Page 51 of Hell on Wheels
Javi finally speaks, his eyes dancing as he looks at me. “You know, rumor has it all sex is casual unless you’re wearing a bow tie. Perhaps you had plans?”
“Excuse me,” Archie replies as the jacket form is pulled off his frame and then draped over Damon. “I believe that’s called a ‘fuxedo’ and I plan on wearing the hell out of mine. You idiots will have to work hard to outdo me.”
For the love of Loki’s horns, these dudes…
“Do whatever you want, Glaser, but if you drop the puck on watching my sister, you’re getting your ass kicked.”
We all turn to see Rebel in the doorway, smirking as his eyes flash with magic and I groan under my breath.
I can’t decide if I want the giant spider to kill me, so I don’t have to be part of what’s coming next.
Truth Hurts
I brought Rebel back to us in Guillermo’s lair for a reason. Rebel knows the old arachnid is temperamental and prone to overreaction. He’s been here before and won’t want to end up spun into the geezer’s web while the rest of us get measured. That web shit takes weeks to wash off, and with the upcoming meeting, he’ll avoid getting covered in spider jizz.
Which makes it a perfect place to break some or all of the truth to him.
“Good to see you, man. Did the car survive?” I ask casually, leaning against a dusty workbench.
“Be careful!” Guillermo clicks at me reprovingly. “You’ll disturb my weavings.”
Rogue looks like she’s fighting like hell not to physically shiver, and I wink at her. This is a good test for her; she’ll have to keep her cool at the Appalachin as well, so working on her impulse control here is handy. “Tell me you didn’t do any damage to Lucille.”
Our friend rolls his eyes at her. “Of course not. I was angry, not braindead.”
Damon claps him on the shoulder with a grin, then winks at our girl. “I don’t know how we mixed the two up. You’re so logical when you’re pissed.”
“Fuck off,” Rebel says as he flips my twin off and walks over to the ancient settee to sit down. “Who’s going first, Guillermo?”
The half-spider, half-man, looks at him imperiously. “You are aware I cannot be hurried, young Fae. Perfection cannot be obtained when time is being measured in seconds.”
Unfortunately, Rebel Kelly is one of the most impatient motherfuckers I know, so this is going to be difficult.
“Rogue wants us to have bow ties and vests that match her dress. Maybe we should send Guillermo a text with the dress so his assistant can find the right fabrics?” I look over at Rogue, hoping she’ll start talking now.
“Yes. That will be most helpful, Angelo.” Guillermo makes a loud clicking sound and the racoon shifter comes running out of a concealed door. “Laurel, please use your phone to get the details from the sister of Rebel. This order is our top priority.”
The curvy blonde scurries over to Rogue, patting her apron and pockets until she finds the one hiding her cell phone. I can tell she’s amusing our girl with her harried appearance, pins andpens sticking out of her hair and clothes, and absent-minded demeanor. “Hello. My name is Laurel. If you give me your number, ma’am, I’ll send you a text and you can respond with the picture. I promise I won’t abuse the privilege.”
“Is someone going to tell me why we need to match my sister?” Rebel drawls. His posture is relaxed, but I’ve known him long enough to recognize when the wheels are turning in his head. The sharpness of his gaze and wariness in his tone give him away every time.
Rogue is busy talking with Laurel, so I look at the rest of the guys, wondering how we’re going to approach this. Doing it in the presence of the terrifying tailor is smart, but none of us knows how to start the conversation.
Finally, Archie strolls over to the couch and sits next to him, sprawling out before he simply says, “She’s my mate, dude. Punch me if you want, but it shocked the living shit out of us, too. Samara is gonna lose her mind and my dads will be smug as hell. They’ve always thought—well, they won’t be surprised.”
A gritted jaw and narrowed eyes are the only indicators of the rage I know Reb is bottling up. He knows better than to start a fistfight at this place, but he’s also ready to throttle Archie with his bare hands. Of course, if he didn’t have the self-reflection of a boulder, he’d realize he’s not angry about Rogue finding a mate or even it being Archie. He’s furious that he’s lost his chance—even if he can’t admit it.
Not that he has, but Rebel is definitely not ready to hear that yet.
I dart my eyes over to Damon as he stands still while Guillermo skitters around him, taking measurements. He can’t move, butI can’t tell if he has no idea if we should chime in or let Archie absorb the first blow alone. Javi clears his throat, but he says nothing. We’re all too stunned at our leonine friend’schutzpahto comment yet.
“You.Youmated with mysister,” Reb says in a tight voice. “The biggest man whore I know… mated… with my sister.”
That gets Rogue’s attention, and she turns away from the seamstress, stalking over to the couch. “Shut your mouth, Rebel Elvis Kelly. No one asked your opinion, nor do we want it. I am nineteen years old and I can make my own fucking decisions without running them past you. Were you evenlisteningto Archie?”
“I heard the lame ‘we didn’t mean to’ excuse,” he shoots back. “He’s old enough to know better. Shiftersalwaysknow.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Javi says softly. “It varies greatly from species to species, especially if you toss in hybrids or mythicals.”