by Lynn Hagen
“I willbe with you shortly to take your orders.”
Drake nodded. “Thanks.” He took another sip of his wine, hoping the second time around would make the wine taste better. It hadn’t, but he was feeling the effects almost immediately. Maybe drinking on an empty stomach wasn’t such a good idea. The groggy effect was hitting him too quickly.
“Are you all right?” Casey asked. The voice sounded hollow, as if Casey were at the other end of a long tunnel. Drake blinked a few times, giving his mate a slight nod.
“I’m fine.” Worrying his mate was the last thing he wanted to do. He was just a bit tipsy from the alcohol. It had been ages since Drake had anything alcoholic to drink. Being a lightweight when it came to drinking wasn’t something he liked to talk about. It fucked with his male ego.
He had only given Panahasi a hard time about drinking because Drake had been nervous. Drake would admit to himself that he did strange-ass shit when he was nervous. He didn’t know why, but it was a habit from as far back as he could remember. He had once stripped naked in the mall when he was seven because the large crowd had scared him.
And that was the last time his foster parents had taken him to the mall.
Talk about touchy.
Drake glanced up to see another waiter approaching his table. He liked the quick service, but if they were going to be like this all through dinner, it was going to get annoying.
“I’m Juan, your server tonight.”
“Where’s the other guy?” Casey asked.
Juan glanced from Drake to Casey. “I’m sorry, but this is my section. There is no other waiter.”
Drake yelped when Casey reached across the table and smacked the wineglass from Drake’s hand. The glass hit the table, pale pink wine spilling all over the cloth and Drake.
“Whadid you do dat for?” Drake blinked, seeing two Caseys and feeling very strange. He’d been drunk before, but it hadn’t felt anything like this. Drake was usually giddy when he drank. Right now all he wanted to do was lie down somewhere. His head throbbed badly, and his mouth was so dry that he thought he had drunk sand instead of wet wine.
“Because, brainiac. Juan said he is our waiter, but that other man served us the wine.”
“Other man?” Juan asked. “What other man?”
“Exactly!” Casey said as his voice began to climb. “I knew we shouldn’t have left the penthouse. I swear, Drake, one of these days I’m going to learn not to follow behind you so damn blindly. Once again we are in trouble because you didn’t think, jackass.”
“Is something wrong?” Juan asked as he cocked his head and watched as Drake swayed slightly in his booth. He wasn’t feeling so hot.
“We need Panahasi,” Casey said frantically as he pushed from his booth and slid in next to Drake, cupping his face.“Hang in there, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
“Everyone knows that all you have to do is call one of the demon warrior names and—”
“Panahasi!” Casey shouted in a frantic-filled voice as Drake’s eyes began to roll. Drake swooned, nearly falling on Casey. Maybe they should have stayed at Panahasi’s.
* * * * Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Casey always ended up in predicaments like this when he listened to Drake. He was going to learn one of these days not to listen to the jerk. Granted, he loved Drake with every bone in his body, but he wanted to strangle his mate more than he wanted to hug him most days.
Drake had always seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble, and knew just how to pull Casey along for the ride. Most of his mate’s troubles were preventable, if Drake would stop being so damn hardheaded and headstrong.
Now look at them. Casey hadn ’t a clue what to do. “Now what?” he asked Juan.
Juan shrugged. “Panahasishould have been here by now.”
This was not good. A thought occurred to him, and Casey went with it. “Phoenyx!” If Panahasi couldn’t help them, then the man in charge of watching out for them surely would. Casey blinked when Phoenyx began to walk toward their table from a dark corner, looking so damn mad that Casey was surprised the man wasn’t breathing fire from his nostrils.
“Are you trying to get my head taken clean off?” Phoenyx shouted. “If Panahasi had come back and found you two gone, my facewould have ended up on a milk carton.”
“Something is wrong with Drake,” Casey quickly explained, hoping the problem at hand distracted the demon from any further yelling. Casey hated to be yelled at. Only Drake could drive him to scream like an idiot, and his mate was currently licking the side of Casey’s face.
