity anyway? He’d much rather see his brat smile.

Harlow tried to put on a friendly expression when Serenity looked up at him, but the expression dropped, his eyes widening slightly at what came out of her mouth next.

“Uncle Bumble Bee?”

Staring down into Serenity’s small, questioning face, while she patiently waited for him to respond, an odd ache began to form in his chest.

Those fuckers…really played my ass…

Ha—a minute…that was all it had taken for his brain to collect the little girl. That had to be a record for him.

“Uncle Bumble Bee…” Harlow smirked. “Yeah…I suppose that’s who I am.”