Page 27 of Havenfall Harbor
My eyes are still glued to Quinn, but I see Evan’s head nod as he stares down at her.
Evan
The momentthe doors to the gym open, I know it’s her. Griff turns at the exact same moment I do, as if he knew it was her too. “I think we’re in trouble,” is what I say, but I’m feeling so much more. I acted like I thought Griff just wanted her blood, but I know better. He hasn’t reacted to a woman like he is now during this lifetime.
“Oh, shit,” I mutter when I see Quinn’s face go from pliant to enraged the moment she sees my best friend. What the fuck has he done, and why do I want to punch him in the face for making her look like that? It’s not too surprising, though, since Griff can be a right asshole.
Quinn prowls across the floor, her target in her sights. Not an ounce of fear is mingled in her scent, the bitter tinge of anger is strong though.
“Gym’s closed, out!” The rigidness in Griff’s shoulders eases when her finger touches his chest, which is surprising, he doesn’t let anyone touch him. I watch as his mouth parts so he can catch a deeper breath. He’s a fucking vampire and barely even need to breathe, but he’s damn near panting now.
I take note that she mentions Letty and I feel pressure build in my ears. What the fuck does she have to do with this? I’m still pissed at her for leaving Quinn to walk up to the main building.
Quinn snaps her lips closed and pivots so she’s facing me after scolding my best friend. “My apologies, Mr. Winters. If you still have a few moments, I could really use your help.” Her about-face and complete change of demeanor catches me off guard.
“What can I do?” Quinn blinks a few times and her eyes move over my bare chest, then to the area around me. I catch her stealing a quick glance at Griff from the corner of her eye too.
“Quick and dirty, I need help getting a student’s sibling brought to Havenfall and I don’t know how to do it.”
“I can do quick and dirty,” I quip, but I’m not really thinking about it the way she meant it. “You have a name and location?”
“Jacob Masters, he’s twelve and lives in Ladue, Missouri,” Quinn supplies quickly.
“What’s the urgency?” Surprisingly, Griff keeps his tone calm. I bet he doesn’t know which way is up right now. I’ve never seen anyone, human or supe, talk to him the way Quinn just did.
Quinn manages to reply just as evenly. “His sister Riley was brought here for stealing food, I’m pretty sure she’s the one that’s been taking care of him. And if she’s here…”
“She’s the girl from your office?” Griff concludes gruffly. “How long has she been here?”
“Almost three weeks.” Quinn glances between Griff and me. “So, you see the urgency.” All the anger she was feeling after seeing Griff is slowly wafting away, replaced with the acidic smell of anxiety. She’s really concerned about this kid.
“Why didn’t she come to someone sooner?” I ask, while Griff moves his shirt and jacket from arm to arm, searching the pockets.
“She said she didn’t know who to talk to, but she also admitted to me that before she got sent here, she didn’t know anything about Havenfall. They didn’t know there was help out there for them.”
A heavy weight lands firmly on my shoulders. I’ve been working with Griff for what feels like forever, and we’re still not making a big enough difference. Sure, now that supes are out in the open all the kids that used to get thrown into the human system get sent here, and places like it, but somedays it feels like we’re barely making a dent. Half the supernatural population lives as if we’re still hiding our existence from humans.
“I need my schedule cleared for the day and I need Max ready to head out in two hours. Will that be enough time for you to get ready?” Griffin directs the latter question to Quinn while still holding the phone to his ear.
“Me? I’m going?” Quinn looks around.
“Yes,” he affirms.
“Um, yeah, I can do that.” Quinn sounds a little unsure, but nods her head.
“Looks like your plans for Bakersville will be put on hold,” I tell Quinn, while Griff finishes his phone conversation rather abruptly.
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me. I’ll need to tell Alice. I’m not sure why I’m going.” She adds the last part in a near whisper.
“That’s part of the reason I came to see you this afternoon. I wanted to talk to you about pickups. We often have to deal with the human authorities. As our human liaison, I think it would be beneficial to have you along,” Griff explains reasonably after ending his call. I knew he was listening to us no matter how quietly she spoke.
“That makes sense. Will someone be accompanying me? I want to make sure the kids are comfortable too,” Quinn states.
“I will.” Griff slides his phone into his pants pocket.
“Wewill.” I stare over Quinn’s head to gauge my best friend’s response. I know for a fact he doesn’t do pickups. Unless it’s a special circumstance, but it sounds like he’s having a change of heart, so I might as well tag along with them.
Griff meets my eyes with Quinn standing between us. For a second, I wonder if this will be the moment where things change between us. He blinks and exhales out his nose. “Be ready in two hours,” he tells me. “Quinn, find out if the kid has a picture of her brother. We need to know who we’re looking for.”
