My heart swelled at his words. I had a place here? “I thought you barely tolerated me.”
Damyr smiled fondly. “To be honest, when your sister said she was sending you to us to help with the Silas Situation, I wasn’t best pleased. But then, I’d only known you as the troublemaker who rubbed Acheron the wrong way.”
“I still rub Acheron the wrong way.”
He laughed, a low and breathy sound full of amusement. “Yes, but I’ve come to know you better and my Benji is very fond of you.”
His eyes warmed at the mention of his husband, and it was clear he was very deeply in love.
“I worry that it won’t be enough for him. That I won’t be enough,” I said, my confession loud in the small room.
Damyr stepped closer and pressed a hand on my shoulder. “If it helps, I’ve never seen Byron this way. He seems… besotted. In only the way a psychopath can be. You’re a full-blown obsession for him. Part of me worries it will be too much for you, but I think that’s where Bishop comes in. He balances Byron in a way that I could never understand.”
“What do you mean?”
He pursed his lips and cocked his head to one side, deep in thought for a moment. “He used to watch his twin on his phone when they were separated. I always knew when he’d be going to physically see him because he’d get twitchier. More agitated. He’d go away for a week, and when he came back, he’d be his usual calm self. I know he can be volatile and impulsive.” His eyes dropped to the tattoo on my neck. “But I think he cares deeply about things that matter to him. You matter to him; just make sure you don’t get lost in his obsession somewhere. I’ll be here if you ever need anything, Wilder. You have my word.”
I nodded, too stunned to reply. The ground felt unsteady beneath my feet. Like the world had shifted without me evennoticing. Suddenly, I’d gone from having nothing to having a protector, and a place I’d truly belonged. I hadn’t even noticed that it had happened.
“Thank you, Damyr. That means more than I could ever say.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, his smile soft and welcoming. He’d changed a lot in the time I’d known him and I knew that was because of Benji. They’d found each other at the right time, and they’d become the best versions of themselves together. Perhaps that’s what Byron and I would do for each other.
Chapter Nineteen
Byron
The warehouse loomed in the distance as Wilder and I sat and watched the men from the comfort of the blacked-out SUV. This one was mine, not Damyr’s. He’d finally figured out to lock all his keys away—not that it would stop me from stealing his cars. But I’d give him a reprieve.
For now.
I’d parked us some distance away and brought binoculars like this was some old-school police stake-out.
I’d thought about leaving Wilder at home but part of me didn’t want to be away from him and the other part hadn’t had the willingness to refuse him. I wasn’t sure being here was going to do him any good, but at the first sign of him being uncomfortable, we were going to leave and go home. I didn’t care if Damyr wanted answers, Wilder was my priority.
There wasn’t much happening over there. I could make out a couple of bodies walking around the outside of the building, but I had no idea what was in there. “Want to go inside?”
Wilder’s head flicked towards me, shock widening his pupils. “What?”
I didn’t like how withdrawn he’d become since his conversation with Damyr earlier. He’d disappeared into the safety of his mind, overthinking everything as usual. But at least his hood was down. That meant he was comfortable enough in the space with me that he didn’t feel like he needed to hide away.
“I want to take a look inside the warehouse. Doesn’t seem to be too much security around the place. Aren’t you curious?”
He turned to look out of the car window again, his eyes watching the building down the street. “Sure. What have we got to lose?”
I snorted. “Only our lives, but I don’t think it’ll come to that. Come on, let’s go see what we can find.”
Wilder was silent as he got out of the car. He pulled the collar of his coat up and put a dark beanie on. I didn’t like the way he covered his hair, but it was chilly out tonight. There was a strand of hair that he’d missed tucking under the hat, so I reached out and brushed it back under the edge, tugging the hat further down his ears to keep warm.
“You stay close to me and do everything I say. I mean it, Wilder.”
He nodded, his head bobbing a few times like he was buying himself some time to refuse, but he replied with, “Yeah. Of course.”
I cupped his jaw in my hands and grinned at him. “Let’s go have some fun.”
Wilder huffed a laugh and smiled back which settled something jittery in my stomach. I’d never felt edgy heading into a target location before, but just having Wilder with me made me feel like I had something precious to lose.
“Okay, kitten. Let’s see what you’ve got,” he replied, and it fired me up in a way that made me want to show off. I grabbed his hand and dragged him behind me towards the building. We stayed low, skirting the shadows and keeping our footsteps quiet. I was impressed at how light on his feet Wilder was. If this was a success, perhaps we could make this a regular date night activity.