No, the problem wasn’t that he was stuck with them now that he’d agreed to keep them safe. The problem was he liked it. He liked them, liked knowing their routines. He liked being around Alex, who hated not having his gadgets, but had managed to find books on nanotechnology in airport stores.
Merek sensed a basic similarity between himself and the kid. They were both too watchful, too serious, too alone. And that was where Chloe came in, a mouthy, acerbic counterbalance to them both. Despite al her own baggage, she managed to remain optimistic that obstacles could be overcome. She was smart, brave, and when the chips were down, she fought. She survived. He admired that in anyone, let alone someone with a traumatized childhood. He just liked her.
Under other circumstances, he might have been able to convince himself it was just her body, just the chemistry they generated between the sheets, but the stolen moments they snatched for sex were buried under the time they spent just being together. He liked watching her tease Alex into laughing, liked flopping down in front of a television in whatever random hotel they happened to be in to watch some cheesy program, only to spend most of the time cracking up because not one of them could keep their sarcastic comments to themselves.
They were in danger; they were on the run.... At this point, they could al be wanted fugitives, and he wouldn’t know. Nothing about it should have been comfortable. He was ready to fal over from exhaustion and strain, but he couldn’t think of anywhere in the world he’d rather be than right here, or any other people he’d rather be with.
“This pizza is going to be cold before we eat it if you two don’t get a move on.” He shook his head to clear his wayward thoughts, and jumped when Ophelia dug her claws into his leg. He detached her from his flesh with a grunt, and petted her until she sighed and purred.
“Coming!” Chloe cal ed, and the way her voice echoed told him he was right and she was spreading her things out in the bathroom. His lips tugged in a reluctant grin.
Alex dragged in from his room, propping himself against the counter across from Merek. Cocking his head, he listened for something Merek couldn’t hear. His eyes squinted into an almost-smile. “We could just eat without her.”
At that second, Chloe appeared in her doorway. “Thanks a lot, brat.”
Alex just snorted a little laugh, grabbed the stack of paper plates from the pizza place, and divvied them up. Ophelia gave an imperious mew, and Alex obediently went to retrieve a can of food from Chloe’s suitcase. No doubt about it, the cat had them wel trained.
A giggle drew Merek’s attention to Chloe, who was shaking her head at her familiar. Her gaze met his, and they both grinned, then chuckled, then laughed until they were holding their sides. Alex came back, popped the top off the can, and set it in front of the cat. “What’d I miss?”
Chloe waved a hand helplessly in the air, and Merek had to grab it to keep her upright. “N-Nothing. It’s not even real y that funny.”
A fresh spate of laughter rol ed out of him, and he grabbed a napkin to wipe his eyes. “No, it’s just tension relief, and the fact that the cat has us at her beck and cal .”
The strangest look entered Alex’s eyes as his gaze went from the familiar, back to the bedroom door, and then down to stare at his hand as if it belonged to someone else. “Man, if the pack could see me now, a wolf playing fetch for a cat.”
And that just set them al off again.
“Oh, gods.” Chloe leaned weakly against Merek’s side, and he let himself enjoy the feel of her. “Okay, real y. We need to eat and get some sleep. We are way too giddy.”
“Even cold pizza and lukewarm lettuce sounds good to me right now.” Alex flipped open the first of four cardboard boxes, and handed Chloe the plastic container with the salad she’d insisted they get.
She forked a portion of greens onto everyone’s plate while the wolf served up gooey slices of combination pizza. Merek’s stomach rumbled like he hadn’t eaten in a month, but this was the first meal they’d had without tension humming through their muscles in days. They didn’t even bother sitting at the table, they just fel on their food like ravenous animals, and not even Chloe bothered to try to spark up a conversation.
When they’d cleaned their plates, and both Merek and Alex had gone back for thirds, the kid sighed with deep satisfaction.
“Exactly,” Merek said.
Chloe snorted and heaved herself away from his side. “Al right, let’s tidy up and hit the sack.”
Any other day, that would have been the most exciting thing she could say to him, but the exhaustion weighed down on his very bones now that his hunger had been satiated. Pushing to his feet, he grabbed the empty pizza and salad containers, while Chloe stuck the leftover slices in the fridge and Alex gathered the dirty plates and Ophelia’s empty can of cat food. Then he went rummaging through the cabinets with Chloe to try to find a garbage bag. The apartment was furnished, but besides that, supplies were limited.
A deep sigh echoed from the cabinet Chloe had her head in. “Looks like cold pizza for breakfast, and then we need a grocery store.”
Alex hummed an agreement. “Yeah, less fast food would be nice for a while. I’m getting sick of it.”
Eyebrows arching, Merek blinked at the wolf for a moment. “That’s got to be the first time in history a teenage boy has said that. You’re a mutant, kid.”
“Gee, thanks.” Alex actual y grinned at him.
Ignoring them both, Chloe continued rifling through the contents of the kitchen until she found what she was looking for. “Thank the gods there’s coffee here. Instant coffee, so it’l taste like tar mixed with drain cleaner, but it’l be caffeinated, so I don’t care.”
“What a trooper.” Alex gave her a one-armed hug, and she ruffled his hair, making Merek smile. Nice kid.
He hoped the boy grew up to be a better man than his father. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on Alex. And saw nothing. He bit back a curse, his muscles going rigid. It wasn’t the static-fuzzed picture he usual y saw when he looked at the wolf, but a huge blankness.
What the hel did that mean?
Only that the kid would be important to him. He sighed. The kid was already important to him. So was Chloe.
As always, frustration clawed at him that his gift denied him the ability to protect those who mattered the most to him. The future was his to shape and command unless it real y counted. Powerful and powerless at the same time. He fucking hated it. It was his job, his duty, to protect people using every weapon at his disposal. Bitterly ironic that what usual y made him so valuable in just these situations was completely beyond his recal or control. He shoved a hand through his hair and turned away, moving to double-check the doors and windows as wel as his magical shields.
Plastic rustled while Alex and Chloe stuffed the garbage in a bag, and then there was a long pause during which he could sense Alex speaking telepathical y to Chloe. Then his voice fil ed Merek’s mind. I’m headed for bed. Need anything before I go?
“No, thanks. Sleep wel .”
A chuckle rippled through his thoughts. No worries on that one.
Merek glanced back at Chloe, seeing only the woman and nothing of her future or past. He didn’t even have to try to harness his abilities with her. His muscles wound tighter as he faced her. “You should go, too.”
“Not just yet.” She leaned back against the counter, folded her arms, and met his eyes with her sharp hazel ones. “Why do you do that?”