Page 22 of Kiss the Dawn (Order of Helsing #4)

A day off seemed to have lifted everyone’s spirits a little, and the two cases that walked through the door in the morning kept us busy all day. An assault case involving tulpas and a burglary by suspected half-blood fae. The latter involved a trip to Brimswood, much to Merry’s delight. She was happy to take on the case and headed off to speak to Crush.

She called to tell us that the perpetrator had been located and that Crush would be making retribution to the wronged party, and to let us know that she’d be hanging out at the park for a while and maybe even stopping over, which raised some eyebrows but in a good way.

And then it was time to lock up. I was shutting down the computers when Ordell called.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come get you? I can load the kids into Betsy and?—”

“I’m fine. Honest. I’ve already booked a taxi. I’ll be with you in an hour.”

“All right, if you’re?—”

“Is she coming?” Aidan called in the background. “We’re having popcorn when you get here.”

“And ice cream,” Ava added.

“I can’t wait!” I called back.

“Ouch,” Ordell said, chuckling. “I’ll pass on the message, and I’ll see you—No, Aaron, put that down.”

The call disconnected, and I went back to shutting down the machines, a smile on my face. But it rang again a moment later, and I answered without checking caller ID.

“Hey, are the kids okay?”

“Kids?” a voice that was not Ordell said.

“Micah?”

“Yes. You’re back, then.” He sounded tense. Annoyed?

“Yeah, I’m back.”

“You didn’t check in.”

Yep, he was definitely annoyed. “I’m sorry. I only got back last night.” It was a lie but only a teeny one.

“And everything went…okay?”

News of the attempted murder had obviously not made it to the Order, and as it was a consortium and Circle issue, I’d leave it to them to pass that intel on. Micah was my mentor, but he was also the Order, so I decided to keep the attack to myself. For now.

“It was fine. Just…family stuff.”

“Why do I get the impression that there’s more to this?”

“There is, but it’s…Look, Micah, there’s stuff I’m not at liberty to talk about.”

“Fine,” he said curtly. “As long as you’re safe and back in Dracul territory.”

My heart sank because when he sounded short with me, it was usually due to disappointment, and I hated disappointing him. He’d made me the operative I was today. Always making sure I had backup on difficult cases and chewing my ear off over the times I went off on my own.

He was more than a mentor, he was a friend, and for a while, he’d been my secret crush.

“Orina?”

Shit. “I’m safe, and I have no plans to leave for the rest of the year.”

“Good. I’ll keep digging about your parents and…We will figure out who took you from your real parents.”

“Thanks, Micah.”

“Take care. I’ll check in when I have more news.”

I pocketed my phone, grabbed my coat, and joined Holly and Padma in the foyer.

My taxi was already idling outside .

“See you tomorrow!” Padma said, heading for our van.

I blew her a kiss and climbed into the taxi, excitement bubbling in my belly because I was going to have a sleepover with my mate and his children.

Ordell opened the door then swept me into one of his perfect hugs that made my breath catch and my toes curl with pleasure before pulling back slightly to look at my face. His ocean blues were dark with a tumult of emotions.

“I fucking missed you.”

It had only been a few days, but it felt like forever. “I missed you too.”

His kiss was a soft exploration that promised more to come.

“She’s here! She’s here!” The sound of feet on the stairs put a pause on the moment.

Ordell set me on my feet where the kids swarmed me for hugs.

This here felt good. It felt right, and in that moment, I was utterly and completely content.

Popcorn, ice cream, and two movies filled with magic and song, and the kids were beginning to look sleepy.

We’d turned the sitting room into a cinema by placing the large sofa and a huge bean bag side by side and setting up a screen and projector.

Bella and Dash weren’t due back till late tomorrow. The work part of Dash’s trip was over, and they were enjoying the romance part, something that Ordell said they didn’t often get to do but something Ordell had jumped at helping them out with it when Bella had called to ask if he could watch the kids. Their regular sitter had come down with a bug.

Watching him with them this evening, the pure joy on his handsome face, made my heart ache because he should be able to have more of this. Time with his children and the right to call them his.

It was so unfair that he couldn’t.

But we had tomorrow with them, and we’d promised to take them boating on Woodsted Lake and then for lunch at their favorite grill house.

Ordell nudged me and jerked his chin toward the triplets snuggled on the bean bag with a huge bag of chips between them. Their eyes were at half-mast and their cheeks flushed.

They looked so cute but…it wasn’t overly warm in here. “Aidan? Are you feeling hot?”

He blinked at me. “I don’t feel too good.”

“Feel sick,” Aaron said .

“Shit.” Ordell hurried to stand. “I think we overdid it on the?—”

Ava projectile-vomited all over the floor and the beanbag, but the other two didn’t even try to scramble away. Instead, they added to the sick fest.

I rushed out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen to get cleaning supplies, but I didn’t know where anything was. I managed to find a basin and some kitchen towels and wipes and took those back.

Ordell had moved the kids to the sofa, where all three lay listless and half conscious.

I dropped the supplies on the table. “Ordell, that doesn’t look like a snack coma.”

“They have fevers,” Ordell said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I need to call Bella.” He scrolled quickly, found her number, and called.

“Bella, sorry to call…No, they’re sick…Yeah, they’ve thrown up…all three…Right…Okay. No, I can handle it…No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

He hung up and sat back on his heels. “Apparently there’s a tummy bug going round the school at the moment. Bella thinks they must have caught it. A twenty-four-hour thing. She said there’s medication for the fever in the main washroom upstairs. I’ll clean up here if you can go get that. It’s the second room down the hall off the foyer.”

“We’ll need fresh clothes for them too.”

“Leave that to me.”

I hurried to the washroom. The cabinet above the sink was filled with medications. Cough syrups, Band-Aids, and some herbal stuff, but I couldn’t find the fever meds.

I pulled everything out and searched thoroughly, but no luck.

Back in the sitting room, Ordell had cleaned up the kids and was working on mopping the sick off the floor. He looked up, nose wrinkled as I entered.

“I couldn’t find the meds.”

“It’s all right,” Ordell said. “I’ll go look.”

“I did look, Ordell.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t, but I’d feel better if I double-checked.”

I stanched my flash of annoyance. “Let me finish up here while you go check.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. But I want to.”

He pecked me on the cheek and handed me the wipes before striding out of the room.

He’d done a pretty good job of cleaning up. I just needed to give it all a once-over and?—

“Bella just called back,” Ordell said from the doorway, back from his search. “Apparently, they’re out of meds. Dash was meant to replace them, but he forgot. She’s not happy. Threatened to come home but Dash and I calmed her down. I’ll need to pop out to the store and?—”

“Go.” I shooed him off. “I can keep an eye on them till you get back. ”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

He grabbed his keys off the table. “I won’t be long.” He blew me a kiss then looked at his hand and made a face. “I best wash up first.”

I bit back a giggle.

He left, and I went back to cleaning, which didn’t take too long. I checked on the kids, then dipped into the kitchen to wash my hands and get a bottle of water.

It was a beautiful room, designed with an old cottage vibe that had a cozy feel to it. I loved the double sink, a deep ceramic affair, and the kitchen table, which was made of warm redwood that looked like it had been beautifully handmade and…When had it gotten so quiet? A prickle skated over my skin. The TV must have turned itself off. I set the bottle on the counter just as a shadow moved in reflection on the window. Oh…Oh no…

A low growl broke the silence, and I turned slowly to face the creature in the doorway. Four feet tall and covered in hair, it stared at me with bloodshot hazel eyes.

Two more like it filled the space behind it.

Three little monsters.

Oh God.

Oh fucking God.