Foxy Heart

by Rhys Lawless

  Foxy Heart

  Blade & Dust, A Short Story

  Rhys Lawless

  Copyright © 2019 by Rhys Lawless

  Cover Design by Ethereal Designs

  Proofreading by Alphabitz Editing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Troy

  2. Easton

  3. Troy

  4. Easton

  5. Troy

  6. Easton

  Author’s Note

  Killer Heart

  About the Author

  One

  Troy

  Just sitting next to the guy gave me goosebumps and made my jaw clench. Could he be any more intimidating? Was it not enough that he was always fucking grumpy? Did he have to keep his arms crossed like he owned the place? Although, for all I knew, maybe he did.

  This was my issue with my current client. They’d hired me out of nowhere, paid me a buttload to upgrade their security systems, made me sign mountains of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and yet I still had no clue what it was they did.

  If I was being honest with myself, it wasn’t just the guy that was making me jumpy with this job. It was this whole situation. Putting me in a van with no windows to pick me up and deliver me to the job wasn’t how I imagined spending most of my late evenings, just to turn around and repeat it in the early mornings when they returned me home.

  It also wasn’t helping that there was always someone there to keep an eye on me. Mainly, it was the guy that was keeping watch over me now. Wade. Cold blue eyes, calculating gaze, and a power pose I was sure was deadly.

  Other times it was his brother, Winston. They might not be twins, but they carried the same terrifying demeanor.

  Honestly, I couldn’t wait to finish with this whole job and be done with the secrecy, the two dudes, and anything associated with them.

  “It’s almost five. Gotta wrap it up,” Wade said flatly, and I jumped when his hand suddenly appeared on my shoulder.

  I certainly did not like it when he touched me. Not just him, but anyone in this place. It made my skin crawl every time, and it always felt like my personal space was being violated.

  “C-can I get some water? Please?” I asked, irritated that my voice betrayed my lack of composure. The request just might get him off my case so I could finish up for the night without worrying about losing any more of my masculinity in front of him.

  “Sure,” he replied, and left me alone at last.

  I should have asked for this glass hours ago. I typed the last algorithm I needed to worry about into the computer in front of me and then ran it so I could check it worked properly.

  There was something about their security protocols that had been rubbing me the wrong way from day one, but I had been told to ask no questions and do what I’m told. So I did.

  But now that I was alone, without Wade or anyone peering over my head, maybe it was time to find out why that was the case.

  When Wade didn’t return immediately, I let the algorithm run and check itself for any errors while I pulled my phone out and connected to the WiFi. It was silly that they thought I couldn’t tell where I was simply because they’d blocked my phone. What was even sillier was that they hadn’t thought I could hack into their systems and find out what they did just because they had someone over my shoulder at all times.

  Once my phone was logged into their WiFi, I pressed the button that would get me access to their shared network so I could look into the hard drives upstairs. I’d only been shown around my first day, and the office had been eerily empty, almost as if they’d cleared it specifically for me.

  I gained access to their shared network and typed in a command to copy the most recent files into my mobile, then slid my phone back into my pocket just as Wade returned to the room with the glass I’d asked for.

  “Thanks,” I told him, and took a few sips.

  “Ready? It’s time to go,” he growled.

  “Sure thing,” I said, as I clicked the Escape button on the computer I’d been working on and jumped off my chair.

  Wade guided me through the corridor to the lift and took us down to the car park where our van was the only vehicle parked.

  He unlocked it, and I got into the back to return home. After the first few rides, I’d got over the car sickness. I was still working on not feeling like I was being abducted every damn time, but the rides back home were always easier. At least I knew what to expect on the other side.

  “See you later, big guy,” I told him as soon as he stopped and let me out.

  He didn’t reply. He just stepped on the gas once he was back on the driver’s seat, and I found myself back to my flat.

  When I closed the door behind me, I pulled my phone out to check what it had managed to pull from their database. I sat down in front of my laptop, which wirelessly linked to my phone once it was within range, and looked at the files.

  Or file, to be more accurate.

  It was just a JPEG of a handsome guy. He was buff, the fabric of his black top stretching over the muscles. But his face, despite the intimidating physique, was freckly and so fucking adorable. He had spiky ginger hair and a pair of beautiful green eyes. But it wasn’t any of that that kept my attention.

  It was the red stamp over the picture that read “Eliminate” in big, red, capital letters.

  As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t get the picture of the guy out of my mind, which meant no sleep, a fate I was used to, admittedly. It wasn’t just the “eliminate” stamp that was tripping me up, although it was a big deal. It was the guy’s face too. Every time I tried to close my eyes, he was there. Every time I opened them, I thought I’d find him in the room with me.

  I’d never felt like that about anyone before. Why was I feeling so distraught and angsty about someone I’d never met?

