Iggy startled and pushed away from Zane to look at Zach. Zach didn’t look angry. If anything, he was smiling so widely Iggy thought his cheeks had to hurt. “Yeah,” he said. “We’re obviously shitty bodyguards. We didn’t even hear you come in.”
Zach waved Iggy’s words away. “Malik and Kameron aren’t here, so you’re technically not working right now.”
Iggy tensed. “What do you mean they’re not here?”
“I meant not here in the entrance. Relax. They’re in the living room.”
Iggy arched a brow. “You managed to pry him away from the office.”
“I threatened him.”
“With what?” Iggy couldn’t imagine Kameron being afraid of Zach, or Zach hurting Kameron in anyway.
Zach’s smile became impossibly wider. “No sex.”
“Oh, ugh. I didn’t need to hear that.”
Zach shrugged. “You asked. And it was time. He’s been shackled to his desk for weeks. All work and no fun make Kameron a very snappy man, and me an unhappy one. Come on, guys. I can’t wait to hear why you were making out in the entrance.”
Zane snorted. “As if it wasn’t obvious.”
“Yeah, well. Malik and Kameron need to know if they have to find other bodyguards.”
“They don’t,” Iggy said.
“Oh? I thought you’d want to go boink like rabbits or something.”
Iggy rolled his eyes and pushed Zach toward the living room. He’d gotten used to having Zach around, since he was always in close proximity with Kameron, for obvious reasons. They were becoming friends, because Iggy found it easier to get close to Zach since he wasn’t the man he needed to protect. He also didn’t hold the authority Kameron did, even though he was an alpha mate.
“Look who I found kissing in the entrance,” Zach sing-songed as they walked into the living room.
Kameron and Malik were on the couch, talking in low voices. Iggy was ready to bet that while Zach had managed to get Kameron away from his office, it didn’t mean he wasn’t working, but Iggy wasn’t about to point that out. He didn’t want to end up in the middle of a fight between mates.
“Kissing?” Kameron asked.
“There was tongue,” Zach confirmed, and Iggy wished he hadn’t, because now everyone was looking at him and Zane.
“Boys?” Kameron asked. He didn’t look angry, so Iggy relaxed.
Zane bounced ahead of him. “We’re mates,” he declared, not even having to think about it.
Malik and Kameron got up, and to Iggy’s surprise, Kameron hugged him.
Iggy kept his arms by his side, unsure how to react to that, and Kameron patted his back. “Congratulations, and you know, I’m not going to eat you.”
Iggy awkwardly patted Kameron’s back, and he was glad when Kameron let go of him. “I know.”
“And I’m not going to tell you two to stay away from each other, or even to wait. You’re mates. That has precedence over being a bodyguard. I don’t have any problems if one of you decides to bow out of it.”
“No. We’re both staying.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Iggy wanted to keep his bodyguard job because he knew it was the best way to be accepted in the pack. What would he do if he didn’t take care of Kameron’s protection? He could become an enforcer, either for the pack or the council, but what would that change? He and Zane would still have little time to be together with what was happening, and Iggy actually liked being a bodyguard. He liked knowing Kameron trusted him so much.
As for Zane, well. He’d been a recruit until Kameron had decided to assign him to Malik. Iggy knew it had been a way to make Quinn accept Kir as his bodyguard, but he also knew it was important for Zane.
“We’ll be fine,” he insisted, and Kameron nodded.
“Fine with me, but let me know if you change your mind, or if you need more free time. You don’t have to stick with me the entire day, especially not when I’m here.”
Iggy wanted to protest, but it was true Kameron didn’t really need him while he was in the house. Iggy usually stuck with him anyway, sitting in the office reading while Kameron worked. Maybe he could manage to get away for an hour or two, especially if he made sure to do it while Kameron worked with his beta or with other enforcers.
“I’ll let you know,” he finally said.
“I’m going to head back home,” Malik said. He looked at Iggy and grinned. “You probably should say goodbye to Zane. I’ll stay here with Kameron. You guys can head to the entrance and yell when you’re done.”
