by Lynn Hagen
Even when his phone rang, Deandre didn’t feel like answering it. He was stuck inside his own head, and the darkness was swallowing him whole.
When his phone rang again, Deandre snarled as he snatched it from his pocket and snarled, “What?”
“Someone came through for me,” Donny said. “Got a lead on Ari Gray. Do you want it or not?” Donny’s voice was as sharp as nails, cutting.
“Tell me where to find him.”
This was exactly what Deandre needed. Something to focus his rage on, someone to take out his aggression on.
Someone to blame for pulling Amir into this mess.
“Someplace called Fever’s Edge. It’s about eighty miles south of Brac Village.”
“I’ll find it.” Deandre hung up before he could ask how Amir was doing. How the kids were handling what had happened.
Before he broke down and cried his fucking eyes out.
That was where his emotions were right now. Raw, open wounds that made it nearly impossible to function. Deandre forced his feet to move as he headed toward his living room. He used his phone to find out where Fever’s Edge was. Once he saw its location, he used his closet to travel, leaving behind the emotions that would cripple him. In their place remained hatred so deep that he actually feared for Ari Gray’s life.
Feared he wouldn’t get the information he needed before eviscerating the son of a bitch.
* * * *
“Are you sure?”
The Keeper nodded. “I’m positive.” He tapped the screen of Panahasi’s phone. “This is a dead language only a few can read.” He handed the phone back. “Where did you get it?”
“From a house in Brac Village.” Panahasi tucked his phone away. “One of many houses Marino Malone used for his drug labs.”
The Keeper curled his lip. “Malone was a nasty piece of work. And you say preternatural beings are trying to get to that piece of parchment?”
“Yes.”
“Stop them at all costs, Panahasi.” The Keeper paced over to his desk. Panahasi wasn’t even sure why they kept meeting in the underworld, especially after he’d invited Panahasi to his home, but this felt more befitting than meeting in the guy’s living room.
“Are you going to tell me why, or are we going to go back to your riddles?” Panahasi hoped not.
The Keeper chuckled. “I did enjoy those days. If I wasn’t in a rush to get back to my mate, I might’ve indulged you.”
“That wasn’t an indulgence,” Panahasi argued. “Those riddles were complete headaches.”
Half the time he’d been tempted to choke The Keeper for them. He was glad the guy had someone to go home to and wouldn’t be up to his usual antics.
The Keeper pointed toward Panahasi’s pocket where he’d put his phone. “That’s an ancient spell that, if it can be read by whoever is paying everyone to retrieve it, will bring Marino Malone back from the dead, making him more powerful than he could ever imagine.”
Panahasi cursed.
“Exactly. So unless you want that kind of evil unleashed on earth, you better find the guy who wants Marino brought back to life and end him.”
Panahasi needed to get the original piece of parchment from Deandre. He needed to destroy that first and then the copy on his phone.
Without another word, Panahasi flew from the underworld in search of Deandre.
* * * *
Deandre emerged from the woods by a lake with a dock. There was also a small house to his left with the patio door open. Deandre wasn’t sure if this was private property, and he didn’t know the local cops, so he hurried around the lake and down the road.
It didn’t take him long to get to town. The sun was already high in the sky, suggesting it was late afternoon. Deandre was on a tree-lined street, the fire department on his right, restaurants on the left. One even had an open-air patio. The wall was rolled up, and you could walk from the counter to a seat outside.
There was a park next to the fire station, plenty of trees for shade, and some people were on blankets, enjoying their day. Deandre felt out of place. He was the biggest of the demon warriors, mountainous, and he caught more than one eye looking his way.
At least in Brac Village the residents were used to cocky sons of bitches. Plenty men were, including the entire Lakeland clan. There were even tall guys, like Maverick and his sentries. The people of Brac Village never batted an eye, unless two guys spread out by the gazebo caught their attention.
And Donny hadn’t helped that day, flipping people the bird and tossing candy into the air and catching it like he was a street performer.
