Love & Stitches at The Asylum: Part Seventy-Eight
Happy Saturday!
Nonstop storms here, but the worst of them seem to have cleared up. Still, it's always the perfect weather to slip away with the men of The Asylum.
Only a few parts left of Love & Stitches, but there's more to come!
Make sure to sign up to the Newsletter so you don't miss a thing: https://www.subscribepage.com/j4m0q5
And jump in the group to chat or check out special sneak peeks.
Happy Reading!
****
There was nothing like that pure wonder, even if it was directed at something most would consider more than a little disturbing. Noah doubted anyone who got into this line of work didn’t have some interest in the macabre, so the barely contained excitement from Wren wouldn’t be so out of place here. Within these walls, his curiosity wouldn’t horrify anyone.
But some encouragement would be needed before he’d open up to someone new. That in mind, Noah moved to Wren’s other side, then glanced at the Coroner. “Will it disturb your work if I touch the…body?”
Wearing full PPE, the man, who was completely bald with slightly sagging jowls and kind brown eyes with thick dark lashes, glanced up at him. “Gloves on.” He nodded to a box that hung on the wall. “I could use assistance holding his jaw steady once I pry it open.”
After grabbing a pair of gloves for himself, and another for Jared and Wren, Noah returned to the side of the table. With his gloves on, he lifted the corpse’s hand, inspecting his fingers. As expected, there were no prints. “See this?” He crouched down a bit to bring himself to Wren’s level. He might not be a doctor, but he did have something to add his boy might find interesting. “Some in special lines of work get them removed to avoid detection. I wanted to when I was younger. Rhodey said it was lazy. If you clean up after yourself properly, you don’t have to worry. And you just make more work for those like our fine Coroner.”
“The way the skin is scarred.” Wren ran one gloved fingertip over the one Noah was showing him. “It must have been a painful process. He had a lot to hide.”
“Or a lot to lose if he were found out.” Studying the man’s half removed face, where it was clear acid had eaten away at it, or perhaps lye that had been improperly spread, Jared placed a hand on Wren’s shoulder. “We’ll know exactly how much, if none of his teeth are his own.”
Chewing more slowly, Pike moved a bit closer to the table. “I betcha they aren’t. Or they’re all gone. One of my cousins became a dentist just so he could take care of stuff like that for us.” He wrinkled his nose. “This dude don’t smell great, but not as bad as I expected. More like…weird medicine.”
The Coroner chuckled, glancing up from where he made a few notes on a tablet. “Would you like to come to the head of the table, Robin, and determine eye color for me?”
“Yes, sir.” Wren didn’t show any surprise at the fake name he’d been given to avoid anyone tracing him to this location. He handed Noah his pumpkin bucket, then moved to the head of the table. But when he brought his hands over the dead man’s face, he stilled. “The living can tell you when things hurt so you don’t do more damage. How will I avoid leaving marks on him that might skew the results?”
“Here.” Lifting Wren’s hand a little higher, the Coroner positioned Wren’s thumb at the fleshy part of the ridge just above the eye and pressed it upward just high enough to reveal deep caramel eyes that had become dull in death. “It’s very similar when you check pupillary response in the living. Same pressure. Same spot.”
If the man hadn’t been one of Jared’s associates, Noah would be bothered with him getting that close to Wren, but as it was, he was surprised Wren let him. And also…not. The fascination in those warm brown eyes, the way he soaked in every bit of information, proved this had been the perfect outing for him.
Glancing over at Jared, Noah spoke softly as Wren followed the instructions. “Our boy is a fan of learning.”
“He is...” Jared practically glowed, contentment and relaxation erasing the years from his features until he appeared nearly as he did when Noah had first met him. “When it’s safe, I’d like to have him help me treat patients in the clinic. I’d been speaking with Rhodey about extending the access route, but it would weaken our...” He glanced at the Coroner, lowering his voice further. “Boundaries.”
Noah nodded, bringing his hand to the back of Jared’s neck, massaging lightly. Realizing he was still wearing the gloves, he let out a soft laugh. “We’re going to need a long, hot shower when we get home. Sorry, I’ve been fondling the dead.”
“Mhm...” Jared’s tone was throaty, like he didn’t mind in the least. “And bringing me back to life.”
Scooting up next to the Coroner’s other side, Pike leaned in to get a closer look at what Wren was doing. He dropped half his brownie on the dead man’s chest.
Quint bolted forward. “Don’t you dare touch that. The five second rule doesn’t count.”
“Perhaps it would be best if the little one stands back while eating? We don’t want the stomach contents contaminated accidentally.” A white sheet covered the portion of the corpse’s chest that the brownie had fallen on, but a shadow beneath showed that he might be missing more than just half his face.
