Chaz slammed the sliding glass door behind him as he entered the house.
“Great, now he’s going to be here every damn day.”
~*~
After getting assurance that Chaz would have a guard while Lev showered and changed, he went home. What had he expected, really? That Chaz would just accept why he had deceived him? He didn’t believe that six years ago and he knew it to be a fact now. He shook his head and surveyed himself in the mirror. In those six years he had grown up, but his heart had always remained with Chaz Savage. The look of disappointment and utter betrayal on Chaz’s face — Lev shivered.
His phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts. Dane Durov’s number showed on the caller ID and he smiled. Neither of them had gotten used to the telepathic way of talking, and it seemed as if the other werewolves also liked to use their cell phones now and then. The main reason they carried them was that if no one with the telepathic ability was with James, it was the only way to communicate. Lev swiped talk.
“Hey, Dane.”
“I heard about Chaz; you okay?”
“What do you mean you heard?”
“I mean your thoughts are on,” Dane snickered.
“Shit,” Lev sighed.
Dane laughed and Lev had to smile. He always forgot to turn his thoughts off. Dane had been a very good friend to him, as well as his alpha in Siberia; the two of them had gotten along from the start. When a rogue bit Dane, Jude Brooks had bitten him also, to reverse the poison. Now Dane was a werewolf of the Maccon line, just as he was.
“I have to go to the club tonight to watch over Ryder, you want to come with?” Dane asked.
“Oh, I have to watch over Chaz.”
“He’ll be there,” Dane said.
“How do you know?”
“Well, he called Cole, who told Ross who — ”
“Ah, The Twilight Bark. I got it,” Lev chuckled.
“Seriously? You just compared them to ‘101 Dalmatians’?”
Lev giggled like a two-year-old. “Well, if he’s going, I guess I’m going, too.”
“Good, I need someone to talk to.”
“You could talk to Ryder,” Lev offered.
“No. I can’t get personal with him.”
“Dane,” Lev sighed.
Although Lev didn’t know the whole story, he knew Dane had been with someone years before. The relationship hadn’t worked out and Dane had been heartbroken.
Yeah, he knew how that felt.
“Don’t ‘Dane’ me; you sound like my mother.”
“Daaaane,” Lev whined.
“Oh shut up,” Dane laughed. “You’d think I wasn’t your alpha or something.”
“You’re more like my friend, Dane.”
“I’m glad you said that, Lev. I need a friend right now.”
“Yeah? So do I.”
“Good, I’ll see you in a half hour.”
Lev hung up and looked in the mirror. If he could go back in time and change things, he would. He’d tell Chaz right away.
Lev hung his head.
Really? Would he? Because telling Chaz would have put him in more danger. Somehow, Lev knew Chaz would involve the police, and that would have been instant death for him.
“Fuck,” Lev sighed.
~*~
Lev had plenty of time to think as he followed Skylar’s Mustang. He’d see Chaz again very soon. And, maybe right now, that wasn’t such a good thing. Chaz needed time to cool off.
Serving as his guard wouldn’t help, either. Lev would be pulling his guard duties outside, in wolf form. It was starting to get cold out and he wasn’t going to sit out in his human form turning into a Popsicle.
“You want to tell me all of it now?” Dane asked.
Lev started at Dane’s voice. It had been so quiet in the car he’d almost forgotten Dane was present. Lev opened his mouth and everything spilled out in one big rush. After years of keeping his secret, here he was telling the story aloud for the third time.
And it felt good.
“Jesus, Lev — no wonder you were so fucked up when you finally got to Russia.”
“Gee, thanks.” Lev shook his head with a small smile.
“I knew it had to be love related somehow, I just never thought it would be Mafia related. So you told Chaz the truth and he didn’t care for it, huh?”
“Um, no. Right now, he’s probably going over every second we ever spent together trying to figure out if I was acting or serious.”
“Love, man.” Dane shook his head sadly. “That shit can fuck you all up.”
“Sounds like you know from experience.” Lev turned in the seat to look at Dane.
