by T. M. Smith
“Please.” Hector’s tone softened, and he held a hand out for August.
“Shit…Hector, what you do to me.” He did as he was asked. Climbing back into bed with the still naked and extremely tempting man that had done what no else in August’s life had managed to before that moment—make him want more.
Chapter 18 | S O S
Cirian jerked, sitting straight up, dazed and confused. It took a moment before everything came rushing back. He’d fallen asleep on the couch in the library, and his husband was still missing, presumably taken by his psychotic brother. Taryn and Theresa were busy poring over papers and maps at the table on the other side of the room. Tanis stood by the window, staring out into the darkness, his hand resting on the handle of the sword at his waist. Aiyan sat on the couch across from him, his husband’s head in his lap while he slept restlessly.
God, why is this happening? Why are me and my family being judged for decisions we had no choice in?
Gabriel sat a cup of coffee down in front of Cirian before taking a seat beside him on the couch. “You’ll drive yerself crazy trying to figure out why, son. I hate that you and yer family are paying for mine and Kiernan’s mistakes, but it is what it is. All we can do now is find your husband and put an end to this madness once and for all.”
Cirian eyed his father warily before nodding in agreement. The chill that had taken root in his bones began to thaw as the warmth from the coffee infiltrated his bloodstream. Looking around the room, he noticed neither Hector nor the Outkast were there. “Where’s Hector and that red-haired jobby?”
“Hector took him back to his room so they could get some rest, I think.” Tanis turned to face him.
Cirian’s lip curled in disgust. “He’s taken quite a shine to the rat bastard; what’s that all about?”
Tanis seemed to ponder Cirian’s question. “I’m not sure, exactly.”
“Not sure about what?” Hector asked as he came into the room with the alleged rat bastard right behind him.
“You.” Cirian growled, standing only to be pulled back down by his father.
“I see where your daughter gets it from.” August stood his ground. Arms crossed over his chest, he watched Cirian calmly.
Hector stifled a laugh, covering his mouth and pretending to clear his throat. Tanis looked his way, one eyebrow slowly lifting. Really? he mouthed, which made Hector chuckle.
“I’m happy we amuse you, Hector. Now, maybe your friend there can clue us in on where his leader might be stashing my husband.” Cirian’s eyes stayed on August as he spoke.
August rolled his eyes, turning to Tanis. “You mentioned I was the only person left with a pulse, but I heard a guard in the hall saying someone else was being held.”
“Yes, that’s right. He was found hiding out in the stable when it was searched. A big, black man full of piss and vinegar,” Tanis responded.
Cirian stood abruptly. “Why, do ya think he knows something?”
August’s brow furrowed. “He may. It was Robert—the big pissed-off black guy, myself and Cillian that planned everything out.” Anger sparked in Cirian’s eyes at the words. August took a step back, holding his hands up. “Before, Cirian…we planned it out before I knew the truth of it all. I’m no danger to you anymore, I swear.”
Hector reached out and pulled August behind him, which only infuriated Cirian more. “I swear to Christ Almighty above, Hector, you won’t be able to protect him if anything happens to Rian. So I’ll remind you to stay out of my way!”
“Perhaps we should all calm down and go talk to this Robert guy, see what he can tell us,” Tanis suggested.
“Yes, let’s.” Cirian snarled, brushing past August roughly, slamming into August with his shoulder deliberately.
Waiting to follow behind everyone else, August grabbed his arm, flinching. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, he packs a mean punch.” Hector laughed, following the others down the hall.
Robert refused to talk, glaring at Cirian and Tanis with nothing but anger and contempt. August tried to step around Cirian, wanting to explain to Robert how they’d been duped by Cillian, but Cirian shoved him back. Hector reached for him, pulling August closer to him and then, then Robert decided to speak. “What the hell Augie? You turned on us?”
Robert was as big, if not bigger than Cillian, and he was fit to be tied. It took six guards to restrain him while Tanis went to get Raven so he could sedate the pissed-off rebel before he tore the palace apart. They all stood and watched with rapt attention as the shot Raven gave Robert began to take hold. His posture relaxed and his eyes glazed over. It was then, once they’d gotten Robert calmed down, that Cirian heard a faint ticking sound.
“What is that infernal sound?” he asked, his eyes darting around the room. They all looked at him oddly, obviously not hearing anything.
“I don’t hear…” Aiyan was cut off mid-sentence when Raven waved his hand in the air.
“Everyone, quiet,” Raven whispered loudly. He looked around the room, looking past the people at something unseen. “It’s very familiar.”
“What is it, Raven?” Cirian asked, desperation evident in his tone.
Raven raised a finger, silently asking for a moment. Following the sound, Raven walked out into the hallway with Cirian right behind him. At the end of the hall, there was a stairwell leading down and out to the garden—the stairwell had been the entry point for the rebels when they breached the palace. “Three short, three long, three short.” Raven kept repeating it over and over as he walked in a circle in the hallway. Then he stopped rather abruptly. “Oh my God!” Everyone gasped; hearing Raven take the lord’s name in vain was a rarity. He shrieked as he spun around and grabbed Cirian by the shoulders. “It’s Morse code. Rian would know it from his training.”
