Run From Me (Barbed Wire Hearts #2)

1. Xander

ONE

xander

Rylee and Cas looked so sweet my fucking teeth hurt. Winnie dabbed at her eyes as Cas kissed his bride.

Courthouse wedding, check. Low-profile enough not to get any of us shot, check.

The party later? Security would be tight, and for once, I wasn’t the one at the door.

A healthy dose of paranoia had Zeid and me glancing at all doors all the time. If this weren’t Rylee standing up with Cas, I’d probably have talked him out of this shit. I did better with funerals. And thinking of the dead, I checked my watch.

How long had it been since I’d talked to Cali? What a request. Take her to the reception. Sure. Okay. Then nothing, no messages about when to get her for the reception. And nothing about the mayor, either.

I’d have to assume he wasn’t on her agenda for the night. It was fine. I hadn’t exactly expected him to end up on ice today either. Winnie stood on Rylee’s side, looking ever the matriarch of this band of violent fucks. One big happy disaster of a family. I wasn’t going to get all the feels. I refused. I really needed to go beat something.

Rylee and Cas kissed again before sealing the deal with a piece of paper. Back to reality. This mayor shit was really cramping our style. I should force Cali to get him on the table sooner rather than later. We needed answers. Enough of this wild goose chase shit. We lived for the chase, but enough was enough.

I sighed as Cas and Rylee smiled at each other.

Huh. I guess his face didn’t crack. Good to know.

What about my little promise? Was that going to make me crack? I wouldn’t think much about that request of hers. A date to the reception. I asked for a favor, and she asked for one back. Maybe it was the idea of walking into a nest of Spectors? The girl had balls doing what she did all day. All those long-since-dead bodies gave me the creeps. I really preferred them fresh and less bloated.

Thank god this was quick. Too bad I still couldn’t keep my mind on my best friend and his girl. My mind just kept going back to a little spitfire of a thing. Cali could hold her own, that was for sure. I’d never underestimate Cali in a fight.

“Put that away,” Zeid said from behind me.

I’d absentmindedly been flipping my butterfly knife open and closed to deal with the energy I couldn’t blow off at the ring tonight.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

With the knife away, I was still in this holding pattern. I guess I could just swing by the county morgue and check in on her.

Focus. I needed to focus on the wedding.

I scratched at the smooth skin of my chin. I’d even shaved for this shit. Yeah, I was a real best friend.

I smiled at Cas as he looked over his shoulder.

“Ready?”

I nodded toward the doors that were still working their way back to closed.

“Zeid’s got the Escalade waiting for you two lovebirds.”

Rylee giggled as Cas picked her up in his arms, kissing her again.

“Look, I’m glad you two finally got your shit together, but you need to tone down this PDA when she moves in. I’ll meet you two at the reception as soon as I get Cali.”

Rylee shot me a look over Cas’s shoulder.

“Why are you getting her?”

I shrugged as I hooked my thumbs in my pockets.

“She asked, and I accepted.”

I wanted to pretend like I could read her look, but shit.

“Rylee, take that look and bury it real deep. No more matchmaking. I asked for a favor and she asked for one back. Who am I to judge that she doesn’t want to show up to a reception all alone and whatever?”

She was about to open that adorable little mouth of hers, the one that seemed to have Cas so fucking whipped, but then he did something I couldn’t see and it had her nearly jumping out of his arms.

“Right, short stuff. You take care of my boy, and I’ll deal with biz.” I winked at her and headed in the direction of the Escalade. Winnie followed them. Good. Anyone important to me was safe for now.

Cas was off tonight, and that meant I would make sure he didn’t need to worry about a damn thing. How many damn years in the making had this been? Too many. Zeid and I had known from the start Rylee was his kryptonite. Who the fuck knew who ours would be? Probably for the best, and, a little, I hoped we never found out.

I did have a thing for hazel eyes right now, though.

Zeid’s hand landed on my shoulder.

“Any word on the mayor?”

I turned back and shook my head. I was so distracted I hadn’t even heard Zeid come up behind me.

He didn’t say much, but the muscle in his cheek twitched as he turned back to where Cas was helping Rylee in the SUV.