Iggy could feel his cheeks heat and he nodded before hurrying to the entrance. He ignored Zach’s laughter, even though he knew he’d have to face it sooner rather than later. Zane followed him, chuckling quietly, and Iggy bumped their shoulders together. “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Zane protested.
“But you were thinking it.”
“So? I can’t even think now? I didn’t know you wanted a simple minded mate.”
“I don’t. I just want one who’d rather kiss me than talk.”
Iggy pushed Zane against the wall none too gently, but Zane didn’t seem to mind. He wrapped his arms around Iggy’s neck and pulled him close, and Iggy lost himself in the kiss. He really could do that for hours, and he couldn’t wait until he had the time to do just that.
“You think we should call Malik?” Zane asked in a whisper after a while.
Iggy sighed. “Probably. Simon will have your hides if you’re late for dinner.”
“Pretty sure we already are.”
“Yeah, well. In that case, the sooner you get there the better it’ll be for you then.”
Zane briefly kissed Iggy again before gently pushing him away and calling out, “Malik?”
It took Malik a few minutes to get there, and when he did, he had a hand over his eyes and Zach was snickering behind him. “Are they done?” Malik asked.
“Yeah,” Zach answered, and Iggy glared at him.
“You’re not funny,” Iggy told him.”
“I happen to think I am, and I don’t care if you don’t share that opinion of me.” Of course Zach didn’t.
“Shut up,” Iggy grumbled.
He stared at Zane until Zane walked out the door, adorably waving at him.
Zach sighed beside him. “Ah, young love. I’d say puppy love, but it doesn’t apply to you. Batty love, maybe?”
“Shut up,” Iggy said again. He pushed Zach away so he could close the door and Zach laughed.
“This is great. Now I have something to tease you with.”
Iggy groaned. That was the last thing he needed, and he couldn’t even get out of it. This was going to be a long next few weeks if Zach really took the opportunity to tease him about Zane. Iggy hoped it wouldn’t make being away even harder than it already was, because he was already missing Zane.
He groaned. Batty love indeed.
* * * *
Zane was snuggled in Iggy’s bed, the blankets tightly wound around him, when a hand on his shoulder tried to get him to get up. “What?” he slurred.
He wanted to stay in bed for a bit longer. He was almost sure he’d set the alarm on his phone so that he’d wake up when Malik needed him, so why was someone waking up before the alarm went off?
“Damn good bodyguard you are, man. What if Malik needs you right now?” the asshole who was trying to wake Zane up said.
“Does he need me?”
“No, but Quinn and Kir are gone.”
That was enough to get Zane’s attention. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and looked at Mal. “Oh. It’s you.”
Mal arched a brow. “Yeah, I lost.”
Zane knew that was probably an insult, but he didn’t feel up to trying to understand it, not without drinking at least a few mugs of coffee. “What happened?”
“Quinn’s sister had her baby last night. Quinn and Kir went to see her. From what I know, and it’s not a l
ot since I’m not anyone important in the pack, they’re not in Louisiana anymore, but no one can find them.”
“Phone?”
Mal rolled his eyes. “It’s the first thing we tried. Kir’s is still in Quinn’s room, Quinn’s is off.”
“And you need me because?”
“Malik’s leaving in fifteen minutes. Kameron wants him to stay over at his house until they find out what’s going on.”
Zane pushed the blankets back, regretting having to leave his cocoon of warmth and Iggy’s scent. He hauled himself up and shuffled to the bathroom, Mal snickering behind him.
“At least Iggy will be there,” Mal pointed out.
The entire household had known about Iggy and Zane by the time Zane and Malik had come back the night before. Zane didn’t mind, but he could have done without the ribbing first thing in the morning. He shot Mal the bird, hoping Mal wouldn’t take it badly, and relieved when Mal laughed again.
He was gone by the time Zane was out of the shower and feeling marginally more awake. He still had seven minutes, and he needed coffee, so he hurried to get dressed and almost ran to the kitchen.