Catching the look in Pike’s eye, one he’d seen way too often from Curtis, Noah swiped the brownie before the sub could make a grab with it to tease his co-sub. Hopefully by only pretending he’d still eat it, but best not to take any chances.
He gave Pike a level look. “Go stand with your Dom, imp. And behave or no swings for you. And I’ll have Keiran serve you nothing but plain oatmeal for breakfast for a week.” Noah considered what Blain had told him about adapting punishments to each sub, deciding to get a little creative with this one.
A calculated risk, because I have a feeling Keiran would throw a fit if I suggested that to him.
On his mobile, Seth didn’t seem to overhear the threat. Back turned to the room, he grumbled at someone on the other end of the phone. “What do you mean you want to... No, I’m not suggesting...” He sighed. “Look, you need to take that up with Rhodey. I don’t mean any disrespect, but your client can’t possibly need that big of a detail, and I’m not the person. Shea and Connor have their own operation that’s much better equipped for that kind of work, and nobody will miss them if they’re gone for six months.”
Brow lifting, Noah cleared his throat, even as Quint took over with Pike, picking him up and holding him in his arms a bit further from the table. It wasn’t like Noah could forbid Connor from taking on jobs, but there was definitely someone who’d miss him.
And it was much too soon for him to be away from Jamie for that long.
“Like I said. I’m needed here. You give Rhodey a choice, and he’s not going to pick me to princess-sit. I’d just put a bullet in her.” Seth raked his fingers through his light brown hair, making it stand up. “Sure. Yeah. So would Shea. Connor’s got the patience for royalty though. He handles difficult pop stars on the daily.”
Gaze jerking up from where he’d been feeling the corpse’s cheek, as though trying to see if Pike was right about the teeth all being gone before the mouth was opened, Wren glared at Seth. “Sir, neither Jamie or Danny are difficult. Please don’t say things like that. It’s untrue and unnecessary. Also, Connor works for Jamie and you need to go through a…very complicated process to remove him from his detail. I will find you other options.”
Covering the phone, Seth glanced over his shoulder at Noah, mouthing, “Vani.”
“Tell her Wren is enjoying his party, which was something she wanted, too, and now is not the time to discuss this.” Noah held the man’s gaze, lips thinning slightly. “We’ll figure something out.” He brought his attention back to Wren. “Are we ready to open the mouth now? I imagine I can’t be gentle about it?”
Mumbling into the phone, Seth related Noah’s message, then responded with a nod, and an, “I know she’s related to the trafficking operation in that area, and she’ll give you the information you need once you get her smuggled out. Connor would raise less suspicion though because he’s celebrity security.” He went into the hall, voice trailing off before the door closed.
Pike chewed on his bottom lip, gazing up at Quint. “She’s gonna make him leave again, isn’t she. Maybe we should go home so we can spend time with him before he goes?”
“Hush, brat. We’ll figure it out. Come, give me your treats and we’ll put them on that table over there so you can watch Noah open the dead man’s mouth.” Quint nipped the side of Pike’s neck. “See if you win the bet on those teeth.”
The Coroner demonstrated the correct hold for Wren, then let Noah take over. “Don’t be surprised when there’s a cracking sound. That’s perfectly normal.”
Inclining his head, Noah got a firm grip, his lips curving as Wren rose up on his tiptoes, getting as close as he possibly could to get a good look. He pried the jaw open, more than a little surprised at the effort it took. Almost like it was cemented shut. “Cement. That would be one way to do it.” He huffed when the crack came and the jaw was open wide enough for the next part of the procedure. “You obviously weren’t betting with Wren, scamp, because he doesn’t gamble, but since you were wrong, you owe me a task of my choice.”
Pike gave him a very serious nod, arms wrapped around the back of Quint’s neck. “I always honor my bets, sir. Is it gonna be folding socks? I hate it, but I’m pretty good at it.”
Face shield on, Jared leaned a little closer to the corpse, his head together with Wren’s. “The tongue is swollen, little raven. There are potential other causes, but together with the ligature marks on his neck it’s a good bet he was strangled.”
“Yes, sir. There’s blood spots in the eyes, too.” Wren sounded very excited about that fact. Then his cheeks went red. “Is it disrespectful to be enjoying this? It’s like solving a mystery and I’m sure John would have wanted someone to know his story in the end. I think most people do. If there were ghosts, his wouldn’t be able to rest until we uncovered it, right?”
“I am certain John would have wanted you to enjoy helping to find justice for him. Death is a natural part of life. The body is a vessel, and while we should respect it, there is no harm in enjoying learning about the natural processes.” A glint in his ice blue eyes said Jared very much enjoyed the experience, alongside Wren. “When we are home, I’ll tell you about how you can identify a body after it suffers an explosion.”
Conversations for the next while would be pretty gruesome, and Noah wondered if it was strange that it made him smile to have the men he loved find an unusual kind of pleasure in it. He laughed as he caught Pike whispering to Quint and pointing at the sheet.
