Stealing My Heart

by Stephani Hecht, Jambrea Jo Jones, A. J. Llewellyn, Carol Lynne, D. J. Manly, Jaime Samms, Serena Yates

  “Skate?”

  “I gotta go.” He hopped on his board and pushed himself away down the street without a backward glance.

  “Skate! Be careful!”

  “Later, Marky!” Skate waved back over his shoulder once then he was gone around the corner. Marky stood watching the empty street for a long minute, half expecting to hear the pop of a gunshot. The street remained quiet, though, and eventually he went back inside.

  “So?” Peter eyed him from across the counter, but Marky merely shook his head.

  “So nothing. Just an old friend come by to say hi.”

  “That’s it?” Peter frowned at him.

  “And warn me.” He slumped into the seat opposite Peter. “But there’s nothing to warn me about I didn’t already know, so why’d he come?”

  “You should call Rolly.”

  “And tell him what? It’s nothing, Peter. Just an old friend who wanted to make things right… Shit.” Marky spun off his stool for the door, turned and held out his hand. “I need your car.”

  “I don’t know, Marky.”

  “Please. God, please lend me your car.” When Peter still looked doubtful, Marky snarled. “Just give me the keys. I’ll take it with or without them.”

  “That’s grand theft auto.”

  “Skate’s going after Drag. He’ll get himself killed if I don’t stop him. Peter, please.”

  “Call Rolly.” But he did reach for the keys and toss them over the counter to Marky. “You be careful!”

  Marky only heard the shout through the door as he sped around to Peter’s old Buick and slammed inside. A cloud of old candy wrappers and dust trailed him down the street as he sped away, tires smoking around the corner.

  He did call Rolly, after his calls to Skate went straight to voice mail. After the police. After there was nothing his lover could do to stop him, because he was already there, and witness to Skate pressing the gun barrel to Drag’s temple.

  “Skate!” He skidded the car to a stop across the street from the Hole, and got out. “Skate don’t!”

  “Why not? He shot Gig. He’ll kill you if I give him the chance.”

  “This isn’t going to make any of it better.”

  “You should listen to him, asshole,” Drag shouted at Marky. “He’s right. He lets me go, you’re a dead man!”

  “You’re not a killer, Skate.” Marky was almost across the street, almost within reach. “You’re not like him.”

  “This is the only way to survive.”

  “No it isn’t.”

  Drag snorted. “Just find yourself a sugar daddy, Skate. Like Marky.” His lip curled up in a dark sneer. “Someone to fuck you so hard you just don’t have to think any more.”

  Marky didn’t think before he swung. The crack of his fist against Drag’s face came almost as much a surprise to him as to the big enforcer. Drag toppled, arms flailing to protect his face from the pavement. Skate stepped back, the gun wavered, then Drag was heaving himself up, pointing at Marky. He heard a popping sound, and suddenly, the street exploded in sound; sirens and screeching tires, gunshots, shouting, and spinning lights, and Marky reeled back from it onto his ass then his back. He stared up at the swirling beams of blue and red chasing each other across the sky.

  “Skate?” He struggled up, saw one body sprawled across the pavement, and panicked, but then Skate was being lowered gently to the edge of the sidewalk by a cop, and paramedics were turning over Drag’s limp form. He shifted and tried to get up, to the agonizing realisation moving was going to be an issue.

  “Shit.” He glanced over at one of the paramedics and pointed to his leg. “Is that all mine?” He touched the sticky mess covering his jeans, and his fingers came away stained dark. “I don’t…I think…um…”

  “Hey! Someone! He’s bleeding.” Rolly’s voice filtered through all the noise, his strong hands lifted Marky’s shoulders, and the smell of him surrounded Marky, blocking out a little of the fear.

  “Where’d you come from?”

  Rolly peered at him. “You called me, remember?”

  “Oh. Yeah.”

  “After you called everyone else on the planet, which we’ll talk about later.”

  “I…was in a hurry.”

  “Yeah. Now shut up and let them do their job, yeah?”