There was a travel mug on the table, and Zane looked around, wondering who it belonged to. Simon didn’t even look up from his book when he pointed at the mug. “That’s yours. Malik will be down in a minute.”
Zane kissed the top of Simon’s head and slumped into the chair next to him, groaning at his first sip. “This is good. Thanks.”
Simon shrugged. “I remember how you are without coffee.”
“God, if you weren’t with Malik and I wasn’t with Iggy...”
Simon closed his book, keeping his thumb between the pages. “We still wouldn’t be together. We’ve had the opportunity before. There’s a reason why we didn’t try anything.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I don’t want you.”
Zane almost choked on his coffee. “Hey! Maybe it’s because I don’t want you.”
Simon waved. “Whatever. Let’s agree neither of us wants the other and stop talking about this. It’s making me uncomfortable.”
Zane made kissy noises at him, puckering his lips until a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up, hoping Malik wasn’t about to kill him, but the man just smiled, shook his head, and asked, “Ready to go?”
Zane held his coffee up. “Yep.”
Malik went to kiss Simon and Zane looked away, because Simon was right. It was awkward. One would think that having grown up together knowing they were both gay and thinking they were the only ones in the pack would have meant they’d do stuff together, but they hadn’t. It was just too weird.
“Mal told me Quinn and Kir are missing,” Zane said once he and Malik were outside, walking through the forest.
“Yes. Kameron called me about an hour ago. He found Kir’s message that they’d left during the night and tried to call him to see if everything was fine and if Quinn’s sister had already had the baby. When he realized Kir’s phone was in his room, he tried calling Quinn, then his sister’s house. The brother-in-law told him Quinn and Kir left with a Nix almost two hours ago, but no one here has seen them as far as we know.”
“You think the Nix took them somewhere? Who was it?” Zane asked, looking around. This made his presence next to Malik even more important. If Quinn had been taken, then Malik and Kameron could be too.
“Yes. The Nix obviously wasn’t one of ours, and we don’t know where he took them. Hopefully it’s not straight to Tom and they’ll be able to fight their way back, but we don’t know.”
They walked quickly, and Kameron’s house came into sight. No one bothered to knock and they barged in, already knowing what they’d find.
The office door was open, and Zane followed Malik there. He smiled at Iggy when they entered, but he stayed away, and Iggy didn’t try to get to him. He stayed behind Kameron’s desk, looking grim and tense, and Zane mirrored his position behind Malik.
Malik sat down and leaned toward Kameron. “Do we know anything more?” he asked.
“No,” Kameron said. “I talked to Anthony again, and he gave me a description of the Nix, but it doesn’t sound like anyone we know. Or rather, it sounds like a lot of Nix we know. Blond, lithe, pointed ears. The usual.”
“Why did Kir and Quinn go with him? How did they get there in the first place? Who did they call?”
“Kir called Clea, one of the Nix enforcers who live here with the pack. They’re friends, apparently.”
“But Kir didn’t ask Clea to shimmer them back.”
“Clea said he was waiting for Kir to call him again, but he never did.”
“Still doesn’t explain why they weren’t more careful.”
Kameron sighed. “Well, they’d woken up at three in the morning. They were probably exhausted and worn down by the night’s events.”
“So what do we do?”
Zane wanted the answer to that question, too. He knew his place was beside Malik, but he wanted to help find Kir and Quinn. Kir wasn’t exactly a friend, but he wasn’t a stranger, either. Zane hoped he was fine, and he hoped Quinn was too. He might be half-scared of the guy, but Quinn was a council member, and they needed him.
Kameron leaned back in his chair, his forehead creased in a frown. “We wait.”
And they waited. They were the longest hours of Zane’s life, and he’d lived through pretty bad shit. They tried calling Quinn again, with no results, and when the night fell, Malik decided to call Simon and tell him he was staying at Kameron’s house. He needed to be close, just in case.
