Page 14 of Seas the Reckoning

Jackal’s sister gives a terse nod.

“Right. Everyone in!”

Starla, Exos, and Ji-hwan somehow all fit into the car with Jackal’s brother-in-law, who is hastily introduced as Theodore. I go with my mate, Pickles, and his sister and niece.

I set Pickles on the seat next to me, and he waits perhaps two seconds after Zyra puts her car into drive before shaking vigorously.

“Oh. A dog.” Zyra’s voice is flat, and she plasters on a smile that does not look genuine.

Not a great first impression.

“I’m so sorry! He’s really very well-behaved. I’ll keep an eye on him while we’re at your house. Which, thank you for having us. I swear, I’ll make sure he doesn’t set anything on fire and⁠—”

“On fire!” her voice ratchets up a full octave. “Jackal? My dearest brother? Did you perhaps leave out a few details when you told me you could use a place to stay?”

He’s smiling, and for the first time his sister and I seem to be in sync. She is glaring at him, and I feel my own annoyance rising. My cheeks heat. This is far from the meeting I wanted to have between his family and me.

“Zyra, I think I should clear a few things up. I told you that I needed you to help get me out of a tough spot, and I thank you for that.”

“Yes,” she says curtly. “To come pick up you and some of those enforcer friends you made in America, no doubt. I’m always happy to get my brother out of a tricky situation, but I can’t pretend that your dangerous line of work doesn’t send me through the ceiling. I want to have my brother around when I’m old, and I want Lottie to have her uncle.”

His expression sobers.

“So do I. And I will point out that my job and those connections are what helped me find a certain small hyena when certain individuals had gone on a spree, k-i-d-n-a-p-p-i-n-g certain supernaturals.”

“I can spell, you know,” Lottie protests from the backseat. She then goes right back to petting Pickles, and I’m relieved that she’s focused on the dog and not a reminder of her harrowing experience of getting abducted by a ring of villains who took supernatural children.

I know it happened, but I’ve never pressed Jackal for details. One thing he has shared is that that was the case on which he met Never and the others.

Zyra sighs, her hands loosening a bit on the steering wheel.

“I know. And I’m sorry. Ever since then, your work just makes me tense. But that’s not your fault. Or yours.” She turns to look at me, but quickly looks back at the road. “You’re an enforcer, then?”

Jackal’s grin is back in place.

“You did ask for some more details, dear sister. I should come clean. While the Were in the other car is indeed an ex-enforcer, the ladies are uninvolved.”

“Well, I know Starla’s not. She and I have met before, and you’ve told me that she decided to run a bar in North Carolina and has stayed away from a family issue. Frankly, I’m surprised to see her back here. But I assumed she must be here visiting and⁠—”

She whips around again, her eyes going wider than an owl’s as she stares at me. Jackal reaches over to place a hand on the steering wheel, ensuring we stay on the road. He laughs.

“Do you feel silly yet?”

She drops the wheel entirely, twisting to get a closer look.

“Then she’s⁠—”

“Zyra, allow me to introduce my mate. Leena.”

Zyra sputters, eyes widening even further.

“Leena, it is truly a pleasure to meet you. Please know that I would never have been terse with this giant arse if he’d told me this was a social call and not some work fiasco. Really, I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am.”

Jackal is wheezing, tears coming out of his eyes.

“You. Absolute. Twit. You. Complete. Tosser.” Zyra punctuates each word with a swat at her brother. He just keeps laughing.

I feel a small tug on my sleeve and look down to see Lottie rolling her eyes.