1 Grim Tidings (11 page)

Griffin smiled. “You guys are close.”

“They’re my brothers.”

“Not all brothers and sisters are as close as you guys, though,” Griffin replied. “You guys seem especially close.”

“We’re all close in age,” I said. “It doesn’t seem weird to me because it’s always been this way.”

“They seem protective of you.”

“They are.”

“And you seem protective of them.”

“When they need it,” I said.

“I like it,” Griffin said. “In my line of work, most of the families I deal with have done something horrible to each other. I’m not really worried about that with you guys.”

“What are you worried about with us?”

“That you’ll cover up crimes together.”
I guess he was going for honesty, too.

“That’s a bummer for you,” I said.

“It is,” Griffin agreed, tilting his head to the side. “Still, I don’t think you guys are covering up murder.”

Alarms started
clanging in my head. This couldn’t be good. “What is it you think we’re covering up?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “But I plan on finding out.”

Dinner was slow. Dancing afterward was mildly entertaining. I took a turn around the dance floor with each of my brothers – and Jerry – and then excused myself to go to the bathroom. That’s where I found Angelina trying to fix her makeup after a crying jag. I thought about kicking her while she was down but figured that would just be petty. What? I’m mean, but I’m not heartless
, especially when I win.

Instead, I hid in the stall until her sniffling diminished and I was sure she had exited the bathroom.

When I rejoined the party, I couldn’t find my brothers or Jerry.

“Looking for someone?”

Griffin was at my side. I hadn’t seen him since our dance earlier, not that I was looking or anything.

“Did you see where my brothers and Jerry went?”

Griffin scanned the room and shook his head. “They wouldn’t have left you, would they?”

“No.” At least I hope
d not.

Griffin put down his beer and grabbed my hand. I thought about yanking it back, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. Instead, I let him lead me around the room as we searched for them. After twenty minutes, we gave up.

“I’ll just call a cab,” I said.

“You didn’t drive here?”

“No,” I replied. “Jerry drove.”

“Why would he leave you?”

“He probably figured I dodged out and got a ride home,” I said. “It’s not a big deal. I can probably get a cab here within twenty minutes.”

Griffin didn’t look so sure. Detroit’s cab companies aren’t known for being reliable – or safe. “What about your dad? Didn’t your brothers say he was here, too?”

I’d rather ride Angelina home. I didn’t say that, though. “I’d rather not.”

Griffin sighed. “Why don’t I just take you home?”

There was a slight tingle in the tips of my fingers. A brief flash of Griffin rolling around in my bed with me – naked – rushed through my mind. “Um, no, I can call a cab.”

Griffin looked exasperated,
as though he had read my mind. “It’s just a ride home,” he said. “No sex has to be involved.”

I gaped at his words. “What the hell?”

Griffin smiled. “I won’t turn it down if you offer, though.”

“YOU SHOULD
turn right on Main Street,” I instructed Griffin twenty minutes later.

The ride to Royal Oak had been uncomfortable – and it wasn’t just because you could cut the sexual tension in the car with a knife and fill a sandwich with it.

“I know where you live,” Griffin reminded me.

“I was just trying to help.”

“No, you were being a backseat driver.”

“You can’t be a backseat driver when you’re in the passenger seat.”

Griffin glanced over at me, his expression unreadable. “Are you always this much of a pain?”

“You’ll have to ask my brothers,” I sniffed.

“I’m guessing they’re going to say you are.”

“They’re idiots.”

Griffin smirked but didn’t say another word for the rest of our drive. Jerry’s car was parked in front of the condo when we pulled into the driveway, and a fresh wave of rage washed over me when I saw it. “He ditched me. I can’t believe it.”

“He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to ditch a woman, especially you,” Griffin said. “Maybe he thought you left with one of your other brothers?”

“Why would I do that when we live together?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

I was going to do just that. I opened the door and moved to slide out of the car, stopping long enough to remember the manners my mother had drilled into my head since I was a little girl. “Thank you for the ride.”

Griffin switched off the ignition and opened his own door. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“No, but it’s what a man does when he dropping a woman off,” Griffin said. “It’s the polite thing to do.”

This wasn’t a date. Did he think this was a date? “We’re not on a date.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

It does to me. I climbed out of the car and slammed the door, fixing Griffin with a hard stare across the roof of his car. “I’m perfectly capable of walking twenty feet to my front door.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t,” he replied, swinging his door shut.

“So, you don’t need to walk me.”

“Why do you care if I walk you? Does it offend your feminine sensibilities?”

No, because I needed to get away from him before I ripped his shirt off. “Because I’m an adult and I don’t need men smothering me with … man stuff.”

“What kind of man stuff are we talking about here?” Griffin asked, a smile moving across his lips.