“I’m not ready to talk about my devastation.”
“Just know that when you are, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, Lev, I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
The lights of Cuffs and Stuff began to glow brighter as they approached. The boys of ‘Barely Legal’ were out of the car and into the building seconds later. None of them hung around the alleyway, where they had special parking. In the past, rogues had been quick to grab them out back. Security was tighter now; none of them was going to allow a rogue to get hold of an Olympian.
Lev got out of the car and strolled over to the side of the building. Dane nodded to him and jerked his head toward the club.
“I’ll be in there for the time being. As soon as they get up onstage, I’ll join you out here.”
“Thanks, Dane.”
“What about Chaz?”
“Cole is watching him right now. I made sure he’s got someone on him when I need to…well, you know.” Lev chuckled.
“Shit?”
“Shower.”
“Ah.”
Lev leaned against the building and let out a sigh as Dane entered the club. Well, he’d known Chaz wouldn’t forgive him right away. He just hoped he lived long enough to see the day when Chaz did forgive him.
Lev chuckled. With the Maccon werewolf line running through him, he’d be living for a very long time. That was another thing. If Chaz did forgive him, would he consider being bitten and turned? Lev couldn’t see living his almost- immortal life without Chaz in it.
A scent caught on the wind and Lev prepared himself. He whipped around the corner and slammed a body into the wall.
“Hello, Samson,” he growled. “You really don’t get ‘stay the fuck away,’ do you?”
“Lev,” Samson croaked. “Let go.”
“Give me one good reason why I should?”
“I let you live.” Samson rasped.
Lev loosened his grip and glared at Samson. “I could have taken you out.”
“Not unless you’d shot me in the heart.” Samson leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
“You can bet your ass I can do it now. Why are you here?”
“They sent me here. You really weren’t lying low when you were on a roof doing a striptease, Lev.” The men had collaborated a while back to raise money for charity — that fundraising involved a wildly popular group striptease.
“Shit,” Lev sighed and let go of Samson.
“Mario was suspicious when I went back and told him you’d gotten away from me, and it didn’t get much better after that. Then you show up half-naked on national TV?” Samson shook his head.
“It was for charity,” Lev grinned.
Samson glared at Lev.
“What?” Lev crossed his arms.
“You’ve changed.”
“Yeah. I’m not that naive Lev anymore.” Lev narrowed his eyes. “Tell me everything right now.”
“I’m supposed to kill Chaz and bring you back.” Samson rubbed his face with his hands. “I can’t do this anymore, Lev. They’re going to kill me; I know it.”
“Look, come with me to talk to James Jacobs and Stefan Santorno — ”
Samson’s eyes widened. “Are you nuts?! I’m not going anywhere near a Santorno!”
“You are and you will,” Le
v snapped. “We need to know everything — the key players, everything you know!”
“I need protection, Lev. You don’t know what these guys are like.”
“Maybe not, but I know what my guys are like.” Lev glanced over his shoulder at the club. “Come with me.”
Lev entered the club and found the firefighters mid-dance to their unofficial song. He leaned against the wall, keeping his eyes on Chaz. Damn the man could move. It brought back all kinds of memories of Chaz in bed. Lev shivered at the thought and tried to stay focused. He sent a mental message to Wayne Maccon, letting him know he was with Samson.
He waited patiently for the song to end and got a message back from Wayne.
“What are you going to do?” Samson asked.
“I have to take Chaz with me; he can’t be left alone anymore.”
“No, he can’t. When I don’t complete the job, they’ll send someone else who will.”
“That’s what I figured.” Lev waited for the dance floor to clear before approaching the table. He leaned over Chaz and spoke in his ear. “You need to come with me.”
“And why would I do that?” Chaz glanced up and met with very angry eyes. He’d never seen Lev like that. It was kind of hot.
“Because whether you like it or not, I’m now in charge of your safety and I take my job very seriously.”
“Who is that?” Chaz pointed to the man standing with Lev.
“The contract killer hired to eliminate you. Now come on.”
