It was a relief when he focused on the entryway to see that among the many people swarming into the place were Duncan and his partner, Anderson. While he didn’t know either of them well, he knew they were dedicated allies and a good buffer with the other humans, who would be asking tough questions very soon. The blond cop ran straight to Kitty and pulled her into his arms while calling for an EMT. Duncan headed toward Christos, who met him halfway.
“Demi’s all right,” he said before the cop could ask, because of course, that would be first on his mind.
Duncan staggered for a moment. “Thank Jesus, Joseph and Mary.”
“But you need to try to cut off any investigation into next door. They blew the front door and took Dafydd, Idris and Mateo. Someone is bound to notice the damage and tie that in to what happened here. We can’t afford for anyone to see something they shouldn’t, like Tony dying and turning to dust.” Damn, his heart ached at the thought of losing someone else.
Duncan’s look of terror subsided when the news about Demi sank in more fully. “This isn’t my case officially. Karl and I heard it over dispatch and confirmed we were going in to help. I’ll do what I can, though. And who the fuck is Mateo? Wait! You mean that kid who helped bring Cadoc down? Why in the hell was he even here?”
Christos got into his face. “Because he’s my boy, that’s why.”
The cop backed off. “Okay, okay, sorry. I didn’t know and I’ll take care of the mess next door. Then I’ll help you get Mateo and the others back. I am so done with this Dracul shit. It’s time for him to die and stay that way.”
Before the man could leave, however, another familiar face came storming in. “Fuck me, what’s he doing here?” Christos muttered.
Jefferson scanned the carnage before homing in on Christos. “Was Alun here? Is he hurt?” he called out as he made a beeline for him.
“How the…?” Duncan rounded on his colleague. “Jefferson, this is a homicide matter.”
“Fuck that! This shitshow is being screamed all over dispatch and I recognized the club’s name.” He swiveled his head around. “It’s a fucking war zone. Answer my question,” he demanded of Christos.
“He’s fine and not here.” Then he made an executive decision, because someone had to take charge and Alex was too caught up with Quinn. “Do you trust him?” he asked with a nod toward Jefferson.
Duncan nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Take him with you. Damage control is going to be a bitch, and the sooner we recover from all this, the faster we can rain unholy justice on Dracul’s head.”
Grabbing Jefferson by the sleeve, Duncan said, “Come on. If you’re going to be here, you have to be useful. And you can see Alun, too, although how and why you care is something you and I are going to have a little talk about.”
“Fuck you, you’re not my mother. And who the fuck is Dracul?”
“That’s right, Craig. Exercise that F-bomb good. You’re going to need it.”
Christos stood watching them go, feeling drained and oddly numb. The fury was there, bubbling beneath the surface, but he felt more cold than hot. Well, the Italians always said that revenge was a dish best served cold. He was going freeze Dracul’s skin off his body, bit by bit, if it was the last thing he did on this Earth.
“Sir?” He glanced at a young woman wearing an EMT uniform. “Do you need medical attention? Are you hurt?” she persisted when he said nothing.
He shook his head slowly. “Not in a way that you can help.”
“Are you sure? Your leg appears to be bleeding.”
Looking down, he said, “So it is. It’s nothing. A scratch.” He put a hand to his chest and rubbed a spot that oddly ached far more than his leg. “Please do not concern yourself. I am beyond human help and have always been so.”
A stretcher was carried past him with a crying boy strapped onto it. Christos turned in a slow circle, taking in the sadness and the misery, and mentally slapped himself. Time to get to work. Mateo was counting on him.
Chapter Eleven
“The top story this morning continues to be the horrific mass shooting at the private gay nightclub Lux. The official casualty toll remains at forty dead and twenty-seven wounded, some critically. That number includes an estimated two dozen assailants, whom our sources on the police force are unofficially saying were white supremacists intent on waging war against homosexuals. There is no word yet on whether any of the dead or wounded are the owners of the club, who are no strangers to controversy and are associated with other tragic events of the last year. Among those killed was former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Karen Logan, who is being hailed by many as a hero who defended unarmed club members and employees without any concern for her own safety. The President has ordered flags in federal buildings to be lowered to half-mast in her honor.”
