“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Grey said softly. He felt awful about involving Cort in his mess. “I shouldn’t have let you come here at all.”
“I’m the one who insisted on going on that little outing. If I’d just stayed here…”
“I’m not so sure here is as safe as I thought now. Not with that guy coming in with a gun. But I didn’t know the pestilents would send people in—they haven’t in the past.” Here he was, telling Cort to stay, and the place wasn’t really the sanctuary it once was.
“I’m not blaming you, Grey.” Cort patted his hand. “I’ll just make a few calls, get my clients covered, and see about that emergency leave. I’ll take Lucien to my place to get a few things. It’ll be okay.”
But Grey had a feeling it wouldn’t be. He felt like shit pulling Cort into his mess and nothing would make him feel better about that. He squeezed Cort’s arm, then let go, once again missing the touch.
“Might as well get this over with,” Cort muttered as he passed Grey and walked into the kitchen.
“Stay safe, Cort.”
“I will. I’ll have a magic Weaver with me.” He gave a small laugh. “Damn, that sounds crazy.”
He was still muttering something under his breath as he left.
Grey stood in the living room, staring into the darkness and worrying. He wouldn’t relax until Cort was back.Chapter 9Cort met Lucien in front of the house, and surprisingly, the Fire Weaver wasn’t by his little sports car. He was standing beside Dane’s SUV. He’d showered, the scent of a spicy aftershave on the wind. He’d also changed into different pair of jeans and a dark-blue cotton shirt that hugged all his muscles as they ghosted down his flat stomach. Lucien Cummings was handsome, but he didn’t appeal to Cort in the slightest. Not when he thought about the grumpy, worried man waiting for him in his garage apartment. There was something about the way Grey smiled, the things that he said, and how he’d been willing to risk his life to keep Cort safe that just wrapped around Cort’s soul. For all his grumbling and general grouchiness, Grey Ackles was selfless and caring.
“No Porsche?” Cort teased.
Lucien gave a little roll of his eyes as he jiggled his keys in the palm of his hand. “My baby doesn’t have a lot of trunk space, and I wasn’t sure how much you’d want to bring back with you,” he admitted.
“While I appreciate the offer to stay, I’m hoping it won’t be for too long. I shouldn’t need a lot,” Cort replied.
There was no missing Lucien’s frown as he wordlessly pushed away from where he’d been leaning against the SUV and walked around to the driver’s side. Cort picked up his pace a little and climbed into the passenger seat. He grabbed the seat belt with his right hand but locked his gaze on Lucien. “Is it the offer to stay or the length of the stay?”
Lucien’s eyes widened as he stopped in the process of putting the key in the ignition. “Oh, you’re totally welcome to stay. Trust me, we’re happy to have you here. You’re the only one who knows what he’s doing when it comes to Grey. The rest of us are afraid of breaking him.”
Cort snorted. “Seriously? You’re afraid of breaking Grey?”
With a shrug of one shoulder, Lucien started the SUV while Cort finished buckling himself in. “He was incredibly depressed when he ended up blind. No one blamed him, of course. He wouldn’t leave his apartment, wouldn’t talk to any of us. He just closed up—not that he was all that chatty about himself in the first place.” Lucien paused and rubbed his hand across his bald head and looked over at Cort. “It’s like he can get us all to talk to him because he can…er…well, he could see through all our bullshit and get at the truth, but when it comes to him talking…”
“He holds back,” Cort finished.
“Yeah, but not with you. He talks to you. He smiles and laughs, makes jokes with you. If you leave, we’re sure he’ll stop again, and we’ll break what’s left of him.” Lucien threw the SUV into reverse and pulled out of the parking spot in front of the garage. He turned the vehicle around and headed down the driveway.
“I think Grey is a lot tougher than anyone is giving him credit for,” Cort murmured.
“There’s no question that he’s tough. Smart too. But he’s stubborn as hell. If he doesn’t want to talk to us, he’s not going to do it.”
Cort found himself smiling as he gazed out the window at the passing greenery that was starting to become so familiar. He’d spent way more hours here than he’d ever expected. There had been the lessons, but he’d stayed for meals and simply socialized with Grey and his friends. He hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself, but he’d felt comfortable around these strange men almost from the beginning. There were a few small things that gnawed at the back of his brain, but largely it was a warm, welcoming group.