“Wait, what?” Chaz moved away from Lev.
“Chaz!” Lev hissed. “This is serious, move it!”
Lev sent a message to the men at the table he could talk to telepathically. Cole nodded, as did Ross. Lev took Chaz by his bicep and hauled him up. He kept his eye on Samson as they moved to the doors of the club.
“Don’t try anything funny, Samson. I will put you down,” Lev warned.
As soon as they hit the outside, Lev began increasing his speed, dragging Chaz behind him.
“My car is over there,” Chaz pointed.
“Keys.” Lev held his hand out.
“I’m not letting you drive,” Chaz snorted.
Lev stood toe to toe with Chaz and fixed him with a look. “Give. Me. The. Keys.”
Chaz’s dick hardened and he dropped the keys into Lev’s palm.
“Good. Get in the car, Samson. Chaz, in front with me.”
“Why are you calling all the shots?” Samson snapped. Lev whirled around and growled. Samson put his hands up. “Okay, okay!”
They drove in silence to Caden’s office building. Lev kept his eyes out for any other cars trailing him or anything out of the ordinary. He may not have been an enforcer, but he’d learned a trick or two over the years. He parked in the underground parking lot and got out, jogging around to Chaz’s side. After making sure they were alone, he allowed Chaz out of the car, then ushered him quickly into the elevator.
“Jesus, you’re acting like the Secret Service or something.” Chaz glared as Lev pushed the button on the elevator panel.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Lev pointed to Samson. “This is Samson Demarco, an enforcer for the Bonini clan. He was sent here to kill you, Chaz. Do you understand?”
Chaz eyed the man standing against the elevator wall. “You look like Thor.”
“Excuse me?” Samson stared at Chaz.
“All you need is the hammer. Seriously, dude.”
Lev sighed and rubbed his face. “Can we just be serious for a second?”
“Well he does! He’s got the long, blond hair and blue eyes. He could be Thor’s twin,” Chaz chuckled.
Lev exhaled as the elevator stopped. They exited and Lev knocked on James’ door.
“Come in!”
Lev walked into the room and stopped. Not only was James there, but Wayne and Stefan as well. A throat cleared and Lev turned to find Lorenzo Costa , Stefan’s top assassin, also at the party.
“Well now, who do we have here?” Stefan eyed Samson.
“Samson Demarco, meet Stefan Santorno.” Lev turned and pulled Samson forward. “Tell them what you told me.”
Chapter Four
Lev leaned against the wall as Samson spilled his guts. Not that he could blame him — being in the same room as Stefan Santorno and Lorenzo Costa and he would have sung like a canary, too. Once Samson was done, Stefan turned to Lorenzo with a raised brow.
“So Mario wants Chaz and Lev dead, does he?”
“I think Killian and Cezar would come in handy right now, don’t you?” James grinned.
“Oh, you’re thinking of having them take Samson’s form?” Lev was impressed.
“Huh? What do you mean take my form?” Samson stared at Stefan.
“We have shape shifters among us, Samson.” James stood up, motioning to Wayne. “They can become anyone they need to be, so it would be hard for Mario and his goons to take you out when they don’t know which one you are, now wouldn’t it?”
Lev smiled as Wayne came to stand in front of Samson. Even he could feel the power rolling off the man, and he’d had time to grow accustomed to it. Samson edged back discreetly, pressing himself against the wall.
“Hello, Samson. I’m Wayne Maccon.” Wayne held his hand out.
Samson slipped his hand into Wayne’s; the effect was immediate. A tingle ran up his spine and the air seemed charged.
“Now, I don’t normally bite just anyone, so I’ve brought in my warlock to feel you out — so to speak.”
“Warlock?” Samson squeaked.
“Yup.” Wayne nodded. “Chance?”
“Right here.”
Lev started as Chance appeared right before him. He got a grin and a wink from the other man.
Chance eyed the mammoth man in front of him. “He looks like Thor.”
“See!” Chaz blurted out.
