by J. D. Light
"I'm a fucking cheetah. It should have been easy, especially since she's a damn gazelle, but she went down an alley that smelled like cat piss and I started sneezing. By the time I managed to get clear, I couldn't pick up her scent anywhere.
"I was about to go from house to house, checking on each player, but I decided to stop here first since…uh…you have the mark." The coach blushed, pointing in the direction of my mate's crotch while looking away.
I squeezed his neck harder, growling, before letting go, not at all liking that he'd seen my sexy-ass mate naked.
I got off the man, standing and walking backward, staying between Silver and his coach. "You didn't know she'd slipped anything into his drink?"
Shaking his head and massaging his neck, Coach Walker eased his way to his feet. "No. I thought she was just toying with me because she knew I was a shifter too. There wasn't any indication that she'd actually touched anything. I mean, she was circling the thing, dragging her finger along the edge of the table." He rolled his eyes. "It was like every stupid scene in a movie where the bad girl is trying to draw attention to something, trying to look sexy or something."
"Just so you know, Mr. Walker," I said, looking the man in the eyes. "I'll be with Silver from here on out until we catch whoever is responsible for drugging and kidnapping him. And we will find out."
"Good. And call me Kalvin. Or Kal. Putting aside how bad it would suck for the team if we lost our best guard, I actually really like Bell. He seems to be a good kid."
"And don't forget," I growled, still not sure if I believed the man. "He's chosen."
"Yeah." The guy cringed. "I saw the mark around his second week playing for us." He looked at Silver apologetically. "I thought I'd just imagined it at first, and I didn't want to just sit there a stare at your junk. Adults or not, having someone just stand around staring at junk in the locker room is a good way to get your house burned down."
When my mate huffed out a laugh, I glared over at him, not finding the situation funny at all.
"It was confirmed the week Dillon stole your clothes and shoved you out of the locker room. I thought about warning you to keep it covered, because even though there aren't any shifters on the team, people are in and out of the locker room all the time. But I was pretty sure you hadn't been introduced to shifters yet, and you can't really just tell someone to keep their crotch covered without a good explanation."
"So, what did this girl look like, Coach?" Silver asked, walking up beside me, grabbing my hips, and pushing me back to the side when I tried to get back between him and the cheetah shifter I still wasn't sure wasn't trying to kidnap him.
When I glared at him, he just smirked back.
Not even batting an eye at the way Silver's hands lingered a little longer than necessary on my hips, the coach looked thoughtful. "Blond, pretty, probably what would be considered a really nice body. She was also wearing a uniform and smelled like coffee."
"Richelle," my mate whispered, turning his head to look at me.
"You think she saw your mark in the locker room when Kalvin saw her coming out of there?"
"Probably." Shrugging, he smirked. "We really aren't shy."
The coach chuckled when I growled. "And Richelle has a habit of creeping around. I doubt anyone would have noticed her except another shifter."
"Hell," I mumbled, frowning. "I didn't even see her or know she was there today, and I'm a trained FBI agent and a shifter."
"Pretty good indication that she was definitely sneaking around."
"Hey, Coach," Silver said after a moment of silence. "I don't know if it matters," He reached sideways, grabbing my hand, "but Parker and I are together. Like really together."
I smirked when the coach started laughing. It would be kinda hard to miss. Even if Silver wasn't holding my hand.
It didn't mean I wasn't super proud of my mate. That was a huge step for someone who was deep in the closet just days ago.
Silver frowned, glancing sideways at my smirking face and then back at his coach before snapping his attention back to me. "What's so damn funny?"
Coughing and clearing his throat, Kalvin grabbed the sides of his face, clearly trying to get himself under control. "Um, yeah. I'm a shifter, Silver. You two reek of each other." He pointed at my mate's bare chest, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing at the excessive amount of dried cum stuck in his belly hairs. "I guess you couldn't be bothered to clean up? Plus, you have a mating mark."
