Page 93 of Hollyhocks

“That’s hardly fair,” Doe Eyes speaks up for me and others like me. “They aren’t the same as a regular paranormal creature—I would think—they have creatures that clash. They are different and how they adjust to the world is different than me, a human, or you, whatever you are? Demons?”

“Close enough.” War waves his hand in the air, uncaring. “He is right, Abaddon.”

“Rhett? You’ve been quiet.” Creed leans forward, crossing his arms on the table.

“I’m tired. I have two newborns at home. I don’t like leaving Mickey alone with all of the responsibility. Can we speed this up? What’s the issue? Death, you find his parents and interrogate them for answers. Any other DNA experiments, we help if we can. It isn’t Fitz’s fault his parents were so terrible.”

Fitz looks down, ashamed. “I should have known,” he whispers.

“You should have.”

“Creed,” Rhett snarls.

“What? He should have.”

I sneer at Creed. “I’ll rip your tongue from your mouth if you ever speak about my mate like that again. He didn’t know. His parents abused him his entire life. You don’t know what they did to him and his sister when they were so young. Don’t ever think Fitz wouldn’t have done something if he had found out about his father spending the family fortune on monster DNA experiments. He is good. Inside and out. He. Is. Good. I’ll fucking kill you the next time you imply that he is not.”

Smoke drifts from Creed’s nostrils, his eyes burning with the color of his dragon.

“Okay, let’s all calm down,” Abaddon tries to interject. “I think the first order of business is going to the facility where you were kept, Holly. Death, you should search for his parents while we do that.”

“That sounds like a plan to me,” Death agrees.

“Great. That settles it. Tomorrow we will meet again to go over the details. I’m hungry and what I want to eat can’t be found in this dimension.” He pats his stomach. “Let’s roll out, guys.”

One by one, The Four Horsemen leave. Creed and I lock eyes, the urge to battle brewing between us.

“Okay, I think you two don’t need to stay in the same room. Ever.” Rhett shoves Creed out the door. “Fitz, I don’t blame you, you know that, right?”

“I blame me,” Fitz whispers. “All this time. Everything done to you, that was my family. How could you not be mad at me?”

“Because you aren’t them. You never were. You’re my best friend and if you need to hear it, then I forgive you.”

Fitz’s shoulders slump and he wipes away a tear, hugging Rhett so tight, the crocodile beast grunts.

“It’s okay, Fitz. It’s okay. Their thoughts and actions aren’t your fault.”

“I’m going to dissolve the company now that they are dead. I’m done with it. I don’t want anything to do with it knowing that money was used to…”

I wipe a tear that falls down his cheek and lick it off my finger.

“I do that to Mickey too,” Rhett says with a smirk. “I can’t get enough.”

“Me either.”

“And congratulations, by the way.” Rhett stops in the doorway. “It couldn’t have happened to a better man.”

“Congratulations on what?” Fitz sniffles, wiping his cheeks with his shirt sleeves.

“Holly’s pregnancy.” Rhett shuts the door, leaving us stunned and frozen in the house.

“You’re pregnant. You’re pregnant!” he shouts, picking me up and spinning me around. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Holy shit, I’m going to be a dad. When were you going to tell me?” His hand is pressed against my stomach and his bottom lip trembles. “I can’t believe it.”

“I didn’t know. Not yet. I thought maybe, but I wasn’t sure.”

Fitz kneels on the ground, pressing his cheek against my stomach. “I’m going to be the dad I never had. I promise.”

“I know, Doe Eyes. You’re already a better man than he ever was.”

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