by Flynn Eire
“I like him,” Theo chuckled, stepping away from Meggan and towards Mark. “Not sure if this will work, but since people’s gifts can’t affect me or when they’re touching me…” he trailed off and grabbed Mark’s arm. I watched as Mark’s eyes seemed to clear and he shook his head as if he was stepping inside out of the rain.
“Okay, who slipped me the roofies?” Mark muttered, rubbing his free hand over his face. “What the hell just happened? It’s all foggy, but we were standing in the way of Theo and Meggan’s happiness, and I know she’s the bitch who was involved in Theo’s torture.”
“Let’s get you all cleared up and answer this once,” I chuckled as I nodded for Theo to move onto the next one. A few minutes later everyone was kind of acting the same, plopping down on the couch as Helios tied Meggan up and gagged her.
I filled everyone in on what had happened as Helios made the call to have Meggan re-picked up and questioned, this time with someone who could hold out against her influence. But the more I talked, the further Theo seemed to crawl into himself from where he was sitting on the couch. And when I got to the part of using my gift, his head was hanging.
I wasn’t stupid enough to tell anyone what I’d heard with him already reacting like that.
“What did she really want to say?” he murmured.
My head snapped back to him and my heart raced. Shit. I hadn’t expected him to push this. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I need to know, Evan.” He raised his head, and I saw the tears swimming in his eyes. I told him, even as my stomach knotted and my mind screamed not to, and watched as a tear slipped down his cheek. “Thank you for being honest. I think I’m going to go—”
“Field trip,” I blurted.
“What?” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand as he stood. “What are you talking about?”
“We need a field trip,” I elaborated, completely pulling it out of my ass. He’d been about to say he was going to go be alone, probably in his room, and I didn’t want that. It wasn’t good for him to digest this by himself. “Come on, you haven’t been off the property in forever. Let’s get some air, pick up some food before we eat you out of house and home.”
“Evan, I don’t know,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
“Please? You guys have a Costco here. We don’t have one in all of Wyoming.”
“Sam’s never going to let me go there. It’s huge. That’s too much walking.”
“You could ride in the cart,” Sam countered with a shrug. “Besides, some of us were already talking about hitting you up to go because you probably had a membership.” He looked at me, then I saw in his eyes he agreed with me. Glad we were on the same page. “Zibon was chatting about taking your truck back tonight and picking us all up some more gear from camp since there wasn’t room in the chopper for them and bags. We think it’s best we stay through this meeting thing since Theo doesn’t have any security.”
Theo bit back a smile as he shook his head. “Well I guess the least I can do is take you guys to Costco then.”
“Oh my god, really?” Bowie exclaimed, jumping to his feet as he shot me a wink. Yeah, they were all in on it now. He lifted his sweater and flashed Theo his abs. “There, I’ll totally show you them now. Take me to Costco. I always wanted to go. We didn’t have one by my coven either.”
We all laughed at that, some of the pain and worry melting off Theo’s expression and body language. Helios was staying with Meggan but asked Theo to pick up some stuff for Rune. While they were busy, I walked over to Meggan and whispered in her ear.
“Be grateful Helios is in charge of your transport, bitch, because if I was, you’d have an accident. The world would be a better place without you and I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep if you fell out of the chopper somehow after what you did to Theo. You won’t ever have him. He’s with me and I don’t want a fucking dowry. I just want him. Have fun rotting in prison for eternity knowing he’s in my bed deliriously happy.”
I stood back up and my cheeks heated as I realized all the conversations in the room had stopped, everyone listening to what I’d just said.
“Did you mean it?” Theo murmured as he moved closer to me.
“Not sure what part you’re talking about, but yes,” I hedged. He jumped up, threw his arms around my neck, and I easily caught him as his lips found mine. Apparently he didn’t care I’d just threatened to push her to her death.
“That you only want me and nothing else, not my money, not the prestige of being with me,” he whispered against my lips. “That I’ll be in your bed, deliriously happy, for days to come.”
“Yes, and if I have my way, yes,” I assured him.
“Good, good.” He bobbed his head and then rested it on my shoulder, wrapping himself around me like a monkey. “Yeah, let’s go have a field trip. Screw her. We need a break from all of this. Let’s go play at Costco and feed your friends.” He raised his head enough to look at Helios. “Call us when she’s gone. I don’t want to see her ever again and certainly not in my house.”
“You got it,” Helios agreed before handing me his list. “Stuff for my mate, please. The man goes through more batteries for all his toys.” My eyes went wide and Helios snorted. “His tech toys. Do you know how often you have to switch batteries out of gaming controllers? And he’s not getting any more USB drives to give us files on because no one returns them. He says we all get burned CDs now.”
I winced. “Yeah, I’ve got like six in a drawer I need to get back to him.”
“I’ve got three already,” Roarke admitted. “And I’m new. I can only imagine how bad the rest are.”
“Oh, there are over a hundred missing by Rune’s guess from the warriors who just transferred out,” Helios chuckled. “I’ve heard him rant about it on several occasions and how it’s all budgeted out to his department and at his cost that he has to defend.”