Blushing bright red, Silver sighed, reaching up to run a finger over the mark on his neck.
I growled, wishing I could replace his finger with my tongue.
Glancing over at me with a knowing smile, Silver focused back on his coach. "You don't mind that I'm…you know…gay?"
Blushing, Kalvin shook his head. "No. That would be a bit hypocritical of me, Bell."
"Oh. Oh!"
Chuckling at my mate's reaction, I tugged the man to me, tucking my shoulder under his arm and brushing my lips to his cheek.
When he looked down into my face, I mouthed, "I'm proud of you," enjoying the sweet smile and blush on his handsome face.
"So, what do you think Richelle wants with Silver? Do you think she is hoping to force a mating?" Kalvin frowned, cocking his head to the side. "Wait. You told me on the phone when you called a few days ago, that you had been kidnapped. Was that not Richelle? Do you have a second kidnapper?"
"That would be some shit luck," Silver mumbled. "No. Whoever kidnapped me sold me to some guy named Linus. He wanted to force a mating, but I didn't cooperate with him, so he was going to sell me in an auction he was having the next night."
"Since we never figured out who it was that sold him to Linus, or even if he was sold directly to Linus and not to the same people who are buying up and auctioning off chosen all over the United States, we were pretty sure he wasn't going to go back to his old life without being in danger of being kidnapped again. So, I'm here to catch whoever it is.
"And you think it might have been this Richelle girl?"
"I'm not completely sure, but it's not really looking good for her right now."
Nodding, Kalvin crossed his arms, looking back and forth between me and my mate. "How are we going to do this? I want to help."
Frowning, I watched the man's face. "Why? Not to sound ungrateful, but what do you care?"
Snapping his head back like I swung at him, Kalvin Walker glared at me. "Because it's the right thing to do. Because chosen are a gift. They weren't put here on this earth to serve as sex slaves or baby-makers. They were put here to save us from ourselves."
Looking over at my gorgeous mate again, I smiled. "They definitely were. Okay. Let's figure out how to catch this bitch."
Chapter Six
In all, the plan was actually really simple and wouldn't require much out of me except to act normal when I felt like something slimy and parasitic was crawling around in my gut.
Parker had gotten the information back on both Coach and Richelle. Coach checked out—not really all that surprising. In fact, one of the guys that worked in the FBI, though not really with Parker, knew the man and assured everyone that Kalvin Walker was an all around great human being.
Parker said the guy sounded like he had a crush, and Coach had blushed bright red and stuttered through an explanation of growing up with the man.
Richelle, on the other hand? A pretty interesting stint in a mental institute and a couple of issues with theft that somehow didn't stick to her record. Probably due to the judge that happened to be her godparent, but none of that was really important.
The thing Parker found interesting was a couple of phone calls made a few days before I disappeared. They seemed to be a Las Vegas number that turned out to be a prepaid phone, but when put in a search engine, traced back to an odd ad in a known shifter-based magazine.
The ad was both vague and crystal clear if you knew what you were looking for. And it certainly explained how she had managed to get me sold and s
hipped to New Mexico so quickly. She had been planning to sell me for almost a week.
Coach had gone with us to stake out the coffee shop that morning, just to make sure the girl he'd seen was the same one that was hanging out on the wrong side of crazy. Turns out she was one and the same, which was a little bit of a relief, because I really didn’t know what I would have done if there were two nutjobs out there trying to get me for my goods.
Swallowing my suddenly trying to reappear breakfast, I opened the door to the coffee shop, smiling my normal greeting as I saw Don loading more pastries into the clear Plexiglas container on the counter.
"Well!" Don said happily, waving at me as I tried not to look around the shop for Parker, knowing he was in here somewhere. "If it isn't Mr. Silver Bell. I thought you'd abandoned us! Did you find a new coffee shop I should know about? Do I suddenly have competition?"
Chuckling because Don really was a super nice guy and seemed genuinely happy to see me, I said, "No, no. Nothing that serious. I was just kinda kidnapped for a few days."