Okay, maybe that came out wrong. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I want to hear about all this man stuff you don’t want to be smothered with,” Griffin said. “I think I need a visual.”

“Men,” I huffed, moving toward the front door of the condo and giving my hips just a little bit of extra swing for emphasis. Unfortunately, Griffin wasn’t deterred by my bad attitude.

He walked me the entire way up the front walk, not pausing until we were both at the front door. I turned to him, my heart pounding in my chest, and tried to read the emotions behind his dark eyes. “Well,” I said finally. “You walked me to my front door.”

“You’re not safely inside yet, though, are you?”

“Really?”

“Really what?”

“Are you just doing this so I’ll invite you in?”

“And what? Show you my man stuff?” Griffin’s eyes were heavy-lidded and the meaning behind his double entendre wasn’t lost on me.

“You’re unbelievable,” I grumbled, rummaging through my small clutch purse until I found my keys. I selected the right one, slipped it in the
lock and turned the handle. If I was worried about what might happen when Griffin finally said his goodbyes, I shouldn’t have been. The sight waiting for me on my couch was enough to give me nightmares for a week – and kill any romantic yearnings that I had where Griffin and his tight butt were concerned.

“Oh my God!”

Griffin must have misread the horror on my face, because he pushed me to the side and bolted through the door to face the terrifying scene that greeted me. His gun was in his hand (where had that been the whole night?) and all of the flirt he had been exuding only seconds before was gone.

I’m sure Griffin has seen some horrible things. I should have prepared him for what he was walking in to
, because he’ll never be able to wash that sight from his mind.

I know I won’t be able to.

So, was Jerry forced at gunpoint to leave the party and then return to our home? It depends on what kind of gun you’re envisioning. Actually, speaking of guns, I wonder if Griffin would loan me his so I can shoot myself in the head?

“
Aisling! I … what … where did you go?”

I strode into the room, covering my eyes as I went. Since Jerry and Aidan were in varying stages of undress – and they’d been groping like teenagers on prom night on the couch when I opened the door -- they’d been so caught up in each other they hadn’t noticed me enter the condo.

“I’m blind,” I screeched.

I risked a side look at Griffin, but his face was hard to read. It was red – from the obvious embarrassment – but he looked
as though he was fighting the urge to laugh as well. This was not funny.

“Let’s not be dramatic,” Aidan said,
pushing away from Jerry to leave a small gap on the couch between the two of them.

“Not be dramatic? You’re making out with my best friend on my couch.”

“So? We’re both adults.”

“You’re my brother.”

“I think that whole sharing a womb at the same time tipped me off,” Aidan drawled. “Just don’t freak out.”

“My brother is making out with my best friend on my couch,” I said. “This is the time to freak out.”

“You’re spazzing, and it’s not attractive,” Aidan said. “Why don’t you have a drink and calm down.” Aidan patted the open seat on the couch next to him.

“That couch has to be burned,” I said.

“Why? This is a nice couch.”

Griffin cleared his throat. “Um, I’m going to leave you to … this.”

I had almost forgotten he was still here. “Thanks for the ride, although I’m betting you’re rethinking that whole ‘walk a woman to her door’ thing you insisted on.”

“No problem,” he said, shooting Jerry and Aidan a stern look. “You really shouldn’t have left her in Detroit to find her own way home.”

“We thought she left with you,” Aidan said. “We never would have left her there.”

“Why would I leave with him?” I was scandalized – and embarrassed.

“Because you’re warm for his form,” Jerry said simply.

“I told you to stop saying that,” I hissed.

“What? That you’re hot for me?” Griffin looked interested.

“No,” I shook my head, ignoring his pointed look.
“Warm for your form. It’s a stupid saying and it bugs me. He and Aidan have been saying it for days.”

“If you went home with him, Bug, things wouldn’t bug you as much,” Jerry said. “Bug being bugged. That’s kind of funny.”

I would murder him if a cop wasn’t in the room.

Griffin chuckled, not trying to hide his wide smile. “Well, that’s flattering. I think. I’ll … be in touch.”

I met his gaze, feeling a weird mixture of emotions – fear, longing, regret – wash over me. “I’ll see you.”

“You will,” Griffin agreed, shutting the door behind him as he left.

Once it was just the three of us, I turned back to Jerry and Aidan. “Do you two want to explain yourselves?”

“I think he likes you,” Jerry said.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” I shot back.

“That’s good for us,” Aidan said. “If he’s hot for you, that means he can’t possibly think we’re murderers.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know that we’re up to something,” I countered.

“He doesn’t know what, though,” Jerry said. “He’ll never be able to figure that out. I know and I still don’t believe it.”

“We’re getting off point.”

“What’s the point again?” Aidan asked.

