Very Much Alive (8 page)

She turned her head, surprised at how difficult it was. Her stomach rolled with nausea. She swallowed hard, fighting back the urge to hurl all over Logan’s expensive leather jacket. He looked pissed as all hell. “Where’s Kir?”

“Right here.” She felt someone take hold of her hand. “Told you she likes me better.” Soft lips brushed her forehead. She turned to see Kir smiling down at her, concern shadowing his eyes. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

Another pair of soft lips brushed her forehead. “Welcome back.”

She looked up into Logan’s face, surprised at his fierce expression. “Thanks. Where’d I go?”

“You got shot.” She felt his hand tremble in hers, and tried to squeeze it, surprised at both the emotion flooding his face and how hard it was to get her hand to work. “Don’t you
ever
put yourself between me and a bullet again, you hear me?”

She closed her eyes wearily and licked her lips. “Yup. Next time, let your ass get shot. Got it.”

“Jordan.”

Her eyes opened to see Logan frowning down at her.

“Shh. Not now, Logan.” The two men exchanged a look over her head. She would have tried to figure out what it meant, but she was so damn tired. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. We’ll be back soon to take you home.” Before she could process the fact that Kir had called her sweetheart, he gave her the sweetest kiss she’d ever received.

“He’s right. Get some rest.” Logan’s mouth replaced Kir’s. His kiss was full of carefully banked fire. “We’ll be back in about an hour.”

She had a hard time keeping her eyes open after the two men left her room, talking quietly as the door shut behind them.
What the hell was that all about?
She drifted off to sleep, wondering what it would be like to have the two of them
really
kissing her.

“What do you mean, you missed?”

Val winced at the hissed words as his father turned to face him. “I hit Jordan.”

“What the
fuck
was Jordan doing there?”

“I believe they may have hired her.”

Grimm’s mouth tightened. Val made sure to keep all expression from his face as Grimm glared at him. “So what stopped you from finishing the job?”

Val blinked. “I shot Jordan.”

“And?”

Val didn’t answer, knowing there was no point.

“If Jordan is helping them, you need to remove her, as well.
No excuses.
”

He bowed his head to his father, hoping the man didn’t see the hatred in his eyes. The reason for his birth, the vengeance against his brother’s murderer and the punishment of the man who’d masterminded it, had instead become service to the betrayer and an unending hunt for the betrayed.

And it was seriously beginning to piss him off, especially now that the end was so tantalizingly near. But the end had been near before, and Grimm had managed to stave it off.

He kept his expression blank as he left the office, knowing that his time was running out. If Jordan was working with Loki and Baldur, Tyr would soon find out. And Grimm would no longer accept mistakes.

How did the idiot miss again?

Grimm ground his teeth together, fighting down the urge to throw something. Something glass, that would make a nice, loud, shattering noise as it hit. He eyed the glass apple his wife Frederica had given him for Christmas about forty-five years ago and seriously thought about it.
Better not. She’ll notice the next time she’s in the office and question it. Stupid bitch.

And the only person he couldn’t afford questions from was Frigg. Her visions had let her know some of what he’d planned for Baldur and Hodr, but not all.

Not enough to stop him completely.

If Loki hadn’t interfered, things would have worked out a great deal differently. And now Jordan, the traitorous little bitch, was picking Loki’s side over his. And if Loki stayed true to form, there was no
way
Val was getting anywhere near Jordan or Baldur again.

Unless…

Grimm smiled, and the window in front of him frosted over.

“Well. I see you’re having happy thoughts.”

Grimm turned to see Rina Southerland, Val’s mother, standing in the doorway to his office. “Rina.”

She shut the door behind her and smiled seductively. “We have a date tonight, remember?”

He smiled again. Indulging Rina was one of his favorite pastimes. And since Frederica was at one of her charity functions, he had more than enough time to indulge himself, as well. “Of course. How could I forget?” He walked over and pulled her roughly to him, kissing her passionately as she cupped his thickening cock through his slacks. For her he changed into the virile young man he truly was, not the Old Grimm everyone thought him to be.