“What’s he saying?” Cirian all but shouted the question.
Raven was grinning, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Three short, three long, three short, it’s an SOS.”
“But what does it mean?” Cirian shouted this time.
“A call for help! Come on, we’ll follow the sound and hopefully, it will lead us to Rian.” Raven turned but stopped short when Tanis grabbed him by the arm.
“Hang on a sec, babe, how do we know it’s Rian and not Cillian? It could be a trap.”
Raven grinned. Eyes wide, he grabbed Tanis’s hands in his, squeezing tightly. “That’s just it; Cillian wouldn’t know what Morse code is, much less how to signal with it. It’s a form of communication from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, something we are taught during our trials for The Order. It has to be Rian!”
“Okay, fine, but are we really going to rush off half-cocked? No plan, no weapons?” Aiyan asked.
“I’ll kill him with me bare hands.” Cirian snarled, trying to move past Raven.
Gabriel grabbed a handful of his son’s shirt, pulling him backward. “Of that, I have no doubt. But, humor me and grab something heavy first—a sharp object perhaps?”
Chapter 19 | Faking It
Hector stayed close to August as they followed the others back toward the library. Cirian argued that because Rian had been gone far too long already, they should act immediately, but his father prevailed. Hector and August were following Aiyan and Kaden back to the library where Kaden would stay with Raven, Aiya, Maeve and the children. Cirian had requested they bring the twin giants, Taryn and Thyago, with them when they all met in the hall outside of Cirian and Rian’s room.
“If you think I’m going to sit back and let you sons a bitches do all the heavy lifting, well, you’d be dead wrong,” Theresa argued with her brother, flipping her long, black hair over her shoulder and marching out of the library.
“Damn, her wife is one lucky woman,” Mateo said with a smile. Thyago and Alessandra both glared at him. “What?” He mocked innocence, taking his wife by the hand and leading her over to the couch where they both took a seat on either side of Gabry.
Hector turned back to August and caught hi
m eyeing Thyago from head to toe…slowly, appreciatively. The spike of jealousy was intense, and it took Hector by surprise. He realized that he and the red-haired Outkast barely knew each other. And yes, they’d had sex—quite possibly the best fucking sex Hector ever had. And then they’d talked for a little while, August telling Hector all about growing up with a twin, the shenanigans the two “red-haired devils” their mother would call them, would get into. Still, no promises or declarations had been made, but it bothered him nonetheless. Hector wanted this man, wanted August to be his and his alone. How could he ask such a thing of a someone he’d known for such a brief time?
Stop it, will you listen to yourself? You need to focus. Hector, keep your head in the game, and stay sharp. You and the temperamental Outkast can talk about where to go from here once Rian is safe, and you can be certain no one is going to try to kill him.
A playful nudge had Hector looking left to see August grinning at him, almost knowingly. August leaned close enough to whisper in his ear and not be overheard. “We’ll talk after, okay?” Hector nodded.
“Ready?” Tanis asked before clapping his hands together loudly. “Good, follow me.”
Hector nudged August, and the two of them waited to leave the library last. Giving a cursory glance over his shoulder, Hector met Maeve’s intense stare, nodded once then turned and followed August down the hall. The palace at the heart of House Gaeland was separated into several groupings of rooms that stemmed off the main room and entryway. The library was on the opposite side of the palace from Cirian and Rian’s rooms, so even at a fast clip, it took a few minutes to walk the distance.
“A bit much, don’t you think?” Hector whispered to August. Six men followed their lone female companion down the hall to meet two more men, every single one of them locked, loaded and carrying an arsenal of weapons among them. “Nine people to take out one, single, solitary guy?”
“Let’s hope it’s enough.”
Aiyan called out as he continued walking. Having not met the man they sought, only hearing the stories of what he’d done, how this Gorilla Man had blown through the people of House Gaeland like a tsunami, Hector couldn’t be certain what he was capable of. But still, nine fucking people? Thyago and Taryn alone could decimate a small village, so why all the preparations for a fight of apocalyptic proportions? Before Hector could voice his concerns again, they rounded a corner, and Aiyan stopped.
Light spilled out into the dimly lit hall, two distinct voices bitching at each other in a language Hector didn’t recognize. “It’s Gaelic,” August told him. “One of my grandparents came from House Gilley, so I’ve heard it spoken often.”
August listened intently for a moment before leaning into Hector, causing his blood pressure to skyrocket from the close proximity. He seriously needed to get a handle on his emotions before he did or said something stupid. “Gabriel is begging Cirian not to kill Cillian.”
Before Hector could respond, Cirian stomped out into the hall, quickly moving past the group of men, completely ignoring his father. Gabriel stuck his head out of the room, hollering at his son. “He’s still yer brother lad, best ya be remembering that!”
“Nay Da, he is not. He never was.”