“Let me down,” Theo murmured in my ear. I nodded and did, watching as he walked away. Then he stopped when he realized no one was following him. “Well come on.” We all hurried after him, down the hallway, through the kitchen, and out to the five-car garage. He looked around on the organized shelves and then stopped. “Yeah, I thought I’d be too short. Need someone tall.”
I chuckled and went over there, bringing down the two large boxes he pointed out. In his defense they were floor to ceiling shelves that lined all the way across all the garages—and were filled. What were the Ashtons storing in there?
Theo knelt down and opened the first box, glancing up at Helios. “I assume your mate won’t care that there’s logos on them?” I glanced down and saw the box was filled with USB drives.
“You go to a lot of conferences and just pocket the promo?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No,” Theo snorted, giving me a wink. “One of our companies does logos and custom designed thumb drives. It’s not a full promo company with anything, it’s only thumb drives so we have the biggest selection and printing options. Any of the ones that get misprinted, we don’t just toss. My father keeps them in the garage for instances like this.” He shrugged and looked at Helios. “It’s the least I can do to say thanks to the man who helped bust Meggan. If you hadn’t, I might be at the Carter estate in chains again.”
“It was my pleasure, Theo,” Helios assured him gently as he squatted down. He dug in the box, laughing at the hundreds and hundreds of them. “God, Rune is going to flip. This is awesome. Thank you.”
“No problem. Let me know if he ever needs more. I’ve got a ton. I don’t know what all the memories are on them but they’re at least a gig since we don’t print on anything smaller.”
“We should order some for Rune for Christmas that say Property of Rune, give it back,” I joked.
Helios smiled at me. “Right?”
I could tell how much better Theo felt after doing something nice for the warriors who had helped him, and by the time we were heading out to Costco, all our lists in hand, he was smil
ing.
When we arrived and Sam pulled out the cart for him to hop up in, I wasn’t the only one shaking my head as a grown man tried to figure out how to gracefully get in a huge shopping cart. I ended up taking pity on him and lifting him into it, getting a kiss on the cheek as my reward. Then I pushed him to the entrance where Theo showed the guy his card.
“Sir, you can’t ride around in the cart,” the guy informed him with a frown.
“I’m his treating physician,” Sam countered. “He’s recovering and not able to physically walk the distance required to handle a store this size.”
The guy glanced at all of us and realized we were all together… And was smart enough to be polite. “I understand, but we provide other means for our customers who have physical restrictions.”
“I saw the flat beds, but I could roll right off that if someone turned too sharply,” Theo replied, acting dumb. “That would be a major liability issue. This will do just fine even without a pillow. I promise. I’ll make sure to tell your manager you were so concerned over my safety though.” He smiled brightly at the guy, and I took the hint, pushing the cart while the poor guy just stared at Theo with an open mouth.
Yeah, I wasn’t the only one having trouble not laughing. We made it to one of the electronics aisles before Bowie, pushing another cart caught up to us.
“I think he meant a wheelchair or something, Theo.”
We all looked at each other and lost it.
“No shit, Bowie,” Wally snickered as he passed us with yet another cart. “And you guys are buying your own crap this time. Don’t assume my mate’s footing the bill to win you over. I already know you like him.”
Theo shot me a questioning look on that one, but I just shrugged. I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.
Besides I was a little bit more focused on a flaw I’d found in this plan. It was very intimate going shopping for personal items I needed with the man I was just starting to be involved with… While he was in the cart and would see all of it.
It actually made me not want to get anything. Okay, I didn’t need anything from electronics or office supplies. Then I made sure to walk down every aisle just so we extended the trip and Theo got as long of a break as possible. But yeah, didn’t need plate sets or dishware, not kitchen gadgets or tools. So nothing.
“This is weird, right?” he muttered after we were away from the group. “It’s not like we’re shopping at a naughty store together. Why is it so odd?”
“Glad it’s not only me,” I admitted as I rested over the cart. I actually leaned my head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “It’s not like we met at a party or through friends. I think we’re just weird to start and normal might be odd for us. I mean, it shouldn’t be a big deal for a new couple to run an errand together, right?”
“No, but maybe I didn’t get you saw us as a couple yet.” He turned in the cart and blinked up at me, his cheeks flushed. “Plus, I’m sitting in the cart like a kid and Meggan showing up. I didn’t want to say this around the others, Evan, but I just about wet myself when she came into the room.”
I stared at him a moment and realized some goofy fun in the cart might be exactly what he needed. That was probably why he’d agreed to it so easily. I mean, when we go through a trauma, sometimes the things that remind us of the times life was easier help. As Theo watched me with those big blue eyes, I gave him a soft smile.
“I hope we’re a couple.” I made weird smooch faces at him and leaned over. “Will you be my boyfriend?” Theo laughed loud enough that it echoed off the empty space of the store.
Mission accomplished.
“Yes, you dork,” he agreed, kissing my face. Then I stole another one that was in no way funny or all that suitable for a public store.
“I’m sorry Meggan showed up and scared you. She scared me too, but you have to believe me when I say it’s over now. We know her tricks and I won’t ever let her hurt you.”