  I tried to whip up some breakfast to center myself, as my stomach groaned, but the cereal was dry and the jam on toast just wouldn’t go down.

  Who was I working for? Why did they have a picture of a guy they wanted assassinated? Was I working for the government? Was it the MI5 that had employed me? No, I’d heard from friends in the business that if the agency hired you, you knew you worked for them.

  Was I working for assassins? Did those even exist? I’d only ever seen them on TV and in the movies. Why would anyone need assassins in real life?

  I decided food wasn’t going to happen until I understood what was going on, so I grabbed my laptop and ran a facial recognition on the guy’s picture. If he wasn’t online on social media, than I’d have to get more info tonight when I went back to work.

  While the computer processed everything, I jumped in the shower, deciding it was better to clean up and wash off the bad juju and the gut-wrenching feeling that I was working for some really bad people. There was only so much water could do, but it definitely made me feel better when I came out. At least enough to finish my breakfast.

  The laptop pinged as I was getting dressed, and I approached the kitchen counter to look at the results. The usual suspects, like social media and websites, had turned up nothing, but there was definitely something on the darknet.

  Maybe the guy was a dealer or a criminal. Maybe I was working for a secret government project and he was a dangerous man that needed to be put away.

  But something at the pit of my stomach kept nagging me because he couldn’t possibly be evil. Not with that face and those kind eyes. But even looks can be deceiving. Especially in pictures.

/>   Yes, that was it. The man was dangerous, and he was being taken care of by the government. I was panicking about nothing, and I was interfering with top secret intel that could land me into even bigger trouble. Why had I been so stupid and snooped around?

  When I clicked on the link, I was shocked to find how sorely mistaken I’d been. This guy wasn’t a dealer or a spy. He was… he was a man looking for love.

  Somehow, I’d stumbled on a darknet dating service called Mated, and he had a profile. I stared at his picture for far too long to notice anything else. His dimples were so cute and his eyes… his eyes shone like precious emeralds even through the low quality selfie. I scrolled to the next picture that was of a fox, though I wasn’t entirely sure what that was about. Did this guy have a thing for foxes? Why would someone put an animal on their profile?

  It was as soon as his picture disappeared off my screen and I scrolled further that I noticed the rest of the page.

  Easton Forrester, 26, Fox looking for love, read the heading on his page.

  He couldn’t possibly mean silver fox because there was not an inch of gray in his hair. Why the hell was he describing himself as a fox?

  Trying to make sense of what was going on and why a dating service would be on the darknet if it wasn’t illegal, I read the rest of his profile.

  Easy-going guy looking for my mate. I’m a fox and proud of it. I’m looking for a guy that can sweep me off my feet and show me a good time. I’m a hopeless romantic, so if you’re not, don’t bother. No familiars. No girls. And definitely no elves.

  Was this guy on crack? What was he talking about? Was this a new lingo I wasn’t aware of, or had I stumbled into a weird cult?

  I saved the page and looked again at the home page of the Mated website.

  Whether witch or Nightcrawler, everyone’s got a mate!

  Witches? Nightcrawlers? What the hell was going on?

  Maybe this was a role-playing game, and they had created a dating website for their characters and world. Yes! That must be it.

  And I definitely needed to find this Easton guy. Especially if he was in danger.

  I went back to his profile and traced the IP back to the last location he’d used the application on. It was a pub called the Crow, which seemed to be his haunt because his app had fired off every time he was there that week. He must be using it to get his next hookup.

  So, instead of tracking him back to his home, I decided to wait until nightfall and find him at the Crow. It was easier to go up to a stranger at a bar and tell him his life was in danger than going to his house and telling him the same thing. One could get you laughed at. The other could get you punched at. And I liked my face a bit too much to risk a beating.

  I decided to stand outside the Crow that night and monitor the arrivals. It’d be easier to catch Easton Forrester that way. Although with his ginger hair and bright green eyes, I don’t know how anyone could miss him.

  But while I waited for him, I saw some interesting people. And with every passing second, I was becoming more convinced that I had stumbled on to an RPG inspired dating app because there was no way people like the ones I was seeing go into the pub existed in real life. Hair all colors of the rainbow. People wearing extravagant jewelry with crystals and gemstones—even the men. Necklaces, bracelets, chokers, crowns. Some were dressed from head to toe in crystals, and others were wearing sunglasses even in the pitch black.

  Their sense of fashion was another thing. Some covered every inch of their skin as if exposure would hurt their ego, and others only had the bare minimum on. The personalities and cultural diversity was a sight to behold for sure. While I, like everyone else that lived in London, was used to it, I don’t think I’d ever seen one place be so popular with all the different races, cultures, and sub-cultures like the Crow.

  I should have researched more and found out what RPG game brought such a diverse crowd together.