This town seemed ordinary, no nonhuman activity going on here. Now how in the hell was he supposed to find someone he’d never met before? He doubted the townsfolk would be nice enough to tell him if they knew an Ari Gray. They looked as if they’d ban together to protect him if he was a resident.
He walked into the open-air restaurant. It seemed like a casual dining place, with the menu on an overhead chalkboard. Maybe if he got friendly with one of the servers or someone behind the counter they’d tell him what he needed to know.
Too bad he didn’t have Donny with him. He’d charm the information out of someone. That only made Deandre think of Amir, and fuck, he missed his mate.
“Can I help you?” A slim, average-height guy smiled up at him. He did have pretty blue eyes. The waiter had on a black T-shirt with the restaurant logo on the left side of his upper chest. Cresting Moon. His nametag said he was Trey.
“What’s good here?”
“You’re definitely new here.” Trey smiled as he slid his heated gaze over Deandre. “How about I show you to a seat and give you a menu?”
Deandre noticed a bar behind the counter. “Sure, and I’ll have whatever’s on tap, too.”
“Something cold for a hot day. Perfect.” Trey showed him to a booth, but Deandre looked at the tight seating and shook his head.
“I’ll need a table.”
“You are a big fella.” Trey waved his hand to the tables in the middle of the restaurant. “Let’s get you over here.”
“Trey,” someone behind the bar shouted.
Trey rolled his eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
Deandre took a seat and looked around. Trey seemed nice and chatty enough, so maybe he’d tell him what he wanted to know. He just had to get his server back to him. From the looks of the guy chewing Trey out, Deandre wasn’t sure that was going to happen.
When Trey took his half apron off and tossed it up on the counter and walked out, Deandre got up and followed. He caught up to the human just outside of Cresting Moon.
“I’m not trying to be nosy, but what just happened in there?” Deandre had to walk slower to keep pace with Trey and gave him an easy smile when the human looked up at him.
“Clark is a straight-up dick.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets as they passed a pizza joint. “I didn’t bring a doctor’s excuse for missing three days in a row, and he just fired me.” Trey stopped and used his hands when he talked. “Is it my fault I have really bad migraines? I don’t even have insurance to go to the doctor. Now what am I supposed to do about work? My bills won’t pay themselves.” He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I don’t mean to lay all this on you.”
“I asked,” Deandre said. “There seems to be plenty of businesses here. Maybe someone else is hiring.”
“Dude, I’ve had three jobs in the past six months.” Trey scrubbed a hand through his light brown hair. “Word is going to get out that I’m not reliable. I bet Clark won’t tell any prospective employers it’s because of my migraines.”
Too bad Deandre couldn’t get Phoenyx to heal Trey’s health problems, but that would reveal the existence of nonhumans, and that was a big no-no in Deandre’s world.
“I got a small problem I was hoping you could help me with.” Deandre felt bad for asking considering what had just happened to Trey. The human seemed nice enough, and he was catching shitty breaks because of his ba
d headaches.
Trey let out a big sigh. “Sure, go ahead and ask. I can’t promise that I can help you, but I’ll try. You’re the first person who’s actually cared about my issues.”
Now that was just sad. “You don’t have any friends?”
“Not decent ones,” Trey said. “I’ve only been in Fever’s Edge for six months. It takes time for small-town people to warm up to strangers.” He made a motion with his hand. “Got ahead and ask.”
“Do you know anyone named Ari Gray?” It was a longshot, but Deandre had to try. If Trey had been in town only six months, Deandre doubted he knew everyone.
Trey pointed to something behind Deandre.
Turning, Deandre searched until he spotted a bench with an advertisement on it. The guy had dark hair and piercing green eyes. He also had the smile of a snake. “What?”
“That’s Ari,” Trey said. “The town mayor. He’s a mean SOB most of the time, only friendly when it suits him. I’ve asked why he’s reelected if he’s such an ass, and everyone tells me he gets the job done, whatever that means.”
