Page 69 of Savior

“Jake,” Mike said. “I don’t know… sounds pretty common.”

“Well, Jake Olson was a paramedic that was bonded to Thor for a little while. Let’s see…” She paused, no doubt rifling through the Rolodex of comic books in her head. “He got killed in a battle between the Avengers and Destroyer but was brought back to life. I actually can’t remember how he and Thor bonded together, but I know they stayed that way until Odin was able to separate them.”

She retrieved the bagels as they popped up, utterly oblivious to the blank stares the three of us shared. “Hey, what do y’all think about Odin? Odin Masterson. Sounds kinda important, right?”

“Um,” Lauren began. “It’s unique.”

“I think I’ll add it to the list, but if I don’t decide to use it, you definitely should, Lauren. Odin Quinn—oh, that sounds really powerful.”

“Well, it could work… if we were having a boy, but—”

“You’re having two girls?” Dakota screeched, sending a dagger of pain through my skull. “Oh my god of thunder, I have so many girl names. Sif and Frigga. Brunnhilde and Freya. If you went with Brunnhilde, you could call her Valkryie for short.”

“You know, that’s not bad,” Mike chimed in, somehow keeping a straight face. “We’ll take all of those into consideration.”

“Good,” she said through a mouthful of toasted bread. “Now, I was thinking—”

“Caparina,” Little Ricky called out as he came down the hall. “You got two seconds to tell me what the fuck you did!”

Why was everyone yelling?

She stiffened, and whispered, “Family meeting,” before disappearing through the back door.

Mike cocked an eyebrow. “You see that, Counselor? Now that was weird.”

“Cap—”

“She’s not in here, LR,” Lauren replied as he rounded the corner. “Maybe check out at the barn?” She kept the smile on her face until he left before turning to face me. “Has she told you anything?”

I shrugged. “Nothing that in any way explains what just happened.”

“Something went down between the two of them after they went to see Molly.” At my frown, she elaborated. “She wanted information on your mother… some event that happened a long time ago? I’m not exactly sure.”

Mike’s gaze darkened, and we shared a look, making it evident that I wasn’t the only one who knew what that something was.

After opening up about her miscarriage, my mother had clambered off her barstool and over to the sink before vomiting up the hard liquor.

As if on autopilot, I’d walked over and held her hair back, murmuring words of encouragement. I did it all while knowing that I would never be half the woman that she was. I never would’ve survived what she’d lived through.

“Okay,” Lauren said with a slow nod, looking between the two of us. “It’s obvious I’ve missed something so let’s round up the family for a meeting.”

There was no sign of Little Ricky or my mother as we entered the backyard, only Dakota and Zane, sitting side by side on a little bench near a tree covered in pale pink blooms.

She looked up with a tear-streaked face when we approached. “I have to tell you something. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure, but I think it’s important.”

My cell phone vibrated against my hip, earning me a glare, and I quickly silenced it before placing it back in my pocket.

It was Nate.

Again.

“I found Dad’s vest at Bear and Molly’s house,” Dakota said solemnly. “It was on their bed—”

“Wait,” Mike interjected. “You found Grey’s kutte and didn’t know if that was important or not? How long ago was this?”

She swiped under her eyes. “A week ago. Look, I know I should’ve said something, but that’s a huge accusation to make against someone. I started second-guessing myself—maybe my dad had left it somewhere, and Bear found it. I don’t know. Then I thought of something Nate had said to me.”

“Nate?” I choked. “Y-you talked to Nate?”

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