‘The lovebirds have arrived,’ Leo announced as we entered the kitchen.
‘What’s it like?’ Cancer squealed as she rushed up to us.
‘Have you…you know?’ Scorpio said to Antony.
‘Scorpio…!’
My cheeks flushed as my brother patted my twin flame on the back.
‘What? I think you’re the only one that hasn’t had—’ Scorpio was cut off as Aries punched him in the arm. I smiled at the tall handsome warrior. He might be a bit of a ladies’ man but he looked out for his family.
‘We were followed for part of the journey. I managed to lose them but only just,’ Antony said.
The boys gathered around to talk about Father. I wanted to listen but the girls dragged me to the living room to talk about men.
‘What’s it like?’ Sagi asked as she sat on the arm of the sofa.
I laughed and patted her thigh. ‘It’s amazing.’
The others crowded around and started to throw questions. I answered them as best as I could. There were still many things I couldn’t explain.
‘We’re not quite there yet. We’ve only just started this stage. Give me a chance.’
My cheeks were hot. I fanned myself to try and cool down. At one point, I looked up and saw that Antony hovered in the doorway. He watched me with a small smile on his face. When he caught me looking, he ducked out of the room.
‘It’s so amazing though! You’ve done it within a few months. Usually it takes years,’ Cancer said.
‘That’s the old way. We’re not going to fail this time and to be honest, I still think it will take years. It’s something we need to work at for the rest of our lives.’ I clasped Cancer’s hands in mine when she tried to get me to say more. I wanted to join the men to help with Father’s rescue. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have met Antony.
‘It’s so romantic,’ Virgo said in her matter of fact tone.
I left them to see what the boys were up to. It was my turn to spy on my boyfriend. My whole body hummed at the thought. Most of the others had experienced a relationship but not me.
‘I saw Nick head towards north London,’ Leo said.
They were gathered around the island in the middle of the kitchen. Antony fitted in so well that I struggled to spot him amongst my brothers at first. Aries moved to reveal him. He looked up at my brother. His face was serious and ready for battle. He held his head high, even though he was shorter than Leo, Scorpio and Aries.
‘We need to go back to the house that he kept Pisces in. I doubt very much he’s still there but it’s worth going over,’ Scorpio offered.
‘Can I just finish the song I was writing?’ Leo asked, going to walk away from the group.
‘No, you can’t.’ Aries grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
Antony studied Leo’s tattoos. He had sleeves on both arms and they stood out on his bulging biceps. There was a question in Antony’s eyes. How could such a big, hard looking man, be such a creative softy?
‘Come on, mate, the album is almost done,’ Leo whined.
‘Our father is more important than your album, Leo.’ Aries scowled.
‘I’m happy to go and check out that house,’ Gemini said.
We all turned to study Gemini, the most suave and least warrior-like of them all. He was usually lost in his own world, absorbed with himself.
‘Really…?’ Aries glanced at Leo.
The two smiled and I felt sorry for Gemini.
‘Yes, I want to be involved,’ he said as he tapped his fingers on the work surface.
I almost laughed when the others blinked in surprise.
‘I’ll go with him,’ Taurus said, glancing back at me. ‘I’m sure we’ll find something.’
The others noticed I was there but carried on with the conversation as if I wasn’t. Taurus had a shaved head and square jaw. He was meant to be a fitness trainer. He had dropped out of university when he started to smoke marijuana.
‘Okay, head over there now, but be careful.’ Aries gestured for them to leave.
Gemini threw a smart coat over his suit and Taurus put a cap on his head.
‘Do you have to wear that? You look like a thug,’ I heard Gemini say as they closed the front door behind them.
I marvelled at how well Aries ran the operation. My mind zoned out and I stopped following the plans as I watched Antony. I was a brilliant listener when it came to one on one but I was easily distracted when I wasn’t directly spoken to.
‘What do you think, Pisces?’ Leo addressed me.
I shook my head and blinked.
‘She didn’t hear you.’ Aries clapped him on the back. ‘See, I told you that you were boring.’
Leo pushed Aries and he stumbled back a few steps.
‘I’m sorry.’ I joined Antony.
He reached out and took my hand. ‘I told Aries what you said about Nick and your mother.’
‘We could try and lure Nick by using you as bait. If you go out and about in London, he might try to grab you again. Especially if he sees you with Antony,’ Aries said.
I nodded before he finished speaking. I wanted to do anything to help rescue Father. If that meant being bait, well…I would do it. My body shivered at the thought of Nick kidnapping me again but Antony squeezed my hand at just the right time.
‘There will be two of us guarding you at all times. Just try not to go out in public on your own. Unless you stick to the back roads, but even then, it’s dodgy.’
‘Do you think Bev and Derek will be all right? Daniel knows where Father lives and he’s probably told Nick,’ I asked.
Antony’s eyes widened. ‘I forgot that Daniel knew where your father lived.’
He stepped away from the group and dialled a number on his phone.
‘That might be the ideal place to lure him to,’ Aries said.
‘No answer. Derek always answers his phone. We need to go back.’ Antony grabbed my hand.
‘Wait. We need to finalise everything,’ Scorpio said.
I watched them as they spoke. My mind couldn’t keep track of what they said. All I could think about was Bev and Derek. I hoped they were safe and we were just being paranoid.
‘Right, I think we all know what we’re doing. Pisces, you go with Antony. Take Leo and Scorpio just in case.’
Grabbing my bag, I decided not to say goodbye to the girls. I didn’t want them to get involved. It was my fault Father had been kidnapped. I didn’t want to risk them being caught too.
‘Pisces, remember to keep your head,’ Aries said as I was about to leave.
I frowned at him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Antony might have to fight and you’re going to have to let him.’
He knew me well. The idea of Antony being in danger had crossed my mind and I didn’t like it. However, it was part of his job. It was part of his mission. He had also signed up before he had come down to earth. We had both decided that we would fight to bring more love to the world.
‘I’ll be fine.’
‘We can do this,’ Antony whispered, waving to Aries as the door shut behind us.