“How’d things go?” Lucas looks up from the computer. The office in the Lincoln Park house is impressive, with floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves and a large executive desk in the center of the room. He’ll have an office just as grand in the new house. I still don’t really understand exactly what Lucas does. He doesn’t really have a job in a traditional sense, yet whatever he does makes him a lot of money.
“Good. Interesting, but good.”
Lucas closes his laptop and gets up. He’s wearing my favorite pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt and looks so fucking good. “Interesting how?”
“Well, I ran into Scott and his friends on the way there, had some fun pushing his buttons because I just can’t help it. I think he’s abusive to Ella, his fiancée.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me. Men like him are small. They need to put others down in any way to feel good about themselves.”
“Yeah, like father like son, right? And I know it was Ella’s choice to start dating him, but she could be a victim here.”
“Callie,” Lucas says gently and brushes my hair back. I know what he’s thinking. I can’t swoop in and save the day. I can’t solve all the world’s problems, and even if Ella wants out of the relationship, I’d be the last person to actually be able to help her. Instead of telling me this, Lucas puts his lips to mine. “I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you, too,” I whisper back, eyes falling shut. “And that wasn’t the interesting thing.” I put my hands on his waist and look up. “Melinda’s friend was dating a hunter in The Order and broke up with him because he was getting involved with politics and his stance was too strong on something she opposed. Wanna guess whose political campaign he was backing?”
“The Martins.”
“Yep. And she had heard talk of some vampire also being on their side, probably as a way to manipulate that ass to pushing more anti-vampire laws.”
“To piss us off and make us retaliate,” Lucas finishes. “Fuck.”
“Right?” I rest my head against his chest. I want to go upstairs and snuggle in bed with him, taking solace in his embrace. “Hunters in The Order are hardcore,” I go on as the thought enters my mind. “They hate anything supernatural, and so does William Martin.”
Lucas meets my eyes and finishes what I don’t want to say. “The Order knows about witches, as do the Martins. Together, they could expose you all.”
Chapter 29
“Ugh, it’s so cold in here.” I wave my hand over the door, sealing it with magic. We’re back in Thorne Hill and I just took off my coat only to want to put it back on again. “I had to have the heater fixed last winter and the guy told me it might not make it another year.”
“The heater is working just fine.” Lucas takes his shoes off. “I turned the heat down.”
“To what, arctic?” I take my phone from my purse and hang my jacket on the back of a kitchen chair.
“Sixty-five.”
“That’s freezing! I’m turning it back to seventy. I’m too cold.”
Lucas cocks an eyebrow. “Can’t you put on a sweater?”
“I don’t want to wear a sweater inside the house. Which is why I keep it at seventy. It’s warm enough to be comfortable.”
“It’s a waste to run the heat that high. You have a fireplace.”
“In the living room.” I put a hand on my hip and look at Lucas, amused. “I think I finally found something you’re cheap about.”
“I am not cheap,” Lucas counters.
“Usually not,” I say. “You were the one suggesting I trade my Jeep in for a BMW instead of just fixing the headlight, which would cost so much more than just getting the headlight fixed.”
“See, not cheap.”
“Then let me keep the temperature set to what I like. You don’t even get cold like I do.”
“Fine,” he grumps, and I laugh. It’s such a normal thing to disagree over, and I secretly love it. Only because I know I’ll get my way in the end.
“Now, in the new house,” I start. “I might be willing to use the fireplaces more. There’s one in nearly every room. This house only has one and the living room gets unbearably hot without heating the rest of the house.”
“Speaking of the living room fireplace, we never did get to spend the night in front of it. Would you like to try again tonight?”