She and Emme rushed ahead of us, their wolves trailing them. Bren watched them disappear into the house before meeting my stare like I knew he would. “I told you to stay out of this vampire shit, Celia. Not only did you not listen to me; you dragged your sisters into it.”
“I didn’t drag them.” I rammed my finger into his chest. “You know I wouldn’t do that.”
Bren gnawed on his teeth. “They’d follow you to hell and back, and you damn well know it.”
If he intended to make me feel guilty, it worked. I hugged my body and turned away, walking toward the house. Aric followed, keeping his eyes on Bren. Bren caught up and reached for my hand. “Don’t hurt her,” Aric warned.
The deep creases of Bren’s frown softened as he watched Aric. Whatever he saw in Aric’s expression lightened Bren’s eyes with mischief. “I don’t hurt those I love,” he answered with a smirk.
Aric leaned back on his heels, crossing his arms. I glanced at both of them. “How did you know we were home?” I asked when I couldn’t determine what had transpired between them.
Bren put his arm around me and pulled me close. “Cut it out, Bren,” Danny muttered behind me.
Bren’s grin widened. “We went down to that bitch Zhahara’s. The place reeks of infection, and there’s a goddamn bus in her living room. When we couldn’t find you, we headed back to that asshole Misha’s place for some answers. On the way there, I got the call you were back.”
Okay, that didn’t make sense. None of us had contacted Bren. “Who called you?”
Bren motioned toward Mrs. Mancuso’s house. He’d given the old biddy his number in an effort to watch over us. I hadn’t liked the idea then and I absolutely resented it now. The old bat stood behind her floral window drapes, watching the drama. Good Lord, if her hair curlers were any tighter her scalp would bleed. She raised her window, giving Aric, Bren, and Danny the once-over before scowling at me like she could will my death. “Celia Wird, have you no shame? Standing out there half-naked, flashing those young boys like some kind of streetwalker!”
Aric’s dark brows shot up to his crown. “What the fu—”
“Mind your own business, you goddamn raisin with legs!” Taran screamed from inside the house.
Mrs. Mancuso flipped me off, of course. Bren flashed her a panty-dropping grin. “It’s okay, Mrs. M. I’ll be sure to take Celia to confession later so Father O’Callaghan can slap the sin out of her.”
“Be sure that you do.” Mrs. Mancuso gave Bren an approving nod, and me another stiff one. Aric remained fixed to my front walkway. He may have been a guardian of the earth, but I doubted he’d ever encountered evil the likes of Mrs. Mancuso.
Emme called from the upstairs bathroom. I didn’t need to see her to know her cheeks shone like ripe strawberries. “May-maybe everyone should just head in. I’ll be down in a minute to fix dinner.”
Before I could follow Emme’s lead, Bren turned me around so my back was to him. “Ceel…are you going commando?”
Aric growled, low and deep. I smacked Bren’s hands and shoved him up the front steps. “Just get inside!”
The sound of his laughter told me his temper had begun to cool—at my expense, like always. I tried to follow, but stopped when I realized Aric continued to watch Danny.
“Why are you armed?” Aric asked him.
I inhaled deeply. Aric was right: Danny was packing heat, full of gold bullets. Not a comforting thought, considering he couldn’t shoot a wereelephant at close range.
Danny adjusted his Coke-bottle glasses nervously, smashing his mop of black curls between his forehead and the thick, dark frames. Aric’s daunting presence rattled Danny’s lanky frame and made his voice tremble. “We weren’t sure what we’d find. My buddy Bren didn’t want me unarmed.”
“Danny’s human,” I explained to Aric.
“I could tell by his scent,” Aric said. “So how does he know about us?”
I idled toward Aric. “We’ve known each other since we were teens.” I couldn’t stop my smile when I looked over my shoulder at Danny. “I trust him with all of my secrets.” Danny grinned, but then stopped short and stepped back at Aric’s scowl. “Be nice, Aric. He’s my friend, and you’re scaring him.”
Aric pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb before extending his hand to Danny. “I apologize. Aric Connor.”
Danny shook his hand. “Dan Matagrano. Nice to meet you…sir.”
I couldn’t blame Danny for greeting Aric formally. He gave off a certain aura of stature. Aric, however, didn’t appear comfortable with the title. “Just call me Aric, Dan.”