Page 28 of Tyson (Ariel Kimber 4.50)

The backs of my eyes stung as I blinked rapidly, making sure I didn't shed any tears in front of him.

I got his message loud and clear. He was so upset because he was worried about me and was pissed I hadn't given him the chance to take care of me and have my back. It would have hurt him to see me get chewed up and spit back out by that bitch again.

I didn't answer him verbally but instead moved forward and into him. My shoulder hit his as I lifted my other arm up behind him. I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his forehead into mine.

"Love you, Uncle Quint," I muttered before giving his neck a squeeze and letting him go.

I cleared my throat as I stepped back and, avoiding eye contact with him, looked around the room.

"We should get out of here and do that thing we were talking about," I muttered thickly.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather we burned the place down?" He asked quietly.

I sighed, knowing him letting it go was his way of letting me know we were okay.

As soon as we were out of the building he made the call to the security place he'd mentioned. We waited outside for them to show up half an hour later. They combed through the entire building and found absolutely nothing. No bugs, no cameras, nada. We were in the clear and he didn't even joke about burning the building down again.

We might have been better off if we had, though.

Chapter Eleven

You’ve got really big balls, kid

"What's the meaning of this?" Rain growled in a voice full of gravel as he looked down his nose at me. "You think you can just phone me up and demand I meet you somewhere?"

I winced.

Shit.

Ariel's dad really did not like me. I wanted to not care but it still hurt me just a little bit. The man standing in front of me meant the world to my girl and I didn't want him to hate me. Normally, I wouldn't give a fuck, but since Ariel meant the whole world to me and he meant that to her, I really wanted him to like me. Hell, I'd even settle for him just not hating me. That was better than nothing.

Ignoring his angry glare that promised me violence if I didn't answer him, I gestured towards the building and asked, "Do you know what this place is?"

Rain sneered at me before pursing his lips and looking around, taking in our surroundings. His brow scrunched up and he shook his head.

"I've never been here before," he growled dangerously and I knew if I didn't start talking soon, he'd kick my ass.

"I thought you'd be interested to know," I hurried to get out, "that an old, blind witch used to own this building and she ran a shop calledFortunes for the Unfortunate. She was hiding out in plain sight from the Council. Uncle Quint and I have been going through journals she kept and we found out some interesting things. According to her written words, people have been coming here for years, looking for sanctuary and hiding from the Council. She had a whole network of people helping her out but never actually says who they are. She also kept records of everyone who ever walked into the building. Some of them she sensed magic in but not enough they'd register on anyone else's radar as a witch. But they bought instruments of magic, so she knew they were practicing in secret and hiding what they were. There's a lot of shit that the Council would want to get their hands on that we are going to need to figure out how to keep safe. There's also a lot of journals left that Uncle Quint and I haven't had a chance to read through yet. There's just too many of them for the two of us. And, there's boxes of other shit in the basement and after going through it for hours on end, Uncle Quint and I figured out that not all of it belonged to the old woman. Some of it belonged to the people who sought out sanctuary here. She kept what they couldn't take into hiding with them, in hopes of one day they might come back for it or send word to her on where to send it. I can't bring myself to throw the shit out but it needs to be gone through and properly sorted and labeled. I-"

Rain impatiently cut me off. "What the fuck are you telling me all of this for?"

He sounded angry, but I wasn't stupid and I didn't miss the way his lanky body had stiffened or the way his green eyes, the exact same shade as Ariel’s, had widened when I'd gotten down to business. This shit was right up his alley and he was perfect for it.

"Shop needs a guardian, so to speak," I told him and he raised a dark eyebrow in surprise. "There's also an empty apartment upstairs." I failed to mention that it was a dump, but whatever, he didn't need to know that bit just yet. "I figured with you doing what you do and all, and you being estranged now because you've been hunting for Ariel for so long, well..."

I trailed off. Shit. Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea.

Rain rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. Standing on the sidewalk in his long black trench coat and shitkickers on his feet and the dead eyes in his face, he stood out like a sore thumb. Perhaps we shouldn't have done this in broad daylight and instead met up at night where he would have blended in with the shadows. People'd be staring soon if we didn't go inside.

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I know you're looking to spend more time with Ariel and I thought you'd fit in here perfectly. The old witch was able to work her shop here without drawing any unwanted attention to herself and the Council never knew she was here all this time. It'd be a safe place for you to hang out and the perfect place for you to work with Ariel on all that you want to teach her without having the other guys hovering over the two of you while you do it. I also heard you were looking for a place to stay that was closer to Ariel and not with the rest of us. Two birds, one stone."

He crossed his arms over his chest and a hint of black ink peeked out from under his sleeve. I'd never gotten to see his tattoos because I'd never seen him without long sleeves on but I was curious because I'd heard some of them were spells and held magic and I had never heard of such a thing before Uncle Quint had forced my tattoo on me. It wasn’t something commonly practiced.

"Why would my daughter be spending time here?" He growled at me. "Is Dash kicking her out?"

I blinked at him.

"What?" I asked. "Why would Dash ever kick her out?"

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