Basil (The Brinnswick Chronicles #3) - Michele Notaro Page 0,121

of a few trees. With them focused over there, I knelt in front of my wife’s grave and ran my hand over her name.

“I miss you, Millie,” I said quietly. “These past few years haven’t been easy, but…” I glanced over at Basil. He had Rasha on his shoulder so she could peek at the bird’s nest, and I couldn’t help the small smile that quirked up on my lips. Turning back to the tombstone, I said, “You would like him. You two would’ve caused so much havoc.” I chuckled, then sighed. “No matter what happens, you know I’ll always love you, right? So will Rasha. But having Basil in our lives has been a gift.”

A tear ran down my cheek, so I wiped it away. “I hope you really are happy wherever you are, Millie.” Another tear fell. “I just wanted you to know that we’re going to be okay now. Basil… he helped us, he cured Rasha, and he’s brought us into this huge, crazy family. We’re okay… finally, we’re okay.”

A hand on my back startled me, but when Basil knelt beside me, I didn’t hesitate to pull him in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around me, ran his hands through my hair and down my back, and simply held me… always there for me when I needed him.

Over his shoulder, I saw Rasha blowing dandelions in the air with a smile, and everything in the world felt right.

Millie was a piece of me that I would always miss and love, but that Millie-sized hole in my heart was sewn up tight, no longer a bleeding wound. The scar would always be there, but I could truly move on from here knowing that my viramore would help carry my burden whenever that scar ached, and knowing that no matter what, I was allowed to be happy. All three of us were.

“I love you, Hiro,” he whispered.

I squeezed him tight and kissed his neck. “I love you, too.”

Now that Bas and I were connected so fully, even when I was out workin’, he was constantly in my head. I’d thought that I’d hate it, but it was comforting knowing he was there. It wasn’t like he was constantly talking to me, but even in the silence, I could sense him and his emotions. It was nice to know that I’d be able to tell if he needed me and vice versa.

Jasmyn called me half an hour ago with a lead on a new mark. Bas didn’t really want me off coven land by myself, and since I felt the same about him, I’d compromised. Blaze was riding on my shoulder so Bas could pull himself to me using his Bond with the dragon if somethin’ happened. The little bearded dragon stuffed his head inside the collar of my shirt as I parked the car, and I gave him a few scratches while I got out.

My mark was a werewolf that was hiding out in a local park, so I needed to canvas the area. It was light out, so the guy would be in his human form, which meant he’d be pretty easy to capture with a tranq dart. At least in theory.

Reports said there was a naked man running around one of the baseball fields—a pretty good indication that it was my mark. But even if it wasn’t, he was a pervert running around where kids play, so I’d take him down either way.

You make it to the park? Bas asked.

Yep.

Good. Rasha’s painting my nails pink. She’s actually pretty good at it.

Yeah, she’s had a lot of practice on me and Ulma. Now leave me alone so I can concentrate.

If he was in front of me, I was pretty sure he’d be stickin’ his tongue out at me.

I totally would, he said, making me roll my eyes before he pulled back and let me be.

Takin’ advantage of my enhanced senses, I took a deep breath to see if I could catch anything odd. I didn’t at first, but as I moved closer to the backstop on the other side of the baseball field, I caught a whiff of blood. Maybe the werewolf had caught something last night during the full moon.

Rushing, I made my way closer to the stench and quickly realized there was a body on the ground.

“Shit,” I muttered as I ran and dropped to my knees. Her back was to me, so I gently pulled her shoulder to roll her over. The second