“I have a contact we could go to,” Sisqo said. “I saved his life more than a few times so he owes me. Osaki, you and I will go. Ciro, what did you find out about Osaki being read?”
“Aoi had Osaki read,” Sisqo reported.
“My brother? Why?”
“Again,” Hercules piped up, “I am going to be the one to say this. He’s no longer your brother, Osaki. Your Aoi was killed decades ago. The— thing —that is out to get us is not your Aoi.”
“It has to be. Aoi has to be in there somewhere!” Osaki stressed.
Hades shook his head. “No. Herc is right. Your brother was replaced by something else. The sooner you can start thinking like the rest of us, the easier it will be to do what you need to do.”
“No one knows how hard this is for you like I do,” Koi added. “Like Ciro does. We have had to put our personal feelings aside and do what no one should ever have to do—harm our brothers. But it still needs to be done.”
Osaki closed his eyes. He had gotten his brother back. He had always wanted his brother back, but maybe the guys were right.
“You cannot save him, Osaki,” Ciro added.
“I have to try. Aoi is in there. He has to be! He knows me.”
“Okay, then,” Hades spoke up. “Are you going to take the chance that he doesn’t know you, that your brother is nowhere in that beast? What happens if you go soft and he gets past us? We both know where he will be going after—right for Kofi.”
“Osaki, you can—” Ares began.
Adrestia interrupted. “There is a difference between knowing what has to be done and doing it.”
All eyes turned to face the goddess.
“Take this time with Sisqo, Osaki. Find out what his friend knows. You can make a better decision after you are educated.” She turned from the window, her arms still folded over her ample breasts. “Take this one step at a time, especially when emotions are involved. It will give you time to think.”
Osaki nodded and the meeting was adjourned. Ares and Hades exited the great hall and disappeared, but Osaki stayed seated with Sisqo on one side and Koi on the next. Adrestia remained at the window.
“We must go. Pelican has a very sketchy schedule at best,” Sisqo explained.
“Your friend?” Osaki asked.
Sisqo nodded.
“Before you do,” Adrestia said, moving to hunch before Osaki. “Whatever you need to keep your love safe, I am here. Whatever you need to stop all this, I am here. Do you understand?”
Osaki cradled Adrestia’s cheeks in his palms and dropped a soft kiss to her lips. “I understand.”
Adrestia said nothing else. She merely rose, smiled at Sisqo and vanished. When Osaki turned to Koi, the Shiver smiled and lifted a hand.
“I will stay with Kofi as long as you need me,” Koi promised before disappearing.
Osaki was left alone with Sisqo. They made their way to Thailand on Earth and stood outside a lavish house while Sisqo spoke with someone at the large gate. Osaki wondered why they didn’t just pop into the man’s toilet and surprise him then remembered how Kofi reacted to all of that. Just the mere thought of Kofi made his dick hard, his heart raced and a smile spread over his face.
“Osaki!” Sisqo called.
Osaki jogged over and the gate opened before them. They walked side by side up a driveway and around the house to a pool. A man sat on the deck, smoking. A scantily clad woman was seated on his lap. Osaki fought the urge to roll his eyes. The only thing missing from that cliché was a bad rap song and bodyguards dressed all in black and dark sunglasses.
“Pelican,” Sisqo called, approaching the man.
“Sisqo! My man!” Pelican all but tossed the woman from his lap. She scampered away.
Osaki resisted the urge to remove his coat and wrap it about her shoulders. She barely wore any clothes at all. Sisqo introduced him to Pelican.
“You must be the samurai Shiver everyone is so worked up about,” Pelican said. He walked slowly around Osaki. “I don’t get it.”
Osaki frowned. “Get what?”
“Everyone seems to be so afraid of you. I don’t get it.”
“Pelican is an immortal,” Sisqo explained. “He would rather live as a human than one of the others. So what have you been hearing, Pelican?”
“Sit! Drink?”
“No,” Osaki replied. But he did take a seat.
