Page 60 of Witches Be Damned

No rest for the wicked.

“Yes, sir.” I hated being beholden to him, the rules, the security checks, etc. when I had a brief glimpse of freedom.

The warden rattled off the rest of his order. “I’ll allow a concession for the next seven days for you to stay with your boyfriends in your cell to compensate for your service and support you through your horrid ordeal.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied, gratitude fluttering in my ribcage.

Retreating, he instructed the sentries to close the door and lock me in. His footsteps echoed down the stone hall.

The hesitance in my men said they wanted to say more but waited. They broke apart from me, Tor rolling back, Knoxe and Pascal giving space for my father to step up and drag me into his arms.

“I’ve missed you, kiddo.” He kissed my head. “Are you okay?” He didn’t utter a word about who I was with and betray me.

“Doing good, Dad.” He smiled when I called him that, a normal expression replacing his usual crazy glint.

He eyed off each of my boyfriends and cracked his neck. “These three are busting to say hello, and I won’t take up too much of your time and be a burden, but I’d appreciate it if we caught up later at dinner.”

“You’re not a burden,” I said, conscious that he must have been as out of his mind with worry for me as my men were. “And, sure, I’d like that, unless you want to chat now.”

He considered the offer, a flash of danger going off in his blue eyes. “There is one thing I’d like to iron out, and that’s an official introduction.” He ran his gaze over each of my men.

Shit. Three boyfriends at once. Definitely not the norm. The norm for the prison according to Tor. Maybe Loco would be understanding. A big maybe.

I chuckled nervously. “You already know them, Dad. We’ve been out on missions together.”

“Not really. We were thrown together as a team. No proper bonding.” Loco slapped Tor’s shoulder. “I want them to know I’m more than a blood-lusting psycho.”

I cough-choked into my hand. Wrong thing to say. Prison changed my father. Hell, it changed me too. Strengthened me. Gave me courage I’d never find on the outside. Empowered me with resilience.

Loco barked out a laugh and patted my back. “I was just shitting you, kiddo. About the pyscho business, not the introductions.”

When my cough subsided, I gestured to Tor. “This is Victor Helms, my first boyfriend.”

Air cracked in Tor’s fingers as my dad crushed them. “Hell of a strong handshake you have there, Dad.”

My father bristled at the nickname, but took it in his stride, playing nice cop. “What do you do for a living outside of the Guardians, son?”

Good starting question to get to know my men. Hopefully he didn’t commence the third degree.

Tor scrubbed at his freshly shaven jaw. “I’m a qualified physiotherapist. I treat musculoskeletal injuries. I joined the Guild before I went into professional practice.”

Loco wagged a finger. “You got a smart one here, huh, kiddo?”

Smart and good with his hands to ease overworked muscles after a long day of training. Yeah, keeping that one to myself to save Tor’s life… and Knoxe’s for over-training me.

Loco gave Tor’s arm another thump, as if giving him his sign of approval. “Be good to my daughter.”

Tor saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

Besides the crunch from Tor’s tendons, this wasn’t as bad as I expected. Civil. Friendly. Calm. Very calm. Maybe too calm. Nerves bunched in my stomach that Loco might pull a shank when I introduced him to Knoxe.

Loco smiled and shifted his attention to Pascal, hinting for me to continue. “And who do we have here?”

My cheeks heated. This wasn’t how I anticipated my reunion going, but hey, there was nothing normal about being in the same prison as your father.

“Uh, this is Pascal, my second boyfriend.” I scratched the back of my head, uncomfortable with the conversation and wanting it over ASAP.

Loco shook Pascal’s hand firmly, the way a soldier would to a higher officer. “Pascal, what do you do, son?”

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