For a frost-Jotun, Rina had more fire in her than any other woman he’d ever bedded, including his wife. And, buried balls-deep in her pale, slender body, he even managed to forget his troubles for a little while.

Too bad he was going to have to kill her before he killed Val. After all, a wise man knew better than to rouse a mother bear.

Kir watched carefully as Logan placed Jordan in the back seat of his Lexus. They’d opted to buy the car when they realized how uncomfortable Jordan would be in Kir’s Mustang. Logan had insisted on one of the best, most luxurious SUVs on the market and, since it would be Logan’s car, Kir hadn’t objected too much.

The trip back to their penthouse was surprisingly uneventful. The ride in the luxury SUV was smooth and quiet. Jordan dozed, not surprising considering the amount of blood she’d lost and the strength of the painkillers she was on.

He’d warned her that Val wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if Grimm ordered it. He’d been half hoping he was wrong, but once again his father and brother had proven to him how little innocent lives mattered to them.

It had taken every bit of Logan’s power to keep her family from finding her. One wrong move and Grimm would have been breathing down their necks. As it was, Kir knew they were probably going to have some pissed off younger Grimms on their doorstep soon. Jordan was begging them to call her siblings and he and Logan were close to giving in, at least where Jeff and her sister Jamie were concerned. No way in hell were they going to call Magnus and Morgan Grimm. And they couldn’t tell her of the phone calls they were receiving from her sister. Some of them had made Kir’s hair stand on end. They’d started out pleasant enough, but the last one had been filled with threats that he was pretty sure were anatomically impossible without the aid of kitchen utensils and a lot of Vaseline. He still had no idea what a “rotating pineapple attachment” was, but he was pretty sure he didn’t want to find out.

“She’ll be all right.”

He looked over at Logan, whose eyes never left the road. “I know.”

“Are you really pissed that I put my name on the paperwork?”

Kir smiled. Logan was frowning, the expression one that let Kir know he was prepared to fight for his way. “No, just so long as she understands she’s committed to both of us.”

Logan snorted. “Once we’ve got her naked between us, she’ll figure it out pretty damn quick.”

A muffled snore sounded from the backseat. Kir turned to see Jordan’s face buried in the upholstery. She’d been in the hospital for almost a week and was still exhausted. Logan had put wards around her bed to keep her safe, but even then it had been a harrowing time. He couldn’t keep
everyone
from touching her.

“How do we keep this from happening again?”

Kir bit his lip. “I don’t know.”

“Her fathers are going to pitch a fit when they find out what happened.”

“Not to mention her boss. And her brothers and sister.”

They looked at each other and winced. “Can we prove it was Val that shot her?”

Kir shook his head. “And even if we could, they’d still blame us for putting her in danger.”

“Not us. Me.”

Kir didn’t say anything as Logan pulled into the parking garage and shut off the engine. They’d have to make sure the Lexus was added to their parking allotment, or they’d get towed. Since they didn’t use their powers any more than necessary that meant a long, boring trip to the manager’s office and filling out paperwork. Kir picked up Jordan, much to Logan’s disgust. He smirked at Logan’s disgruntled frown. “Your car, your paperwork.”

Logan groaned at Kir’s grin. “Great. Where’s an assassin or two when you need one?”

Logan left the manager’s office with a smirk on his face. He’d gotten a lecture from the overly fussy man on informing management about any “changes to the status of the tenancy of the condo”. Logan had been tempted to go back as the owner and give the man hell for upsetting a rich client, but he didn’t really have time for that sort of fun. So he’d chosen a different form of punishment for the pompous asshole. He grinned. He wondered how long it would take before the manager noticed that his signature on every single document in that office had been changed to Dick Head.

He snickered as he stepped into the elevator. Kir would probably shake his head and try to talk him into changing it back. Jordan seemed more the type to try and
make
him change it back. And maybe he would change
most
of it back.

Maybe. If they begged really prettily.