“It has something to do with a human who was once a Shiver,” Pelican explained. “The word on the street is that you took his powers after a fight with the elder Shiver, Ciro. The others believe you wronged this Shiver and they want revenge.”
“Well, we already know all that,” Osaki told him.
“Yes. But did you know that a Shiver is not behind all this?” Pelican smirked and leaned forward. “Someone else is at the top of it, using the Shiver’s greed and anger to steer this whole deal?”
“What do you mean? Shivers take orders from no one,” Osaki stood.
“Down, boy,” Pelican teased. “All I know is the dude in charge looks like you.”
“Like who?” Sisqo wanted to know.
Pelican pointed to Osaki.
The bottom fell out of Osaki’s heart. He was hoping there was a way to save Aoi, but with his baby brother running the show, there was no saving him. It wasn’t going to be easy but Osaki knew what must be done.
“I’m sorry, Osaki.”
“So am I.”
“Before I forget,” Pelican continued, “there is one other Shiver being held captive by whoever this person or thing is—at least that is what the rumor mill says.”
“Another Shiver?” Sisqo said. “Ciro didn’t say there was another one, did he?”
Osaki shook his head. “Not to me. Then again, with all the secrets floating around this family, he may not even know.”
Pelican shrugged. “It could be a lie. It could just be something they make up to keep the troops in line because no one knows who is running this thing. All I know is that they want you dead and they are willing to use anything and anyone to make that happen. That sexy, chocolate man you’re boning—you need to keep an eye on him.”
Osaki growled and did go after Pelican then. His eyes flashed anger as he gripped the immortal by the neck and lifted him up. “What about Kofi?”
“Kofi? Is that his name?” Pelican grunted.
“Osaki—if you kill him, we are out of information,” Sisqo advised. “Come on.”
“Kofi is in danger. If they get a hold of him, they know they can make you do anything they want. And what they want is—”
“To burn this Earth to the ground,” Sisqo finished.
Osaki released Pelican without lowering him and the immortal crumbled to the deck. His mood had forever been altered. He had to get back to Kofi.
“I must go.”
Sisqo nodded. “I understand.”
Osaki throbbed with rage. How dare Aoi put Kofi in such danger? He was the one calling the shots and with all they’d been to each other before Aoi’s death, he wondered how he could want to hurt Osaki in such a way. There was a sharp sound as Osaki walked like wind across the sky and in between realms. When he realized it was his teeth grinding, he tried to stop, but his fury made it hard. He stepped into being in the living room of his home.
Something was wrong.
The silence was palpable, humming and pulsing inside his head. It wasn’t right—he should be able to feel Adrestia or whoever had relieved her. But most importantly, he should have been able to feel Kofi. With his heart hammering, Osaki tore through the house.
“Kofi!” he called. “Adrestia? Anyone here?”
The house was empty—except for Adrestia who lay unconscious on the bedroom floor. He skidded to a stop by her side and pressed his ear to her heart. It beat weakly, blood dripping from the side of her mouth. Her hair covered her face, so he gently caressed the tresses away. “Adrestia. Please open your eyes.”
She didn’t, so he covered her heart with his palm a
nd shocked her. Adrestia arched but still didn’t open her eyes. Osaki listened to her chest again and repeated his action, hearing the lightning crackle as it left his palm. This time Adrestia cried out and tried fighting him.
“Adrestia! It is only me, Osaki!” He held her to his chest. Her tears soaked his shoulder.
“I am sorry, my friend,” she whispered. “I have failed you.”
“Where is Kofi?”
“He was taken. I couldn’t… There were too many of them.”
Osaki hugged her, stroking her hair, feeling his rage course through him. “You must go back to Olympus.”
“No. I wish to come with you. I have to… I have to…”
Osaki pulled back and cradled her face. “Where I am going, Adrestia, I go alone.”
“You wish to find Kofi. This is my fault. Let me go with you.”
“You are hurt. You must go back to bathe in the waters to heal. Please, do this for me.”
“At least let me send Ciro and the others,” Adrestia pleaded. “They will be of assistance. Do not do this alone. I know you are angry but they will be expecting you. They know you love this man and know you will stop at nothing to get him back.”
