by Donya Lynne
He hit the prep room and practically popped a button on his pants when he rounded the corner and saw Ari securing his shoulder holster. His face jerked up and he let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw Sev.
"Anyone else here?" Sev eyed him hungrily.
Ari shook his head. "Just us, but I expect—" He didn’t have time to say anything more because Sev swooped down on him like a hawk catching a field mouse. Their mouths fused with enough heat to melt steel as he spun Ari around and slammed him against the lockers.
Ari gave in to the kiss for a couple of seconds then gripped his shirt and shoved him back. "No, Sev. Not here. Not at work." He glanced around as if making sure no one had seen them. But since they were alone, no one had.
"Fuck, Ari. I don’t care who sees us."
"Well, I do." Ari pressed his palms against Sev’s chest, holding him off.
"Fine. I’ll give that to you, but after our shift, when I’ve got you to myself, I’ll make you pay for denying me." He grinned at the way Ari’s breath hitched and the way he licked his lips as if reconsidering pushing Sev away.
"Tease."
Sev chuckled and backed toward his own locker. "You know it, but you? Your ass is mine in the morning."
"Sshh." Ari frowned and pushed his hands down through the air as if to tell Sev to put a lid on it.
He laughed at him, but in a way it bothered him that Ari was so concerned with what other people thought. Who cared? It wasn’t as if he would be able to hide what was happening from the others forever. Because when you mated, it became pretty clear to everyone around who your mate was.
Hell, no one had even met Sam when it became vividly clear that Micah was mated to her. A mating wasn’t something that a male could hide for long.
The door swung open, and speak of the devil, Micah walked in, followed closely by Trace. Those two couldn’t be seen anywhere, anymore, without the other in tow. They were joined at the hip, as it were, and Micah refused to patrol with anyone other than Trace. But at least he was patrolling with a partner now. Until his meltdown last month, he had apparently bucked protocol on a regular basis, insisting on solo patrols. Tristan had let him get away with it, but now the problem seemed to have sorted itself out.
"Hey, homos," Micah said.
"Wh-what?" The color flew out of Ari’s face.
Trace laughed.
"I’m just fucking with you, Ari." Micah opened his locker and shoved in his coat. "Wouldn’t want to get you in trouble with your boy, Io, now would I?" Micah glanced at Sev knowingly. "We all know how much of a fucktard homophobe he is."
Severin narrowed his gaze on Micah. He knew. Somehow, Micah knew. He wondered if the rumors he had heard about Micah always seeing inside others' thoughts were true. From the looks of it, they were.
Ari laughed awkwardly and checked his clip before smacking it back into his gun. "Yeah, he is that, isn’t he?" Ari turned away to fish his knife out of his locker.
Micah looked from Sev to Ari and back again. "He should mind his own business, if you ask me. Let people be with who they want to be with."
Sev wondered what Micah’s game was and frowned at him. Micah just arched an eyebrow and threw him a challenging look. It was almost as if Micah was daring him to deny it.
"How’s that?" Ari said, turning around.
Micah looked at Ari and shrugged. "What do I care where a guy dips his wick. If it makes him happy, who gives a fuck if he’s doing a guy or a girl?" He paused. "You don't think I know about the shit he said about me while I was with Jackson? Little cocksucker knew not to say it to my face, though. I'd have beaten the stupid out of him."
Trace chimed in. "Io had better not bring that shit to my door. I’ll shove my hand down his throat."
"Down whose throat?" Malek pushed through the door, followed by Io.
"Nobody," Micah said, turning back toward his locker.
"I’m always the last in on these scintillating conversations, aren’t I?" Malek said, opening his locker.
"Don’t take it personally." Micah slammed his locker closed. "We’ll see you fuckheads in there."
He and Trace left, and Io regarded Sev casually as he passed him and held his tattooed right arm up to Ari. "Hey, bro! You survive your night off unscathed? No, uh, surprise attacks?"
