Cats Got Your Tongue (Shifter Squad Six) (23 page)
Read Cats Got Your Tongue (Shifter Squad Six) Online
Authors: Anya Nowlan
“About?” Kelis asked with a cattish smile.
“Everything!” the twins demanded in unison.
“Well, Thatch has been out for a while now, and Dutch got out a week ago. I got a call from Ari. Tex is in for another few weeks because they figured out he was the one who blew the place up, and Connor’s up shit’s creek because of that punch.”
“And he couldn’t be happier for it,” Grant said with an amused snort.
“Hell yes,” Grim agreed.
“You’ve been talking to the wives?” Grant asked with a raised brow, glancing at Kelis as he maneuvered the streets of San Francisco, noticing after a while that he was driving out of town and toward the coast by the shortest route possible.
“Having your mates locked up and out of contact does wonders for communication between women,” Kelis said with a chuckle, one that was cut short when both men whipped their heads to the side to stare at her.
Grant’s chest bloomed with hope and warmth and he couldn’t help but grin a wolfish smile.
“Mates, you say?” Grim asked.
“I believe that is what the lady said,” Grant allowed with a grin. “What do you think we should do about that, brother?”
Kelis’s eyes were wide now, her lips slightly parted with surprise. She looked more adorable than ever.
It warmed Grant’s soul to know that not only had she taken excellent care of Dylan and Dante, with both boys looking to be in perfect health now, but that she’d been obviously thinking about them as much as they had about her. There was no doubt in Grant’s mind that she was the one for them, the woman they’d been waiting for. But to hear it from her as well… there was scarcely anything he could imagine that would make him happier!
“I think a wedding is in order,” Grim said innocently, leaning back on his elbow and looking behind to the back seat, where Kelis was sitting in the middle of it.
“I think so too. What do you think, Kelis? Would you do us the honor of being our wife? You’re the mother of our children already, so I think we should get on with the formalities as well!” Grant queried, a mischievous spark to his voice.
It didn’t matter that his body ached and his stomach grumbled from being kept in austere and cramped conditions in the Crypts. It didn’t even matter that he wanted very badly to blow up The Firm, much as they’d done with The Arctics’ lab in Arizona. All that mattered was that he was in a car, with his family, heading wherever he wanted to, and no one could stop him. Even if they tried, he wouldn’t let them.
“As long as we don’t have to shoot anyone during the ceremony,” Kelis finally said after a silence that had been grating at Grant like nothing else.
“We can’t promise that,” Grim commented quickly.
“Well. I guess I’ll have to live with it then,” Kelis said with a laugh. “Of course I’ll marry you!”
Grant beamed a smile so satisfied and happy that he was sure he was putting the sun to shame. Finally, he could be at peace.
EPILOGUE
Kelis
Keeping a home clean and calm when there were two young boys running around was hard enough, but add in all the children of Shifter Squad Six and it turned into pandemonium the likes of which had scarcely been seen. Still, Kelis stood in the middle of it, grinning like a fool.
A fool in love,
she thought happily.
The yard and house were filled with laughter and play, Dylan and Dante getting along swimmingly with Connor’s boy Monroe first and foremost, but meshing with all the kids. Cassie, Connor’s wife, was pregnant with their second, and though Thatch, Tex, and Madeline hadn’t said anything about it, Kelis got the feeling that they weren’t far behind in adding to their family.
She was pulled out of her warm thoughts when strong arms looped around her, pressing her against Grim’s wide chest from behind. Easing into the contact, she leaned back, flicking her eyes up at her wonderful husband, or at least one of them.
“You’ve been gone for a while. Thought I’d come make sure you weren’t dragged off by any wolves,” he said teasingly, planting kisses on her neck.
“The only wolves in this household are the Crawleys, and I don’t think they have any arms left currently to drag anyone,” Kelis said, pointing at the window where Tex was play-acting, losing a grand fight to his twins and Dutch’s boy Roman, and Thatch seemed to be despairing at the sight of it.
All of the men of Shifter Squad Six seemed to have two completely different personas. The unflappable, deadly, scary as hell warriors that they were when work needed to be done, and the grinning, loving, jokester fools they were with their families and friends. It was a juxtaposition Kelis had come to love and admire.