***
When Aiyan asked Kaden to remain behind with the others in the library, he pretended to be pissed, even argued with his husband just enough to put on a good show. Bitching and grumbling about being treated like a damsel in distress, Kaden played it to the hilt to the point Maeve began complaining about being left behind as well. With Aiya and Raven distracted by Maeve’s protests and the baby fussing, Kaden took the opportunity to slip out of the library unnoticed.
“Damn, that was far easier than I expected.” Kaden grinned, muttering under his breath as he closed the door. Unsure of exactly where in the palace the group going after Rian and Cillian were, he rushed to his and Aiyan’s room and went straight to the closet. Buried in the back corner was the case that held Kaden’s Khanda sword.
In less than five minutes, Kaden had changed clothes and slid his sword into the sheath he slung over one shoulder. Simply carrying it around wasn’t a viable option as both sides were sharp enough to slice through bone. Cracking the door to his room open a smidge, Kaden peeked out to be sure no one was in the hall to see him. Once he was certain he was still alone, he slid out into the dark hallway and quietly headed for the stairwell that led to the bunker. Too long had his dreams been haunted by the man who’d kidnapped and tortured him because of who he was married to. But that was about to change.
Kaden had prayed nearly every night since the first night he woke up after the terrible ordeal, staring into the concerned yet loving eyes of his husband, that one day God would grant him the opportunity for retribution against Cillian for what he’d done to him, for what he’d done to the people Kaden loved and cared for. He’d settled for knowing Aiyan or Tanis would probably get to Gorilla Man first, so the knowledge he might get to deal the killing blow thrilled Kaden to the point that every fiber of his being was buzzing. All his senses were alert and honed, his training kicking in and settling his nerves.
I’m coming for you, you son of a bitch!
“And just where do you think you’re going?” A woman’s voice reached out from the shadows. Kaden jumped, biting down hard on his tongue in an effort not to cry out.
Heart racing, he squinted his eyes, focusing on the figure moving into the light. “Alessandra?” Kaden couldn’t believe his eyes. “What…” The question trailed off.
She stopped a few inches in front of Kaden and crossed her arms over her chest, one foot tapping on the concrete floor. “I knew you were up to something with that pitiful display of anger earlier. So I decided to follow you when you left the library.”
Kaden sighed, exasperated. “What do you want, Alessandra?” He presented it as a question, though his tone was stern.
Head cocked to one side, the beautiful Amazonian woman in front of him studied Kaden quietly for far longer than he liked. “I think the question is—what are you doing, Kaden? From what I’ve been told this man everyone seeks to kill is larger in height than Thyago, bigger in size than Taryn. So tell me, please, why you wish to face this man that has already almost killed you, alone.”
Ready to argue the point with her, a thought struck instead. “I’m not alone.” Kaden grinned. “You’re coming with me.”
That seemed to be the correct answer, judging by the wide-eyed grin Alessandra now wore. “Indeed. I’m glad you see things my way, good man.” She bent and pulled a long, serrated knife from a hilt at her ankle before standing and waving an arm toward the stairwell leading down to the bunker. “After you.”
Voices echoing off the walls coming toward them drew their attention. “Hurry,” Alessandra barked, shoving Kaden down the first flight of stairs.
Chapter 20 | Is That It?
The repulsive giant became restless, and Rian knew his captor would wake soon. His attempt to let his husband and family know where he was had failed. He was so confident and elated when he’d first realized he had a way to reach out to them. But as the minutes became hours Rian was painfully reminded of his circumstance. Cillian lay stretched out on a large table, snoring and scratching himself in his sleep. He’d taken the one thing Rian had shared with only his husband. What else was left?
Oh God…Cirian, My Love, I’m so sorry.
He wept and prayed for an answer, some morsel of sanity that would get him through this ordeal if he were to make it out alive. An odd noise penetrated his haze of self-pity, and Rian tried to focus on what it was, what it could be. His mind could very well be playing tricks on him, but what if? Three soft, short taps had him sitting up straight, at least, as straight as he could while handcuffed to a beam. Checking to ensure Cillian was still snoring, he laid his hand flush against the beam…tap, tap, tap.
Almost immediately, there was a response. Three taps with a three- or four-second delay between each one and Rian tamped down the urge to shou
t out, I’M HERE! Instead, he repeated the sounds using his wedding ring. His attention focused on the task at hand, he didn’t realize the ticking noise had woken his captor.
“I told you I’d shove that ring up your ass,” Cillian barked, climbing off the table and stomping over to where Rian sat. He braced himself as a big, meaty hand twisted in his hair. If he were lucky, perhaps this blow would knock him out for good. A soft laugh growing louder, footfalls coming closer jerked Cillian’s attention to the doorway. He released Rian, but not before smacking him upside the head, hard. He stood as a tall woman whose skin blended into the darkness came into the room, a dagger at her side.
“Tsk, tsk.” She waved one finger in front of her, side to side. Rian had done the exact same thing to his children many, many times over the years. If he had the strength left, he’d laugh. “You shouldn’t go playing with things that don’t belong to you.” The Spanish lilt underlying her tone was raspy, one side of her mouth twisting into something resembling a smile.