Page 139 of Reaper
I nod. “Lark doesn’t know the connection yet, but I plan to tell her soon. That Zac fucker’s been harder to keep an eye on ever since he was suspended from the fire department. Not sure who the second person is, but we do have a few suspicions.”
Thor nods as he absorbs everything I told him and then rasps his knuckles on his desk. “Keep me posted on all accounts. We’re already keeping an eye on things since Oasis and that X fucker are still fucking shit up for us. The feds already arrested the men that were on the homestead on Mae’s land north of town.” He frowns and shakes his head sadly. “None of the women had families to go back to and really didn’t want to leave. Mae told them they could continue living there, on their terms, and she negotiated a low rent for them since none of the women wanted to take a handout. Since they wanted to continue growing their crops and doing their handmade shit they’ve been doing, Mae suggested they sell any excess crops and their wares at the farmer’s market next year as a way for them to make money for other necessities they might need.”
I grin. “Good on Lil’ Bit for doing that.”
I’m about to say more when a knock on the door stops me. It opens before Thor can reply and Lark barges in with Loki’s arm draped over her shoulders and she is supporting most of his weight. My gut twists when I see how pale he is. I get up, helping her get Loki to the couch. Levi comes in and shuts the door behind her.
“He damn near dropped like a bag of potatoes into one of the chairs and when I saw how pale he’d gotten, I was about to call Doc when he managed to get out that he needed to see you and Thor,” Lark tells us before straightening, twisting her fingers together as she worries her lip, her gaze never leaving Loki.
“Come on, Lark. The guys will make sure he’s okay,” Levi says as she links her arm through Lark’s and starts toward the door.
Loki’s hand shoots out and snags Lark’s wrist. “Stay,” he gasps out. “Both… of you… stay… Just… give me… a moment…”
Levi’s forehead creases in confusion but she stays like he asks. Thor motions to her and she goes over, sitting down on his lap. His hand caresses her stomach, and I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it. Longing hits me and once again, the urge to have a baby with Lark hits me hard. I shake my head. This isn’t the time to be thinking about something like that.
Lark sits down next to Loki and he grasps her hand tightly in his, intertwining their fingers together. She murmurs something quiet to him and he nods. His body slumps and he leans back against the couch as he catches his breath. Lark shifts slightly but Loki’s grip on her hand tightens. Almost as if she’s grounding him.
“Levi… Do you know anything about Loki’s family history?” Lark asks her. She shakes her head, and as Lark fills her in, her eyes widen in surprise.
“So, did he just have a vision? Is that why he dropped like that after Mae hugged him?”
I stare at Loki in concern. “He’s never reacted like this after one of his previous visions. That I’ve witnessed anyway. He’s always managed to stay upright and never turned this pale before.”
“They’re coming,” Loki rasps out, and Levi gets up, unlocking a cupboard and grabbing a bottle of water out. She passes it to Lark who gives it to Loki. He tilts his head in thanks before taking a drink as Levi sits back down on Thor’s lap.
“I can’t tell who but something’s coming and it’s going to be big.” He turns toward Lark. “You’re armed, right?”
She gives him a knowing look and pats her cut. “Handgun and a few knives on me. I have more in my backpack. Same for Miracle.”
He gives a quick, jerky nod. “Good.”
“Anything else you can tell us?” Thor asks and Loki frowns as his eyes go unfocused.
“There will be a lot of men coming. It was daylight and it was snowing—they’re probably hoping to use the poor visibility against us. We’re also supposed to have a snowstorm this weekend so that lines up with what I saw. I got the sense that they’re after Mae specifically so it’s most likely Oasis. We were still here and I saw the decorations for Mae’s party, so my guess is they’ll attack sometime this weekend. I tried to push harder to see more, but the details got smokier when I did that,” he shakes his head and sighs. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see more.”
“Hey,” Lark chides as she bumps shoulders with him. “None of that. Your gift has given us an advantage that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We should be the ones thanking you, so thank you.”
He gives her a small, tight smile, and while I’m sure her words helped, I know Loki. He’s going to be blaming himself for this for a while. Just like I know he is about not being able to identify who’s stalking Lark.
“Is it common for you to have so many visions so close together?” Thor asks and Loki shakes his head, frowning.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had this many so close together. Usually, I only have a handful a year. This is the fifth one in two weeks.”
His frown deepens as a phone vibrates and he shifts, pulling his own phone out of his pocket before he curses under his breath. “It’sma mère(my mom).”
Why is he cursing about Mama C calling? Or is it because it’s so close to him having a vision that’s bothering him?
“Answer it, you know she’ll just keep calling if you don’t,” I tell him.
“Allô(Hello),maman(mom).”
Since I’m right next to him, I can hear their conversation. I go to stand, but he shakes his head, so I settle back on the couch.
“Allô(Hello),mon fils(my son), though I would have appreciated you not cursing before answering.”
Loki sighs as he shakes his head, but smiles. How the hell did she know he swore before he answered?
Lark snickers and Loki narrows his eyes at her. She covers her mouth with her hand and he rolls his eyes.
