Page 24

Neith

O nce the food is passed out, Reed asks, “Okay, so how did you manage to find this place?”

“By accident. I was over here doing something for Dimitri, and I got caught in this storm and was being chased, or rather hunted, by a rogue pack of shifters. I stumbled across this place, and I was sure that someone lived there, but no one answered the door. I could feel the magic in there, so I went in to escape the shifters. House helped me take them down, and then I called Niamh, and she explained how the house wouldn’t let anyone step foot on the grounds, let alone in the house itself, and that was pretty much the end of it. From that point on, whenever I was in Ireland, I stayed here. I’m still learning things about it, but yeah, House now lets people on the grounds if I’m here, but we’re still working on letting people in the house,” I explain.

“So there was a chance that it wouldn’t have let us enter?” Ransom asks.

I nod, “Yeah. Good news, House obviously likes you.”

“Thank fuck for that,” River says, “I don’t want to sleep outside even shifted it would be too fucking cold.”

“It seems really modern in here,” Raiden says, and I assume that there’s a question in there somewhere.

I nod, “It wasn’t when I first arrived, but gradually, it started to change, and now it’s got all the modern conveniences that you could hope for without compromising on any of the charm. I love it.”

The doors in the kitchen open and close again.

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Van says as he takes a giant bite of his burger.

“Do you know how rare it is to find a sentient house?” Raiden asks, excitement and interest sparking in his eyes.

“I have no idea; I didn’t want to do any research on it and end up flagging it somewhere or something. If HID knew about this place then there is a good chance that they would have tried to possess it in some way, and they certainly wouldn’t have let me back here. I didn’t want to risk that.”

“That makes sense,” Griff agrees. “This is a thousand times rarer than your sword, and your sword isn’t exactly common.”

I nod, “I kind of figured.”

We all fall silent as we eat our food, the conversation pausing.

“Okay, so what’s the plan for tomorrow?" Doc asks after a while.

“We need to head up to the guy’s parents' place on the edge of the moors and see if there is anything there that could give us an idea about where he is,” Griff suggests.

“Yeah, I agree. I think we should probably get a fairly early start, we’re losing light quite quickly at this time of year, and from what little I know about the moors, I don’t imagine that there is an abundance of streetlights, if any,” Evander says.

I nod, “You would be correct.”

“I hope that there’s something there,” Ransom says. “Anything.”

“Is there a link between the victims?” I ask. “Something that connects them all and could tell us why those people are being targeted. If there is, maybe we could get to one of them before he or she does and maybe even work out how they’re doing it.”

Raiden shakes his head, “We haven’t found a single thing that connects them, and we have delved right back into their personal pasts and even into their ancestry and everything. We thought we were onto something three bodies ago, but it turned out to be a coincidence. It’s infuriating.”

“So, they are just plucking them off the street at random and experimenting on them and then if they survive whatever it is that they do to them, they release them back into the world and watch the chaos unfold,” I reply angrily.

Evander nods, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“We need to end the fucker,” I add, and they all nod their agreement. I don’t think anyone would argue with that, though; he’s too dangerous to leave alive.

Once we’ve cleared up from dinner, all of us yawning since we only got a couple of hours of sleep last night. I give the guys a tour of the house, and then I try to think of every plausible reason that I can to avoid going to bed, but I’m coming up blank. I was so desperate to make the tour of the house last longer that I showed the laundry room and inside all the cupboards. I’m surprised that they didn’t call me out right then and there.

I know that once I am left alone, the nightmares are going to consume me. Glancing at Betty and Asael, I toy with the idea of taking them to bed with me, but they aren’t going to make any difference to my dreams, are they? And House gets really pissed when I shoot holes in the wall.

I mean, that’s fair enough, actually.

“How many bedrooms does this place have?” Doc asks.

My spiraling thoughts stop in their tracks, holy shit. There aren’t enough bedrooms that are furnished and ready to be slept in. I don’t know why because House is clearly able to manipulate the rooms and the contents of the rooms within, but right now, I am incredibly grateful that they aren’t done because it means that we’re going to have to double up. Oh, thank fuck for that, I don’t have to sleep alone. Hopefully, that will keep the nightmares at bay.

“There are four bedrooms that are fully furnished and that are suitable to be slept in. The other four need repairs and things like that. We’re going to have to double up,” I say, trying not to look too happy about it.

I frown as the guys all freeze and share a look, before playing what looks like a very intense game of rock, paper, scissors. After three rounds, Griff grins one of his rare big smiles, clearly the victor.