  Never mind that. I could do all the reading tomorrow morning when I returned home. I only had two hours to find this guy, warn him, and get back to my flat so I can get picked up and driven back to my secretive job. If I was late…

  No, I didn’t want to imagine what could happen. I was never late for anything in my life. And I wouldn’t start now. I couldn’t risk them knowing I had hacked their systems, although, in all fairness, if they didn’t want their systems hacked, they shouldn’t have hired an expert IT technician to upgrade their security systems. Or at the very least, they should have warned me about what I was getting myself into. They’d brought it all on themselves.

  I finally spotted a group of ginger guys and girls, and even though the men were all of similar physique and features, one guy stood out.

  Easton Forrester.

  You’d think I couldn’t tell him apart in the dark street and amongst so many people, yet my gaze was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. My whole body gravitated toward him. My breath caught. My heart beat faster, and I definitely couldn’t stop staring. Even my groin awakened in my jeans, and I wasn’t one to get horny on looks alone without even a touch or a kiss to spur my dick to action.

  Looking at him was like I was doing something sacred and beautiful that I’d been denied all my life and I had finally been given access to. I couldn’t clear my head or my thoughts no matter how hard I tried. Time stopped, and it felt like there was no one else around. Just us.

  Just him and I.

  Why couldn’t I look away? What was wrong with me? Why did I feel like I knew him when I’d never met him before? Why did it feel as if I’d been waiting my entire life for this guy?

  Two

  Easton

  I noticed the handsome guy standing outside the pub as soon as I was within reach of the Crow, and for some reason, my gaze wouldn’t budge until I got a better view of his face.

  “Do you wanna swing by Xtasy later?” Lorelai asked by my side. But as much as I wanted to refocus my attention to the conversation and turn to her to reply, I found it impossible to do so.

  She waved a hand in front of me, and I gently grabbed her wrist to remove anything blocking the view of the handsome fella that was hidden in the darkness of the street outside the Crow.

  I didn’t know what was happening and what was so special about this dude. I hadn’t even seen his whole face, and yet I couldn’t resist glaring down at him as if it was no one’s business.

  And then, it made sense.

  Our eyes met and his golden irises burned holes down to my core, taking my breath away. He was it! And my insides knew it better than me because there was a whole fucking storm blowing in there, and I didn’t know how to stop or tame it.

  How was it possible? I’d been looking for him all my life, and all of a sudden, randomly and out of nowhere, I’d just found my one true mate? I’d always been told that us familiars had to go looking for our mates. It was our duty as their protectors to find the witch we would bond with for life.

  Heck, that’s why mum had created the Mated App in the first place. To give the shifters around the world a chance to meet their one true mate. To make it easy for foxes, wolves, bears, and all other familiars to find the witches they were meant to be with for life. She didn’t want any other witch to suffer her fate.

  But the witch finding me out of the blue like that? That I never expected to happen. As a half witch-half familiar, there was no certainty I’d ever be matched with either a witch or another shifter. Yet here I was, standing in front of my one true mate, my words truly and well abandoning me at probably the most important time of my life, waiting for him to say something when I approached him.

  Was I overreacting? Had I been reading one too many romances lately? Was I the only one who could feel his heart beating so fast I’d feared my own would jump out of my chest? Did he not feel as if his was going five hundred miles an hour?

  “Easton!” Lorelai shouted next to me. “What the hell? Did you fall asleep? Did you stay up all day reading again?”

  My best friend’s voic
e brought me out of my stupor. My breathing resumed its normal pace, and my heartbeat slowed down only when it did. I could now feel another beat next to my own.

  It wasn’t like all the other heartbeats my acute foxy hearing could pick up if I concentrated hard enough. I didn’t even feel it in my chest. It was more like a drum pounding rhythmically in my ears.

  And the more I looked at this handsome stranger, the more I knew it was his heartbeat I could feel. Because our bodies and souls were linked for life now.

  Of course there was still the matter of bonding, the final step to becoming true mates, but we could hardly start fucking in the middle of the street. That would have to wait until we got home.

  “Are you… are you Easton Forrester?” the sexy man with the hazel eyes, my mate, asked me, and his voice was a song to my ears.

  “Yes,” I said, reaching for his hand to shake it, “yes I am.”

  He took my hand, and the moment we touched, the cool wintry air became too stiff and humid to bear, yet touching him felt the most natural thing in the world. As if I’d been doing it all my life, and I hadn’t known it. His grip was tender in my hand, and it took all my strength not to pull him into my arms and lift him over my hips and get acquainted with the rest of his body.

  “Troy Evans,” he replied with some hesitation.

  It was good to see I was having the same effect on him that he was having on me. And oh my… that name. Troy. Troy and Easton Evans. That had a nice ring to it, didn’t it?

  Troy pulled his hand off mine, and I could tell it was a struggle to do so without feeling like a rug was being pulled from under him because that’s exactly how I felt.

  “I-I need to talk to you,” he said.