“I will wait here for them. Please hurry.”
With Adrestia gone, Osaki sat in meditation. He needed to calm down. She was right. Going in angry was a bad idea for that was when mistakes happened. There was no way to ease his temper. Each time he thought of Kofi and of the feelings Kofi sent through him from just a simple kiss or a look, Osaki felt betrayed, hurt.
“I hear you could use some assistance?”
Osaki swung around to see Ciro standing there with Ares and Hercules. “They have taken Kofi.”
“Damn,” Ares muttered. “What is the plan?”
“We get him back,” Osaki said, rising then pulling off his clothes. He changed into a black gi and black hakama, slipped his sheathed sword over his shoulders and allowed it to fall against his back. He rubbed his hands together then faced the others.
“Do you know where they are?” Ciro asked.
“Yes.” He read his friends’ eyes. “I need to know you are here with me…” He barely had the word out when Koi made an appearance. “Koi…”
“You need my assistance, brother. We may not have the same blood in our veins but you are Shiver. You are family.”
Osaki nodded. “Very well. As I was saying, I need you all to think about what we’re about to do. This will not be easy and I will not hold it against you if you wish to back out now.”
“I cannot let you fight this alone, Osaki.” Ciro’s voice was soft, serious. “I brought you into this.”
The others nodded in agreement.
After a quick look around the room, Osaki lifted his chin. “We must prepare for where we are going. This will not be easy.”
“How do you know where he is?” Koi asked.
Osaki shrugged. Aoi might have been an evil little shit, but he was a creature of habit. “Though he may be bad news now,” Osaki said, pain tearing at the inside his chest, “but he was my brother once. I knew him even better than he knew himself—or so I thought.”
“No second-guessing,” Hercules chided. “Where does your heart tell you he is?”
Osaki said one simple word. “Aokigahara.”
“Then you are correct,” Ciro told him. “We must prepare. The terrain once we leave the beaten path is not easy since we cannot simply appear with a human’s life in the balance. And we must be prepared to deal with shields around any protected areas Aoi and the others are using.”
“Can I talk to Ciro alone?” Osaki wanted to know.
The others nodded and exited the room. Osaki wasn’t sure where to begin as he rubbed his palm against his thighs. He slipped to the floor in a meditation pose and straightened his back.
“Does Carter know?”
Ciro remained silent, so Osaki turned his head to see that Ciro had his lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t have to speak then for Osaki knew the answer just from the look on Ciro’s face.
“He wanted to go with us but we both know it would not be a great idea,” Ciro said. “I did not know what to tell him. I told him we would get his brother back.”
“And we will.”
“Will we? I mean, I know we’re strong and we can do just about anything but, Osaki, we have no clue what we are getting into.”
“First of all, we must have someone with Carter and Christophe.”
“Christophe—you mean Kofi’s friend?”
“Yes. He is a part of Kofi’s life and we must protect him.”
“Hades and Adrestia—once she is healed—will stay with Carter and I will send Sisqo and Koi to Christophe. What else is on your mind?”
Osaki inhaled and turned his neck to work the kink out. “We went to Sisqo’s friend, Pelican. He says there is a Shiver being held hostage by Aoi and the others.”
“Mother said nothing about another Shiver. There are supposed to be two others who have been in hiding, plus the ones you’ve dealt with, then there are me and Koi.”
“I do not think he lied to me, Ciro. If he is correct then we have an ally in bondage we have to keep an eye out for.”
Ciro looked as though someone had kicked him in the gut but he merely clamped his lips into a thin line. “We should go, Osaki. The longer we remain here, the worse things get.”
It was dark outside the window as Osaki rose to his feet. He stared out then up at the sky and took a breath. “I am coming, Kofi. I promise.”
Chapter Nineteen
Kofi lifted his head and instantly winced. The pain surging through his sides was as if someone had taken a plank of wood and slammed it into him. His head swam each time he moved so he remained still, trying to clear the fog that swarmed his brain. For a little while, he held his breath—he didn’t even think. The hurt was too much. Each picture to flash through his mind carried with it an ache he’d never felt before.