I burst out laughing as I realize what they were doing, but just to check I ask, “Were you guys just playing rock, paper, scissors to see who got to share my room?”

They all nod and grin proudly as I burst out laughing again.

Once my laughter has subsided, I say, “Choose a room. They should all have everything that you need. If they don’t, then you’ve pissed off House, so good luck with that. Surprisingly, they all have their own bathrooms; I don't know because they didn’t have them two visits ago. I think House must watch the home channel when I’m not here because I always come back to something changed.”

“Great, thanks, Neith,” Ransom says as he walks up to me and gives me a big hug.

One by one they all do the same thing, giving me a kiss on my cheek or forehead too. It gives me all the happy feels.

“Come on, my big and growly friend, you’re with me,” I say to Griff.

“Lucky fucker,” Doc chuckles, and Griff just smirks.

Showing Griff my room is very personal to me. It’s designed exactly how I want it, with deep soft carpet, dark green accent wall, and dark wood furniture. My bed is absolutely huge, and I have a huge TV on the wall opposite because I like watching TV in bed.

I smile. Yeah, I may not own this place in any official capacity, but it’s definitely mine. I have to admit that I’m kind of terrified that someone is going to turn up one day and take it away from me. That they will have proof that they own it, obviously they would be a supernatural in that case because this place is at least four hundred years old, or even someone could turn up saying that they are the great, great, I don’t know how many greats, grandchild of the original owner and therefore it’s theirs.

“Now that I have money maybe I could try and track down a way that I could buy this place? So that I can officially say it’s mine,” I say out loud.

Griff, bless him, looks momentarily confused at my seemingly very random question since we weren’t talking about anything, and then answers me without asking what the fuck I’m talking about.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not. I could probably help you with that, actually,” Griff offers. “I’m good at tracking things down internet wise. Raiden is good with all things books. If we can work out who originally owned the house, then we could work out who owns it now. The only problem you may have is that if we do track down the person who currently owns the house, there is a chance that they may want it, I mean this place is beautiful.”

House is clearly listening to our conversation because the lights start flickering on and off, and something bangs. I’m going to assume that the little tantrum House just had was because it doesn’t like the idea of anyone else claiming to own it.

I nod, “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

Griff’s expression fills with sympathy, “Yeah, I can understand why. The house clearly feels strongly about you, too. From what you’ve said, I think it would be reasonably logical to assume that the house isn’t going to let anyone else live in it.”

The fire in my room flares to life angrily.

I chuckle, “I’m going to assume that means no.”

Griff’s eyebrows are raised as he replies, “Yeah, I would.”

We walk further into the room and dump our bags on my bed. “I think I would still like to look into it at some point. Not right now, obviously, we’ve got too much going on, but maybe when we’ve finally put this case to bed, we could come back and have a vacation here and figure it out then. I’m going to have to save up to buy it anyway, goodness knows how much a place like this is worth.”

Griff nods, “Yeah, I can definitely help with that. It would be nice to come back and actually enjoy the place rather than just be working.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure that I have been here for anything other than work or something stressful,” I reply. Changing the subject I add, “The shower is through there, you can go ahead, and I will use the one in the hallway. I’m going to fall asleep pretty fucking quickly, but do you want to put something on the TV?”

He shrugs, “I don’t mind. I’m probably going to fall asleep just as quickly. I think I only managed to get an hour last night, and it’s not exactly early.”

I nod and he grabs some stuff out of his bag and then heads into the bathroom. I do the same and go back out of my room to the main bathroom for this floor. I’m not really sure why it’s here since all of the rooms have bathrooms attached.

I rush through my shower, the tiredness pressing down on me now that I am finally winding down for the day and beginning to relax. When I get into the bedroom, the TV is on a show that is light-hearted and that we have watched before at the guys place, and Griff is already under the covers—his arm behind his head and the covers sitting at his waist, revealing his broad and naked chest. I’m surprised that he has a couple of tattoos. The patterns that appear on his arms are only there when he’s in full gargoyle mode. I want to get a closer look, but I know that probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

Climbing under the covers and turning the light out so that only the glow of the TV illuminates us, I realize that I should probably warn him.

“Griff?” I ask, just in case he’s asleep.

“Yeah?”

“I’m probably going to have nightmares tonight because of Dimitri,” I try to explain. “I’m hoping that it will be better because I’m not alone, but just in case it’s not, I tend to start fighting, and I might scream.”

Griff growls, “I hate that you have nightmares about him. I hate that he’s affected you enough to cause that reaction.”