Sev knew what Io meant. He was checking to make sure Ari’s back door hadn’t been violated by Sev’s gay dick. Io’s obvious poor humor and lack of tact made him want to punch the guy for making light of his sexuality, given how he felt about Ari and how Ari obviously felt about him.
Yeah, this is the calling phase getting good and pissed off right here.
"Nope. It’s all good. How about you? How was your date?" Ari acted like nothing had happened between them.
How the hell could Ari talk to that asshole like he was okay with how Io felt? How could Ari stomach knowing that Io had made fun of him, was making fun of him now, and would probably make fun of him again later? He looked into his locker, but he wasn’t sure for what. He was done getting ready. What was he waiting for?
Ari, you’re waiting for Ari, you mush head.
Io sniggered. "Ah, man, it was hot. Those two girls can party. I’m taking you with next time, bro. You would definitely like that scene."
"Okay, yeah, sure. Whatever. Let me know when," Ari said.
"I'll line it up for next weekend." Io holstered his pistol.
"Yeah. Great. Sounds good." Ari pulled the jacket from his locker and shut it.
Severin’s heart felt like it was in a vise. What the fuck? Had Ari just agreed to go with Io the next time he got together with those women? For what? Tea and crumpets? To share pointers on how to fuck a man? It was as if they hadn’t just shared twenty-four hours of unbelievable intimacy with each other. Had it all been a lie?
"Hey, Sev, how you doing?" Malek glanced over and chucked his shoulder.
He slammed his locker shut. "Fucking great. How are you?" He didn’t wait for an answer and stormed out.
"Uh-oh, we’ve got another Micah on our hands," Io said with a laugh.
"Shut up, Io." Ari sounded testy as the door to the prep room closed.
Sev skulked down the hall to Tristan’s office for their weekly meeting. He strode in and plopped down on the couch where he normally sat and crossed his arms. He was certain a grey cloud hung over his head to match the scowl on his face. So much for that good mood he'd been in earlier. But then, his mated side hadn't felt spurned fifteen minutes ago, either.
Hello, Sev? This is your calling calling. Ha ha, buddy. Get good and comfy, because I'm here to stay.
"What’s eating you?" Micah's eyes narrowed knowingly.
"Nothing." Sev wasn't buying for a second that Micah didn't know what was going on. Somehow that fucker knew.
Micah chuffed. "Uh-huh, sure."
"Fuck you."
Tristan sighed from behind his desk. "Well, it looks like tonight is starting off as usual."
"Yeah, but it’s usually Micah with the attitude," Traceon said. He pulled out a matchstick and stuck the handle between his teeth.
"Am I going to start having problems with you now, Sev?" Tristan glanced over at him.
Ari and the others chose that moment to enter the room and Sev could feel Ari’s eyes on him. "No, sir."
"You sure?" Tristan tapped his pen on the desk. "Maybe you should stay after the meeting and we can talk about it."
"No. I’m fine."
"You don’t look fine. You look like a loose cannon about to blow. What’s up?"
"Fuck, Tristan. I’m fine, all right?"
"Leave him alone, Tristan," Micah said. "It’s that time of the month is all."
"Yeah, fuck you, Micah!" Sev lanced Micah with his glare.
"Fuck you back, Sev!"
"Fuck the both of you!" Tristan stood up and threw his pen across the room. Trace grinned as he watched it ricochet off the wall.
"Enough of this shit! I have got to have the most dysfunctional team in this
whole fucking compound. Now straighten up! Sev, get out of here. Take the night off and cool out. I’ll call you later and you will talk to me." His massive arms flexed as he pushed against the top of his desk and glared a warning at Sev. "The rest of you, we need to talk about this cobalt issue." He paused, glancing back at Severin. "Sev, I said get out! Now! You’re pissing me off for real."
"Fuck all of you." Sev shoved himself off the couch and wouldn’t meet Ari’s eyes as he barreled out of the room and charged down the hall to the parking garage elevator.
"Hey, you going so soon?" Adam said as he blew past Dispatch.