Zane wasn’t surprised when Simon came in twenty minutes later and he and Malik disappeared into one of the guest rooms. He didn’t insist on going with Malik, because he knew they needed time on their own. God knew he wanted to be with Iggy, but Iggy was still in his place behind Kameron, so Zane slumped into one of the chairs there and waited.
Kameron finally decided to go to bed—after Zach threatened him—and he nodded at Zane as he got up. “I’d offer you a guest room, but I’m pretty sure you want to be with Iggy right now.”
Zane nodded and looked at Iggy. “Yeah.”
“I’ll see the two of you tomorrow morning.”
He left, and Iggy and Zane watched him go. Iggy stayed tense as they listened to Kameron climb the stairs, then a door open and close. Only then did Iggy relax. Zane got up and walked around the desk, opening his arms and hugging Iggy close when Iggy almost collapsed against his chest.
“Tired?” Zane asked against Iggy’s hair.
“So much. I hate that the first time we’re going to sleep together, we’ll actually be sleeping.”
“We’ll have time for the rest later.”
Iggy snorted and looked at Zane. “Later? That could mean a lot of things.”
Zane kissed his forehead. “It could, but Kameron won’t let it go too far. You know that. He’ll intervene soon.”
“Yeah. Still too long, though.”
Chapter Three
It took Quinn and Kir two days to get back to Gillham. Iggy and Zane weren’t even there when it had happened—Zane had been back at the house with Malik and Simon, and Iggy had been in his room. Kameron had told him about it as soon as the two had gone to bed, of course, but the fact that he hadn’t been there made Iggy wonder if he maybe sucked at the whole bodyguard thing. Kameron said he didn’t and that he couldn’t be vigilant 24/7, but Iggy wasn’t sure he believed him.
He knocked on the door to Kameron’s office. Kameron had said he had a meeting, and Iggy had made a point of being present for all of the meetings, even the ones with pack members and the people Kameron trusted. This one was with Dominic Nash, and the man’s PA had just called to say Dominic would be a bit late. Iggy didn’t know why he hadn’t called Kameron directly, but it wasn’t like he understood most of the stuff that happened. Too much politics for him.
He went in and walked straight to Kameron, ignoring everyone
else. He leaned closer so only Kameron could hear him and whispered, “Dominic’s PA called. Dominic will be a few minutes late.”
Kameron nodded. “All right.”
Iggy hesitated, but then he added, “The PA asked me to tell you that it’s about time you get a PA of your own so that he doesn’t have to talk to whoever answers the phone every time.”
Kameron pressed his lips together but the corners still twitched in an almost smile. “I’ll think about it.”
Iggy moved away and took his usual position behind Kameron. Malik and Simon came in, and while Iggy kept his focus on everyone, he didn’t participate in the conversations. He tensed when Kameron announced that Tom had hired killers to take care of the council members. He’d need to be even more careful than he’d been until now. If the killers coming for them were Nix, they wouldn’t have problems shimmering in and out of the house, since so far no one had found a way to stop them from doing it.
When the meeting ended, Iggy went to check all the windows and the doors. They wouldn’t stop a Nix trying to get in, but it was better than sitting and waiting for one of them to attack.
He stuck by Kameron’s side for the rest of the day, ignoring his eye rolls and the way he kept on looking at Iggy as if he was worried about him. There was nothing to be worried about. If anything, Iggy was the one who was supposed to be worried about Kameron, and he was. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop a Nix from getting to him. Kameron refused to let him come into the room he shared with Zach, and while Iggy understood that, it didn’t make his job easy.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to sleep in your room?” he asked again. “I can take the couch, or even the floor.”
Kameron sighed and looked up from his computer. “I already said no. I get that you want to do your job, but you’re already spending too much time with me as it is.”
“Maybe, but you were the one who said the killers were probably all Nix. They wouldn’t have problems shimmering into your room and killing you in your sleep.”
Kameron’s lips twitched. “You’re a ray of sunshine.”
“I’m realistic. What good is a bodyguard if he can’t protect you when you need it the most?”
Iggy [Gillham Pack: 15] Page 4