Iggy crossed his arms on his chest. “If you’re going, then I’m coming with you.”
“Iggy—”
“I’m your bodyguard. I’m sticking to your side whether you like it or not. You were the one who gave me the assignment.”
“I can also end it.”
“But you won’t.”
“I won’t?”
“Damn right you won’t,” Zach exclaimed. “I get why you have to and want to go even if I don’t like it, but you’re taking your damn bodyguard with you.” He glared at Malik, then at Quinn. “And don’t think I’m an idiot. I know the two of you will go too, and that means Kir and Zane will be glued to your asses, or you’ll have to deal with me.”
Zane made a strangled noise. “No offense, but I’d rather be glued to Iggy’s ass.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Now that we’ve made sure everyone who wants to go is going, can we get back to the planning? I’m not letting any of you go anywhere if you don’t have a good plan in place.”
“You’re assuming you can tell me what to do,” Quinn said, and Iggy sighed, because really?
The guy never seemed to stop being an asshole. Iggy had thought maybe being mated with Kir, who was a nice guy, would help, but it obviously hadn’t. He didn’t know how Kir dealt with it, but personally, Iggy would rather be mateless for the rest of his life than being mated to Quinn.
Kameron took a map out of his desk drawer and opened it on the desk. Everyone scooted closer, and he pointed at a spot not too far from Gillham. “We know Tom moved his headquarters after Quinn and Malik found him, but we were lucky enough that he took his furniture with him when he did.”
Quinn snorted. “That wasn’t luck. I’m not stupid. I wasn’t going to stick a bug on the walls.”
Kameron rolled his eyes. “So Tom took the bugs with him when he moved, so we can still hear him and his council. We know they’re here, close to Riverton, and that the entire council will meet two days from now, late afternoon. We’ll be there too. We’ll send Nix to check the place out and take pictures so that we can be as ready as we possibly can. We’re not going into this blind.”
Kameron glared at Quinn as he said it, and Iggy wasn’t surprised. He’d heard about what Quinn had done when he’d gone with Malik to try to talk to Tom. It hadn’t gone well, even though it meant they had bugs in Tom’s office.
Yeah, he really was happy he wasn’t Quinn’s mate.
* * * *
“Do you think anyone would notice it if we snuck out?” Zane asked Iggy. He kept his voice low, because saying it too loud would defeat his purpose. He wasn’t sure Iggy would agree anyway. After what had happened the night before, he was tense and looking at Kameron as if he were afraid the man would pop out of the room if he wasn’t watching.
“We can’t sneak out,” Iggy said, his gaze still on Kameron.
“Why not? Kameron and Malik aren’t going anywhere, and now Nick’s here too. Even if a Nix killer was stupid enough to shimmer into the office right now, he’d be out in five seconds. I mean, have you seen how pissed Quinn is?”
Zane wanted to get Iggy away from the office and the planning, at least for a while. Ideally, he wanted Iggy to eat and have a nap, but there was no way he’d get that, not without tying Iggy to the bed. He was obviously still in pain, and Zane wondered if Jago was in the house. Maybe he had some of his shifter-designed painkillers.
“Our job is to stay where Malik and Kameron are.”
“We didn’t sign away our lives, Iggy. You got hurt yesterday, and you barely slept. You won’t do a good job if you’re too tired.”
Iggy scowled at him and moved away, inching closer to Kameron. Zane sighed. Iggy was stubborn, and he couldn’t seem to realize that no one—except maybe for Quinn, but he was an asshole—blamed him for what had happened the night before. Even the best bodyguard wouldn’t have been able to do anything, not on his own, and Zane was angry with Kameron for asking that of Iggy.
No one could have known Iggy would take it so hard, though, but still. Iggy needed a break, and he wouldn’t take one until Kameron ordered him to. He probably wouldn’t even go to sleep when night fell, and Zane thought Kameron needed to realize that. He wanted to tell him, but he didn’t feel comfortable doing that in front of all the people in the room. Kameron might be kind of a friend, albeit not a close one, but Zane wasn’t going to try to tell him what to do.