Eventually, Kofi inhaled and shifted. He remembered being with Adrestia, having lunch with her then feeling so tired he needed a nap. Soon everything went haywire and though Adrestia had told him to run, he hadn’t been able to leave her alone with so many attackers. Call it a weakness but if he saw someone in danger, he wasn’t just going to walk away.
What was he going to do? He was human, frail with no super powers whatsoever. Someone had caught him around the hip and shoved. He’d sailed through the air, hitting the wall hard then the floor. That hadn’t stopped him from struggling to his feet and pushing into the middle of the fray once more.
Then all hell had broken loose and the next thing he’d known he’d been falling through the air. Hitting the ground, for what had to be the third or fourth time, had taken the breath out of him and left him in a darkness that felt like a coma.
Grunting, he pushed into sitting position, gritting his teeth against the pain in his head. He looked around and noticed he was in a bedroom of some sort. Getting to his feet was easier said than done. Each time he tried standing, he slipped and fell back to his ass. “Shit…”
I’m coming, Kofi. I promise.
Osaki’s voice echoed through his head so loudly, he closed his eyes. “No,” Kofi said and instantly regretted it. His brain seemed to bang around in his skull making him wince. “No, no, no! That’s what they want.”
But he didn’t get a reply. He knew it was Osaki’s voice—he felt Osaki—and though it was a warm, loving sensation, the last thing he wanted was for Osaki to walk into a trap—and it was a trap. Aoi and his cronies didn’t kill him because they knew if he were dead, Osaki would have no need to save him. He’d just stay where he was and blow them to smithereens.
This time he rolled to his stomach, eased to his knees then pushed to his feet like a toddler just learning to walk. It worked and though he wavered on his feet a little, Kofi managed to remain standing. One foot ahead of the other carried him to the door but that was a waste of strength. The door was locked and so were the w
indows. There was no getting out of there the usual way. He remembered watching Commando where Alyssa Milano’s character got out of her prison by using the doorknob to pry open a part of the wall. The downside to Japanese doors? No doorknobs.
He flopped to the cot and dragged his hand over his head. Of all the things he’d done in his life or, rather, hadn’t done, the one thing Kofi regretted was not telling Osaki how he felt about him before it was too late. The thought of saying the L word to Osaki made him tremble and sent a sweet heat up from the pit of his stomach. Carter knew he loved him but Osaki… Kofi sighed, a burning sensation filling the pit of his stomach and working its way through his veins to his heart. It throbbed in his chest and no amount of deep breaths stopped it. A faint banging on the wall to his right jarred him from his sadness and he rushed over. Holding his breath, he tapped.
“Hello?” a voice whispered hoarsely.
Kofi hesitated. Should he trust this person? He had no friends there for they all wanted to harm Osaki. Turning, he pressed his back to the wall and slid down until his butt hit the floor.
“Are you there? I know you are awake. I can feel you.”
“What do you mean you can feel me?” Kofi asked. “Now there’s a dumb question, especially with all the shit that’s been happening around me lately.”
“It is a long story. But are you all right? I could not feel your essence for a long time. I know my uncles would not want you harmed.”
“Your uncles? Who are your uncles?”
“Ciro and Koi…”
“No. You’re wrong.” Kofi shook his head. “No. All the other Shivers, aside from Osaki, are either evil or dead—but they are all accounted for.”
“Are they really?” The voice on the other side of the wall laughed softly. “I suppose that is the truth as far as they know it. They do not know about me—at least I do not think so. My father did not tell many people about me. After his demise, they feared I would not wish to be a part of them anymore.”
“Were they right?” Kofi interrupted. “Do you not wish—damn it! I’m even starting to talk like you people.”
Again the Shiver laughed. “I never wanted to be a part of their group. My father thought he could build my powers, make me stronger. I am not sure how he thought that would happen. I was put in here very soon after his sentence.”
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