spending some time with your dad—and not the asshole one. I have to specify, because a lot of the cops hate your human parents.”
“Well, they are assholes, and someone told them about the courthouse incident.”
“I may have asked the cops in Queens to keep an eye on our neighborhood in case they decided to pay you a visit,” my husband confessed.
I sighed, rolled my eyes, and wondered how I’d gotten lucky enough to win someone like him. “I can transform into a unicorn, and I breathe fire. I can handle a pair of stupid vanilla humans.”
“They might have a gun,” he replied.
Being shot sucked. “I do not like being shot, and this is a very valid point. I do not wish to be shot.”
“Again, my walking bomb squad.” According to my husband’s expression, he’d be getting payback in some form or another. As his version of payback involved the bedroom, I’d enjoy every minute of his scolding.
“You can punish me for that stunt when we go back to our room and need a break from opening presents.”
He laughed. “Is it a punishment if you like it?”
“It is now.”
He lowered the tablecloth to resume his conversation with whomever had come to pay him a visit. I went to work cutting up my steak. “Do you want some? I’ve totally made you hide under a table without offering to feed you.”
“After you return to keeping your husband company, I will dine with Anubis and the Sphinx, as we have much to discuss. In your excitement, try not to forget the investigating you should be doing.”
“I won’t,” I swore. “Morrison is the kind of asshole who’d try to get revenge solely because I still exist. Add in the charges? He’ll be back. I know this, and Quinn probably does, too. I’ll do my best to keep from worrying about it for a day or two, but I don’t want him to get too much of a head start. Since the gorgons were targeted and many of them killed, I’ll get the Quinn family to help. I’m pretty sure the gorgons have a network.”
“Your husband fears the possibility of retaliation, but he is uncertain about the probability of it happening. His grandfather is aware of the certainty of such things, as he saw your memories on the matter.”
“Sariel told you about that?”
“He deemed it to be a wise decision, as I will not be a benevolent being should he hurt you. We are limited in what we can do, but there is nothing in the rules stating I cannot prepare you for what I feel will be an inevitable conclusion.”
“Because he’s an asshole, and that’s what assholes do.”
“Yes.”
I took a bite of my steak, debating how best to handle the situation. “Well, this will be fun.” The instant Quinn perceived a threat to me, he’d freak out. Given ten minutes and an excuse, he’d involve the entirety of his crazy family. If his crazy family joined in, I’d be watching the kids and caring for the pets while they created havoc, which would give me an excellent opportunity to take the kids and deal with the problem myself.
“Your logic concerns me,” my father admitted.
“It concerns overprotective over there, too.” I pointed at my husband’s legs just to make sure my father understood which overprotective individual I discussed. “Worse, can you think of any part of that logic that was wrong?”
“Alarmingly, I do believe your logic is founded on reality, which is as concerning as your general thought process.”
“I feel I should warn you that I’m going to be a pretty terrible daughter, but in good news, the human ones survived me, so that’s something.”
My husband poked me with his shoe, and a moment later, he peered under the tablecloth. “I heard that, and I’m enrolling you in therapy to address your self-esteem problems.”
“What part of that wasn’t true?”
“The part about you being a terrible daughter. The Gardeners are the terrible ones, and I’ll be implementing corrective training immediately.”
I scowled. “Corrective training?”
My father snickered. “I will, with some help from her mother, make certain she realizes she is not the terrible party. I wish you the best of luck with your efforts to correct the self-esteem damage, but given time, I am certain she will begin to see for herself how we view her.”
I pointed at my father with my fork. “You are an unreasonably biased party.”
“You will get used to it, I’m sure. Being the perfect child of divine perfection is challenging to come