“Shit,” Phoenyx said as he grabbed Drake from the booth. “Get over here!” He barked the order at Casey. He didn’t have to be told twice. Hell, Casey hadn’t wanted to leave in the first place.
Just as Phoenyx reached out to grab him, two very large men came barreling out of the kitchen, heading straight for them. Casey practically jumped on Phoenyx as they backed away. What were they waiting on? Why didn’t Phoenyx just toss out one of those swirling holes or disappear like Panahasi had in the apartment? The two men didn’t look like they wanted to discuss the weather. More like remove their heads from their shoulders.
“Now would be a good time to get us out of here,” Casey said as he clutched Phoenyx’s arm.
“I need a shadow,” Phoenyx said. “I’m not the leader. I can’t create portals or just pop out, and the shadow I used to get here is now lit with an overhead light.”
This was one hell of a time to find out that those neat little tricks belonged solely to his mate. Casey was worried. He was more than worried. But he needed to keep a clear head. Drake was currently passed out and drooling all over Phoenyx’s arm. He was of no use right now. Casey needed to keep Drake safe from the men coming toward them.
“Then find one,” Casey said as he continued to back away with Phoenyx, “because I don’t think these men will sit on their thumbs while we politely walk away.”
“No, they won’t.” Phoenyx just had to agree. Why couldn’t the guy lie to him and tell Casey that they were a couple of his buddies? It would stop Casey’s heart from lodging in his throat.
“Go out the front,” Malcor shouted. “My waitstaff and I will hold them off.”
Casey was spinning on his heel and heading for the door before the owner of the restaurant could finish what he was saying. Phoenyx was carrying Drake’s body in his arms, running behind Casey as he flew out of the door.
“This way,” Phoenyx said as they ran down the side of Malcor’s to an alley. Casey hated the fact that this city was so damn dark. It only lent to his fears. “Grab my arm.”
Casey grabbed onto Phoenyx’s well-defined arm and before he could blink, they were back in Panahasi’s apartment. He would have let out a sigh of relief, but he needed to make sure Drake was all right.
“How is he?” Casey asked.
“I would say drunk, but there is a bitter smell coming from his mouth. I’ve smelled this before. He’s been drugged.” Phoenyx laid Drake on the sofa. “What in the fuck were you two thinking? I’m not sure why Panahasi has me watching you, but if you two pull a stunt like that again, I’ll kill you myself.”
“We’re Panahasi’s mates,” Casey answered in a whisper, his eyes locked onto Drake. “Can you fix him?”
Phoenyx cocked his head to the side, his jaw hanging slightly open as his eyes grew rounder by the second. “Did you just say you were Panahasi’s mates?”
Casey nodded.
“Fuck me.” Phoenyx dropped down to his knees next to the couch, running a hand over his mouth. “He’s going to kill me. That’s all there is to it. I let his mates leave, get drugged, and get chased by his enemies. If I’m lucky, he’ll justshove me in a cell in the underworld.”
Casey watched Phoenyx’s complexion become paler by the second. He wasn’t sure if he should pat the man on the back or give him a glass of water. What did a person do for someone who was…what? Was Phoenyx having a nervous breakdown? Casey wasn’t sure.
“Can you fix Drake?” he asked once more, reminding the demon that they had a bigger issue to deal with than Panahasi’s wrath.
Phoenyx blinked at Casey and then looked down at Drake. He seemed to come out of whatever stupor he was in as he nodded. “I can.”
“Then please.”
Phoenyx rose to his knees and leaned over Drake. He pulled Drake’s mouth open, and Casey watched as one lone tear slid from the man’s eyes, dangled on his chin, and then dropped into Drake’s open mouth.
At first nothing happened. Casey was frightened that Phoenyx had no clue what the hell he was doing. He wasn’t sure how a damn tear could help Drake. But then Drake rolled to his side and vomited violently all over the couch and floor.
Gross.
“Is he fixed?” Casey asked as he hurried over to his mate, trying his best to hold his breath at the foul smell now lingering in the living room.
“He’ll need some rest, but the drug he ingested is now all over the couch and floor, not in his system.”