“I do.” He kissed my nose and I rolled my eyes. “And I didn’t want to say this in front of the others but I would have let you push her out of the helicopter. I didn’t look down on you for feeling that way. Kinda made me fall for you that you’d be willing to go that far to make me feel safe and protect me. I’d want to push her too, and I realized I’d do it for you if someone had hurt you like that. I think that’s why I’ve been so harsh on Wally.” His eyes went wide and he sputtered a bit. “I wouldn’t push him out of a chopper though.”
“I know what you mean,” I chuckled, kissing him again. “Thanks.” Then we just stared at each other awhile. “I hear they have good pizza here. Is it true?”
The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he nodded. “Yeah, like the best. Let’s swing up front and order maybe a dozen so they’re ready when we’re done shopping.”
“Yeah, we might need more than that and to give us like an hour,” I joked as I saw Bowie and Zibon jogging down towards us, both smiling brightly.
“We got the Brita filters Dottie had on her list,” Zibon called over, like he thought that might get him a cookie.
“Good, Zibon. Go pick out some cookies from the bakery,” Theo drawled.
“Oh yeah, we’re so a couple,” I muttered as I pushed the cart. “I was thinking the same sarcastic thing.”
But Zibon was oblivious. “They have a bakery?” He and Bowie took off as I pushed Theo towards the café.
“Sitting in the cart makes me feel like I’m ten,” Theo muttered.
“I think it’s what you went through today and you’re feeling fragile,” I countered gently. He nodded, wrapping his arms around his knees as he stared out at the store.
“Thanks for busting me out of the house though. It does feel good to get out for a bit. Part of me is freaked out too though. I haven’t been off the property in so long. I mean, I know you can’t be agoraphobic when you were chained up, but it’s still scary.” He leaned his head onto his knees and closed his eyes. “Jesus, I’m a mess. You should run now, Evan. It’s the only sane thing to do. Part of me wants to cry because I’m sitting in a cart at Costco needing to be pushed around.”
“And the other part?” I asked as I stopped at the end of the line.
“I never want to leave and go back to that house where so much happened,” he admitted as tears leaked out of his closed eyes. “How can I want both things when they seem to conflict?”
“You’ve been through hell and kept pushing forward, handling everything, and not stopping for even a minute to deal with what happened,” I guessed as I kissed his hair. “Meggan showing up made you confront it. So now we deal, because I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay, thanks,” he whispered after a few moments. He wiped his eyes when our turn came up. There wasn’t a lot of pizza options, but a bunch of garbage disposals like the warriors weren’t all that picky. We ended up ordering a dozen of each of the three kinds, the people looking at us like we were nuts. Then just to completely throw them, Theo added something. “Oh, and one Sprite and churro, please.”
“Just one? Not a dozen of each?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I want a snack for now.” He shrugged and pulled out his wallet. I argued and went to pay her but he threatened to tip over the cart and cause a scene if I didn’t let him win.
“You’re kind of a brat,” I muttered when we were by the sodas and I was filling up his cup.
“Only to get my way when I’m trying to be nice,” he defended. “I should feed your friends since they’re here to protect me. I wouldn’t really have tipped the cart. I could get hurt doing that.”
I rolled my eyes as I put the lid on the drink and handed it to him, snagging a bite of his churro.
“You’re gonna pay for that later,” he threatened, waggling his eyebrows at me.
“Put it on my bill,” I growled as I took off. Theo yelped and almost lost his drink, shocked I was running with him in the cart. I had to stop when we got a few annoyed glances but his smile was worth
it. Let him feel like a goof for one outing after all he’d been through.
It was the least he deserved after over six months of torture in a bomb shelter.
We met up with everyone else at the start of the food section, and I could have been pushed over with a feather when I saw two of our party bickering over which cake to get. Not because there was bickering… But because it was Sam and Roarke.
“Dude, it’s chocolate,” Sam snapped. “Chocolate wins.”
“No, it’s vanilla cheesecake mousse filling that wins,” Roarke challenged. “We get chocolate cake all the time at camp.”
“Not like this.”
“How long has this been going on?” I asked the others.
“Almost five minutes,” Wally snickered, shaking his head. “If it wasn’t so damn funny, I’d say something about them making a scene.” He nodded to the people who were starting to watch the two very large men argue over cake.
“Um, I missed my birthday while I was on my trip,” Theo called over. “I’d like to try both please.”
“Oh, sure, Theo,” Sam immediately agreed and loaded both cakes in his cart.
Theo shot Wally a disapproving look. “It might be funny to you, but you’re not the one with the target on his back.” Then he glanced up at me. “See? I only use my brattiness for good.”
“That you do,” I agreed.
Theo also agreed to smoke us salmon while we were staying with him, a real treat for us since we were used to Taco Tuesdays and easily mass-produced food that any of us could make on our kitchen days. Sure we got steak but that was high protein which we needed. Feeding a camp full or warriors fresh salmon would cost an arm and a leg. It still might given how many packages Theo had to get for all of us.