“Me too,” I admit. The darkness making me braver, “I think it’s worse because I remember who he used to be.”

Griff grunts, and then lifts up his arm, “Come here. I’ll keep the nightmares away, and if I can’t I’ll remind you that you are here with me and not there.”

My eyes prick with tears, as scout closer and lay my head on his chest. “Thank you, for being there for me.”

“Always, Neith.” He mutters softly.

∞∞∞

I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but he did it. He kept the nightmares from consuming me.

I remember a nightmare starting, but before it could properly take hold, Griff was there. He woke me up, spoke softly, stroked my hair, and kissed my forehead. He made me feel safe, so incredibly safe, and it chased the nightmares away. I can’t even begin to describe how much it meant to me, and my feelings for him have changed from he’s super hot, and I would happily get down and dirty with him, to something more than that. Something more meaningful, and if I’m being completely honest, he’s not the only one who my feelings toward them have shifted.

Van said not to overthink it, but I wonder if he realized that I’m starting to feel more than just friendly and casual hook-up emotions for them.

I push up onto my elbow, looking down at him, my body still pressed tightly against his side. Griff’s alarm has gone off several times now and his hand is rubbing soothingly up and down my back, he looks up at me curiously.

“Thank you,” I say, and then feeling brave especially since I haven’t brushed my teeth yet. I lean forward and gently brush my lips against his.

His arm wraps around me tightly as his other hand comes to cradle my face gently. The kiss is soft, and meaningful and I don’t think I have ever been kissed like this before. The whole world disappears, as I lose myself in Griff.

“We should probably get downstairs before everyone comes looking for us,” Griff says as we pull apart.

I grin, “Yeah. I suppose you’re right. Come on, let’s go. I need coffee.”

He smiles, pulling me close one more time and kissing me again, making me sigh happily. I could definitely get used to waking up like this every morning.

Griff and I both get up and get dressed, ready for the day, and I don’t even try to hide the fact that I’m checking him out. I mean, his jeans are doing him a massive disservice in hiding the absolutely biteable ass that he has. How the fuck haven’t I noticed before?

“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’m going to have to do something about it,” Griff says as he catches me watching him and biting my lip.

We both know that it’s, unfortunately, an empty threat because I’m still practically human, and he could break me. Literally, they all could. My vagina however thinks that she’s up to the challenge and it’s definitely worth the risk, so I bitch slap her back, grimace at the image that thought conjures, and then grin at Griff.

Shrugging, I say, “It’s not my fault, your ass fucking biteable.”

His eyes heat, and he takes a step toward me before he remembers and then growls instead.

“Come on, Trouble,” he grins as he pulls up his jeans, and I pout, making him shake his head.

“Coffee,” I say, in order to get my mind back on track and not thinking about ass’ and nakedness.

He grabs my hand and tugs me from the room and down to the kitchen.

“Morning,” I greet the guys happily. “Where did you get food from?”

“I think House did it for us,” Reed replies. “Although I have no idea how. I’m also not entirely sure what this meal is called.”

I chuckle, “It’s called a fry-up.”

I then explain what the plate in front him is. It consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, fried bread, baked beans and their version of hashbrowns. I’ve learned that different people do it differently, but this is how House does it.

House has been known to make me food before, but I’m surprised that it has pulled out all of the stops for the guys. It must really like them; the thought makes me smile.

“It’s fucking delicious, and I think I could probably make it, maybe,” Evander says as he frowns down at his breakfast, “I’m going to try because there is no way that I’m only going to have this meal when we’re here.”

“I’ll help you figure it out,” Ransom says.

“I can give you the recipe. It’s really more of an instruction list or an assembly list than a recipe, but there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to make it in the States,” Ethel offers.

“Thank you, Ethel,” Evander replies gratefully.

I grin as I sit down in front of my plate, loaded with the same things as the guys, and tuck in. It takes me a moment to realize that River is missing. Just as I’m about to ask where he is, we all hear a big thud.

“Do we want to know what that was?” Doc asks.

I shrug, “Probably not.”

Everyone just carries on eating and enjoying their breakfast and a few moments later we find out what the noise was when River walks in the kitchen.

He looks extremely disheveled and is rubbing the back of his head.

I frown, “Are you okay?”

He nods, “Your house just tipped me out of bed.”

So that was the bang. The house threw River out of bed. I burst out laughing along with everyone else at his disgruntled expression.

“You should have gotten up when your alarm went off,” Raiden points out with a smirk.

River ignores him completely, his entire focus on the food instead, “Oh that looks really good.”

“It is,” they all say together.