He laughed for a moment before taking in my face. I was still smiling, but he must have noticed something in my eyes that said I wasn't joking. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?! Like, really kidnapped? Or your friends tied you up and took off with you to force you to have a good time?"
"I don't think we have the same kind of friends," I said, laughing a little uncomfortably. "No. Like, really kidnapped. The FBI thinks I was drugged and kept sedated for a while. I ended up in New Mexico, tied up in some crazy man's closet."
"Holy shit, Silver! How did you get away?" He'd completely abandoned putting pastries in the case by now.
I smiled, thinking about how I tackled Parker.
And now, I'm falling so hard and so fast for the gorgeous, funny man.
"What's that smile? Are you in love?" he teased, making me chuckle. I'm pretty sure I heard a snicker coming from somewhere behind me too. Suddenly, Don's eyes widened and he reached over the counter grabbing my arm. "Did you get that Stackhelms? Stockums? Whatever the fuck it is when you actually start caring about your captor? Are you still in contact with these people?"
Looking at him with wide eyes, because he was starting to get a little worked up, I shook my head, chuckling. "Stockholm Syndrome? No. That man was just plain crazy. I was just thinking about––" I paused, feeling elated with the knowledge that I wanted to tell him. Was dying to tell everyone. "I was just thinking about my boyfriend."
"Aw," Don said, his face lighting up. "That's sweet. What's he like?" He went back to putting pastries in the display case, glancing up after I got over my shock at him taking that particular news like it was nothing and started to talk.
"His name is Parker. He's kinda a pain in the ass." That earned a snort from the same direction I'd heard the snicker come from earlier. "But he's also funny, and sweet, and strong, and absolutely gorgeous. He brings me out of my shell and practically forces me to see the better things in life instead of the things I've always felt I had to see." I laughed, shaking my head. "Aaannnd, he bitched my parents out within a few minutes of meeting them."
"Good," Don said, surprising me. He shut the case, resting the empty tray against his hip. "I've seen you come in with the two of them before. They were just straight rude to you. They're actually lucky I adore you so much, or I would have tossed them out on their asses for the way they treated Campbell."
Campbell was a pretty, little effeminate barista that was usually working morning shift on the weekends. He was one of the sweetest humans in the world and truly didn't deserve the type of abuse I had no doubt my rude-ass parents had inflicted on him.
"Damn. I didn't know they even spoke to Campbell. Will you be sure to let him know that I'm super sorry?" Sighing, I shook my head. "If it's any consolation, they're assholes to everyone. Even their own son."
"Actually, I think that just makes it sadder."
Sighing, I nodded. "You're probably righ––"
"Silver! Hi! I'm so glad you could make it." Richelle came around the counter like she was going to hug me, but plan to catch her or not, I didn't want her fucked up craziness anywhere near me.
I stepped back, throwing a hand up in a wave that kind of forced her to stay back a bit.
She frowned, sniffing the airs, but it only made her frown harder. Parker had been worried she would smell him all over me, so he'd had me put some crushed up flowers in the front pocket of my jeans. Both he and Coach had assured me that she wouldn't be able to smell anything unless she climbed inside my clothes with me.
Well, that had been Coach's words. Parker had growled at the man, which made him laugh.
I couldn't deny that Parker's possessive side really turned me on.
"What have you been up to?" Before I could answer, she kept talking, "Hey! You want to go to a party tonight?"
Why? So you can drug my drink and sell me all over again? She could probably even sell me to the same person for the same amount. In face, she was probably happy to see that I'd come back.
I had to get her to do this thing here and now. No way I wanted to be alone with her. And Parker would probably kill me.
"Sorry, Richelle. I'm hanging out with my boyfriend tonight. I think he might even be coming with me to the out of town game this weekend."
There. If that didn't push her to do something now, when there was a distinct possibility she wouldn't get a chance until I got back on Monday, then she probably wasn't the one.
"You're gay?"
