Black Dagger Brotherhood 11 - Lover at Last

corners. The smell was god-awful, a nasty combination of gas, burned plastic, and fresh blood—and every time he put a hand down, it fluffed up the residue from the air bags’ powder.
    But it was worth all the pseudo yoga positions.
    He emerged with a pair of iPhones.
    “I hate these things,” V muttered as he put his glove back on and took the matched set.
    Returning to the relatively fresh air, Qhuinn caught his breath and cracked his neck, then jumped down again. There was some kind of conversating at that point, and he nodded a couple of times like he knew what the fuck was being said.
    “Listen, you mind if I take a T.O. and check in for a sec,” he interjected.
    V’s diamond eyes narrowed. “With who?”
    Right on cue, John jumped in, asking about the Hummer and its rehab plan—like somebody waving a torch in front of a T. rex to redirect it. As V started talking about the SUV’s future as lawn sculpture, Qhuinn nearly blew a kiss at his buddy.
    No one knew about Layla except for John and Blay—and things needed to stay that way during this early period.
    As Qhuinn was John’s
ahstrux nohtrum
, he couldn’t go far—and he didn’t. He eased on over to the door Blay had put to good use and got out his phone. As he dialed one of the house extensions and waited through the rings, he stared at his ruined vehicle.
    He could remember the night he got the damn thing. Although his parents had had money, they hadn’t felt a great burning need to provide for him as they had for his brother and sister. Before his transition, he’d gotten by selling red smoke on the sly, but he hadn’t done a huge amount of traffic—just enough to close the gap of his paltry allowance, and keep from mooching off Blay all the time.
    The cash crunch had ended as soon as he’d been promoted to John’s personal guard. His new job had come with a serious salary—seventy-five grand a year. And considering he didn’t pay taxes to the bullshit human government, and his room and board were paid for, he had a lot of green leftover.
    The Hummer had been his first big purchase. He’d done his research on the Internet, but the truth was, he’d already known what he wanted. Fritz had gone out and done the negotiating and the official purchasing…and that first time Qhuinn had gotten behind the wheel, cranked the key, and felt the rumble under the hood, he’d nearly teared up like a pussy.
    Now it was ruined: He was hardly a mechanic, but the structural damage was so severe, it just made no sense to save it—
    “Hello?”
    The sound of Layla’s voice snapped him back to attention. “Hey. I’m just back. How you feeling?”
    The precise enunciation that came back at him reminded him of his parents, every word perfectly pronounced and chosen with care. “I am well, thank you very much. I have rested and watched television, as you suggested. They had a
Million Dollar Listing
marathon.”
    “What the hell is that?”
    “A show where they sell houses in Los Angeles—I thought for a little bit that it was fiction, but it turns out it’s a reality show? I thought they made it all up. Madison has great hair—and I like Josh Flagg. He’s rather shrewd and very kind to his grandmother.”
    He asked her a couple more questions, like what had she eaten and had she taken a nap, just to keep her talking—because in between the syllables, he was looking for clues of discomfort or worry.
    “So you’re okay,” he said.
    “Yes, and before you ask, I have already requested that Fritz bring me up Last Meal. And yes, I will eat all my roast beef.”
    He frowned, not wanting her to feel caged. “Listen, it’s not just for the young’s sake. It’s also for yours. I want you to be well, you know?”
    Her voice dropped a little. “You have always been thus. Even before we…yes, you have only ever wanted the best for me.”
    Focusing on the car door he’d busted, he thought of how good it had felt to kick the shit out of something. “Well, my plan is to hit the gym for a while. I’ll check on you again before I crash, ’kay?”
    “All right. Be well.”
    “You, too.”
    As he hung up, he realized V had stopped talking and was looking over at him like maybe something was way off—hair on fire, pants around the ankles, eyebrows shaved.
    “You got yourself a female there, Qhuinn?” the Brother drawled.
    Qhuinn looked around for a life raft, and got a whole lot of nothing. “Ah…”
    V exhaled over his shoulder and came