  Marky nodded, too wrung out to do anything else.

  * * * *

  “It was loud.” Marky shrugged at the cop standing at the end of his hospital bed.

  “You don’t remember anything else?”

  “Sorry, no. I got there, Drag said something…”

  “He insulted your boyfriend,” the cop supplied. “Your friend Daniel filled us in on that part.”

  “Daniel? Oh. Skate. Yeah. He was there.”

  “Mr. Strand, do you remember who shot first?”

  “I just…” Marky frowned and shook his head. “I just remember it was loud. It’s never been loud before. Just a little pop. Like Gig. Barely a sound, but he was still dead.” He looked up at the cop. “There was this small little pop. I remember that. And then…” He shook his head. “Everything got loud. I fell. I heard an explosion, sirens, yelling. And then Rolly was there. I just…that’s all I can remember.”

  “Good enough. We’ll let you get some rest, Marky.” She patted his foot.

  “Mark. Just Mark.”

  Mark lay back as the cops wandered to the door, and Rolly trailed after them. “So?” Rolly’s voice was low, but not so low Mark couldn’t hear.

  “He says he heard a pop, then an explosion, which suggests,” the cop consulted her notes, “that Drag fired first. He had a silencer on his gun. Which supports Daniel’s claim of self defence. I don’t think there’s anything further to investigate here.”

  “Good enough. I’m taking Marky—Mark home this afternoon, so if there’s anything else you need, you can contact us there.”

  “You’ve been very helpful, Mr. Leibow.”

  Home was a nice thought, and Mark said so when Rolly came back from seeing the cops out.

  It was an even nicer reality when Rolly opened the front door a few hours later and ushered him inside.

  “I’ll have to go back to Dean’s eventually,” Mark reminded him

  “Not on your life!” Rolly hurried around to his weak side to support him up the stairs.

  Mark whacked his ankle with his crutch to get him out of the way.

  “You’re staying right here, where you belong. Where I can keep an eye on you.” He backed off, though, and let Mark hobble up on his own.

  “Whatever happened to asking nicely?”

  “Out the window when you went off to catch bullets.”

  “I had to do something.” Mark paused in the doorway to the bedroom and sighed. The big bed looked too comfortable for words, and he tottered over to sit on the edge. He rubbed at his bare wrist, glanced around, and then looked at Rolly. “He needed my help. I almost didn’t get there…”

  “But you did.”

  “He still—”

  “He protected you. And himself. He did what neither of you could do for Gig. Don’t take that away from him.”

  Mark closed his eyes, but the flashing images of anger and gunfire still lingered behind his lids. His fingers tripped over the bones of his wrist and he sighed.

  “Stop that.” Rolly batted at his restless fingers. “Is it sore? Did you fall on it or something?”

  “What?” Mark glanced down at his wrist. “No. It’s fine.” He picked up his bag and rooted through it, found what he was looking for, and held them out to Rolly. “Guess I got used to them.”

  Rolly took the offered cuffs and turned them over in his hands. “You don’t have to wear them all the time.”

  Mark dropped his hands back into his lap. “I won’t, if you don’t want me to.”

  “You’re the one said you had to go out on your own.”

  “And find myself.” He took one of the cuffs and held it up. “This is part of who I am. I like this p
art. I like how I am with you. I like knowing you’re here, that I can go out and do what I need to do, and come home, and you’re here. That’s why I need to go back to Dean’s. He needs me.”

  “He needs help, it’s true.” Rolly caressed Mark’s face and smiled. “But it doesn’t have to be you. Your friend, Skate?”

  Mark nodded.

  “He needs a place to stay.”

  “I don’t know how he’d feel about this neighbourhood. It’s fine for me, but…”

  “What? You think everyone who lives in Pride Alley’s gay? He needs a place, something he can fix, and Dean needs the help. And you need a nurse.”

  “I do not!” Mark grinned at him. “Unless a certain blond I know is applying for the job.”