He could probably talk to Zach, though. He’d gone to the kitchen to get lunch ready, and no one would be surprised if Zane went to help him.
He looked around to be sure he wouldn’t be missed, tilted his chin toward the door when Malik looked at him, and waited for Malik to nod to leave. He didn’t even try to talk to Iggy because he knew he wouldn’t get results, at least not good ones. The last thing he wanted was to make Iggy angry with him. They’d only just met, and the situation they were in was the worst. They needed to be there for each other, not to fight.
Zach was putting sandwiches together on the kitchen table, and Zane slumped into one of the chairs. He reached for the bread and the turkey, quickly putting a sandwich together, then putting it on the tray in the middle of the table. It was mindless work, and he was glad he could lose himself in it for a while.
He should have known it wouldn’t last long.
“Out with it,” Zach said, never looking away from the lettuce he was placing on the bread.
“Iggy needs to rest. His head is still hurting him.”
Zach finally looked up, a glint in his eyes, and his gaze slid to the side of Zane’s neck. Zane shook his head. “No, we’re not mated yet, but it doesn’t take that to see he’s in pain.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I tried talking to him, but he won’t listen. I think it’s obvious that after what happened last night, the only person he’ll listen to is Kameron.”
“So you want me to ask Kameron to talk to him.”
“Yeah. I know Iggy won’t be happy, but he won’t be any good if he’s hurt, especially if we have to fight in a few days. Kameron will have enforcers around anyway, so I thought maybe me and Iggy could have the next few days free? We’ll still be around, but Iggy won’t have to keep all his attention on Kameron and he’ll be able to relax at least a bit.”
Zach grinned. “Relax, huh? I’d thought you’d have something else in mind.”
Zane shrugged. “We’ve talked about it, but we’re not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Can I ask why not?”
“Well, it would be a distraction, and you know how Iggy is with the bodyguard thing. We weren’t even sure Kameron would agree.”
Zach threw a piece of bread at Zane. “You can’t seriously think Kam would have asked you not to mate for this.”
“No, but Iggy, well. He’s still unsure about Kameron. I guess his old alpha is as much of an asshole as Erskine was. Then there’s the fact that we’re going to have to fight in only a few days, and what will happen if one of us gets hurt, or worse?”
Zach slowly nodded. “The other would feel it. Trust me, I know all about that.”
Zane suddenly felt guilty. Of course Zach knew about it. He was the alpha mate. Kameron was always right in the middle of things, especially when it came to threats against the pack or the council. He had to be scared to death most of the time. “Would you change it if you could?” he asked, hoping Zach wasn’t about to slap him or yell at him.
“Change what?”
“Mating with Kameron. I know you love him, but would you change it?”
“No. I can’t say I’m not afraid most of time, especially lately, but I wouldn’t. Mating with him has brought me so much more joy than the fear I feel, and honestly, I like being able to know what’s happening up to a point. It would be so much harder to have to wait at home with no idea of how he is. At least this way, I do, and while I’m still scared, it’s kind of a reassurance to be able to feel him.”
“But... what if something happens?”
Zach looked up from the tomato he was carefully cutting. “I’ll be hurt anyway. I understand what you’re asking, but honestly, I don’t think it makes a difference. Finding out by feeling it would be more intense, but it’d be bad anyway. I’d still be missing half of myself, but at least I’d know he wouldn’t have been alone when...”
Zach didn’t need to finish that sentence for Zane to understand. He regretted asking, because he could see how bad Zach was feeling now, but on the other hand, he was glad he had. It made him rethink his and Iggy’s decision to wait, because what if something did happen two days from now? What if one of them died? They’d die alone and without ever knowing what a mating bond felt like.