“Lucky SOB, isn’t he?” I said, pulling out a toothpick and putting it in my mouth. I had my own addictions and none of them would ever be drugs. I would never fall prey to that shit. For now, the toothpick kept my mouth busy from running it or trying to smoke something.

Zeid was quiet, but then again, when wasn’t he?

“Yeah. It’s going to be strange having a girl at the apartment. Thank god we sprang for that noise proofing insulation between floors.” I chuckled at my own joke that really wasn’t funny. We didn’t exactly welcome change, not when it came to our inner circle.

The silence was deafening, and that said a lot in the city.

“Yeah. Well, I’m going to grab Rylee’s friend Cali. See you in ten.”

“I’ll take them to Enigma, and then I should go check for any night drops before the party. I’d hate to let evidence just chill where we sleep.”

He gave me a nod and headed back toward them. I took a step back toward my car.

“Xander, wait for me.”

I stopped and watched as Winnie ran her little old lady ass toward me.

“Xander, be a dear. Will you take me back to the Dove on your way home? I’d like to pretend the years aren’t catching up to me, but, well, one never knows how long they really have. Trip used to have a car like yours, and I’d love a good drive down memory lane.”

She held my hand as I helped her into the classic Mustang. The one thing I’d kept through the years, and the one thing I refused to get rid of. She—the Mustang—reminded me of just how bad shit could get.

“Anything for you, Miss Winnie. We owe you more than can be paid back in a lifetime.”

She smiled up at me and patted my face as she got in.

“If you boys can all look as happy as my Caspian, I think that would be thanks enough. Now, get me home before I turn into a pumpkin.”

I ran to the other side and started the engine.

“You aren’t coming to the reception?” I asked her as I settled into the driver’s seat.

She shook her head, and it was the first time I noticed just how tired she looked.

“You feeling okay, Miss Winnie?”

She sighed. “I’m fine. I’m just too old for parties that the Spectors put on. You go and enjoy and celebrate for me. I got to see the part that matters.”

I headed back toward our territory, still not loving city hall sitting far too close to anyone but us, really. It had been over an hour, and Cali still hadn’t sent me her address. Maybe she just lived at the morgue. I imagine with anyone crazy enough to enjoy putting hearts in jars, anything was possible. I guess I could just head back over there.

I got lost in my head as Winnie let the breeze from the open windows fill the car. If only life were always this simple.

I really shouldn’t give this whole Calliope thing any more thought. It was her request, not mine. I just wanted the deets on a dead guy.

Hot as she was, I wasn’t even sure I wanted that brand of crazy. I wasn’t sure her brand was the kind I’d be walking away from unscathed.

“Xander? Slow down a bit, dear. You’ve been awfully quiet. Whatever is going on in that head of yours, you better always stop by and keep me updated. Without Rylee next door, I’m afraid no one will be stalking me for a bit.”

I laughed.

“Ah, come on, Winnie. You know we always stalk you for food. Fuck, if I have to cook breakfast—” She slapped me. “Ouch. I swear you never grow old. That was quite the punch.”

“You watch your mouth. I didn’t raise you three with words like that. Go kill someone, but don’t you dare swear in front of me,” she said and chuckled.

I came to a stop outside her building and got out. Cas would kill me if I let her walk herself to her door. The security around here had been increased and improved. There were two guards placed inside the shop now too, just in case. Maybe Winnie wasn’t exactly in danger anymore, but it would still break us if we lost her.

“Well, I hope whoever you are waiting for gets back to you soon. Enjoy your night, Xander. I love you like a grandson. Don’t ever forget that,” Winnie said before, hugging me like no one had ever done except her. I suppose if I didn’t get a good family, at least I got her and the Spectors.

“Thanks, Miss Winnie. Love you too.”

Once her door was securely locked, and I knew it was because I yanked on it myself, I headed back to my car. All this shit with Rylee was really starting to dig up some shit memories from back then, and I didn’t like it. I needed to focus on the here and now.

Problem was, the Spectors weren’t really the only shadows in my present or my past. I had demons, and I’d spent years trying to drown them.

My phone beeped.

Zeid.

I needed to get to the reception before he started to think I’d been picked off. But first? I had a rainbow-haired coroner to go check in on. I always kept my promises.