Amy Blankenship - Dangerous Things стр 8.

*****

Envy and Devon were waiting at the bar when the first people started trickling in for the meeting. She and Kat were busy talking and trying to finish catching up on everything that happened while Devon and Quinn merely stood back and stared at them with a quirked eyebrow.

“What language are they speaking again?” Devon asked.

“There isn’t a name for it,” Quinn stated. “It is a ritual females partake in quite regularly. It starts out innocent then, before we know it, they’re out shopping and we’re stuck outside the changing rooms holding their purses.”

“You’re also stuck holding the bag while she goes inside girly stores and buys lingerie that you’re not allowed to see until your anniversary,” Nick chimed in with a smirk.

Warren clapped his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Trust me little bro, you’ll happily hold those bags when the time comes.”

A pair of arms wrapped around Warren’s neck from behind and Michael’s face popped in between them. “Does that mean you’re taking me shopping?”

“Of course,” Warren said with a smirk. “I’ll take you to that bondage shop you like so much.”

Michael’s expression became dreamy. “Oh yes, whips, chains, stirrups, riding crops… leather.”

“What the…” Nick suddenly stood up and moved away from them making Devon snort.

“Homophobe,” Devon muttered.

“Shut up!” Nick growled, “They’re either very good liars or it’s disturbingly true.”

The door opened and Steven stepped in with Alicia and Jewel. Alicia had gone through her closet and found a nice purple sundress for Jewel to wear until she could get some more clothes. Luckily, they were roughly the same size and height so Jewel would be able to make due for now. Alicia had also told Steven that until he could get Jewel more clothing, Jewel was welcome to raid her closet as much as she liked.

Steven immediately stepped over to where Quinn and Devon were sitting with Nick at a table directly across from Kat’s bartending area.

“We’re not late I see.” Steven said smiling inwardly when he saw Jewel smile at Alicia. He realized he hadn’t seen her smile until now and he instantly felt a loss when it slid from her lips.

Warren looked around, “Actually I think everyone is here.”

“Not quite,” Envy said. “We’re still waiting on Chad.”

At that exact moment the doors swung open and Chad walked in with Trevor and Zachary behind him.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Devon demanded as he stood up.

“Chad’s a cop,” Envy reminded him. “He already knows some of what’s going on and he saw the tail end of what happened at the cemetery. He’s in whether he wanted to be or not. Besides,” she continued, “he’ll be able to keep the cops off your back for a while.”

“I wasn’t referring to your brother,” Devon’s voice had taken on a dangerous edge.

Kat nodded, seeing that Envy was getting ready to mistakenly take up for Trevor as well. Not wanting a full out battle royale to take place, she stepped away from the bar to put herself in their path.

“Trevor can stay too,” she said firmly and crossed her arms over her chest. “After all… he does play well with others.” Kat finished with a wink to the blonde man who gave her a mock salute.

Quinn stood up from his chair and walked over to Kat, putting his arm around her waist to pull her closer. “I’m going to have to keep an eye on you… aren’t I?” he murmured playfully, but the look in his eyes told a different story.

“Can we just get on with it?” Kane asked from the shadows.

Everyone except Michael jumped at the voice. He’d been so quiet no one knew he was there.

“Agreed,” Warren stated. “I think everyone knows why we’re here.” He looked at Chad who nodded once to indicate he understood before moving his gaze to Trevor and Zachary. “Before we go into what happened at the cemetery, I have a question for Trevor.”

Trevor narrowed his eyes, “Like what?”

“What the hell are you?” Devon asked interrupting Warren.

“I’m a shifter just like most of the people here,” Trevor answered.

Kane snorted in the shadows making everyone look his way.

“Do you know something about him?” Envy demanded. It wasn’t like she would take Trevor's word for anything… he’d already proven what a great liar he was.

“I might, but you’ll have to be really nice to me if you want to know,” Kane said with amusement in his voice. He would have blamed his moodiness on getting up on the wrong side of the bed, but hell… he hadn’t been asleep.

Devon was on his feet and had Kane hoisted into the air by the lapels of his jacket. “I think we’re done with being nice,” the jaguar growled.

Kane smirked down at the shifter, “Aw, that’s too bad. I already told my puppy what a sweetheart you were and he was so happy about meeting a new playmate.” They both knew who the loser would be if they decided to tangle… and it wasn’t the kitty cat.

“Your puppy?” Jewel asked, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of something cute and cuddly. Her lip twitched at the thought of a dog among all the cats in the room.

“It’s an oversized dust bunny,” Michael grumbled.

Warren pinched the bridge of his nose and Quinn had to fight to keep from laughing at his jaguar brother-in-law.

“Devon, put Kane down and get your ass in a chair,” Warren rumbled. “We’ll finish the discussion about Trevor later.”

Nick, Devon, and Kat all looked at Warren with wide eyes. If the average person didn’t know Warren, they would have missed it. Warren was excited about the prospect of a new shifter in the area and he wanted to learn more about the unknown breed.

Devon put Kane back on his feet and stomped back over to his chair next to Warren. The doors opened and Kriss walked in with Tabatha latched onto his arm. Devon let a slow smile grace his lips as he glared toward the blond vampire. He might not be able to put Kane in his place, but the man that just walked in could and he knew Kriss had no love for the reformed vampire.

“Are we late?” Tabatha asked happy that she’d won the argument with Kriss to come to the meeting. Some times Kriss could be just a touch over protective… a hard touch.

“No, you’re right on time,” Envy said. “We haven’t even really started yet.”

Tabatha joined the women at the bar and took a seat while Kriss stopped near Chad.

Kane’s heart leapt into his throat when Tabatha walked in and he had to fight the urge to grab her up in his arms and take her away from here. He stepped back further into the shadows so that only his silhouette could barely be seen. His eyes drifted toward the fallen and he inwardly cringed at the glare he was getting from the man.

“We need to learn more about this demon that’s been trapped in the cemetery,” Warren continued. “We need to know what it looks like and since Dean’s absent, Kane is the only one here who's seen it.”

Kane had taken out a cigarette and flipped open his lighter. The light illuminated his face for a moment so they could see how troubled his eyes were.