“Can we move him?” Casey asked as he pinched his nose and covered his mouth. If he didn’t get away from that smell, and quickly, he was going to be upchucking as well. There was nothing worse than the smell of a person’s stomach content. He loved Drake dearly, but he was not going anywhere near that mess.
“I’ll carry him to the guest bedroom and you can clean him up from there.”
Casey watched as Phoenyx picked Drake up from the couch and walked him down the long and dark hallway. The demon stopped at a door right before Panahasi’s and opened it, taking Drake inside and layinghim on the bed. “I’ll go clean up the mess in the living room.”
Casey nodded as he hurried to the bathroom and wet a cloth, taking it back into the room. He cleaned Drake down, removing his shirt and wiping away the mess around his face. Once he rinsed the cloth out, Casey returned to the bedroom, climbed up into the bed, and curled into Drake’s arms.
“What happened?” Drake croaked the question as his arms wrapped around his stomach, his face pinched in pain.
“You were drugged. How do you feel?”
“Like I was drugged.”
“Smart-ass,” Casey said gently as he brushed Drake’s hair from his eyes. He knew Drake didn’t know what being drugged felt like, but the man was being his usual sarcastic self. “Luckily Phoenyx got the drug out of you.” Casey could feel the anger rising in him. He and Drake had hurt no one, yet someone had immediately honed in on them like weak prey. If he ever found out who sent the bottle of wine over to the table, Casey would take the bottle and shove it deeply up that person’s ass.
Drake was prickly at best, sarcastic as hell at worst, but he meant no harm. The only thing Drake ever tried to do was protect Casey. He shouldn’t have to pay a price for that. They already had a rough upbringing, fighting off bullies and trying their best to protect the few belongings that they had possessed before they were stolen. Why couldn’t everyone just leave them the fuck alone?
He may not be as prickly as Drake, but that did not mean Casey was a pushover. Most assumed he was because of his quiet demeanor and sprite-like appearance. He was small, thin, and wiry, but Casey made them realize their mistake quickly. Being a shifter growing up in a human world had helped. He and Drake were stronger than humans, but tried their damnedest not to hurt anyone, even when someone was trying to hurt them.
Too bad others didn’t extend that courtesy.
“Yeah,” Drake said as he wrapped an arm around Casey’s waist. “Remind me to thank the redhead later.”
“You scared me, Drake.”
Drake reached up and ran his knuckles down the side of Casey’s face, an act that Drake knew Casey loved. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”
“I thought I was going to lose you. You were so pale, so out of it. I didn’t know what was in that wine, and these men came after us.”
“Shhh,” Drake said as he pulled Casey closer. He tucked his face in the crook of Drake’s neck, inhaling his scent and thanking whoever was listening that his matewas all right. “I’m right here.”
All Casey’s life Drake had always been there for him. The man was so engrained in Casey’s very soul that he wasn’t sure what he would do if he ever lost Drake. They fought like crazy, made love with heated passion, and knew each other so intimately that they could pass for each other’s right and left lung. He would die if something ever happened to Drake.
“Stop shaking, sweetie.”
Casey burrowed deeper into Drake’s arms, thankful for the man who held his very soul and wondering where in the hell Panahasi’s ass was.
Chapter Three
Panahasi heard Casey calling his name. The distant voice was filled with nothing but pure panic, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was presently fighting Jaden.
“Give it up, Pa nahasi. I know what makes you tick, and I won’t stop until I have what you treasure most,” Jaden threatened.
Panahasi had to push Casey’s voice from his head. He wanted to run to the shifter, but knew any kind of a distraction would be a detrimental mistake. He could only pray that Phoenyx was doing his damn job and taking care of the two men.
From Casey’s tone, Panahasi doubted it. He’d deal with the demon warrior just as soon as he got out of this little predicament he found himself in.
“I highly doubt you know what makes me tick. But I do know your dirty little secrets, Jaden. Do not make the mistake of thinking we are on uneven ground.”
“I had to wait until the moment was right to strike. And finding your mates is the perfect moment.”
