It made Mateo’s blood boil. Now that he had children of his own, it made him that much more enraged.
Mateo looked at the only live man and smiled.
“Josh?”
“Yup.”
“I think this one needs to talk.”
Josh threw the man into a chair and straddled one across from him. Troy dragged a table in between them and stood off to the side with a smile.
Josh took his knife from its sheath and held it up. The serrated blade caught the faintest hint of light and glinted.
“How are your math skills?” Josh ran the blade between his fingertips.
“No hablo ingles!” The guard’s eyes went wide.
“He doesn’t speak English?” Josh leaned forward. “Now that is a shame. What’s five minus one?”
The guard looked from Mateo to Troy, and then back to Josh, shaking his head.
“No?” Josh slammed the knife down on the man’s pinky. “It’s four. Guess what my next math question is?”
Mateo slapped his hand over the man’s mouth and leaned into his ear, the whimpered screams trying to escape through his fingers.
“He’ll keep going until you have none. Now, how many more guards and where is your boss?” Mateo took his other hand and slid his knife between the man’s thighs. “What’s two minus one?”
“Okay! Okay!”
“Now that’s more like it,” Josh grinned. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Although I was really enjoying taking your fingers off.”
Troy patted Josh’s back. “It’s okay. The next mission we’ll find a real stubborn one.”
Information in hand, they met up with Sam at the cross bridge. Mateo looked down into absolute darkness. The ceiling was rock; they had no idea if it would hold them even if they did try to swing across. Sam backed up and eyed the space. He ran at top speed and jumped. Sailing across the open area, he landed on both feet on the other side.
Josh whistled softly. “Now that was awesome.”
Troy followed soon after, and Mateo grabbed Josh.
“Whoa, wait a second.” Josh looked over the side. “How do you know we’ll make it?”
“I don’t.” Mateo threw Josh over his shoulder.
“Mat, wait!” Josh grabbed Mateo’s belt loops and closed his eyes. Wind rushed across his face and then he was back on his two feet, swaying.
“I hate you,” Josh managed.
“But we loooove you!” the other three answered in unison.
Josh narrowed his eyes at the three of them.
“Well, back to work.”
They all heard shouts and then the door flew open. Nikolai stood, with a feral look in his eyes.
“Let’s get this party started!”
“After you,” Mateo gestured to the door.
“I like him SO much!” Troy sing-songed.
“We’re missing Derek,” Sam smiled.
They all looked at Mateo.
In Derek’s absence, Mateo yelled “Fuck it!”
They moved into the room and did what they did best: eliminated the enemy. Some were human, some not. Mateo made quick work of the guards and kept a close eye on Josh. They cleared the room within minutes and Mateo took a hall down to the left.
This one hadn’t been cleared out like the others. Rocks protruded from the ceiling and sides. He came to a sliding stop halfway down the tunnel. Rocks fell into the gaping hole below.
An arm came around his neck and pain sliced into him as a knife slid in below his ribs and a body weighted his back. Mateo shifted his weight and threw the body off of him. It sailed across the air and seemed to roll mid-flight. Feet hit the ground on the other side of the drop. Mateo trained his gun on the person across the way, who had his own gun trained on Mateo.
His eyes widened at the person standing across from him.
“Nikolai?” Mateo’s jaw dropped. “What are you doing? We’re on the same side!”
Mateo slid one of his hands to his back and touched the hole between two ribs, his werewolf abilities closing it up almost instantly.
“Are we?” Nikolai tilted his head.
“Of course we are! We have been for a long time, remember? We kill the bad guys?” Mateo shouted. The sound echoed throughout the caves. “Put the gun down!”
“You put yours down first.” Nikolai held the gun on Mateo firmly.
“Nik, what is wrong with you?!” Mateo shouted.
“Nothing.”
Mateo started at the voice behind him.
“That’s not me.” Nikolai narrowed his eyes at the man standing across from him.
