that his father was out of the picture.
The house would definitely be big enough for all of them, and like had been suggested, it had a pool. Besides, his mother knew about the assassins. Griffith had explained it to her after his father had been arrested, and she’d promised to keep it a secret. So far, she had, and Griffith trusted her.
“What about your father?” Beck asked.
Griffith shrugged. “What about him? He doesn’t live there anymore. He won’t ever live there again. My mom is the only one using the house right now, and I’m sure she’ll be okay with it.” If Griffith knew her, she’d be over the moon. Griffith knew she felt lonely, but she never asked him to come around. She didn’t want to disturb him, and while he understood, he wished their relationship was different, more comfortable. He wished she wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to him to get help.
But maybe this was a way to fix things. It would be a while before they trusted each other again and could talk like mother and son, but this was a step forward. “I’ll talk to her if everyone is okay with the idea. I know you’re uncomfortable with the thought of staying there but—”
Armand snorted loudly. “Uncomfortable? I’m not. Anyway, it’s a way to make your father pay for what he did, isn’t it? I mean, he hates shifters so much that he didn’t hesitate to kidnap some of us and experiment on them. What would he say if he found out a bunch of us are living in his house, eating his food, and sleeping in his bed?”
Griffith grimaced. “Well, I hope none of you will actually sleep in his bed, but you’re certainly welcome to if that’s what you want.” Griffith’s parents hadn’t shared a bedroom since he was a kid, and he was sure his mother had closed off his father’s room. Neither of them wanted to go in there, but if one of the assassins wanted to choose that one rather than a guest bedroom, Griffith didn’t have anything against it. He was okay with erasing his father’s memory and residual presence from the house.
He turned toward Win, who was rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. “I know it’s not a perfect solution, but it would be better than staying here,” he pointed out.
Win dropped his hand and sighed. “You’re right. I wish we had another place to go, but this is probably for the best. Does she have power, though?”
Griffith nodded. His mother lived out of town, far enough away that she hadn’t lost power like they had. He’d called her to make sure she was okay when the power went out, and she hadn’t even noticed until he told her about it. “She’s fine, and the house is more than big enough to welcome all of us.”
“And you think she will be okay with it? I mean, we’re not an easy group to deal with.”
“I know that.” Griffith had been living with them long enough to be aware of how difficult it was to live with so many people in the same house, even when the house was huge. “But she’s lonely. I’ve been meaning to visit her more often, but it’s not the same thing as having people actually living with her. It will be a change of scenery for us and a way to be more comfortable, and for her, it’ll be an opportunity to spend some time with me, my mate, and my friends.”
Win nodded. “Talk to her. Have Dasha shimmer you there and let me know what’s going on. In the meantime, we should start packing. Whether or not we go stay with your mother, we need to leave this place until the power is back on and the AC is fixed.”
Griffith agreed, so the sooner he talked to his mother, the better it would be for everyone.
Chapter Two
Lawrence hated being back here. He knew that what had happened had nothing to do with Griffith’s mother. Griffith’s father was the evil one in this story, but Lawrence couldn’t help but think about the memories. Griffith had risked a lot when he’d confronted his father about what he was doing, and Lawrence had been there to listen to it, and he’d been terrified. He’d thought he’d lost Griffith.
Luckily, he hadn’t.
Which was one of the reasons he, Griffith, and Dasha were standing in the entrance of Griffith’s mother’s house.
Dasha rubbed the back of his neck