He didn’t answer. Yeah, where was the good mood he had walked in with? Sev chuffed. It had left town with Ari’s spine.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lakota pulled up to the townhouse on East Benton and shut off the engine. His hands were shaking. Amazing what developing a conscience could do for a guy.
Even though he no longer drank, he wished he had a shot of Jack sitting in front of him to chill his nerves.
He got out and trudged the short distance to the front door. Since the first time he tracked Felice and Severin down right after marrying Mary (it had been her idea to find his firstborn son), he had kept tabs on them. Or tried to. Felice had been easier to stay in touch with. Sev, on the other hand, traveled all over the place. His son had fought in more wars than a Navy SEAL, Green Beret, and a career soldier combined. It was a wonder he was still alive.
Suddenly, the door opened.
"Are you ever going to ring the doorbell?"
He looked up to see Felice standing with one hand on her hip, head tilted, door propped against her other arm. It dawned on him he had been standing on her front porch for at least a couple of minutes.
"U-Um…I’m sorry, I guess I—"
She lifted her hand to shut him up. "Just come in, Kota."
He entered her home and she shut the door behind him.
"Wine?" she said, walking back toward the open kitchen. The townhouse was lovely. Well-lit with an open floor plan. And the place smelled wonderful, like she had spent the day cooking Italian food.
"Uh, sure." He followed her and stood back as she poured two glasses of red wine. "Actually, no. I'm sorry. I don't drink, anymore. I'll just have water." He was so caught off guard by her welcoming demeanor he had temporarily forgotten he had given up alcohol.
"Oh, okay." She sounded surprised, but grabbed a clean glass and filled it with water.
"Thank you."
"I figure we can eat up on the terrace," she said, handing him the glass.
Okay, so he was thrown for a loop here. He hadn’t expected Felice to be so inviting. After what he had done to her, even though it had been a lifetime ago, he assumed she'd only agreed to meet with him to get him off her back and would hustle him out as quickly as possible. Dinner and wine – well, water – were a surprise.
And that was only the half of it. She was a dreck. He was a vampire. The two races didn’t exactly mix well.
"You didn’t have to do all this, Felice," he said.
She flipped her short, red hair off her shoulder and glanced at him. "Don’t be silly. Why wouldn't I?"
Lakota shrugged. "Because of what I did."
"Shush about that for now." She filled two plates with spaghetti, spooned homemade meat sauce that smelled like a gift from the gods over both, then placed two pieces of garlic bread next to each.
Just two plates.
"Severin’s not coming?" he said.
She shook her head. "He’s not ready to forgive you."
"But you are?"
She handed him a plate as she clucked her tongue. "It’s time to move on, don’t you think?"
Forgiveness and moving on were why he was here. He just wished Sev had come. He wanted to see him.
"Yes, I think so."
She led him up to the terrace, where outdoor heaters took the chill out of the air. They sat down in a pair of cushioned chairs at a small table.
"I like the new hair color, by the way," he said. "It's nice."
As shifters, drecks could change their human appearance at will, but their dreck imprint remained the same. Luckily, Felice had never changed much about her shifted form other than her hair color. It had made finding her easier. He paused and nodded at her. "You look good, Felice." He swirled spaghetti on his fork and admired her fair skin. By human standards, she didn’t look older than her late twenties.
"So do you. It’s amazing how much Sev looks like you."
It was the vampire genes. They trumped dreck and human genes every time. It was why mixed babies always turned out vampires. Vampires with a twist, but still vampires.
"How is he?"
"He’s good."
"Is he mated?" He stopped and held up his hand. "No. Wait. Don’t answer that. I made a deal with my daughter – her gift is psychic in nature – not to tell me anything about him. That way I have to work harder to get to know him. So, you can't tell me anything about him, either. It would be like cheating. I need to earn it first."
Felice nodded approvingly. "You have changed, haven’t you?"
"Yes, I have. As you've seen, I don’t drink, anymore." He lifted his water glass to prove his point then hesitated as his mind fell back on the terrible things he had done to her and others so long ago. "And now I protect the innocent rather than hurt them." He set down his water and fork then reached for Felice’s hand. "I am so sorry, Felice. I am so sorry for what I did to you. Our races don’t get along, but what I did to you was inexcusable. Before we go any further, I need to beg for your forgiveness."