“How do I know you’re you?” Mateo kept his eyes on the other man, still holding a gun on him. A snorting sound filled the cave.
“Please. Dude, my ass is so much nicer than that.”
Mateo couldn’t help the grin. “Yep, that’s our Nikolai.” He looked behind the younger man. “Yeah, yours really is better.”
The man in front of him seemed to shimmer and then change. The leather pants he wore stretched around his massive thighs. The leather jacket that was a replica of Nikolai’s morphed into a trench coat and rested right above the ground, sweeping his black combat boots. Long black hair concealed his eyes and full lips turned into a grin.
“Who. Are. You?” Mateo growled.
“You can’t kill me,” he said. “I’m not human.”
“Neither am I, asswipe. Now put down your gun.”
The man seemed to assess them both. His eyes darted behind Mateo and another feral grin spread across his lips, revealing white teeth.
“Well, it’s seems your friends have arrived. Two werewolves. And that one,” he pointed to Nikolai, “is not normal either.”
“Of course I’m not ‘normal’; I’m extraordinary,” Nikolai scoffed. “Who do you work for?” Nikolai crossed his arms.
“I work for no one.”
“Well, we’d like to ask you a few questions then.” Mateo dropped his gun slowly and put it back in its holster. He put his hands up and motioned to the gun the other man still held on him. “Trust is earned.”
“I don’t trust anyone but myself. I’m not here to make friends; I’m here to kill anything that reeks of immorality.”
“Do you have a name?” Josh blurted.
“Killian,” the man responded.
“What, no last name? Are you like emo or in a rock band?” Nikolai asked sarcastically.
The man lifted his arms in the air and started to shimmer. A large raven spread its wings and flew down into the shaft below.
“Damn!” Nikolai whispered. “That was so cool! That was a shape shifter!”
Mateo turned to look at Nikolai with raised brows.
“A what?”
“I read about them in Chance’s magic book. They can become anything they want,” Nikolai grinned. “Cool, he wanted to be me.”
Mateo shook his head with a smile and pressed ‘talk’ on his mic. “James?”
“Right here, what’s up?”
“We have a problem of sorts.”
“Well tell me when you get up top. We cleared out a good mile of mine and Hayden set the charges. So get up here and give me the whole report.”
“Roger that.” Mateo clicked the mic off and looked at the men in front of him. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Once they had gotten to high ground, Mateo filled James in on what he’d encountered below. James was intrigued, to say the least. A shape shifter that could become anyone or anything he wanted? That was good news and bad.
The fact that the man apparently didn’t answer to anyone also had James interested.
“So, he knifed you thinking you were a rogue?” James’ brows furrowed.
Mateo nodded. “I would think so. Rogues don’t smell any different than we do; it’s their yellow eyes that give them away.”
“And you’ve never seen him before?”
“I think we would have remembered,” Mateo deadpanned.
“Maybe, maybe not.
It stands to reason that if he can become anyone he wants, he may have been at other missions. We need to keep a close eye out for this guy from now on. I really want to sit down and have a chat with him.”
“He doesn’t seem like the tea and cookies kind of guy, James,” Mateo drawled.
“Neither was Vince and look how that turned out.”
“So what? We lure him with a pretty face? I don’t think that will work with this guy.”
James shielded his eyes from the sun and sighed. “We’ll have to think of something else then. A shape shifter on our team,” James smiled. “Can you imagine the damage we could do?”
Mateo grinned. “Oh, yeah.”
~*~
Riley ran down the hall after his son, the purple hippo hanging between rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"Matty Esposito! You drop daddy's purple hippo right now!" It wasn't often that he yelled, but in this case, it had to be done. Matty was exactly like Mateo. Stubborn to the bitter end.
"Matty!" Riley barked out.
Matty came to a sliding stop and turned to face his father, the hippo clamped between his canines.
"Drop it." Riley put his hands on his hips.
Matty opened his jaws a fraction and the purple hippo slid out and hit the floor, drool accompanying the stuffed animal.