It wasn’t the only reason Zane wanted to get mated, of course, but in light of the events, he thought Iggy might understand and maybe even agree. Maybe it would help him relax a bit too. Asking wouldn’t hurt—much. Zane might be hurt if Iggy said no, but he wouldn’t know if he didn’t ask, and he knew Iggy wouldn’t say no because he didn’t want him.
“Right, after this depressing conversation, I need a drink,” Zach said.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. You obviously needed to talk about this, and I was here. That’s the job of an alpha mate.” Zach winked, and Zane thought he’d be fine.
“‘Course it is, and you’re good at it.”
“Grab sodas from the fridge, will you?”
Zach took the tray, and they headed back to the office. Zach paused before entering and smiled. “I’ll talk to Kameron. You should plan something nice to do with Iggy.”
Zane heard the unsaid words. No one could know what was going to happen, so he should do something nice and be with his mate. That was what Zach would do, and probably Malik, Quinn, and Kir too.
Chapter Four
“Go home with Malik and Zane,” Kameron said.
“But—”
“Really. I don’t need you.”
Iggy swallowed and looked at his hands. At least the office was empty now. No one else would hear that Iggy had fucked up so badly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be knocked out, but if you give me another chance—”
“Iggy, that’s not what I meant. Look at me.”
Iggy didn’t want to, but he obeyed. There was no need to fuck this up even more than he already had.
Kameron nodded. He looked tired, but then again they all did. They’d spent most of the day talking things over and planning. Everyone just wanted to rest now, but Iggy didn’t feel like he could. He needed to do something to atone for the mistake he’d made.
“What happened with the killer wasn’t your fault. There’s no way you could have stopped a Nix unless you’d been sleeping with me and Zach, and sorry to tell you, but that’s never going to happen. Even when you sat outside the door, the Nix could have shimmered inside and you wouldn’t have noticed.”
“Quinn noticed.”
“We were lucky this Nix didn’t shimmer into a place he’d never been in or seen. That’s the only reason why he came in through the door after shimmering into the kitchen.”
“How did he do it?”
“Tom. This was Erskine’s house when he was alpha. Tom spent time here, but as far as I know not a lot of people saw the bedroom. Erskine was private about it. Anyway, that wasn’t the point. What happened wasn’t your fault, and I’m not firing you from being my bodyguard. In fact, I plan to take you with me when we go get Tom. I need you to be alert and rested when it happens, and there’s no way you’ll rest if you’re stuck by my side.”
Iggy nodded. He got it, he really did, but it wasn’t as easy to forgive himself.
“Besides, all the council members now have a team of enforcers who take care of their security. I probably should have started with that directly, but I didn’t think Tom would be sneaky and use Nix killers. We weren’t aware there were Nix in his council, and we’re still not sure of it to be honest. Knowing him as well as I do, I thought he’d stick with attacking in plain sight like he did last time and that he’d avoid anyone who isn’t a shifter. I obviously underestimated him.”
“It’ll end soon anyway.” Iggy needed to repeat it to convince himself.
“It will. So I want you to go home with Zane and spend time with him. I know you’re not mated yet, and I want you to know I don’t expect you not to do it. It’s your decision, and I have nothing to do with it.”
“It could distract both of us.”
“It could, but it could also help. I know the instinct to mate is hard to resist, and you seem to get along with Zane very well, so don’t wait just because you think it’s the right thing to do. You don’t need to be single for you to be a good bodyguard.”
Iggy snorted. “I don’t think I’m single anymore, even though we’re not mated.”
“Good. Now go spend the next two days with Zane. Have fun, mate if you want to.” Kameron grinned. “Make love.”
Iggy groaned. “I’m not talking about sex with you.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out how to do it without my explanations.”
“Yeah, don’t worry. It won’t be a problem.”
Iggy wasn’t surprised to find Zane and Zach hovering in the hallway just outside the office when he stepped out. He rolled his eyes and Zach stuck his tongue out at him before entering the office and closing the door. Iggy took Zane’s hand and pulled him away. “Let’s go before we start hearing sex noises.”
