Page 44 of The Fate of Black Hearts

The vessel was complete with helipad, gym, entertainment rooms, and a huge dining facility. For security, it had an escape launch for the speedboat, an arsenal of sonic guns that fired low-frequency sound waves capable of bursting the eardrums of approaching hostiles, a military water cannon that could sink approaching boats, and a complete missile defense system.

Each of her sons milled in their own corners, exhausted and unsettled. It’d only been a few weeks. Already, they were tortured. Not good. This curse might stretch out for much longer than a few months.

Be tough. They need you.

Evie walked to the back of the boat where Flynn gazed into the trail of waves left behind them in the moonlight. She waited for him to tell her whattroubled him.

He gave her a side-eye. “I’m not as good as them at all this. I think maybe I don’t belong on their team.”

Her heart crumbled. That asshole, Willem, was trying to divide them, which would make them easier to manipulate. She should’ve anticipated this. Gently, she asked, “Them? As in your brothers? What makes you think you don’t belong?”

“I’m not as good as them. Not as fast. Not as good at fighting. I don’t understand how to fight nonhumans. They don’t?—”

“Stop,” she interrupted. “Flynn…” She waited until he glanced her way. “You are strong and smart. So smart. You understand things about technology, and you can read people and perceive their intentions in a way no one else can. Your job isn’t to know how to kill nonhumans. Do you think Jonas or Shane understand how to get rid of demons or whatever other evils you face? That’s Roman’s job. It sucks, but that’s his gift. He can tell you what needs to be done. Your expertise makes you a crucial part of all of us. Come here.” She opened her arms. “You belong right here. With me. With your brothers. Every one of them would give their life to save you. I fought werewolf hunters who would’ve destroyed both of us, but I knew you were mine the moment you looked at me.”

“I don’t know?—”

“Would you do anything to keep them alive?”

“Yes. It’s what I’m doing.”

“That feeling that makes you want to protect them is something they have for you too. It’s whatmakes you want to shield Jonas and punch Shane when he fusses at you for sayingfuck.”

He chuckled. “He’s such a fucking goody two-shoes.”

“I don’t know where he gets it, but he’s the necessary moral compass for all of you. He’s also the only one who can make any of you laugh when you need it. None of us can survive without what you bring to the table. Don’t believe Willem’s bullshit. He’s scared of all of you. You have more reason to hate him than the others. He actively tried to destroy you.”

“I think he still wants to.” He hugged her back. “This is hard.”

“I know.” She blinked hard to force the tears to stay in her eyes. “I’m proud of the alpha you’ve become. You care so much about being there for all of us that sometimes you forget how exceptional you are. If you ever need me to shred some bastard to a bloody pulp, or pop a human you can’t kill, or pick you up when everything’s gone to shit, I’ll be there. I will never give up on working to get you free of this curse.”

He hugged her tight. “I love you.”

She sucked in a deep breath and swallowed her need to hold him for a lot longer. Her eyes watered up, but she blinked away the moisture. “Pull yourself together for dinner. Efrem laid out some clothes for you. This outfit is…” She gave a disdainful once-over of his T-shirt and jeans. “You can’t wear it to dinner in my house, not if you expect to be served. I found a new cook who’s incredible.” She always made dinner a formal event and required evening wear. They knew it, even enjoyed it. The only occasions the family dressed down for were birthdays—if the one they celebrated wished it to be informal. However, her sons usually kept up the formal custom. Secretly, she knew they loved wearing the beautiful clothes as much as she did.

Flynn nodded and wandered into the heart of the ship, where a staff member would show him his room.

She wandered back to the main cabin dining area. Roman sat alone at the bar table in the corner of the room. Evie joined him and poured each of them a half glass of Scotch.

He twirled the glass in his hand. “We’re a bloody mess. They assigned us a human to relay orders from Her Majesty.” His eyelids drifted shut and he shook his head. “A bloody human given the power to command us as he sees fit.” He watched the eyes swirl in his glass. “The bastard is scared of us even though he’s protected. He treats us like we’re monsters. We were sent to investigate a bunch of killings in Manchester. Turned out to be a witch possessed by the demon she conjured. That was hard, but we eliminated the witch, as ordered. Then we had to chase after what turned out to be an injured troll in Scotland. I didn’t think it needed to be killed, but when I asked to help it instead of eliminating it, our handler said no.” His red-rimmed eyes met hers. “We had no choice but to end the poor creature. If we don’t do what they want or if we think something bad about the Crown or our handler, this hurts us.” He held up his wrist where a blue tattoo banded him. “I tried to say no. I wanted to save it. I couldn’t do?—”

“You had no choice.” She hovered her hand around the tattoo, picking up the hum of terrible magic.

“Then there’s Willem. He’s still a despicable shit. What he did to Jonas…” He buried his face in his hands. “He threw him at the witch. It was his test to see what she’d do. She hurt him, of course, because Jonas wasn’t ready. None of us were ready.”

She wrapped her arms around him.

He rested his head on her shoulder. “I thought we escaped Willem.”

“We did. You are ten times more powerful than him now. If he throws a punch at you, knock him the fuck out and leave him behind for the next witch to torture.”

“He’s scared of us. He made our handler order all of us not to kill each other, but it was more to protect Willem from the rest of us. He wasn’t required to make the same promise.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t leave him behind. You will fight back when he does things to hurt you.” She released him and steeled herself. “I need you to do something for me. This may be the hardest thing of your life.”

Fear flashed through his eyes.

“You must be their leader. Keep your brothers united. Keep them tight up here.” She tapped her head. “Especially when Willem is going to try to divide you.”