The town mayor. Crap. A public figure that, if Deandre attacked, could have him in deep trouble. He had to handle this on the down low.
“Tell me you’re here to run against him.” Trey cut the corner and kept walking. Deandre followed him because he wanted as much information as he could get.
Like where the guy lived.
“I don’t do politics,” Deandre said. “I leave that to my boss.”
“What kind of business are you in?” Trey asked. “Maybe I could get a job where you work.”
Deandre tried to imagine Trey fighting demons and other nasty creatures, and he just couldn’t. “I’m in the protection business.”
Which he hadn’t been doing very well if Brett had been able to get to Amir. His heart jerked tight when he thought of Amir, Dahj, and Flynn getting hurt. If Zanny hadn’t shown up, Deandre wasn’t sure what would’ve happened.
Or if Amir hadn’t called Deandre’s name. He hadn’t even told his mate about that. About how a demon warrior could be summoned if their name was shouted.
That only meant that Amir had been desperate for Deandre when Brett was trying to kill him.
Deandre closed his eyes and let go of a long breath. Fuck second-guessing this shit. Once he was done here, Deandre was going to his mate. And unless Amir told him to fuck off, screw everything else.
“Oh.”
Hearing Trey’s voice made Deandre open his eyes. He stopped walking when the face from the bench was right in front of him. A devious smirk appeared on Ari’s face. One dark arched brow, and venom filled his eyes.
“I heard we had a newcomer in town.”
“I’m not a newcomer.” Deandre couldn’t keep the snarl out of his voice. “Just passing through.”
Holy fuck! Ari Gray was a hellhound!
“It’s nice to see you, Mayor Gray,” Trey said with a tight smile.
Ari turned his smirk to Trey, and then it smoothed out into a congenial grin. “Treyvon Victor. What a pleasure. Who’s your friend?”
The hellhound might not know Deandre by name, but he knew exactly what Deandre was.
“Oh, I didn’t get your name,” Trey said to Deandre. The brightness in Trey’s blue eyes had dimmed. If the human only knew the danger he was in, only knew why he suddenly felt so gloomy. “How rude of me.”
Deandre wanted to get the human away from them, wanted to shield Trey from Ari. If the hellhound thought Deandre and Trey were friends, he just might use Trey against him.
“Deandre,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Deandre.” Trey held out his hand. While Trey stared up at him, Deandre was looking Ari dead in his eyes.
Eyes that glowed red for a split second before the green returned. “Well, I have a few meetings to attend. It was nice seeing you again, Trey.” He turned to Deandre. “And meeting you.”
He put a little emphasis on the last word.
“I swear I always feel like my life is for shit whenever I run into him. Like all the happiness has been sucked out of me.” Trey shivered. “Like a dark cloud is always over that mayor’s head.”
“Some people are just hellish to deal with,” Deandre murmured. He needed backup if he was to take the mayor down. There was no telling if Ari was the only hellhound in town, and Deandre wasn’t taking any chances.
* * * *
Amir tried to keep a smile on his face as he cleaned up the dinner dishes. He’d already given Flynn a bath after his son had gotten ketchup all over himself. Dahj was in her room on her iPad, and Flynn was playing with his toys in his room.
Dahj refused to talk to him about what had happened at breakfast, and Amir hadn’t pushed her to talk. She would when she was ready. But what she did talk about, all evening, was Deandre or, more accurately, her tooth fairy.
Which made Amir only miss his mate even more.
“Need help?”
Amir’s heart leapt out of his chest at the sound of Deandre’s deep voice. He forced himself not to run to him. Not to fling himself into the warrior’s arm. Instead he looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I’ve pretty much got this covered.”
“Oh.” Deandre crossed his arms and nodded.
“But I left you a plate in the microwave in case you came by.”
Deandre’s head snapped up. “You did?”
Amir wiped his hands on a dishtowel as he crossed the room. “I can’t take this anymore. I’m miserable without you. Tell me why you ran earlier.”