Christos grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. No one needed to hear anything more. They’d lived through it and the only concern was what kind of spin was being given to the event. They had the answer now. He looked at Jefferson, who sat on one of the many chairs that had been moved to the living area. At any given time, the whole space was crowded with family, allies and lovers. They all seemed to need the comfort of being together. Christos was no different. Being in his bed without Mateo was an impossible thought. That was true even given that they’d never actually spent time in that particular room together.
“Was that your doing?” he asked the cop.
Jefferson nodded. “Given that I wasn’t part of the official investigation, I had time on my hands after helping to hide what happened here. It was easy enough to whisper in the ears of reporters milling about, to plant the idea. It helps that so many of the fuckers looked like skinheads and actually had fascist tattoos. I think the story will stick.”
“I’ll jump on various message boards and give it more legs.” This from Val, who came in with Alex.
“Are the cops done with you?” Christos asked. They’d all been questioned, but as the owner of the club and the head of security, Alex and Val had been pulled aside a few different times. Even the fucking FBI was involved. Duncan had weighed in on thorny issues like who owned the various weapons that had been recovered. Thank God, Val had sanitized all the identifying marks from the guns long ago, and no one seemed to question the idea that most of them belonged to the attackers.
Alex nodded. “They’re done with us for the time being. The CSI people are also almost finished. There’s plenty of evidence, even without the security footage.”
“Yeah,” Val drawled. “Shame about that shorting out earlier in the day. Lucky for us, too, that the members abide by the no-mobile-phone-use-inside-the-club rule. Most of them didn’t even have theirs on them to video the firefight, even if they’d thought to do so. There’s no visual evidence of our more otherworldly feats, and given the chaos and fog of war, no one’s going to believe that they saw what they think they saw, either.”
“Come get something to eat,” Emil called out to them.
The room was littered with food of all types. Emil and Jase had cooked and baked non-stop ever since Logan had been pried from them. The activity was obviously their way of coping, but no one had much of an appetite.
Neither man took him up on his offer. Instead, both went to where their boys sat on the couch and, picking them up, settled in their place with the boys on their laps. Quinn’s arm injury was mostly superficial and a feeding from Alex had done wonders to help the healing process. Mackie was entirely untouched—thanks to Annika, apparently.
The Queen was quiet and unusually somber, her hand repetitively petting the fluffy head of her ridiculous dog—although she was not alone in her melancholy, that being the watchword for them all at this point. There was little to do except mourn for the time being. Christos itched with the need to go do…something. As there was no clear direction to chase, he had no choice but to sit and ponder what to do.
“I’ll run all of this over to Our Safe Place later,” Malcolm said, waving at
the food. “With the front door fixed, I have time on my hands.”
“I’ll go with you,” Val volunteered. “I want to check out the human security team I’ve hired for it. They and the staff that has been vetted recently can take over the running of the place so that none of us have to worry about making the time.”
Emil came over, his arm tightly wrapped around Jase. “That’s just as well. Our presence makes it an obvious target, but I don’t want to shutter it. It was important to Logan, and we can’t leave those kids in the lurch.”
“We’ll take care of everyone, including our employees here,” Alex vowed. “How much severance is enough, do you suppose? A year, certainly. It doesn’t seem sufficient somehow. Five, I think, and I’ll keep track of them all, in case they need more help later.”
“You’re closing the club?” Mackie asked with a quiver to his voice.
“Well, of course. With a dozen prominent men murdered, I doubt the city will allow it to re-open, and even if they did, who would want to risk returning for a repeat? Besides, I should have done so when Dracul first resurfaced. If I had, none of this would have happened. How did I not see this coming?” Alex’s devastated expression hadn’t really left since Christos had first seen it at the club.
He wanted to reassure his captain, a strange reversal of roles. “You couldn’t have known, sir. None of us thought he’d go this route. And if you hadn’t had the club, he would have found some other, equally violent action to divert your attention. When has he ever done anything else?”
Alex pressed his face against Quinn’s head. “I should have killed him from the first. The moment he started questioning my actions, I should have eliminated him.”
Christos shook his head. “That’s not the kind of man or leader you are. And if you had, it wouldn’t have stopped there. He was the first to rebel, but others would have done so, too, even without him. Petru comes to mind.”
