Page 14 of Looking Grimm

Pushing back from the table, Pippa stood. “You two have fun sorting that out. I’m going.”

“Going where?” Nash rose as well, I thought to chase after her.

Pippa angled toward the hallway that led to the upstairs bedrooms. “You were right, Nick. This is your house, and I will gladly leave you with it. I’m moving out. At least until you’re willing to listen to reason.”

She took off with both Nash and I looking after her. The sound of her bedroom door slamming prompted Nash to swear and shove his bowl across the table. It skittered and spun but didn’t spill. My gaze settled on it as Nash slumped in his seat and rested his head in his hands.

I should have gone to him and offered some kind of comfort, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. So, I sat, adding to the quiet of the room until Nash spoke at last.

“Fitch, are you happy here?”

I didn’t think I had it in me to tell him the truth. For years, the Bitters’ End had been a safe haven away from Grimm and the gang. More recently it seemed, or maybe I’d just realized, that the security I felt here wasn’t as much about the place as the person who owned it.

But since I’d left the gang, since my trust in Holland Lyle had proven profoundly misplaced, since Donovan died…

“I’m not happy anywhere,” I admitted.

Nash processed that before replying. “Well, if you’re going to stay, you need to tell me what you’re doing, where you’re going, and when you’ll be back.”

My face puckered like his words tasted bitter. Even Grimm didn’t keep me on that short of a leash. Not in recent years. “Are you my friend or my warden?” I asked. “Because I’ve tried prison, and it wasn’t for me.”

Irritation pulled at Nash’s face. “It’s courtesy, Fitch,” he said. “Good manners. You remember those.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” I stood and turned toward the hall.

He stepped after me. “Where are you going now?”

My conversation with Charlie had yielded valuable information and a few secrets I didn’t feel right keeping to myself. Forty Hex members made a formidable force to pit against the investigators. It seemed Grimm’s strategy had changed from a peaceful takeover to an aggressive one. I didn’t presume the underpowered witches being recruited off the streets could hold a candle to the Capitol’s brightest and best but, in a numbers game, there was something to be said for the ability to outlast.

I could have told Briggs, but my instincts told me to rope in a slightly more connected entity. Holland had reached out to me multiple times after what happened to Donovan. I let her calls roll to voicemail then never listened to them. She even sent texts sporadically over the first week or so. I didn’t reply; I had nothing to say to her. Until now.

“Got a hot lunch date,” I said.

I started walking, and Nash followed, nearly stepping onmy heels with his long-legged strides. “We just ate,” he protested.

As we passed the closed door of Pippa’s room, I pointed at it. “You should check on your sister.”

“She’s fine.” Nash huffed. “Believe it or not, I’m used to people who overreact when they’re angry.”

Drawing up short nearly caused the alchemist to crash into my back. I turned around, looking up at him and hating what I saw in his face. Overwhelm, exhaustion, and a pinch of something I couldn’t identify.

“She wants you to choose between her and me,” I told him.

He shifted back, putting space between us as he replied, “Which is not a choice I should have to make. She’s my sister, and you’re my…”

“Favorite customer?” My cheeky grin alleviated a bit of the strain on his features.

“You’d have to occasionally pay for something to keep that title,” he said.

I started to turn away, but he caught my arm. It wasn’t a firm grip. I could have easily pulled away if I wanted to, but I didn’t.

“Don’t go.” The urgency in Nash’s voice drew my eyes to meet his. “Please.”

“It’s just lunch.”

“Is it?”

I searched his expression a moment longer, then stepped in, slipping one arm around his waist. Nash’s breath hitched as he leaned into me.

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