He headed up to the twenty-second floor, eager to see them both, hoping Kir had settled her down in
their
bedroom. The thought of Jordan’s scent mingling with his and Kir’s on their sheets was irresistible.

He opened the door to find Kir scowling at Jordan, who was busy trying to set up the video camera one-handed. She was pale and shaking.

Logan glared at her, all of his instincts screaming at him that she needs to be resting, not fucking around with electronics. And since his instincts were backed up by her doctor’s orders, he felt fully justified in growling at her. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

She looked up at him and smiled wearily. “We need to get the YouTube video going.”

“Now?”

“The sooner the better.”

“The doctor said you’re supposed to be in bed.” He turned to Kir. “Why isn’t she in bed?”

“Because when I went to pick her up she started struggling and I was afraid she’d reopen the wound.”

Thunder sounded outside, letting Logan know exactly how upset Kir was. The fact that Kir hadn’t taken his eyes off Jordan was also not a good sign. He looked out the window to see a fine spring shower raining down on the city. “To bed, Jordan.”

She stood up with a wince, her face paling even more. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. “No.”

Logan gritted his teeth. “I think Kir and I can figure out how to take a fucking video. Go. To.
Bed.
”

She put one hand on her hip, the other half in and half out of the sling the doctor wanted her to wear. “When I’m done.” She glared at him. “Oh, and by the way, I’m
still
not sure why you guys brought me here instead of to my apartment, other than the fact that you think Uncle Val will come after me there.” She turned back to the equipment, muttering to herself.

When she hissed in pain, Logan decided enough was enough.

He looked at Kir, who nodded. Together the two men moved on Jordan, Kir in the back, Logan in front. They sandwiched her between them before she knew what they were doing.

“Guys, this isn’t funny—
hey!
”

Kir held her arms while Logan picked her up. Together they two-stepped her into the bedroom. Ignoring her protests, Logan kicked the door shut behind him. The two men carefully put Jordan down on the bed.

Logan stood and pointed a finger at her. “Stay.”

“Woof.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I mean it.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He raked his eyes up and down her figure, allowing her to see the heat in his eyes. “Set one pinky toe off that bed, and
Daddy
will give you the spanking you deserve. Got it?” He grinned. “And don’t think
Mommy
will stop me, either.”

“Asshole,” Kir muttered. He handed Jordan a glass of water and a pain pill. “Here. Don’t worry about the video. Logan and I will take care of it.”

She made a face at them, popped the pill, and settled back down against the pillows. She looked like a pissed-off kid who’d been told to take a nap. “Do you have any idea what you’re going to do for the video?”

The look on Kir’s face reminded Logan of a naughty little boy. “I have an idea or two.”

Jordan stared at the two men blearily and wondered what they were up to. They’d exchanged a long look over her body before Kir pulled the comforter over her, careful of her shoulder. “An idea or two. Why am I not reassured?” She yawned as the pain pill began working on her.

“Don’t you trust us?”

Two identical, angelic looks, neither of which she trusted. “Hell, no.”

Logan started to laugh. “Smart girl.”

Kir just shook his head. “Get some rest, and let us worry about the video, okay?” He leaned down and gave her a kiss. She tried to stop him, hissing in pain when she tried to move her bad arm. Kir stopped her, gently pressing her arm back down. “Don’t do that.”

Logan leaned over her, taking Kir’s place. “Aren’t you the one who said you don’t like pain?”

She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him.

He kissed her quickly, before she could pull her tongue back in.

“What is up with all of the sudden sucking of face?” She was yawning before she even completed the sentence.

Logan turned and sauntered out of the bedroom. “I’ll wake you in time for dinner, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart?
She turned to Kir, who was smiling down at her. He was wavering in and out of focus. “Kir?”

He brushed her hair away from her forehead. “It’s simple. We’ve decided to keep you.”

She blinked up at him sleepily.
Damn, those pain pills are good.
She watched him walk out of the bedroom door, gently shutting it behind him.
I could have sworn he just said they’re keeping me…

She drifted off to sleep before she could finish the thought.