“That you two were about to get all … groiny on my couch.”

“
Groiny? That’s not a word.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “It should be.”

“Just chill,” Aidan said. “It’s not a big thing. We had a few drinks and we were watching some television and one thing led to another … it was an accident.”

I glanced down at the Blu-Ray case on the table and knew he was lying. “You were watching
Pretty Woman
and thought that wouldn’t lead to something?”

Pretty Woman
is like catnip for Jerry.

“Nothing happened, Bug,” Jerry said. “A few kisses, a little petting.”

“Don’t say petting!”

“Maybe you should get some sleep,” Aidan suggested. “You’re obviously exhausted from all the flirty looks you and Detective Taylor were giving each other all night.”

That did it. “I can’t even look at you!”

“Then go to bed.”

I stalked toward my bedroom, pausing in the open door, one hand ready to slam it shut. “You better not be here in the morning and I better never hear about this ever again!”

“Good night, Bug.”

“Sleep well, sis.”

Men.

“You’re kidding!”

After a long night spent tossing and turning – dreams of a sweaty Griffin warring with the memory of Aidan and Jerry groping on the couch fighting for supremacy in my brain – I left the condo early, before Jerry was up.

I just couldn’t look him in the eye.

I went to Grimlock Manor to see how much headway my brothers had made in their research on the grimoire. Cillian and I were locked in the library – him behind a computer, me lounging on a couch pretending I was leafing through research books -- and searching for any information.

I had promised not to tell anyone about Jerry and Aidan’s dalliance. So, of course, I lasted fifteen minutes before I broke.

“No, I’m not kidding,” I replied. “I’m scarred for life.”

Cillian
laughed, his eyes filled with the mirth I was worried would be missing for days after his run-in with Angelina. “That’s horrifying. What did you do?”

“I pitched a fit,” I said. “What should I have done?”

“I don’t know,” Cillian said, shrugging. “Turn off the lights?”

“What?”

Cillian bit the inside of his lip as he regarded me. “Aisling, this really can’t come as a surprise to you.”

“Of course it’s a surprise,” I said. “Aidan is my brother.”

“And Jerry is like a brother,” Cillian said. “He’s not a real brother, though. He’s just a good friend to us. He’s only a brother to you.”

“It’s still gross.”

“It’s … interesting, not gross. I expected more from you.”

“It’s not gross because they’re gay,” I clarified. “It’s gross because we’re all the same age and we all grew up together.”

Cillian reached over and tousled my hair, stopping to examine a strand of it for a second. “I like the white highlights.”

“Dad hates them.”

“That’s why you put them in, isn’t it?”

“That’s an ugly thing to say.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Let’s go back to talking about how gross Aidan and Jerry licking each other on my couch
is.”

“Licking?
Don’t go into detail.” Cillian held up a hand in an attempt to keep the visual out of his mind.

“Who was licking?” Braden poked his head into the room. When he saw it was just
Cillian and me, he joined me on the couch, shifting my legs to give himself enough room to sit.

“Aidan and Jerry were making out on the couch when
Aisling got home last night,” Cillian said, his violet eyes twinkling.

I expected Braden to freak out. Instead, a wide smile took over his handsome face. “It’s about time.”

What the hell? “How can you not be freaking out about this?”

“Because some of us have been waiting for it to happen for years,” Braden said.

“What? You can’t be serious. They have nothing in common – other than being gay – and you can’t build a relationship on that.”

“They have a lot in common and very little of it revolves around them being gay,” Braden said. “You’re just too close to the situation to see it.”

“And you’re not?”

“We’re close to Aidan,” Braden said.

“You’re close to Jerry, too.” I may be angry at Jerry, but I was still his biggest cheerleader. “He’s a great guy.”

“He’s an awesome guy,” Braden agreed. “He’s a great catch for someone.”

“Someone who isn’t Aidan,” I grumbled.

“Why not Aidan?”
Braden asked. “Don’t you think he’s good enough for Jerry?”

“Of course he’s good enough for Jerry,” I shot back. “Aidan is a catch, too.”

“Then why shouldn’t they catch each other?” Cillian asked, searching my face for answers.

“Because … because … because I said so.”

“Because you think that if Aidan and Jerry get together, you’ll somehow lose your best friend,” Braden said.

“I don’t think that,” I scoffed.

Braden captured my hand with his, bringing his other hand to it to make sure I didn’t yank it away. “Jerry loves you. He’s never going to just throw you over. Not even for Aidan.”

“I never said he was.”

“No,” Braden agreed. “I think that’s why you’re fighting this, though.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Is it?”