Used to splitting his attention as much as possible between his own subs, Noah stepped in to give the little bundle of trouble an eyeful, letting go of the jaw and lifting the sheet a bit. The way Pike stared, his lips parting before he made a face showed he probably wouldn’t be delving deep into this aspect of learning how to draw the human form.
Not unless he managed to think less with his stomach and more with his artist’s eye. But Noah had been working with him on shading, not anatomy, so it was fine if he wasn’t there yet.
Gloves tossed in the trash, Noah thanked the Coroner, then led the way out for their next stop. The crematorium.
Jared lingered behind to thank the Coroner for his time as well, exchanging a few pleasantries with his old associate. When he caught up, he spoke behind the face shield he’d forgotten to take off. “The furnaces will be very hot. It’s likely we’ll all be sweating.” He chuckled. “But not as much as the corpse... When it’s incinerated there will be black smoke that comes out of the chimney, from the fatty tissues. It will burn, along with the hair and skin, the quickest. The bones will take longer.”
Rising up on his tiptoes again, Wren caught the bottom of the face shield and carefully lifted and tugged until it came off of Jared’s head. “I don’t usually like the heat, sir, it’s very uncomfortable, but I can tolerate it for this experience. I’ve always been curious exactly how it looks in the end. Do you bring that up to a patient when you tell them their condition is fatal? I imagine they’d want to get all their affairs in order?”
Lips parting, Quint shook his head. Then closed his mouth, seeming to take a moment to rethink his initial intended response. “The doctor doesn’t handle things like that, Wren. Usually, if it’s not already arranged ahead of time, there are special people assigned to discuss that with the patient or their family in a tactful manner.” His smile slanted. “Doctors aren’t always known for being very good at that, though some try harder than others.”
“Unless, of course, you happen to be a merc who wants to scare information out of someone.” Jared’s lips curved upward in a cold smile that he didn’t normally exhibit. “Today’s firewood is the man who shot the missile who took down the plane we were on. I tried to get him alive for us, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible.”
Wren blinked up at Jared, still loosely holding the shield. “I…very much prefer he’s not alive, sir. He already ruined one birthday. I hope everyone’s able to enjoy mine, even if not in the same way we are at this moment. We should probably keep this information to ourselves, it might…bring back bad memories. Jamie and Curtis seem like they’re both having fun.”
“Just so, little raven.” Taking the face shield from their boy, Jared winked at him. “It seemed like a nice bit of symmetry to manage this. It will be an education and closure. All in one.”
At Wren’s nod, Noah reached out to squeeze his shoulder, catching Jared’s eye to make sure he wasn’t the one slipping a bit too close to the dark side. He hadn’t been privy to that information himself, but it would make it that much more satisfying to watch the fucker burn.
Still, their boy needed some reassurance. He gave Pike a pointed look as he spoke. “No one will speak of this to anyone, my little bird. It’s privileged information.”
Pike covered his mouth with his hand, speaking behind it. “Ain’t no one gonna hear a thing from me. Do we all get to light a match? Like really creepy birthday candles?”
Lifting Pike into the air, Jared pressed a firm kiss to his forehead with his, “Exactly like really creepy birthday candles.” He set Pike down, smiling fondly at him and taking his hand. “I’m surprised and overjoyed that Wren has someone in our little family who understands him.”
“Sorry about that.” Seth jogged up to them, coming from the rear of the little hallway. “Had to meet with Rhodey for a couple minutes. Everyone’s having fun outside, in case you wanted an update.” He glanced at Jared and Pike’s joined hands, surprise lifting his brow. “Wow. When you decide you like someone, you don’t take any time at all making them know it, do you?”
“Just because you’re a pain in my ass doesn’t mean everyone is, Bizzy.” There was no heat to Jared’s words, only a whole lot of gruff affection that he’d been displaying with the man since earlier in the day.
“Glad to hear you say it.” Seth glanced between Wren and Pike, his grin growing. He shook his head. “Yeah. You fit with the way these three roll. Never would’ve thought it. But you do.” Gaze narrowing with mock admonishment, he wagged his finger at Noah and Jared. “No getting any ideas about collaring and keeping him though. He’s mine.”
“We’ll see, Bizzy. We’ll see.” Teasing back, Jared pulled Pike into his arms along with Wren for a cuddle and a kiss. “Come, little raven. We have some birthday candles to burn.”
Expression warming as he stood back, watching all three men, Quint hung the pumpkins he’d retrieved for everyone on one arm. He glanced over at his Dom, some worry shadowing his eyes before he moved to his side, his smile firmly back in place. “I’ve never looked at…these things quite this way, but it’s strangely refreshing. I love seeing him get a chance to learn something new and get a little taste of freedom.” He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “And it’s just been confirmed that absolutely nothing will spoil his appetite.”
