Page 166 of Restitution

“Let’s go inside,” Ewan says, whistling to Milo and Hopper to follow us. “We made steak pie.”

Of course Aria Miller has cooked a dinner big enough to feed an army at three in the morning. The table is covered with food, and Dez sits next to me so he can catch up on everything with me and Base.

Tylar and Stacey are in deep discussion about what we’ve been up to the last few weeks, and Mum won’t take her eyes off me. “I wish your sister could be here.”

Tylar nods in agreement. “I miss her.” Her arm wraps around Stacey, and I imagine snapping it. “I’m so glad I got one of my besties back.”

“She’ll be home soon.”

Mum finishes her water. “There are only four rooms. Sebastian will need to share with Barry, if that’s okay?”

They glare at each other across the table. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” Barry says. “Or you can.”

Base laughs. “Are you still pretending to hate me? Come on – we’re practically friends.”

Barry ignores him, and I try not to laugh at the outraged lookon my friend’s face.

Then Base mumbles through his bite of steak pie, “Tobes nearly fed me human food.”

Mum’s eyes widen, and Ewan tilts his head in confusion. “What? Tobias?”

I kick him, but he keeps talking. “Yeah. Mr Dead-Yet-Not-So-Dead. He was frying Archie’s body parts like they were steak, and I nearly fucking became a cannibal, the asshole.” He grimaces at his plate. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

Mum pushes back from the table. “Where is he?” she asks, her eyes widening with every second. “Is… is he okay?”

“He’s with Luciella. He’s fine. He’ll reach out when he’s ready.”

Standing, she wipes her mouth. “I need to go to him. Can you give me the address?”

I sigh, because I hate myself for this. “No. He doesn’t want you to know he’s alive yet. He isn’t ready, and he’s keeping Luciella safe.”

Her eyes drop to the plate of food as she lowers to her seat once more. “Oh. But he’s alive.” Her eyes are watering. “Tobias is alive.”

“Yeah. He needs to lie low for a bit.”

She nods. “Okay.” But that one word tells me she really isn’t. Her hand shakes as she grabs her fork, and she misses the steak five times before Ewan places his hand over hers.

I get to my feet and go to her, crouching beside her seat and kissing her cheek. “He couldn’t risk reaching out. He called you twice and didn’t say a word. He just wanted to hear your voice. He’s safe. He’s alive, and once everything dies down, he’ll reach out.”

She forces a smile as a tear slides down her cheek. “I thought he died.” She sniffles and blinks rapidly as more tears fall. “I… I thought I’d lost him.”

I nod. “Me too. But he’s as big a nuisance as ever.”

Base scoffs. “Nuisance is an understatement. He fucking bullies me. Him and Barry. They don’t even like each other!”

Stacey looks at me from across the table while Barry and Base go at each other. She smiles and mouths,I love you.

I go all warm inside. It’s embarrassing how warm I get, and I think I’m fucking blushing. I smile back at her and press my shoe up against hers under the table like we’re teenagers.

“We were thinking,” Mum says, her eyes still wet. “Stay here for a few days before you contact the authorities and let them know you’re okay and safe. The media interest will be intense, and the interviews are going to drain you all, so rest.”

“I’m going to head to Russia tomorrow,” Base replies. “I’ve got a shitload of grovelling to do and not a very long time to do it.” He leans back on his chair. “Do you think I’d be a good dad, Aria?”

Her brows rise as she stabs a chunk of steak and dips it into gravy. “Is Nikita pregnant?”

“No,” he replies. “Your daughter is.”

Mum’s fork pauses halfway to her mouth. Ewan’s drops to his plate. “She’s what?”