“Watch who the fuck you’re talkin’ to while you’re at it,” Misael added. “There ain’t shit you have to say to Cora that she wants to hear, get me?”
Marissa blinked. She was partially obscured from view by the three boys between us, but I could see several expressions flit over her face as she tried to come up with a response.
I could see her reaching for entitlement and superiority, but she seemed to be having a hard time latching onto them in the face of the sheer intimidating presence of these three boys. Finally, she shot a glance at me, then scoffed derisively and walked away—a little bit faster than she needed to.
Suppressing a grin at the fear she couldn’t quite hide, I poked Kace in the back. “You guys didn’t have to do that. I have her handled.”
He looked over his shoulder at me, his moss-green eyes blazing with fierce pride. “Oh, we know that, Princess. Just figured we’d save your right hook for another day.”
The other boys both laughed, and he draped an arm around my shoulder as they led me toward their car. We got in quickly, and as soon as we pulled away from the school, I looked around at all of them.
“So, where are going?”
“One guess.” Misael grinned.
I rolled my eyes. “Nathaniel’s?”
“Got it on the first try.”
I laughed. The truth was, I didn’t mind going to Nathaniel Ward’s place. It was certainly more comfortable than going back to my own house, where tension choked the air constantly. For such a massive place, my parents’ house somehow managed to feel incredibly claustrophobic.
And honestly, I would’ve gone anywhere as long as it meant I got to be with the Lost Boys. It had been way too long since I’d seen them, and my body buzzed with joyful energy just being in the same space as the three of them.
When we arrived at Nathaniel’s place thirty minutes later, the butler didn’t bring us up to the office as usual. Instead, he escorted us deeper into the house on the first floor, stopping in a large sitting room. Nathaniel was sitting in a chair near an ornate fireplace, and Josephine perched on one arm of the chair.
His arm was draped possessively around her waist, and she had her head bowed, speaking low into his ear. Whatever she said made him smile, and it wasn’t an expression I’d ever seen him wear before. It made him look almost boyish.
The butler nodded to us and slipped out, and I wished he would’ve walked with a heavier step or announced our presence or something—although I was sure the fact that he didn’t was due to the fact that the Lost Boys had become regular fixtures around here. But when Josephine and Nathaniel got wrapped up in the bubble of each other, it was hard not to feel like an intruder on a private moment.
Is that what I’m like with my boys?
Probably. When I was with them, the rest of the world often seemed to fade away, becoming nothing more than a dull blur in the background. I didn’t notice or care if we drew stares. None of that mattered.
Bishop stepped forward, and as he did, the couple looked up at us. Josephine’s gaze landed on me, and she smiled brightly. Nathaniel nodded approvingly at the men.
“Good. I’m glad you’re here. Claudio Vega will be coming for dinner this evening, and he requested that you three be there.” His gaze shifted to me. “You as well, Ms. Van Rensselaer, if you’d like.”
“Um, sure.”
I grinned. I liked being included in the Lost Boys’ lives, and I could have dinner and still not get home too late. Maybe I was a little stir-crazy from having been locked up for three weeks, but it felt fucking amazing to be out of my parents’ house.
“You’ll need something to wear.” Josephine rose from the arm of the chair in a graceful movement. “We’re close to the same size. Come with me. I’ll find something for you.”
I cast a glance at my three boys, and they all nodded. It wasn’t that I distrusted Josephine, although her husband still intimidated the hell out of me. But this was the boys’ world, and I trusted their judgement on these things. They all seemed comfortable with the idea of me staying, probably because our first meeting with Claudio had gone well.
“Sure,” I said, turning back to Josephine. “Thanks.”
“Of course.”
She headed for the door, gesturing for me to follow her. Then she led me up the stairs, turning in the opposite direction from Nathaniel’s office. When she stepped inside what I was pretty sure was their bedroom, I hesitated, chewing my lip.
“It’s alright. I won’t bite.”
She chuckled, and I shook my head, laughing at myself. “Right. Sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” She smiled at me, then crossed to her closet and began rifling through it. She shot a look over her shoulder at me. “How are things at home? The boys missed you these past few weeks.”
My heart thudded unevenly against my ribs. If Josephine had noticed my absence in their lives and observed that the boys missed me, it must’ve been pretty fucking obvious. The time apart had been torture for me, and I hated to think of them in pain too.