Standing back with Quint, Seth lingered in the hallway with him as everyone moved ahead, and spoke quietly to him. “It’s all taken care of. You don’t need to worry.”
“That’s not something you can order me not to do, sir.” Quint took Seth’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Eventually, there will be another mission. We’re delaying the inevitable. But I’m grateful for any time I get with you. And for the fact both you and Rhodey are…keeping me from facing the consequences of my own decisions for now. I’m not sure how this will all turn out, but getting to have these moments? It means everything to me.”
Noah gave the two some space, never one to like having anyone at his back unless he trusted them completely, but…he’d reached that point with them without even realizing it. The strength added to the security of The Asylum, the ability to even plan things like this, was in large part because of their presence.
He didn’t want to lose that. Still, some sacrifices would have to be made so they didn’t cross the boundaries of Vani’s support.
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he continued into the room where the heat from a recent fire, along with a strange burnt scent, hovered in the air. For now, he’d mentally shelve the issue to examine later.
In the room, Jared stood with a technician and an official of sorts judging by their clipboard and more formal attire. On a rolling table, the corpse wasn’t visible in its cardboard coffin. More like a shipping box, really, with nothing substantial about it.
Quiet now, moving a bit behind Jared like he wasn’t sure what to make of the two new strangers, Wren eyed the box with the same fascination he’d shown for everything here so far. But he didn’t say a word, calmly waiting for whatever would happen next.
Pike didn’t share his composure. He approached the box, reaching for it, then jerking his hand back. “Can we look at it before it goes up in flames?”
The official let out a long breath like he might’ve been prepped for this question but didn’t like it any better now that it’d been asked. He grumbled a little, shifting the clipboard. “Highly irregular. Highly irregular. All of this...” It was also clear he’d been told exactly what his answer would be to the question. He stepped back, waving vaguely at the box. “Open it up, Caroline.”
The woman with the brown ponytail who’d been looking a little doubtful, nodded, stepping up to the box with a pair of pliers to remove about thirty large metal staples from along the ‘lid’. She struggled with a couple of them, making it clear that they didn’t often need to re-open the boxes once they were sealed.
Sidling up close to Pike, Wren waited until the lid was about to be lifted before leaning close to Pike’s ear with a sharp little. “Boo!”
“Ah!” Pike jumped, then burst out laughing, bumping his shoulder against Wren’s. “I half expected the bastard to jump up. Wouldn’t that’ve been freaky? We’d’ve had to duck so our Doms could play zombie killer.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Jared tapped his chin with his forefinger. “It would’ve been fun.”
Mr. Highly Irregular didn’t seem to think so, his palm going flat on the top of the box. “I’ve been warned about you all. If there’s a live person in this box, they will not be going into the furnace.” Said furnace seemed to be behind a large iron door that glowed red around the edges. “Nor will they be...dispatched on my watch.”
Biting back a laugh, Noah gave the man a sideways look. “Forgive our twisted sense of humor. I’m sure you’ve seen it a lot in your line of work. It helps when you’re dealing with things that would usually shut down a person who has to deal with this regularly.”
The man blinked a few times behind wire-framed glasses, his owlish stare made all the more so by their round shape. “Are you part of a private funeral home?”
Jared coughed behind his fist. “We have a schedule, and I’m sure you do, too. So, don’t let us keep you...” He nodded his thanks at the woman as she removed the last staple. “Wren, would you like to do the honors of lifting the lid?”
“Yes, sir.” Wren didn’t waste any time hooking his fingers under the lid, absently swatting Pike’s hand away when he reached out to help, not being as careful for the leftover staples. “Watch out, you don’t want your DNA ending up mixed in here.” He cocked his head as he slid the lid over to reveal the pale corpse, the staples in the center of the bare chest making it very unlikely anything was left inside the body to bring it back to life, unless some kind of mad scientist got very creative. “Though, the fire would probably burn away any evidence, which is why it’s used so often to cover up crimes.”
“Would you like to check his fingers, little raven?” Jared pulled a pen light from an inner pocket, shining it along a red gash at the man’s neck that had been sewn up nowhere near as neatly as Quint would have done. “I have it on good authority that he has striking green eyes.”
Wren smiled up at him. “Yes, sir.” He nudged Pike. “You can lift the hand, there’s no way to hurt yourself on that.”
Before Pike could latch on to the corpse’s wrist, Quint tugged him back, crouching down to put a pair of gloves on his hands. “Here. And keep your hands away from your mouth until we wash them.” He looked over the body as he rose, examining everything around it, as though to make sure there actually was nothing his co-sub might manage to injure himself on. “Go ahead.”
Jared handed Wren a fresh pair of gloves from the caddy on the wall, then returned the pen light to the areas of interest. Standing back, the technician and official appeared perplexed by the entire goings on.