Well, screaming it in the middle of a crowded café at the top of my lungs wasn't my chosen way of coming out, but it would definitely get the job done.
"Uh." I smiled shyly around the room, only locking eyes with Parker for a second as my face flamed bright red. I rubbed the back of my neck, chuckling. "Yeah."
Don snorted, rolling his eyes before he went through the door into the back.
"Huh." She tilted her head to the side in a way that seemed like it might have been straight out of a horror movie. Or maybe that was just because I knew she was bat-shit. "Hey!" she said quickly, her head snapping back into position. "I'll make you your favorite! Caramel cappuccino!"
"Uh. Sure. Thanks."
I tried to keep an eye on her as she happily went about making my drink, humming to herself the entire time, I never saw her grab anything out of her pocket, or see anything abnormal at all as she went about the process of throwing the thing together.
"Oops! I almost forgot something! I'll be right back!" Turning, she took off with my drink to the back, leaving me there looking after where she had disappeared through the door in stunned disbelief.
"All this time I was thinking she was going to use a secret ring or something to slip it in when she thought I wasn't looking," I mumbled quietly, knowing Parker would hear me. "When all she needed to do was fucking 'forget something.'"
I heard another chuckle from Parker, and then Richelle was breezing back into the room, happily setting my cup down on the counter before popping a lid on the thing and then handing it to me. "That will be five seventy-five."
Oh, good. I was paying to be drugged now. Perfect.
After paying…and not fucking tipping her, I walked away, lifting my cup to her while she watched me intently, probably waiting for me to take a drink.
Not fucking likely, you crazy bitch!
I walked outside, going straight for the bookstore across the street. It was where we planned to meet, and I wondered how long it would take her to follow.
About two minutes after I sat down at the table in the back, I saw Parker come in. He sat down next to me, surprising me. The plan had been for him to sit across the room and wait to see if she came in.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, glancing at him sideways.
Pulling a water bottle and a plastic bag out of his backpack, he sat them down on the table, taking the cup from my hand. “Chick is either too obsessed to care, or she’s fucking stupid. Kelvin got a video, cle
ar as you can get, of her dropping crushed up pills in your cup. She even threw the bag with the residue in the trash can by the sink. Between the baggie and this coffee, there is absolutely no way she isn’t guilty. Now, we just go back to the apartment and wait. Harley will be there to arrest her.” Parker shrugged. “Done.”
"Done?" My gut twisted. We still hadn't discussed anything in the way of a future. I knew I wanted to be with Parker completely, but was that what he wanted? And where would we live? Or would we even live together? Was I moving too fast?
"With Richelle, gorgeous," he said, running a finger down the side of my face. "Don't even start worrying about the rest. Once we get settled, we'll decide what's next. But whatever it is, it's going to be next to impossible for you to peel me from your side, so we do it together."
"Okay," I whispered, feeling oddly choked up. "Once we're settled."
"Okay. She's probably staking out the bookstore as we speak. You head out now, and I'll keep an eye on you from a distance. Harley should be getting to your house right about now. Don't freak out if there is a giant brunette and a mouthy blond sitting on your couch when you get there. I'll be along shortly."
Unable to keep myself from it, I leaned forward and kissed his perfect mouth, smiling when he hummed and then growled against my lips. "Damn it, gorgeous. I have work to do. People are going to think I'm a pervert sneaking down the street with my pole leading the way."
Placing a hand high on his thigh, I pecked one more kiss to his lips, squeezing the solid flesh with my fingers. "If he's leading, I have no doubt he'll lead you straight to me. Where you belong."
Hmm. I'm starting to get kinda possessive.
Rising, I smirked down at the man who'd completely turned my entire world upside down.
I'd gone from closeted to PDA in less than a week. But, between my coach knowing and not caring, and me caring less and less about what my parents thought of everything day by day, why not?
Being with Parker helped me see with perfect clarity where I wanted to be in my life. Right next to him. No matter what.