  Rolly smiled and crouched in front of him. “No one else better be considered.” He took one of Mark’s hands and curled the leather cuff around his wrist, buckled it in place. “You’re all mine.” He kissed Mark’s palm and looked up, his green eyes soft. “You scared the shit out of me, you know. Don’t ever do that again.”

  Mark smiled and cupped Rolly’s face. “I promise, I will make every effort never to have a gun pointed at me ever again.” He leaned close, brushed his lips over Rolly’s and moved to whisper in his ear, “I love you too.”

  Rolly sank forward, onto his knees, and wrapped both arms around Mark. For a few moments, he just hung on, his breathing heavy and ragged. When he backed off to look at Mark, his watery, blinking gaze never wavered. “I’m completely yours. You know that?”

  “It works out, then.” Mark held out his other wrist and watched as Rolly fastened his cuff in place. The familiar weight, the clank of the metal rings against the buckle made him smile. “It’s good to be home.”

  About the Author

  Jaime writes, romance, fantasy, urban fantasy, shifter stories about men, about life, about love. Her work is populated with mostly men, most of whom are into each other, and yes, we do mean into each other. You can find plenty of free reading on her website.

  She also reviews for Dark Diva Reviews, mostly the same types of stories, and will happily spout her opinion on the books she reads to her kids, who she home schools. Finally, she's occasionally gainfully employed. She writes for the love it, and hopes to pass on that love to her readers, her kids, and anyone else who comes along.

  Jaime loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com.

  Scrolls of Vengeance

  THE MAGIC THIEVES

  Serena Yates

  Dedication

  To all the honest people who spend some of their hard-earned money on books so that authors can write the stories they need to write.

  Thank you!

  Chapter One

  “It has been said that history is written by the victor. The Scrolls of Vengeance will record all of history – so that none of its lessons are forgotten.”~ From the opening paragraphs of the Tah’Nutian Scrolls of Vengeance, Tah’Nut, year 0

  “A thief thinks everyone steals.”~ Edward W. Howe, Late 19th to early 20th Earth centuries ~ From the opening paragraphs of the Terran Scrolls of Vengeance, Earth, year 2015

  Everything changed on the day true magic came to Earth. Humans thought that the inter-dimensional gateway to Tah’Nut was a miracle because it appeared just in time to save them from extinction.

  Elryk Muyd’omir knew better.

  This wasn’t a lucky coincidence, miraculous or otherwise. This was the result of a three-year concerted effort to track him down. He’d refused to work with the Xoh’kas family and had incurred their wrath. Now that the Tah’Nutian Law Forces had located his refuge, he needed to make a decision: accept his punishment or fight.

  Elryk stood on the white sands of his favourite beach and stared out over the stillness of the blue-green waves. Not a breath of wind to be felt in the physical world. The magical realm was another matter.

  “You’re going to leave, aren’t you?” Parker Stokes was a good friend, sharing his beach house and keeping Elryk company when his job as a physicist allowed.

  “I’m sorry.” Elryk saw no other way. Even though the gateway had opened on the other side of the planet, he already sensed its currents reaching out for him. Once they touched him there’d be no escape. And he didn’t want to risk Parker’s safety.

  “You’ve always said this might happen.” Parker smiled, showing the dimples that were so at odds with his normally serious demeanour.

  “I can’t fight them, not yet.” His magic was going to start working again once he linked with the power flowing from the gateway. But he couldn’t gain his strength back quickly enough. His magic had been inactive for too long.

  “But you will, right?” Parker’s green eyes shone with the force of his conviction. “You can’t let those Xoh’kas ‘re-programme’ you and make you a mindless zombie.”

  Elryk had told Parker the whole story after his friend had sworn to never tell another soul. He’d been fascinated that magic existed in another dimension. The physicist in him had unsuccessfully tried to develop an explanation. With the gateway open, Parker was going to study the phenomenon.