Gently lifting the wrist and turning the hand, Pike tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth. He looked over at Wren as they both leaned in, looking at the fingertips like the hand was some kind of puzzle they were trying to solve. “They're gone, but doesn’t look all messed up like the other guy’s.”
“No, a different method was used. More professional.” Wren used the back of his gloved hand to push his glasses up. “He was a higher level contractor, but still felt the need to hide himself, which means he probably didn’t have the support of a solid team.” He jerked his chin toward the man in a sharp little nod. “Good. There will be nothing left of him after this. He can’t hurt anyone else.”
Jared donned a pair of gloves, his quick efficiency a study in how many times he’d done so over the years. He lifted the man’s eyelid, shining the pen light over a cat green iris that bore a striking resemblance to Jamie’s color. “Look at the window to this soul, little raven, and tell him anything you like. You, too, little gremlin.” He glanced up at Noah. “You’re welcome as well, tiger.”
“What is this? A Tim Burton film?” The suited guy looked around like he expected there to be cameras hidden somewhere.
Shifting a bit uncomfortably, Wren shook his head. “No, sir. Just closure for some, but I don’t think there’s anything that he has to offer anyone. Or ever did.”
Pike blew out a breath. “Probably not, but…just in case?” He moved closer to the head, leaning in to whisper in the corpse’s ear. “Say hi to my dad in hell, motherfucker.”
“Free pass.” Jared’s grin was a tad feral as he met Noah’s gaze.
That they had a therapist on staff at The Asylum was probably a very good thing. Noah would give Stephan a head’s up to have a chat with everyone, just in case. Thankfully, the man was used to dealing with scenarios the general public would never be exposed to.
Reaching between the subs, he pulled the lid back over the body. “I have nothing to say. It will be enough for me to see him become nothing but ashes. He doesn’t have the power to do a damn thing to any of us anymore.”
“Well said, my love.” Jared stepped back, motioning to Owl Eyes. “Show us what you’ve got.”
The man motioned jerkily to the woman, whose ponytail bounced as she nodded. Stepping up to the furnace, she donned a pair of thick leather gloves that appeared to have a coating of some sort on the palms. “You’ll want to step back behind the yellow line.”
Ushering Pike back, one arm across his chest, even while gently guiding Wren past the line as well, Quint observed the procedure, his expression a little troubled. His mind had probably gone in the same direction as Noah’s, only his soft heart making it a bit harder for him to brush it off as a problem to deal with later.
Not that Noah didn’t understand the dilemma. Pike’s curiosity was welcome, but like Curtis, his background meant being very careful not to normalize the brutal side of life too much. At least Wren would be a good influence there, putting it all into a more educational and practical perspective. Jared would, too…when he wasn’t having fun playing up being the actual Grim Reaper.
It was a damn sexy look on him, so Noah couldn’t complain.
The jerk of the door on creaky hinges accompanied the rush of heat and billow of orange flame in the furnace. “The optimal temp of a crematory furnace is between fourteen-hundred and eighteen-hundred degrees. Ours is somewhere around sixteen-hundred.” Taking a few steps back to the head of the table, the woman handed Wren her gloves. Then a metal rod. “Push the box from the head toward the furnace. It’s angled to tip in nicely. If you have trouble, one of your...larger friends can help you. Just don’t step past the yellow line as you push the box unless you want to lose your eyebrows. It’s hot.”
Wren hesitated, taking a deep breath and inclining his head. He pulled on the gloves, making a face as he got close enough that the heat, which had already brought up the temperature in the room, likely became uncomfortable. He looked up at Jared. “I already know I’ll need help. Sir, can you…?”
Pleased as proverbial punch, Jared stepped up behind him, the dark of his hooded cloak making it look like the pole he and Wren wrapped their hands around was his scythe. It was a portrait that mythology likely hadn’t thought of, with the flickering orange glow of the flames completing the picture. The Reaper’s Boy. “Tell me when, my love.”
“Yes, sir.” Wren settled back against Jared’s chest, peering up at him with a small smile playing at his lips. “Thank you for planning all this for me. I hope you know…it means so much. That you, all of you, don’t find what interests me too strange.”
The official opened his mouth, glanced at Noah, and closed it again.
Before he even had a chance to say anything, Quint spoke up, some warning in his tone. “I don’t see why anyone would fault you for wanting to explore even the darker parts of the natural world.” He turned his focus to Wren, his concern fading, replaced with something warmer. “I’m happy we got to share this with you, little one. And I hope you know, you can come to any of us if you have questions. Not that our Dom can’t answer most of them, but Seth and I also have our own experiences that can add to your knowledge.”
