He opened his arms with a wide grin. “Come here.” She flew into his embrace, and he glanced at Nick over her head. “There’s someone I want you to meet downstairs, Michelle. My mother.”
Michelle looked momentarily concerned, but Alec didn’t give her a chance to say anything. “Mama Holt’s dying for some more people to mother, Michelle. Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m throwing you under the train that is Nancy Holt. If I don’t, she’ll be up here trying to find me a wife.”
“Oh, God forbid.” Nick sipped the coffee and grimaced. It was terrible. “She’s sweet, Michelle. You can practice your conversational French with her.”
“Okay.” Michelle slipped her hand into Aaron’s, and he led her out the door, leaving Nick and Alec to face Jackson.
Alec dropped back into his chair. “I’m thinking we should bundle your mother off to the safe house with them, Jackson. Keep her out of trouble and give Michelle someone to look after her who isn’t a nervous daddy trained in deadly combat.”
Jackson looked down at his own injured leg. “Mackenzie and I could go too. Just in case.”
“Well, yeah. But if I’d told you to go, you would have dug your stubborn ass in and refused.”
Jackson glanced at Nick, who shrugged. “He’s got a point.” She ignored Jackson’s disgusted noise and gave him a serious look in return. “I need your help. I need you to make sure no one busts through all of Alec’s security. To keep my sister and her baby safe.”
He scratched the back of his head. “Which safe house is it, Alec?”
Somehow Nick wasn’t surprised Alec had more than one. “I was thinking the one out in the bayou,” he said, tilting his chair back. “It’s not the nicest, but it’s got the strongest wards. Now that Michelle’s gone, Conclave doesn’t work with anyone strong enough to break them.”
“I’ll see if I can’t bolster them too. If I’m going to have Mama out there…” Jackson took Nick’s cup and drained it. “Jesus Christ, that’s awful.”
Nick took the mug back and tossed it in the sink. “Aaron must have brewed it. He’s always made crappy coffee.”
Alec cut through the small talk with characteristic bluntness. “Jackson, what happens to pregnant spell casters? Their magic goes to hell, doesn’t it?”
“I thought I noticed something different about Michelle.” Jackson nodded. “‘Necessary neutralization’ is what they call it. Resources are diverted to the baby, even magical ones. Most women end up with little to no control, just—”
“Automatic defensive measures,” Nick finished. “Which won’t hurt her or the baby, but could be dangerous for bystanders.”
“Shit.” Alec scratched at his beard, his eyes focused on the floor. “Can we assume she’s not going to do anything to hurt friends and loved ones, or is it open season if she gets startled?”
Jackson dug through the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. “Honestly? It’s probably no big deal unless there’s real danger. Then who the hell knows? She could take out everyone, just trying to eliminate the real threat.”
“Well, fuck. Maybe we shouldn’t have your mama in the house with her.”
He popped open the can. “It’ll be fine if I’m there.”
Nick hopped up to sit on the counter. “When can we get them out there? Like you said last night, Alec, this is the first place they’ll look.”
“Shit, as soon as they get something to eat. Jackson and I can take care of that, though.” Alec pointed a finger at her. “You have something else to do, young lady. Derek’s going to lose his everloving mind if you don’t talk to him.”
“I’m not putting it off, I swear.” Even through her nervousness, she was eager to see him again. “I just want to make sure Michelle and Aaron are safe before I run off to fix my love life.”
Jackson finished his soda. “It could use some fixing, Nicky.”
“It’s not just your love life,” Alec corrected sternly. “You’re way past that, kiddo. That guy’s dominant as hell and feels like you’re in danger. If you don’t want him getting himself and some of us killed, deal with it.”
For a horrible moment, she couldn’t breathe. The thought of Derek hurt or worse… “I’m going to handle it. Now.”
Jackson tapped his empty can against the counter, then tossed it in the recycling bin. “I’ll go round everybody up.”
Alec waited until the door closed behind Jackson and shot Nick a serious look. “Don’t try to protect him, Nick. He may not have your experience, but he’s smart and he’s tough, and I’ve taught him a lot in the past two years. He can help.”
Derek’s strength had been one of the first things that had drawn her to him, even before the attack that had cost him his human existence. “I wouldn’t have sent him away last night if I hadn’t needed to, Alec. But I couldn’t deal with it all. Maybe that makes me weak or something, but I couldn’t do it.” She shrugged. “One of the things I realized is that I need his help.”
Oddly, Alec smiled. “You’re growing up, kiddo. Sort of sucks, huh?”
“Christ.” Nick rolled her eyes at him. “Get out of here before I decide to make your life hell by trying to find you a wife.”
If Nick guessed he was already on his way over when she called, she was polite enough not to mention it. He arrived at the bar three and a half minutes after hanging up and gave her a sheepish smile. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She shoved several plastic cards into her back pocket and grabbed her cell phone and keys from the bar. “Can you help me with something?”
“Sure. Need a ride somewhere?”
“I need to go to my place, pick up some things for Michelle and then maybe go shopping.”
He pulled the door open for her and gestured to the beat-up truck parked behind the bar. “Posh it’s not, but it’ll get us around.”
“Mackenzie took my car. She and Jackson are staying with Aaron and Michelle and…” Her words trailed off, and she turned to him. “Thank you, Derek. For what you did last night, and for helping me now. And…just everything.”
He didn’t remember moving, but in the next second he had her nestled against his chest, his arms around her. “Shh. I’m here, for anything.”
She reached up and slid her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “We need to talk too. I should explain things to you.”
“There’s time, Nick. I don’t want to be pushy and make it harder, I just need to be around.”
She flashed him a self-deprecating smile. “I can’t imagine how nuts I’d be if you were going through something like this. I promise to try and keep you in the loop, Derek.”
“That’s good enough for me.” He gave in to temptation and leaned down to kiss her, avoiding her lips at the last minute out of sheer self-preservation. He brushed his lips over her cheek and pulled away. “Come on. Let’s go.”
She gave him concise directions, and they spent the short drive to her house in silence. Nick seemed edgy, almost anxious, and he could hear her heart pounding over the rumbling of the truck’s engine.
She had her keys out by the time he pulled up to the curb. “Do you want some tea or a soda? Coffee?”
“Coffee would be good.” He parked the truck and shot her an amused look. “Kat had a fit at me this morning and kicked me out. Andrew, who also spent the night being an overprotective jackass, got to stay because he made her breakfast.”
That prompted a laugh as she reached for the door handle. “He got to stay because she wants to see him naked.”
If he never had to hear about Andrew and sex again, he’d die a happy man. “I don’t think she’s going to get that. Andrew’s got some screwed-up thing in his head about Kat not liking him if she really gets to know him.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Yeah, well…” He grinned and followed her through the front door. “You girls make us boys sort of stupid.”
Her keys clattered on the counter as she reached for the coffee pot. “You boys turn us into idiots too.” She eyed him while she started the coffee. “I have a lot of stuff to tell you. About how I grew up. About the way things are.”