  “Yes, I’ll fight.” Elryk snorted. The Law Forces were sure to hand him over to the Xoh’kas. The Rah’loyst procedure would neutralize both his memory and his magic. Permanently. The ruling Xoh’kas family may have wanted more docile citizens but Elryk shuddered at the thought of losing his personality. Anything was better than that.

  “Good!” Parker slapped him on the back. His lean frame was deceptive, the man’s strength tangible in his touch. “They don’t deserve to control your Ruling Assembly.”

  “I never thought they did.” Elryk sighed. “I just wasn’t ready to step up and face them three years ago. I’m not a fighter, you know?”

  “I know.” Parker nodded, his black hair bobbing around his patrician face. “But you can’t let them take over Earth. We’ve got enough problems of our own.”

  “Right.” Elryk grimaced. “You’ve certainly managed to make life difficult for yourselves. You do realise that magic isn’t going to solve everything, don’t you?”

  “Obviously.” Parker grinned. “Science is going to play a role.”

  Elryk nodded.

  “Goodbye my friend.” Parker smiled and stepped away.

  “Thank you for everything.” Elryk turned back towards the ocean.

  It was time. He had to return to Tah’Nut to be effective. The gateway was the only way back. Once through it, he’d need some time to recover his magic. Then he’d find a way to escape and fix things.

  He took one last breath of the salty ocean air. Mentally reaching out to the currents emanating from the gateway to increase his power, he wove the spell that would transport him straight into the Tah’Nutian Law Forces Commander’s temporary office on Earth.

  Kaythan Vs’urr looked up from the three-dimensional map of Earth, an irritated frown on his face. Transportation lightning inside an office, even one as hastily built and temporary as his current location, was highly irregular.

  The smouldering black eyes that stared back at him belonged to a tall muscular man with long black hair, a classically chiselled face with a high forehead and a strong beardless chin and jaw. His skin was white, almost translucent. His lips were the deep red of winter roses. In short, he was looking at the wanted criminal he’d been sent here to capture. The man—no, wizard—stood in the middle of the room, hands relaxed at his sides, acting as if he’d been invited over for some social occasion.

  Kaythan’s mouth dropped open.

  Elryk was not at all what Kaythan had expected. He’d been warned about the potent wizard, an outlaw of the worst kind, headstrong and evil. He’d prepared himself for any and all tricks the ‘traitor’ was going to throw at him.

  This wizard fit the physical description he’d been given down to the last gorgeous molecule of his perfect body. Kaythan swallowed. Crap. He was going to have to be carefu
l about betraying the undeniable attraction he felt. The pictures had been one thing, but the wizard’s physical presence was ten times more powerful. He couldn’t reveal his plans before he got them both to safety. Nobody could know about his real reason for taking this assignment until it was too late for them to do anything about it.

  What surprised him was the lack of aggression in the wizard’s body language. Elryk’s whole attitude radiated a peacefulness that touched Kaythan’s warrior heart. Not that he could show it. He was being watched just as much as Elryk.

  So he closed his mouth and hardened his gaze. He walked up to the wizard, his heavy steps making Elryk wince. But the wizard stood his ground, black eyes undeterred.

  “So, wizard, you’ve come to turn yourself in?” Kaythan’s voice sounded gruff even to his own ears.

  “Why else would I be here?” Elryk shook his head and sneered. “I’m curious, is this the level of intelligence I can expect during the upcoming interrogations?”

  “Not good enough for you?” Good, there was at least some fight in him.

  “Hardly a challenge.” Elryk shrugged. “Not that I expected anyone of any intellectual ability to be part of this operation.”

  “Is that so?” Kaythan raised his eyebrows, presenting the right effect for the visual chronicling equipment. “You do realise that showing this sort of disrespect of the Law Forces would get you into trouble even if you were a citizen of hitherto unblemished reputation?”

  “You don’t say!” Elryk laughed. “I see that nothing has changed. Looks like the Xoh’kas have still got everyone, including the Law Forces, under their thumbs.”

  “Now, now, there’s no need to insult us.” Kaythan had difficulty keeping a smile off his face. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”