“Grave digging, body exhumation... I did an...internship between gigs with my current employer.” Seth rubbed his hands together like he felt dirt between his palms. “Next birthday, we can plan a different kind of outing.”
Wren’s eyes shone with excitement. “I’d like that very much, sir. And I’ll have so many questions for you all.” He grinned up at Jared. “Now, sir.”
“Make a wish, my love.” Back muscles rippling, Jared curved around their boy, pushing the box toward the flames in an even glide.
Cardboard rustled against metal, the foot of the box hitting the flames and combusting immediately. Someone probably should’ve warned them that they’d have to keep going once they started, because there was no way the whole thing wouldn’t go up in about two seconds—in the furnace or not. Thankfully, Jared seemed to catch on faster than the flames, moving the box along at a greater speed.
“Whoa…” Pike stared into the fire, the glow casting his pale face in a shifting light and making his blue hair shimmer. He watched the box burn like it was a fireworks display. “I don’t care how freaky some people might think this is, it’s like…” He shook his head, as though at a loss for words. “Some people do this for a living and it ain’t strange. So learning about it ain’t either. Right? We just get a bit of an extra kick out of it because we get to see bad dudes turn to dust.”
Noah made a thoughtful sound, nodding slowly. “That’s a…oddly healthy way to look at it. I think? So long as you leave the majority of it to the experts.” He let their hosts make of that what they would. He had no intention of pretending to be a saint. His lips twitched up at the edges. “This is how to handle things properly. And why amateurs who make failed attempts like we saw with the John Doe usually get caught.”
As the box burned away, the flesh of the corpse caught, visible as a dark shape that quickly turned skeletal as it popped and hissed in the flames. Sizzled, in fact.
“Flames love fatty tissue.” Jared pulled Wren back a few paces away from the heat, arms still wrapped around their boy. “Outside, our family will see the black oily smoke now, billowing like a dark cloud.”
“We won’t tell them what it is, though.” Wren nodded firmly, as though to cement the thought in his head. “It would disturb some of them and give them nightmares. And we need to make sure our fun doesn’t cause disrupted sleeping patterns.”
Noah chuckled, joining them closer to the furnace, the heat almost uncomfortable, even to him, though he usually adapted well to any temperature. Other than missions in places with weather conditions on both extremes, from bitter cold, to desert heat, he’d done a fair amount of work around his mother’s farm in all seasons.
He didn’t usually have to stand around bonfires, though, and this was much hotter. “No, we’ll keep this part of the day’s entertainment to ourselves as well.” He squeezed Jared’s shoulder. “Come, my love. Let’s take advantage of the fact we can get him outside somewhere other than the roof.”
Clearing his throat a little roughly, eyes shining with a happy kind of high emotion, Jared nodded. “This was everything I hoped for you, little raven.” He tugged Wren back as the technician took her gloves from Wren and closed the door. “Thank you for making it possible, Caroline...Terrence.”
Terrence nodded curtly. “Sure, Jared. The hospital isn’t the same without you. But...let’s consider this a debt paid and not repeat the experience.”
“Aww, for real?” Pike pouted at the man, the edges of his lips twitching as he struggled to maintain the expression, even though his laughter was in his tone. “I was gonna come back tomorrow with hot dogs and marshmallows.”
Quint clucked his tongue, taking off Pike’s gloves, then his own. “We’ll ask Curtis to set up the barbeque on the roof for that, brat. If you tried it here, you’d be eating nothing but ash.”
In the hallway, Seth met them with a warm, expectant look as he slid away his mobile. “That good, hmm, pixie?”
“Yes, sir! It was so wicked. Jared almost lit the whole place on fire, but then he was like ‘not on my watch’ and owned the furnace.” Pike gestured excitedly, forcing Quint to dodge to avoid getting smacked by the back of his co-sub’s swinging hands. “It was so badass. But I don’t think the guy in the suit likes his job very much. The chick, though? She was super cool. All like ‘Ya wanna see the body? Let me open up this box for you. Snip snip!’”
“You could hear the whoosh of the flames through the door.” Seth handed his older sub a packet of wet wipes. “Got these from the Coroner. He said to keep the extras.”
Holding out his hand as Quint opened the package, Noah took a couple of the wipes. He handed Jared one, then used the other on Wren, catching his chin when he wrinkled his nose and tried to take the wipe himself. “Be still, my little bird. Let me have the pleasure of tending to you. You have soot everywhere.”
“Yes, sir. But it smells like…baby powder.” Letting out a long suffering sigh, Wren stopped moving. “I suppose it makes sense. Having something pleasant to smell after being here all day would be appealing, but I would have chosen something less…cloying.”
Jared cleaned himself up, disposing of the wipes in a nearby receptacle. “Death is hard work. I’m famished.”
“Here, sir.” Pike plucked a carefully wrapped pastry out of his pumpkin with the hand Quint hand just finished cleaning. “This is really good, but I’m super hungry, too. I could go for some roast. Or stew. Or roast and stew. Or barbeque.”