"Ew." Riley picked up the hippo by its ear. He regarded his son with a stern look. "What did daddy say about the hippo?" Riley had to smile as Matty huffed, dropping his head.
"Aw, daddy will buy you another chew toy, okay? Just don't eat your father's combat boots again."
“What?!”
Riley winced at the sound of Mateo’s voice.
“Ooops. Go hide!” Riley whispered to Matty. Riley turned to face Mateo, who was stomping down the hall. “Hi, honey! You’re back.”
“Don’t ‘hi honey’ me.” Mateo searched the hallway. “Where are you, Matty?”
“Inside voice, Mateo.” Riley raised his brows.
“I’m trying, I really am, but when he’s peeing on all the furniture and eating my gear, I gotta put my foot down, babe!”
Riley wrung his hands. “He’s just marking his territory.”
Mateo’s mouth dropped open. “Really? Ya don’t say?”
Riley narrowed his eyes and shifted. He pushed Mateo back toward the end of the hallway and kept pushing him until he was in the living room. Maggie looked up from her spot on the floor and clapped her hands together, squealing. She pointed at Riley.
“Dada!”
Riley stopped and swung his head in the direction of his daughter. Maggie was squealing and clapping all while pointing at him in wolf form. He’d never shifted in front of her. He and Mateo had thought it might scare her. Now he realized Maggie was a lot smarter than they had both thought.
“Dada, dada, dada!” Maggie squealed.
Riley padded over to his daughter and settled down next to her. She was dwarfed by his size. She looked like a little baby doll. Mateo smiled at the scene and looked down to see Matty at his feet, tail wagging.
Mateo bent and picked up his son.
“Did you miss me?” Mateo laughed as Matty licked up the side of his face.
“I missed you, too.”
“Feel better now? Riley huffed. “You got some aggression out on your last mission, didn’t you?”
Mateo nodded. “And then some.”
Maggie cooed and sunk her fingers into Riley’s coat. Mateo sat down next to them both and put Matty down. Maggie’s big blue eyes looked up at him and he smiled, picking her up.
“Daddy missed you too, sweetie. You’ve grown.” Mateo looked his daughter over. Chestnut curls covered her head and her little cherub face looked back at him with a drooling smile. “I love you, Maggie.” Mateo held her close.
“Dada.” Maggie tightened her arms around Mateo’s neck.
Mateo’s eyes widened and he pulled back to look at his daughter. She was smiling, her little hands on his cheeks.
“Dada!” Maggie squealed and slapped Mateo’s cheeks.
“Yes, I’m your dada.” Mateo leaned over and kissed Riley’s nose. “We’re a family.”
Riley sighed in contentment. He’d lost his mother and his father, but he’d gained a husband and children and loyal friends. Whatever the future had in store for all of them, he knew he’d face it head on, with Mateo at his side.
THE END
Start the ride from the beginning with: A Marked Man, Alaska with Love, By the light of the moon, Half moon rising, Best Laid Plans, For the love of Caden, The General’s lover, Russian Prey, An Ignited Passion, Reflash, The Red Zone, Irish Wishes, Pleading the fifth , Betrayed, Summer of Awakenings, Into the Lyons Den and Nik of Time.
And a paranormal love story, Second Time Around.
Also, books from Wilde City:
A Betting Man
A Marrying Man
Join me on my Facebook pages! https://www.facebook.com/authorsandrine.g.dion
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-Sandrine-Gasq-Dion/137320826386776?ref=hl
@Sandy_Dion
Table of Contents
~Prologue~
~Chapter One~
~*Chapter Two*~
~*Chapter Three*~
~*Chapter Four*~
~*Chapter Five*~
~*Chapter Six*~
~*Chapter Seven*~
~*Chapter Eight*~
~*Chapter Nine*~
~*Chapter Ten*~
~Chapter Eleven~
~*Epilogue*~
The Littlest Page 14