Her eyes misted over and she squeezed his hand. "No need to beg, Kota. I forgive you." She smiled warmly. "I’m just in awe that you’ve turned your life around the way you have."
"Mary helped me find my way again." He had told Felice about Mary on the phone.
Felice sipped her wine and smiled. "So she did. Do you have a picture of her?"
He pulled out his wallet and slipped a family photo from inside and handed it to her. "Don’t get me wrong. I’m no saint. I still hunt. I still fight. But I do so now with a conscience."
"She was a lovely woman," Felice said. "And so are your children." She handed the picture back.
"Marie is the oldest. She lives north of here. I’m going to see her tomorrow."
"I bet she’ll be glad to see you."
Lakota took her hand again and gave her a serious look. "You're a better person than I am, Felice. I don't think I could forgive someone who did what I did to you."
She waved her free hand at him and looked away almost shyly, as if she was struggling to hide her emotions. "Everything happens for a reason, Kota. You gave me Sev. That's how I prefer to look at it now." She patted his hand. "Now eat. No more dwelling on the past and what we can't change. All we can do is look forward and live for now."
Lakota realized he had been nervous for no reason. The evening was actually turning out enjoyable.
* * *
Gina sat back on her haunches. This was turning out to be a major bust. She had followed Lakota tonight with the hope that he would lead her to Severin. Instead, all he led her to was spaghetti night at some strange woman's house.
She was too far away to catch the female's scent, but as she watched through her scope, it was clear that there was nothing romantic between them. Their body language was more in line with acquaintances or distant friends than lovers.
Okay, this had led nowhere. She lowered the scope. Maybe she could get something from AKM since this clearly wasn't Sev's house.
Dematerializing from the rooftop, she misted off toward AKM. Maybe she could catch Sev there.
* * *
Severin sped away from AKM, full of pissed-off and kiss-my-ass. This was the hell he was in for as a mated male, wasn’t it? Especially if he was mated to Ari, who wore two faces: One for him and one for the rest of the world. He wanted to be with Ari, and not just in private, but in public, too. To be denied that pleasure, then
have to endure Io’s jibes and Ari’s acceptance of an invite to go out and fuck a pair of whores, was beyond Sev’s level of tolerance. It was adding insult to injury.
He had been driving around for an hour, spending the last few minutes zooming north on Lake Shore. He exited on Randolph and within minutes was tromping up the walk to his mom’s townhouse. He didn’t know where else to turn and his mom had a way of calming him down when he got like this. Using his key, he unlocked the door and went inside. All the lights were on, and his mouth watered at the smell of her homemade Italian sauce.
"Mom?! Hey, Mom?" He grabbed a plate and loaded it with spaghetti and poured a glass of wine. She was probably up on the terrace. She liked to eat up there even when it was cold outside. He had installed outdoor heaters for her to make it more comfortable.
God, he really needed to talk to her. Hurrying up the stairs, he charged out to the terrace and froze.
"Sev?" His mom jumped up. She had just taken a bite of spaghetti and lifted her napkin to dab the corner of her mouth. "I didn’t think you were coming."
Suddenly, Sev remembered that she had told him his dad was stopping by tonight. The plate and glass fell out of his hands and he stared at the tall, broad-shouldered male who slowly stood and gazed at him.
"Son?"
It was scary how alike they looked. His father’s lines were harder, though. Sharper and edgier. Sev had softer features, and his eyes weren’t as tight.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" he said.
His mom scurried forward and took his hand. She frowned up at him. "I told you he was coming. I thought that was why you were here. That you had changed your mind about wanting to see him."
Sev’s night just got better and better, didn’t it? First Ari and now his bastard father.
"I forgot."
Father and son refused to break eye contact. One stared in awe while the other stared in hatred.
"Then why did you come?" His mom knelt and began cleaning up the mess from his dropped plate. The broken wine glass lay in shards.