“Sex noises?”
“Trust me, I’ve heard enough of those since I started working for Kameron.”
“I’m not sure if it’s disturbing or hot.”
“Both. So, what do you have planned?” If Iggy couldn’t stick by Kameron’s side, then he’d obey Kameron’s order and have fun. No one could know what would happen to either him or Zane when they attacked Tom, so Iggy wanted to make the most of the time they had.
“Who said I have something planned?” Zane tried to look innocent, but it would have worked better if he wasn’t avoiding looking at Iggy in the eyes and if his cheeks weren’t flushed.
“I’m not blind. I noticed you whispering with Zach, and you spent an awful lot of time in the kitchen with him earlier.”
“We were just talking.”
They put their jackets on and stepped outside. It was snowing, but it wasn’t coming down heavily, and Iggy hoped it held. It wouldn’t be easy to get to Tom if there was a snowstorm. “About what?” he asked as Zane closed the door behind them.
“Stuff.”
“Oh, so many details. Please, stop talking.”
Zane knocked their shoulders together as they walked toward home. “Shut up.”
“Where’s Malik? Should we wait for him?”
“He already went home with a few enforcers.”
It was still weird to think about the house Iggy shared with Simon and all the others as home. His home had been with his nest for so many years, with his family, but now, it wasn’t anymore. He hadn’t even had the time to get used to living with Simon, though, so that was probably one reason why it felt almost unreal.
Iggy couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next. If they managed to get to Tom and to capture him, his council would be dismantled. If Iggy and Zane both made it out alive, would they still be bodyguards? Malik and Kameron probably wouldn’t need them anymore, but Iggy wasn’t sure what it would mean for him. He could become an enforcer, maybe for the pack so he didn’t have to travel too much. Now that he’d met Zane, he wanted to be able to spend time with him.
Of course, Zane might decide he wanted to be an enforcer. Would Iggy be all right with waiting for him at home? They hadn’t talked about it, and they probably should, but it was hard to think about what would happen when Iggy wasn’t even sure they’d both make it out alive.
“You’re silent,” Zane pointed out.
“Just thinking.”
“Yeah, it’s
hard not to.”
“What do you want to do after?”
Zane arched a brow. “After what?”
“You know, the battle. Assuming we manage to catch Tom and get rid of his council.”
“I guess I’ll go back to training as a pack enforcer, unless Kameron wants me to become one right away. I’ve been training for years, so maybe he will. That’s what he said, but you never know. He might change his mind.”
“Don’t you want to be a council enforcer?”
Zane looked horrified. “And have to travel all over the world and work with people I don’t know? No, thanks. I’ve grown up with all the other recruits. I probably know most of them better than I know my parents, and this is my home. I want to stick close.” He paused. “Were you thinking about being a council enforcer? Because you could. I mean, I’m not going to try to stop you from doing what you want, you know?”
“So you’d let me travel all over the world?”
Zane shrugged. “Of course I would. I might be your mate, but it doesn’t mean I can forbid you to do something.”
“Not even if it would mean spending a lot of time apart?”
“Not even then. I can’t say I’d be happy or that I wouldn’t miss you, but I wouldn’t try to stop you.” He bit on his lower lip and looked at Iggy. “Why? Is that what you want to do? Become a council enforcer?”
Iggy shook his head. “No, but I thought maybe you would.”
Zane punched Iggy’s shoulder. “Then why are we even talking about this?”
“We’re talking about the future. Our future. Don’t you think we should?”
* * * *
“Of course we should,” Zane answered. He’d been thinking about it ever since they’d met. He was surprised Iggy was the one who’d brought it up, though.
“So I guess we’ll both stay here.”
“I know I am.”
“Well, I am too.”
Iggy [Gillham Pack: 15] Page 6