Poison's Kiss (Deadly Beauties 2)

"I have to go deal with a fucking mess my crew has made. They got into it with a neighboring rival of ours, and now I've got to meet with the head to make peace. Gage should be back tomorrow. In the meantime, I've reached desperate measures and procured some help."

"Help to watch me like a child, you mean?"

He laughs lightly while nodding. "Yep. He should be here-" A knock at the hotel room door draws our attention. "Right now," he continues before walking over to greet the new babysitter.

I gasp when it opens to reveal Zee. So he goes from not trusting any of them to calling one over to baby-sit me.

"Am I late?" he chirps while tossing his bag to the floor.

"Right on time. You've got my number, so call me if anything seems even a little off."

"I will. Your dark user gave me the same instructions when he called me earlier."

"You talked to Gage?" I ask, a small lilt to my voice.

Zee nods, a thin smile forming. "It seems you're like royalty to some. Dray told me I'd better call him if the wind blew wrong. Care to explain why he's so taken with you?"

Thad laughs, knowing the curiosity plaguing Kane and his coven is eating them up.

"One day I might. So, you drew the short straw?" I ask while flopping down on the bed.

We've moved to a two bed bedroom since Gage is so freaked out about my safety. He must be terrified if he's been letting Thad stay with me.

"It was either me, Deke, Amy, or Sierra. Sierra and Deke had a stakeout to work, and I thought you might prefer me over Amy."

I noticed Kane wasn't even an option.

"Definitely not Amy. Is she still pissed about me breaking her arm?"

He accidentally laughs, proving he's not as attached to the wild thing as the others are.

"She is, but we all knew she had it coming."

Thad smirks as he walks over and kisses my forehead.

"Call me later. Let me know how you're feeling."

Essentially, he doesn't trust Zee as much as he wants me to believe, so he wants me to call him and let him hear my voice for himself so he can ensure my safety.

"I will. Be careful."

"Always. I'll bring you some socks," he says with a devious grin.

My eyes widen, realizing he's apparently been talking to Frankie again.

"You asshole!"

He bursts out laughing and rushes out the door before I can throw my shoe at his head.

"Socks?" Zee muses. "Is that a light user joke or something?"

I can feel the heat in my face, but I decide to shift the topic as opposed to letting the awkwardness settle in.

"Any sign of Castine or the person trying to set up Kane?"

His lips tighten as he drops to the bed beside him.

"No, none. Whoever is trying to fuck with Kane has a rude awakening coming. He's pissed. That's what he's doing tonight. He's actually here in Edgebrook, meeting up with a source."