“I feel left out,” Grant’s deep voice called as he padded through the kitchen barefoot, dressed in a forest green T-shirt and some jeans, perfectly relaxed and at ease.
“I’d say get your own, but I’m told she shares us,” Grim bit in with a playful barb, receiving a grin from his brother before Grant leaned down and gave Kelis a peck on the lips.
“Not working seems to make you two entirely too dramatic,” Kelis said with a flourish, rolling her eyes despite the fact that she was smiling wide.
“Can’t argue with that,” Grant said with a shrug, picking up an apple from the basket on the table and biting into it. At the look Kelis gave him, he quirked a brow. “What?! You
know
Dutch will burn the first batch of burgers and I’ll have to pretend like I wanted it that way to begin with. Let a man eat!”
“None of them know how to handle a grill. Too much heat, not enough patience,” Grim grumbled, squeezing Kelis tighter in his grip.
“You’re one to talk! You could go and show them how it’s done, you know,” Kelis said.
“Can’t! Got my hands full!” Grim called with a whoop, picking Kelis up so fast she had no time to protest against it. “See! Can’t cook a thing like this,” he said with a mocking pout, putting on his best sad face.
Grant used the moment to steal another kiss from Kelis, and she couldn’t help but be perfectly happy as things were. Months had passed since their last run-in with The Firm. The stunt they’d pulled in Arizona had finally been enough for The Firm to sever all ties with them, and none of them seemed to mind.
Connor had been let out of the Crypts about three months ago, and by now, all of them were well-rested and ready for something new. The Firm was a bitter memory in their past. Their injuries healed, their minds sharp and their bodies ready, Shifter Squad Six was raring to go.
But then again, it didn’t seem to Kelis that any of the men were particularly happy with the idea of leaving their spouses and their children alone ever again!
The wedding between Kelis, Grim, and Grant had been a modest one, with the squad fully in attendance, as well as their respective families. Which meant, thanks to Kelis’s family, that it had actually been a pretty big party!
They’d settled into a little house not far from Connor’s, the squad apparently preferring to keep close together, and that was fine with Kelis as well. She felt much closer to the wives of the squad than she’d ever felt with anyone who weren’t her squad mates or her husbands, of course. Everything was looking up and going exactly how it was supposed to.
“Do you intend on putting me down? I think one of
your
sons is trying to rally the rest of the Shifter Squad Six Mini into some sort of revolt over not having enough juice boxes,” Kelis asked Grim, nodding her head toward Dylan and Dante, arms crossed over their chests, looking every bit the serious little troop leaders they’d probably one day grow into.
“Naw, let them lead and conquer. I’m sure they’ll get on without us for a while,” Grant said with a devilish smile, Kelis catching the exact moment when Grim and Grant looked at one another and decided to play things their way, not the right way.
She yelped as she was thrown over Grim’s shoulder unceremoniously and he lugged her up the stairs and toward their bedroom, Grant in tow, smirking. No one would notice if they weren’t gone for
too
long, right?!
Don’t miss the excerpt of Anya’s next book,
Buck Me… For Valentine’s
, on the next page!
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BUCK ME… FOR VALENTINE’S EXCERPT
“I-uhm. Yeah. I try to spend every waking minute sharing barely articulated ideas with a bunch of strangers who can’t apparently use an online dating app,” he finally said, giving her a wry look. “You?”
“Oh yes,” she said with the makings of a smile, and goddammit, it made her sexy on top of being gorgeous. She was clearly going to be the end of him. “I try to set aside every Wednesday to come converse with the greatest minds in dating. I find it keeps me sharp and on my game.”
“Wouldn’t want you to fall off your game, obviously. It is such a competitive sport, after all,” Cupid said with a smirk, glancing to either side of him.
To the left, a pair seemed to be discussing the merits of steaming over boiling rice, and to the right, the table had fallen into silence, both parties staring at their hands in apparent eagerness to be anywhere but where they were at that very moment.
“Hey, don’t laugh. I’m sure there’s a championship somewhere, with prizes worth at least one good Amazon gift card,” she quipped back, her smile widening.
Shit. You’re in trouble now.
And he was, too. She was beautiful, sexy, and sarcastic? Sign Cupid up, he was ready to go to those dating championships if it meant she’d be there!
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WANT MORE?
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