Panahasi slid smoothly to the side just as Jaden struck.
“The only thing you are going to do is bleed on me, Jaden.”
A malicious twist of the man’s lips only fueled Panahasi’s anger. He wanted to go to the two shifters, but Jaden was determined to end Panahasi’s life here in the underworld. But luckily, Panahasi was just as determined to end Jaden’s.
He knew he wasn’t thinking rationally. Killing Jaden would only end Panahasi’s life. But as the anger and hatred for the man mounted, common sense slipped away.
Twisting his body around to avoid the deadly blow, Panahasi slammed his weight into Jaden, knocking the man off-balance. Jaden staggered and then righted himself, coming after Panahasi with a feral growl.
Panahasi saw the gleam of a sharp blade in Jaden’s hand. He reached into the back waistband of his pants and grabbed the serrated knife he carried on his person at all times. The tip had been dipped in a concoction the keeper had come up with. The poison would enter Jaden’s bloodstream and shut down his nervous system.
Panahasi didn’t like to reveal the extent of his powers to the enemies he could defeat. Keeping his talents a secret from even his warriors gave him an edge. But with Jaden, all of Panahasi’s gifts bestowed upon him from the primal source were useless. They negated each other’s powers.
He wasn’t exactly sure what was in the concoction the keeper had made, but Panahasi needed any edge he could get.
So he was reduced to fighting with a poisoned knife.
So be it.
“Once I render you useless, I’m going to play with your little mates until they are bloody and lying dead at my feet. They look like they can bring me hours of pleasure before I kill them.”
Untapped rage filled Panahasi as he lunged at Jaden, the knife missing the man’s flesh by a hair’s breadth. He swung around, going in for the kill, but Jaden was quick, rolling away and then standing. Panahasi came at him again. This time he caught Jaden with his elbow, and then kneed the man when he fell back into the wall.
“You don’t like that plan?” Jaden asked with a wicked grin as he pushed away from the wall. “Too bad you won’t be around to stop me.”
“The hell I won’t,” Panahasi snarled but was hit in his solar plexus and knocked into a cold, dank prison wall. Jaden crouched on the floor in front of him. When Jaden slowly lifted his head, Panahasi could see the hatred burning deep in the obsidian dept
hs of the man’s eyes.
Panahasi pushed away from the wall, landing a blow to Jaden’s side, hearing the air leave the man’s lungs. Before he could follow it up with another shot, the knife was knocked out of his hand, sliding away from him as Jaden smashed his fist into Panahasi’s jaw, making the leader see stars.
Panahasi shook it off and then used a roundhouse kick to knock Jaden back, this time following it up with a knee to the man’s nose. Not only did it knock the knife from Jaden’s hand, but blood exploded from Jaden’s face, landing on Panahasi as well as the walls. Panahasi grinned wickedly in satisfaction when saw the blood.
“Lucky strike,” Jaden growled as he caught Panahasi around the waist, pulling him off of his feet and dropping him to the ground. Panahasi rolled, but not before Jaden landed a few gut shots.
He was battered and bruised, feeling as if he had been raked over coals, but Panahasi was not giving up. The two shifters were depending on him to keep them safe. It had been centuries since he had to battle with nothing but his physical strength, but Panahasi was up for the challenge. Jumping to his feet, Panahasi blocked the next blow, and then slammed his fist into Jaden’s windpipe.
The man staggered backward, gasping for breath. Panahasi went after his knife but felt Jaden’s weight on his back, the forward momentum propelling him into the prison wall. Panahasi groaned when his nose struck the wall. He could feel blood trickling down his face.
“Give it up. You won’t win.”
“And neither will you,” Panahasi said and then swung his head back, connecting skull with face. Jaden howled, releasing Panahasi.
He jumped to his feet, but Jaden backed away, giving him a onefinger salute.
“Until we meet again.” Jaden disappeared right before Panahasi’s eyes. He stood there for a moment in shock and then quickly disappeared himself, heading straight for his penthouse. The keeper may have placed wards and spells on the building for protection, but Panahasi was not willing to take any chances.