Cillian
had stopped his tapping on his laptop – which was resting on his lap as he sat on the floor in front of one of the wingback chairs across from us – and waited for me to answer. The problem was, I didn’t have an answer. Was Braden right? Was I keeping Jerry from something special because I was jealous?

“I want Jerry to be happy,” I said finally.

“I know you do.”

“I want Aidan to be happy, too.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think I can share a bedroom wall with Jerry while he is banging my brother.”

“Ugh,” Braden said, dropping my hand. “Did you have to take it there?”

It wasn’t so funny when the shoe was on the other foot, was it? “It just freaks me out.”

“Okay,” Braden said. “I can see that. The question is, when it comes down to it, are you going to stand in their way?”

“They said it was just an accident,” I argued.

“And you believed that?”

My mind flashed to the
Pretty Woman
case. “No,” I admitted.

Braden patted my hand. “Just think about it, kid,” he said. “It might be really great.”

“How?”

“Because, if they get together and stay together, Jerry would be an actual member of our family,”
Cillian supplied.

“He’s already a member of our family,” I grumbled
.

“Just think about it,” Braden pressed.

I blew out a sigh. “Fine.”

“Good girl,”
Cillian said, turning back to his computer screen.

“What are you two doing?” Braden asked.

“Researching the grimoire,” I replied.

“Oh, did you find anything?” Braden looked interested.

“It’s hard,” Cillian admitted. “There are a lot of generic references to grimoires in the records. Finding a specific grimoire, though, is like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“That’s actually a misnomer,” I offered.

“What’s a misnomer?”

“Finding a needle in a haystack,” I said. “If you want to be correct you should say that we’re looking for a specific needle in a pile of other needles.”

Braden rolled his eyes. “Do you always have to be such a pain?”

“That’s what Griffin said to me last night,” I muttered. “I am not a pain.”

“Griffin?” Cillian’s eyes lit up. “Do you mean Detective Taylor?”

“He had to drive me home after you all ditched me at the ball last night.”

“We didn’t ditch you,” Cillian said. “We thought you left with Jerry and Aidan.”

“And they said they thought I was with Griffin, like that would happen.”

Braden and Cillian exchanged a look – and it wasn’t lost on me. I pretended I didn’t see it, but neither one of them appeared ready to let it go.

“Do you like Griffin?” Braden asked, reaching in to tickle me for emphasis.

I shifted away from him, irritation bubbling up. “He’s a cop.”

“That’s not a
‘no,’” Cillian said.

“Why can’t you like a cop?” Braden asked.

“Because he’s investigating Aidan and me for murder.”

“Beside
s that.”

“Oh, yeah, because that’s such a little thing,” I scoffed.

“It’s not like he believes you’re a murderer,” Cillian said. “You can tell he’s interested in you.”

“How can you tell that?”

“Because he watched you the entire night,” Braden supplied.

“Oh, please, how do you know that?”

“Because we were watching him.”

“You were watching him? You spent all night watching him?” That was creepy.

“If you didn’t notice, there was a decided lack of women there last night,” Braden said. “It was either watch him or watch Dad. He was more interesting.”

“And he was watching me all night?” I tried to
hide my interest.

“Would that make you happy?”
Cillian teased.

“No.”

“I think you like him, too,” Braden said.

“I think you two are delusional.”

“Fine,” Braden blew out a sigh. “Keep denying it. We know, though. It was written all over your face.”

“Whatever,” I said, dismissing the topic of Griffin from today’s conversation agenda. “What are we going to do about the
grimoire?”

“I set up a trap and trace,”
Cillian replied.

“For those of us who aren’t computer geeks, what does that mean?”

“It means I’ve gone to all the regular online dealers and typed in the specifics of the grimoire we’re looking for,” Cillian said.

“And what will that get us?”

“Maybe nothing,” Cillian said. “If someone tries to sell it, though, we’ll be able to find out who.”

It wasn’t much, but it was something. “And you know how to do that?”

“I’m smarter than I look.”

“That’s good,” I said. “Because you’re never going to catch a woman with the way you look. It’s good you’re smart, so you have something to fall back on.”

Cillian slipped the computer onto the floor and launched himself on top of me. I’ve wrestled with my brothers for as long as I can remember, so I have a few moves, but he caught me off guard and I was utterly helpless in seconds. Once he managed to pin me beneath his weight he had me at his mercy.

“Who is the best-looking and smartest brother you have?”

“Braden,” I laughed, despite myself.

Cillian
tickled me harder. “Who is the best-looking and smartest brother you have?”

“Redmond.”

“Try again.”

“Aidan?”

“You have thirty seconds,” Cillian warned.

“You,” I ceded.

“And who is your favorite brother?”

“You.”
Cillian let off just enough for me to catch him off guard and shift my hips, tumbling him onto the floor next to me. “You’re all schmucks, though.”