Chance leaned into Samson’s face and concentrated on his irises. He placed his hands on each of Samson’s temples and closed his eyes. It was so quiet in the room that a cleared throat would resound like a bomb. Chance’s gasp startled them and he stepped away from Samson.
“He’s telling the truth,” he announced.
Wayne placed a hand on Chance’s shoulder and squeezed. “Thank you, Chance. Now, Mr. Demarco — you say you need protection?”
“Yes.” Samson nodded.
Wayne leaned in and inhaled deeply. He turned to Chance who nodded.
“You’ve been bitten,” Wayne said.
“Well, yeah. I’m a werewolf, and I wasn’t born that way.” Samson raised his brows.
“No, I mean you were bitten twice, weren’t you?”
Samson’s jaw dropped.
“That’s what I thought.” Wayne circled Samson, eyeing him. “How long ago?”
“A month, maybe two.”
“I’ll need you to see Alexander Romasko. He’s our pack doctor and he can tell me if it’s too late for you. I don’t think it is, though. You’ve only got a little yellow around your pupil.”
“What do you mean too late?” Samson stumbled backwards.
Wayne gripped the man's bicep, righting him. “You’ve been bitten by a rogue. Once that happens, the poison invades your system and turns you into a yellow-eyed monster. We’ve seen it happen before, and one member of our pack has been cured. I can do the same for you. The more of an asshole you are, the faster the poison travels and the sooner you become completely amoral. I’m sure your boss has sent you on many, many more jobs since then?”
“Yes.” Samson nodded slowly.
“He’s trying to turn you completely,” Chance interrupted.
“Well, I don’t want to be that,” Samson spat.
“It’s too late.” Lev sighed comically. “He’s already an ass.”
Samson narrowed his eyes at Lev.
“Lev, take Mr. Demarco here to see Alexander. I will meet you over at Chaz’s house to see where we go from there.” Wayne leaned against the wall.
“Wait.” Chaz straightened.
“What do you mean where we go?”
“Well, you can’t stay at your house with a hit man in town.” Wayne pointed out.
“I’m not going to be put in some safe house!” Chaz bellowed.
“Oh, that SO sounds like me,” Stefan sighed.
“Fine.” Wayne narrowed his eyes at Chaz. “Then we’ll place Mr. Demarco and Lev as your guards.”
“Wait, what?” Samson whirled around. “Why me?”
“Because.” Stefan stepped forward. He was quite a few inches shorter than Samson, but the man was almost trembling in fear. Stefan smiled. “You know Mario’s goons, you’ll come in handy.”
“And you’ll protect me?” Samson swung his gaze back to Wayne.
“Yes. Once I get the report from Alexander, I’ll bite you.”
“I’m going to be bitten again?” Samson sighed and hung his head.
“Oh, but this will be so much more fun.” Lev winked.
“Okay, let me know when you get back to Chaz’s, Lev.” Wayne shook Lev’s hand.
“Yes, and keep your eye on this one.” Lorenzo leaned into Samson’s face. “I do not trust him yet.”
“I’m being honest.” Samson backed up carefully, as one would from a much larger wild animal.
“We shall see.” Lorenzo’s grin widened. “I would love to send you back to Mario in pieces.”
“Lorenzo,” Stefan sighed with a smile.
“Si?” Lorenzo stepped back and crossed his arms.
“Behave.”
Samson back further. “Um, can we go now?”
“Yep!” Lev chuckled, opening the door. “I’ll be in touch, Wayne.”
“I look forward to it.” Wayne nodded.
~*~
Alexander was waiting for them when they arrived at the shifter hospital. Telepathy did have its perks. Okay, a phone call would have worked, too — but it was still cool. Samson was carted away and Lev leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Chaz stood off to the side, looking out one of the windows.
“So.” Chaz turned to Lev. “Rogues, huh?”
“Yes, rogues.”
“The assholes who love to bite people for fun and turn them into ginormous dickheads who push drugs, sell children and kill just for fun. Thank God Calvin was saved by Ross.”
Savage Love Page 6