Page 27 of Bonded By Christmas
The whole goal was to make her like us enough that she willingly let us court her. Granted, Grim and I have basically been covertly courting her for a while, but we wanted her to like us enough that when we officially asked to court her, she’d gleefully accept.
“It was a very spur-of-the-moment kinda thing,” she says, slapping away my fingers. “So, you can be happy for us or… Actually, I don’t want to hear it if you’re not.”
God, I like it when she’s feisty. I’m going to need a whole lot of that in the future, and now that she’s permanently linked to Grim, it feels a lot like all three of us just put her on lockdown.
“Congratulations,” I murmur, bending to kiss her forehead. I barely hold myself back from saying something cheeky likeme next.
Wilder is definitely going to shit a golden brick, but I’ll leave that up to him. Speaking of the devil, a black car comes to a stop at the end of the alley, and the door flies open.
“Time for you to go,” Grim says to Lacey. “We have to clean up this mess, but my boss is going to make sure you’re safe. I’ll meet you back at the house as soon as we’re done.”
“At my apartment?” she asks.
“No, silly. Our house.” I step back, giving Lacey room to see what’s happening.
“Wilder?” Her jaw falls as her eyes widen. “Okay. What is going on?”
Uh, yeah.
I think I’ll leave that explanation up to him.
Chapter Twelve
Lacey
Wilder wraps a blanket around my shoulders and guides me into the back of a black town car. He takes the seat at my side, and only a few moments pass before we both lurch as the vehicle takes off.
Maybe I should put my seat belt on? Tonight probably used up every bit of luck and karma that I’ve stockpiled over the course of my lifetime.
My hand flies to my throat, and I pat around for my scarf, even though I know it’s not there. “I lost my scarf, and I think I dropped my purse and my shopping bag in the alley. Any of that could be tied to me.”
“You don’t need to worry. They’ll do a full sweep of the entire area and bring your things back to you,” Wilder says in a soothing tone that doesn’t match the man I know.
My brain is fried.
Nothing makes sense.
Grim showing up felt like a miracle.
Then Callum popped up, and they already knew each other somehow…
That was off-putting enough.
Now I’m sitting in a car with Wilder, and everything seems a lot more suspicious.
“Why do you know Grim and Callum?” I ask, twisting to look at the man in question. “I mean, how.”
“I will tell you. All I ask is that you allow me to clean you up while we speak.” Wilder sighs, reaching for something on the floorboard. He pulls it into his lap and pops open a pack of baby wipes before stretching a hand out to cradle my face. “They both work for me. Grim is a long-time friend, who I now consider my second-in-command. Callum is…” He shrugs, beginning to clean the blood from my face. “Callum is a loose cannon. Somehow, he knows everyone, and anyone who’s anyone owes him at least one favor. Don’t try to make it make sense. I can’t seem to comprehend it either.”
“And you, what? Planted them in my life?”
“I sent Grim to see you because he needed pheromone therapy. Even then, I sent him to theclinicyou work at.Hechose your scent card. When I explained that you smell electric, he looked at me like I’d lost the plot. Apparently Grim and Callum scent something completely different when they smell you, and while I am able to pick up those tones when I concentrate, it would not be my first choice when describing your scent.” He drops the now-disgusting baby wipe, grabbing a fresh one and getting back to work cleaning my jaw. “The apartment on your floor was rented to be used as a security hub for anyone I assigned to watch over you. The others adhered to the rule of no close contact. Callum, of course, did not.”
My head swims.
I’m torn.
Grim really does need access to omega pheromones—or he did, now that we’re bonded it should begin to heal his mind—and I’m grateful we met. We just bonded, and that could beresponsible for my reaction, but I legitimatelyhatethe thought that he could have ended up with an omega other than me.
