Page 39 of Semi-Reckless

If she survived today, of course.

When they’d chosen their spot in the center of the room, Roan let out a deep breath and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She leaned her cheek against his hand. “No. But I don’t see where I have much of a choice. I can’t hide from this thing forever.”

He snorted. “As if you ever hide from anything.”

“Character flaw?”

“I used to think so,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her lower lip. “Now I know it’s a strength.”

She grinned up at him. “You’re just saying that because you want to see me naked.”

“No. I’m not.” He smirked, before adding, “And yes, I want to see you naked.”

“I did not need to hear that,” her father muttered from the doorway.

“Sorry,” she said.

He frowned at her. “You don’t sound sorry.”

She wasn’t. She totally wasn’t.

With a sigh of the damned, he came into the room. All the usual supernatural suspects trailed in behind him. Her mother, Benny, Gabriel, Addy, Seven, Lucas, Nikolai, Quinn, Hunter and Mischa…pretty much everyone she knew that had superpowers of some kind, except for Lane and Lucien, of course. Things were going to have to get a lot worse before she was willing to call them in from their honeymoon.

Haven’s hands went to her hips. “What are you all doing here? Overwhelming the Kurgan with a show of force is not part of the plan.”

Her mother laid her crossbow on the ground at her feet and mimicked Haven’s stance. “Well, the part of the plan that might allow my daughter to be melted if things go wrong doesn’t exactly thrill me.”

Haven sighed. “I know. But it’s not going to come to that.”

“We know,” her father said. “Which is why Quinn bugged the room. We’ll be right outside the door, and if it sounds at all like you need us, we’re busting in.”

Benny held up a wicked-looking hunting knife, grinning. “I had this made out of tungsten, just in case. It has a melting point over 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s one of the hardest metals found in nature.”

Everyone side-eyed him.

“What?” he grumbled, sliding the knife back into the waistband of his jeans. “Because I’m comic relief I can’t know science-y shit, too?”

Harper ignored him, turning back to her daughter. “The point is that we’re all here for you if you need us. Not because we don’t think you can handle this. We know you can. We just…can’t stay away, OK? We’ll give you all the independence you deserve, but you can’t ask us to not be here for you. That’s what families do, damn it.”

“Fuckin’-A,” her father said.

“That goes for all of us,” Hunter added, handing her the last of the herbs she needed for the summoning spell.

Haven’s eyes filled with tears. Nearly everyone she loved in the world was here, supporting her, ready to go to war on her behalf if necessary. “I…shit…I don’t know what to say. Thank you. All of you.” She’d never felt more loved—or more terrified—in her life.

Roan kissed the top of her head. “I hope you don’t think I’m staying outside this room.”

She snorted. “I’ll make an exception for you. As long as you let me do the talking.”

“I can do that.”

Pulling herself together before she could do something unforgivable (like burst into tears), she squared her shoulders. “Any words of advice before I do this?”

“Say ‘pumpernickel’ if you want to signal us,” Quinn suggested. “You know, a safe word.”

Nikolai frowned at him. “Why ‘pumpernickel’?”

---