I grabbed the shirt from him, mad because I hadn’t thought of it. I was normally alone, so it was never a problem, but with the storm slowing down and the sun being high above us, I knew his concern was valid.
“Fine. Get in, and let’s get going.” I wiped my face off as he slammed the trunk closed. He jumped into the driver’s seat, making the car bounce. “Are you okay?” I asked, looking at him as he took the keys off the dash where I left them.
“I’m fine. You are a mess,” he answered, a growl punctuating the end. “I thought you were dead there for a minute, Kaliya. When Levi blasted you away, and I was holding Wesley…I thought you were dead, and that there was nothing I could do about it.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I turned away, closing my door. He started the engine and turned the heat on, but we didn’t pull out. He sighed.
“I’m not dead, though,” I finally whispered. “It’s really hard to kill me, and I don’t plan on dying for a very long time.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Raphael, I don’t know why…” you care.
“Because you’re all I’ve got, and that makes you important to me,” he answered softly. I hadn’t been able to stop myself in time. He knew. “I bet that makes you really uncomfortable because you have never seemed like the type who’s good with emotion. You seem to actively avoid it, really. It’s made talking to you about anything the last four months impossible because I’m actually not scared of emotions. I like that I still have them. They ground me in being human.”
I weakly chuckled, leaning back in the seat.
“I’m not scared of emotions,” I said, rolling my head to look at him. “I’m scared of what happens after everything falls apart.” When I rolled my head away from him, I jumped as I saw a figure standing twenty feet away. Instinctively, I reached for my hip, looking for a weapon. “Shit.”
Raphael leaned over and frowned. “Is that Nakul?”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out the figure. I blinked a few times, trying to focus through the rain. Sure enough, as the silhouette walked closer, it was my uncle. He stepped away from the vehicle, but he was obviously waiting on an invite to follow.
“Do we trust him?” my roommate asked.
“He’s survived this long, and he might be the key to breaking this wide open. Why not? But that doesn’t mean I’ll be stupid.” I reached into the glove box and pulled out a set of handcuffs.
“Really? And you think I’m kinky for being called Dom.”
I gave him a small smile before opening the door and showing the handcuffs to my uncle.
“You’ll lay down on the backseat and wear them, or I’ll get a bag and zip you in as a snake. Your choice. I’d feel safer with the snake option.”
“Snake, so no one sees me, human or otherwise,” my uncle answered.
I nodded at Raphael, who jumped out and opened the trunk again. A bag was emptied, Nakul shifted, got inside it, then was promptly zipped in. I didn’t have ratty equipment, so there would be no holes for him to get out. Raphael then left the bag in the trunk.
“Perfect,” I said as he sat beside me again. “Now, let’s get out of here before any other wanted criminals show up.”
He hummed in agreement and pulled out of the parking lot. Once we were on the road, I punched in the address for Raphael.
“We’re going to Cassius’ house,” I said as he took the first turn.
“Thank God,” he mumbled. I reached out and hit his arm, unable to find a witty remark in turn. “And now she turns to violence. I’m wounded.”
“I’ll show you wounded,” I hissed.
“I’m pretty sure you already are,” he fired back. When I turned to glare at him, he disarmed me with a small smile. Seeing my glare, it faded away, but then so did my glare, thanks to his smile. He wasn’t trying to be an asshole. He had wanted to joke around, and I had missed it, gone right over my head. It wasn’t like Cassius wouldn’t make a similar joke. Even Paden would have taken that opening.
“Sorry. I’m tired.” I turned away from him.
“It’s okay.”
The drive felt longer than it should, but when we pulled up to the gate, it let us in without incident. Raphael parked in front of the