Quint snorted, shaking his head. Finished with Pike, he took out another wipe and used it to clean the side of Jared’s neck. “Back when I was a new recruit, all of this would have disturbed me. Now it’s more entertaining than anything. Knowing Keiran, he packed plenty to fill you both up.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Jared exposed his throat to Quint, looking like he might purr at the contact with his eyes half closed. “I agree, the scent is unfortunate, but they do feel nice against the skin.”
Rolling his eyes, Seth lifted Pike. “They can fuck in the bowels of hell, but I’m taking you out for the nighttime picnic in the park.”
“That’ll be awesome, sir.” Pike looped his arms around his Dom’s neck, the mask that hung against his back now swaying as Seth made his way toward the door. “Do you think we’ll see any kids trick-or-treating? My mom never let me do that, she thought it was like begging and she liked dressing me up for her friend’s parties.” He brought his mask back up over his face. “But I’ve seen it on TV.”
“We’ll be doing some ourselves next year, pixie. If that’s the case. But yes, we might, on our way home. The bigger kids tend to go out after dark, and the littler ones when it’s still light...” Seth’s voice faded away as he took Pike outside.
Thinking back on when he’d brought both Reed and Ezran out on Halloween, while they were still young enough to enjoy going door to door, Noah considered how many of the Core subs hadn’t had that opportunity. Wren certainly hadn’t, and he doubted Jamie had, unless it was for some kind of photo opp. The same went for Danny.
They were all too old to do it the old fashion way now, but maybe something fun could be arranged at The Asylum next year. With an adult twist on it.
For now, what had been planned for today was definitely giving them a new experience for Halloween. Noah grinned as he slid his arm around Jared’s shoulders, stepping out into the balm of cool fall air. “We’ve always done something to appeal to the members around this time of year, but it usually revolves around more hardcore kink and the fights. Next year, let’s consider something…that our more mild players might enjoy as well. For some who never got a real taste of the holiday, or even just want to experience some nostalgia for it. I think Blain would be open to assisting with any plans in his spare time.”
“That’s a very good idea.” Dipping his chin, Jared included Wren in the conversation. “Would you enjoy being part of next year’s planning, my love?”
Wren smiled, looking up at them both. “Very much, sir. I still want to visit a graveyard, but it might be fun to set up a movie marathon for the members who enjoy that kind of thing. And Jacks can help them with costumes on commission. I don’t know that I would be much help with milder things, but I can do dark and twisted.”
“Then you’ll have to be our graveyard consultant.” Jared eased Wren across the street, seeming relaxed, but Noah could tell he had scanned the position of everyone in the vicinity as they emerged from the build. There was a slight tension along his shoulders, and his gaze darted from the treeline to the vehicles, likely not missing a thing. “Let’s get some food before I decide to go back inside and ask for a piece of John Doe to roast in the furnace.”
Jogging up to his side from where he’d been standing point at the edge of the park, Keiran caught the last part of Jared’s statement and snickered. “No need to resort to extremes, sir. I’d say no cannibalism in my kitchen, but since that now includes a much larger area, I’ll let it slide. This time.”
Dark had descended while they’d been inside, but the night was clear. Bare tree limbs scraped the skyline along the park, backlit by the moon and the city lights. A faint smell of soot hung in the air from the crematorium chimney, along with the odd combination of roasting meat and sweet marshmallow.
Avery stood over a small bonfire, tossing in logs that sent sparks upward into the night sky. He handed out sticks and s’mores packages to Matt and Dallas, the latter seeming able to both spear a marshmallow and keep his gaze on the treeline at the same time.
“No one would seriously consider eating that kind of thing when we can have your food, Keiran.” Wren reached out to cup the other sub’s cheek. He tilted his head. “Did you bring those spicy spinach pastries? I think I’m a little hungry, too.”
The way Keiran’s eyes lit up made it clear how much pleasure the ability to find food’s Wren actually liked brought him. He quickly nodded. “I did. And a few other of your favorites. Curtis dragged a bunch of picnic tables to an area that is nicely shielded from the street and will give us some space from the teens hanging around and making a nuisance of themselves. Rhodey confiscated a pack of beer from a group that was harassing some little kids. Not because he wanted it for himself either. He threw it out and said it was ‘disgusting swill’. I’ve just learned my Dom is a beer snob.”
“I taught the man everything he knows.” Jared’s tone was a puffed-up kind of proud as he ushered Wren toward the picnic tables with Keiran. He studied the overflowing tables that groaned with food. Even the actual good china had been laid out, along with some bottles of champagne, a bucket of iced drinks complete with Red Bulls, and a snow cone machine. “Thank you for this feast, my boy. It looks and smells amazing.”
