Bound In Secrets : A Death Kings Novel
Pirates & Pizza

**Storm**

When JT and I arrived at the Meyers' house, we found Jensen and Carter in the backyard playing pirates while Jen's parents watched the game from the porch. It's been since we were teenagers that I've seen such a carefree look on my friends' faces. My heart seizes inside my chest with the pain of regret. I should have allowed for more breaks from work, instead of taking one job after another in an endless loop. If I had done that, then maybe Carter would be mentally whole. Carter has Katie sitting on one shoulder holding her sword, with his sword in the other. They are fighting Darius, who is on Jensen's shoulder while Jen holds onto him, getting sliced by Carter. I replace it funny that the most guarded of us in a fight is the one who leaves himself wide open to being attacked while balancing a child.

"Stoe!" Katie shouts, having spotted me. "You're on my crew. Hurry!"

"Little help here, crewman Cap! I'm being flayed alive!" Jensen bellows at JT jokingly.

We ran to help our prospective crew mates. Finding a barrel full of foam swords, we arm ourselves. Mine looks more like a Katana and JT's looks like a broad sword instead of a pirate's cutlass, but at least we have our weapons. The fact I know what these are is enough to make me groan.

When we were sent to work with the Fury Team to get them acclimated to their new lives, we were taught sword fighting and drill on the various types. Who knew those lessons would come in handy now, playing pirates with two children? As the battle rages, more men steadily join the fight. Jeremy and Cruise, along with Carmen and the man Sawyer brought with her. Let's just say I've never seen a non-binary man with long nails and wearing sparkly pink clothing fence so well in stiletto-heeled ankle boots. Their form is perfect. Griffen would give them high marks while the rest of us got welts left from the end of his whip on the areas we needed to correct.

I am "beheaded" by Dillian, Sawyer's flirtatious bartender when Nathaniel Hughes arrives alongside another man carrying boxes of pizza. I can sense a spirit clinging to this man, but I currently can't tell if it's negative or positive. This puts me on edge because spiritual attachment can be widely unpredictable. Positive spirits may bring good luck and protection, whereas negative spirits can decline both the physical and mental health of the person they are attached to. With them are three teenage boys carrying a variety of 2-3 liter sodas. Two of them are the murder twins Kass and AC, but I don't recognize the other boy. The redheaded kid is quiet and reserved, but what I replace is the anti-social AC is sticking close to the new boy. When AC touches him, the teenage boy relaxes. Fascinating.

"More crew mates! Avast, me maties, yo-ho!" Darius shouts.

Kassius laughs, running and front flipping up on the deck beside the barrels. That kid is just as agile as the Sidhe and Shadow Kings used to be. I can see he took to agility training.

"Show off!" Ac yells at his counterpart. He then runs to the side of the ship. He jumps, kicking off with both legs, and twists up so that he can push off the top side of the boat with his arms and twirl down the mast pole to land beside Kassius. He is the show-off who had to one-up Kass.

Both teens grab swords and launch into a battle between them, while Darius shouts AC is on his team. When the two separate, I watch the man with the spirit attached to his soul talk to the new teenager. I grin spreads across the kid's face. Katie squeals, demanding to be released from Carter's shoulders. She runs into the biker's arms, calling him Wriggles. I snort at the nickname. Stoe is much better. Sawyer's little one seems instantly drawn to him.

The spirit attached to him is watching the child with the soft, loving face of a doting mother. There is no malice or ill intent, just warmth. I decide this is a positive spirit who watches over this man like a sentinel, bringing him luck. I'll let this spirit be for now, as it might be a temporary traveler who needs his energetic field to heal. I hope that's the case, at least. I'll consult with Jericho later.

Jericho is a spirit leader who aided me with my shamanic abilities. My father's Chitimacha ancestors were powerful shamans. My father was too, but his skills as a healer were forgotten and instead, he became a soldier. One who was killed overseas at a time of war. My mother was furious with him.

She was alone for years until Amy Channing entered her life. I've never seen her so happy. Carley and I had no clue romance was happening in our home where Carley and Amy stayed. That was three months before we all moved to Palomino Bay, Texas. I could have stayed on the ranch, but with our new assignment working under C.H.A.O.S., the move panned out better.

"Come now, hot stuff, I know I didn't behead you. Let's go eat," Dillian says, grabbing my bicep. My eyes meet theirs and they bat their long, glittering false eyelashes at me.

"Sorry, cher. My mind was elsewhere," I explain.

"I could tell," they respond, giving me a wink.

"Hurry and grab some pizza before the teenagers eat it all!" Nate shouts, standing beside a smiling Sawyer.

As we walk, he says, "So many dreamboat men, and not one of them is looking my way," Dillian sighs dramatically.

I chuckled at them. "Come now, cher. You jealous of Sawyer and Carmen?"

He gives me a droll look. "Duh. Of course, I am. I just want one person to love the way Carmen and Sawyer are loved. To have some look at me the way you all do them..." They groan and fan themselves. "You will replace the person or persons who complete you," I reply to him.

"I just want one, not multiple," Dillian says with a finger waggle.

"I know someone you would get along with well. How do you feel about dancers?"

"I'm not opposed," Dillian purrs suggestively.

"I'll arrange a meeting. He is JT's manager and choreographer."

"I like you the best," he whispers just before he releases my arm to get food.

I chuckle and shake my head at his praise. If anyone is the favorite it's Carter, or the biker pressed against Sawyer's back. Jealousy courses through me.

Who is this guy? Why does he get to make our girl blush like that? I don't like him.