Page 30 of Ancient Obsession

“Not Grant?”

They laughed together.

“Grant’s a whole other level of caution,” Cody said.

They ate in silence for a moment, then Dave asked, “Hey, have you talked with Brady lately?”

“I’ve sent a few texts to check in and got pretty short responses.” Cody waved a dismissive hand, but his jaw was set. He glanced away out the window.

“You know he loves you. But Roman took him on as a project before you could.”

“Kind of like Sith training.”

“I have to admit, I’m impressed with the level of your geek knowledge.”

“You know who I’m married to,” Cody said with a chuckle. “I need to be able to keep up.”

“I’m glad you finally realized who makes your heart happy.”

“Yeah, me, too.” Cody slouched a bit and gave Dave a long look. “Is that how Ollie makes you feel?”

Dave wiped his hands on a napkin and sat back. This felt different from Cody’s usual teasing.

“You know how Oliver and I met.”

“Won’t ever forget that awful night.” Cody’s forehead furrowed, and cold fury flashed in his eyes. “I almost lost everything.”

“I know. And I just stumbled into it all with no idea werewolves or Bigfoot or vampires or witches even existed. Not yet. I had flown up here to broker a peace deal between you and Roman and then…”

“The hounds of hell were released,” Cody said.

“Pretty much. But I was lucky and found you in the middle of it all. I knew my big brother would do everything in his power to keep me safe. With your last breath, you would stand in front of me against a goddamn pack of werewolves.”

Cody’s eyes shone with tears, and his voice cracked when he said, “I would. No matter what it is, I would absolutely take it on to protect you.”

Dave nodded. “I know that. And I also know what you did that night to keep Demetrius safe.”

“Well, I pretty much failed at that one.” Cody scoffed and wiped his eyes.

“You didn’t fail. Demetrius took that on himself. And he talked it through with you, got you to see it was what had to happen.”

A muscle in Cody’s jaw tightened and released. “Fucking Nicolae turning him. I hope he’s burning in werewolf hell and howling at a full moon of fire.”

“I like that. It’s poetic.”

“Yeah, yeah. Where are you going with this? Are you just trying to make me cry?”

“Not at all. I’m telling you this because everything you feel for Demetrius, I feel for Oliver. I met him when you and I found each other. Talking with him made me feel calm. He admitted he felt like he was going crazy as well. You were focused on so many different things, the most important being Demetrius, as you should have been. But Oliver kept me grounded that night. And he still does. When I’m with him, the world makes a little more sense, and I feel lighter. Happier.”

A corner of Cody’s mouth lifted. “I’m really glad you found your other half, little bro. And I do actually like Ollie, even though he gives me a hard time.”

“That seems to be a two-way street,” Dave said.

“Hey, I help him keep his reporter instincts sharp.”

“He’s not a reporter.”

Dave’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He slid it free and saw it was Oliver. Holding it up for Cody to see, Dave said, “I think we summoned him.”