Just when Amir had decided that he wanted to be with Deandre, no matter what, his warrior had left without a word. He wasn’t sure if he should be glad Deandre was back or be really pissed at him for leaving in the first place.
Deandre kept his arms crossed, as if he were afraid to let Amir in. “You saw me,” he said. “What I’m capable of. That’s my life, Amir.”
“Do you want this?”
“Of course I want this,” Deandre snarled. “More than anything. I just can’t see how it’s gonna work. I have to be in the demon realm to do my job and to feed my powers. You can’t move there, not when you have a business practice and two kids.”
“You’re here now.”
Deandre made a noise in the back of his throat. “That’s different. I’m doing my job when I’m here. I’m tracking down Ari Gray. When the next bad guy needs to be found, can you handle me being away for weeks at a time?”
That didn’t sound like something Ari would want, but he wanted Deandre. “We’ll figure it out. Until then, eat your dinner.”
Amir didn’t have any clear answers, but he wasn’t giving up on Deandre.
A bubble of laughter escaped Deandre. “Do you know how much I love hearing you say that?”
“What, bossing you around?” Amir grinned.
“That, too.” Deandre nodded.” The whole domestic thing.” He pulled Amir into his arms, and Amir rested his head against Deandre’s chest. It was more than just having someone in his life again to fill that loneliness. It was more than having someone there to help him with the kids.
He wanted Deandre to experience all life had to offer while by his side, them both taking it in, the good and the bad. Together. The two of them against the world.
Or at least against the bad guys.
“How’re the kids?” Deandre kissed the top of his head.
“Dahj won’t talk about what happened this morning.” Amir pulled back and looked up at Deandre. “And honestly, I’m not sure what to tell her. But she kept asking about you.”
“Me?” Deandre grinned. “Let me go talk to her.”
“What’re you going to say?”
“The truth.” Deandre shrugged. “At her age, I think she’ll take it better than an adult. It’s all in how I word it, and she’s a smart cookie. I don’t want to lie to her then have her find out the truth and never trust me again.”
Amir’s stomach clenched. “I don’t think she should know about demons and vampires
at her age.”
“What’s a demon?”
Amir closed his eyes for a brief second before he looked past Deandre to see Dahj standing in the hallway, her elephant tucked under her arm.
Deandre hunkered down, and Amir started to stop him, but Deandre said, “I am.”
“But I thought you were the tooth fairy?”
“I’ll tell you the truth. Always, Dahj. But first you have to tell me about this morning when the bad man was in the house.”
“Deandre,” Amir said in warning. “Don’t.”
“I was scared,” Dahj whispered. “I thought he was gonna take me and Flynn from my daddy. But I knew you would come and beat up the bad man.”
She’d said all that in a whisper, as if it were her and Deandre’s secret.
He tapped her chest with his finger. “I’ll always save you and Flynn, Bug. It’s my job.”
“Will that bad man be back?”
“Nope.” Deandre shook his head. “I put him in jail, just like any other bad men who would try to hurt you or your brother.”
“And my daddy?”
Deandre nodded. “And your daddy.”
“Then I’m okay.” She smiled. Then she whispered, “But my daddy misses you. I saw him crying.”
“Dahj!” It was one damn tear, and he didn’t think his daughter had seen him. It was a moment of weakness, a moment in which Amir hadn’t been able to hold his tears in any longer.
“Go check on your brother.” Deandre kissed her forehead before he straightened to his full height. When she hurried away, Amir’s mate turned and pulled him into his arms. “You cried?”
“No,” Amir quickly said. “I got something in my eye.”
Amir wasn’t admitting a damn thing. Not when he was already falling for Deandre, opening himself up after the death of his partner, and this might not even work out.
Could mates break up? Amir asked as much.
“No, mates don’t break up.” Deandre smoothed a hand down Amir’s back. “They’re forever.”
“So why in the hell did you walk away from me?” Amir demanded. “Why are you saying this might not work or implying that?”
“Because I don’t see how it can work.” Deandre released Amir and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Two different worlds, Amir.”