Page 117 of Reactant

“Quinn…” Sebastian trailed off.

A large bang sounded out the front, and they all jumped. Will reached for a weapon on his front that wasn’t there. Quinn had a hand on his hip, right where his gun would sit if he were armed.

Sebastian went to leave the room, but Quinn placed a hand on his stomach, halting him. “No.” He moved to the kitchen counter and pulled a knife from the block. “Stay here, with Will.”

Sebastian’s gaze flitted to the weapon. “It’s probably just a stray cat. Or Caleb.”

Quinn grimaced. “Just stay here.”

Will wasn’t sure that “feeling better” meant “able to take on an opponent in hand-to-hand combat,” but he trusted that Quinn knew his body and what he was capable of. He wouldn’t put them, or himself, at risk by being stubborn. And Will was there as backup if something went wrong.

Will moved closer to Sebastian, tense, as they silently waited for Quinn to check out the noise.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“If it is, then we can go back to having dinner. If it’snot, then Quinn will handle it,” Will said firmly. As much as Sebastian had a quick wit and could talk circles around people, he wasn’t trained for any kind of combat situation. There would never be a time where they would let him go first into an unknown scenario.

Will relaxed when the familiar voices of Jericho and Peyton echoed through into the room. He had wondered when they were going to get there. He had been prepared to put their food in the oven to keep warm.

Peyton walked into the room first, followed by Quinn and Jericho, who were speaking quietly to one another.

“You need a doorbell,” Peyton told Sebastian as he made a beeline to Will and threw his arms around Will’s shoulders, tugging him down into a wet, open-mouthed kiss.

“I’ll get right on that,” Sebastian said.

Will pulled back and kissed Peyton’s forehead, smiling. “Hi.”

“Missed you,” Peyton said.

“You saw me this morning.”

“That was years ago.”

Will smiled wider and kissed him once more before handing him off to Sebastian, who gave him the same greeting.

“You got here just in time,” Will said brightly. “Tea is ready!”

“Seb had ingredients for this?” Peyton asked, inhaling deeply and sighing with satisfaction. Sebastian hooked his arms around Peyton’s waist and nuzzled his neck.

“No, I brought a lot of it from home. We saw Parker on our way out, but he said he was spending the night with his married couple.” Will didn’t know how to feel about that anymore. If they were still treating Parker like he was just something for them to play with, Will didn’t like it. Not one bit.

Peyton frowned as well but didn’t say anything about it as he slipped into a dining chair with his food.

Quinn slipped the knife back into place and took the bowl that Will handed to him.

Will grabbed three dog treats from the jar that Quinn had gotten from his car—did he have a stash in there? And was there also a people-food stash? Because Will was here for that—before he joined them all at the table.

Persephone sat by his feet, and he made her give him her paw before scratching her ears and handing her one. She disappeared with it under the table, crunching loudly.

“Is this sauce homemade?” Jericho asked after he’d taken his first bite.

“Yeah,” Will said. He stretched out his legs and found someone’s ankle. Either Sebastian or Jericho’s, based on where they were sitting. He hooked his foot around them. Jericho’s lips curled, so it was probably his. “The store-bought ones are thicker than I prefer, and homemade anything always tastes better.”

Will’s mum and dad had used food as their love language, and dinner was the one time of the day that was sacred to them. Most nights growing up, they’d all cooked together, a family ritual, with Will and his siblings helping. It was an important part of their day, and it had been where Will’s love of food had begun.

“And you decided to join the police force?” Jericho asked.

“Missed my calling, did I?” Will asked, grinning. He’d thought about it, of course. He loved food, and he loved making it. But loving something and doing it as a job were two different things. And he loved the work that he did and the difference it made. When he closed his eyes, he couldn’t imagine himself in a kitchen full-time. “Sometimes I help out my brother, Aubrey, at his bar. He randomly decides to serve food some nights. Depends on his mood and who’s on shift.”

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