Keiran beamed, holding out his hand to indicate the chairs at the head of one picnic table, obviously set up for the birthday boy and his family. “My pleasure, sir. A lot of it was what I’d planned to serve everyone back home, but since we decided on doing a picnic, I was able to add a few things to the menu. There’s nothing quite like a fall barbeque.”
“Here, little raven.” Jared lifted a white china plate with gold leaf around the rim that had been his in his loft. “You sit on your throne at the head of the table. I want to serve my birthday boy this once.”
Wren slipped into his seat, looking a bit awkward with the idea, but he nodded and smiled at Jared. “Yes, sir.” He glanced over to where Jamie was standing with Connor. “Come sit with us, Jamie. We can get an extra chair for Connor to sit beside you.”
“I’ll get it.” Noah immediately spotted an empty one, next to Jacks and Shea, who were feeding Danny under the table. He grabbed it and brought it over, placing it next to the one on Wren’s left side. He left the one at Wren’s right for Jared. “A strange setup for a picnic, but since when do we do anything like normal people?”
“Looked like the Conclave elected their pope a while ago.” Curtis motioned to the chimney, stealing the spot Wren had indicated for Jamie and grabbing him from Connor to sit on his lap. “Reed and I made Dirt Nap cake for you, Wren. Complete with gummy worms and chocolate covered pretzel skeleton.”
Wren wrinkled his nose. “That sounds…very unique, sir.” He used a fork and knife to cut into one of the pastries Jared had placed on the plate in front of him. “I might try one of the pretzels.”
“More dirt for me to eat.” Reed grinned as he plucked a rib bone from the stack on his own plate, where he was sitting with Lawson and Matt. He took a bite and groaned before holding it to Matt’s lips. “You gotta try this. I really wasn’t sure what to make of Keiran soaking all those ribs in liquid for so long before throwing them on the grill, but it just…melts in your mouth.”
Leaning in, Matt used his teeth to bite into the meat, coated with a glistening honey garlic barbeque sauce, then chewed with a happy moan. “Mhm... That’s fantastic.”
“Here, mo ghrá.” Spooning up a gooey piece of whipped cream that appeared to be peppered with crushed chocolate cookies and laced with neon gummy worms, Curtis held the mess to Jamie’s perfectly pink glossed lips. “I order you to gorge.”
Nose wrinkling, Jamie squeezed his eyes shut and dutifully took the bite of so-called cake. He chewed and swallowed as quickly as humanly possible, grabbing for a bottle of water, but Curtis shoveled another spoonful into his mouth.
The man was acting strange, but a glance over at his uncle, who stood a distance from everyone, watching over the group while his subs ate together, gave Noah a pretty good idea as to why. Crossing over to his side, Noah spoke to him quietly enough that no one else would hear. “You’ve already made a decision.”
Rhodey gave him a level look. “Yes. I’ll tell him tomorrow. He can hate me for it, but the fact is, we can’t spare anyone else. The club needs its doctors. Shea’s already been pulled from his family too often. I need Seth here for when I have to take on my own missions. It’s the kind of job Connor does anyway. He’ll be able to keep in touch. Hopefully, that’ll help.”
“Maybe…” Noah sighed, shaking his head. “It was nice to feel like everything was starting to level, but that’s not what our lives are here. I’ll…figure something out.”
That got him an amused look as Rhodey glanced at Curtis, who missed Jamie’s mouth with the next spoonful he tried to force on him. “You mean this isn’t a good solution?”
“Very funny.” Noah caught Connor’s eye, nudging his chin, his lips slanting as the man effortlessly stole Jamie back from Curtis, saving him from any more dirt cake assaults. “At least we can all have tonight.”
Expression unreadable, Rhodey let out a soft grunt. “That’s all we ever have, nephew. I taught you that a long time ago.”
Behind Noah, Dallas let out a thoughtful hum. “Something tells me that between you, Jared, and Curtis, the boy will be fine. He just won’t know it until the dust settles.”
From the way the switch’s quad functioned, it was natural for him to think that, and Noah didn’t really care to discuss it. He gave a short jerk of his chin in acknowledgment, leaving his uncle with his man and returning to the table. Tapping Curtis on the shoulder, he motioned for him to go sit with his own quad and claimed the seat for himself.
There was still the land he’d bought Jamie, a vision for a different kind of life he could give his boy. But that would take time. For tonight, he’d celebrate a moment when it really felt like they could have it all.
With his entire family around the picnic table, laughing and celebrating, it was easier to believe. To embrace every precious moment while it lasted.
No matter what they looked like, all the love, the bonds here, were built to last. And knowing that?
His family could take whatever the future held.
****
I know there are still a few more chapters left, are they going to be uploaded soon?? I don’t want to start sub 101 and get the time line even more confused please
ReplyDelete