Val snapped his fingers. “Damn, I haven’t been able to slip into the basement yet. I don’t want to call attention to it. Because the crime scene is in the main room and lap dance area, the cops don’t have a warrant to search the entire building. He’s going to have to go hungry a while longer, I suppose.”
Christos bared his teeth. “Let him starve to death. The fucker hasn’t been much use so far.”
Annika leaned forward. “No, Mr. Christos, Petru has a role to play yet in all of this.”
He didn’t have a chance to dare to gainsay her. Duncan and Dr. Paz came in at that moment. He didn’t think the cop had slept, like much of the rest of them, although for a human, the deprivation was more noticeable. The doctor looked the way Christos felt, weighed down by the heavy grief and worry that came from knowing that the man he loved was in the clutches of pure evil. For Paz, it was doubly so, because he’d obviously come to think of Idris as his son.
Paz headed straight for Emil. “I’m sorry,” he said gently, “Logan’s family has claimed her body. I know you wanted to give her a more personal send-off.”
Emil nodded grimly. “They didn’t care when she was on the streets, but I guess a dead hero is better, heh? That’s okay, Doc. We said our goodbyes to her already.” He hugged Jase tight as the boy started crying.
Paz turned to look at Mackie. “No one has claimed Shawn yet. The other two have family on their way.”
Mackie swiped at a tear. “I’m not surprised. Shawn was literally an orphan. No one will see to him.”
“We will,” Val declared. “Whatever you think he’d have liked, that’s what we’ll do.” Mackie nodded and curled into the man’s embrace. Val placed his large hand on his husband’s baby bump and left it there.
They were all quiet for long minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Christos’ were on Mateo, naturally, although he tried to banish images of his boy being hurt. That wasn’t going to help anyone. Besides, the human had survived the brutality of Cadoc and he had the street smarts to stay alive, no matter what it took. The idea of Dracul or others forcing themselves on him, into his sweet body, made Christos want to smash whatever he could get his hands on. He would have to settle for waiting until they found Dracul’s lair. He would take it and everyone lurking there apart, piece by piece.
Harry came down the stairs, his every step a testament to his fatigue. Claude trailed him, looking much the same. “Tony remains stable.” That news sent a wave of noticeable relief through the group. At least they weren’t going to lose another shipmate. “Mikko and Matti are staying by his side until he’s strong enough to leave. Tony is against the idea, needless to say, but Mikko is adamant and I concur. His wounds are healing in the natural way of our kind, but they are also extensive, and he won’t be at full strength for some time to come.”
“I’m sending Nen and Yaro with them back to Finland,” Claude added. “Their homestead is more isolated and more easily defensible than mine. Even at less than full strength, I trust Tony to protect my family if Dracul does bother with them.” He focused on Alex. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t believe this is the best place for them anymore.”
“I understand. You should go with them. I’m sorry I brought you back into the fray.”
Claude’s eyes turned flinty. “No, sir. I’m in this ’til the end. We can’t know how many other humans Dracul has recruited. You need the manpower.”
“Your family—”
“Understands my duty. We’ve discussed it and made a unanimous decision. The fate of this world and their lives depend on our wiping that fucker out for good. You need me, and I’m staying.” He looked at Emil. “I need to fill a tray with food for them as they pack, as well as for Mikko and Matti, because they won’t leave Tony’s side. Will you help me do that?”
Emil smiled wanly. “Of course. We both will.” With that, he and Jase uncoupled and headed back to the kitchen area.
Christos sighed and ran a weary hand down his face. “He’s not wrong about needing him,” he said to Alex. “We all know how cheap and easy it is to buy soldiers, even after you sacrifice a couple of dozen. Mercenaries always think it’s the other guy who’s going to get killed, while they survive and get rich.”
“Yeah,” Val agreed. “We could be facing a fucking legion of them.”
“Plus, he has at least one hybrid on his side now, too.” Damn Merlin to hell and back. Showing mercy to everyone who had been left in Dracul’s castle had turned out to be a mistake, in his estimation. The other hybrids may have been very young children, but Merlin had been of fighting age.
“No, Mr. Val, you are wrong.” Everyone stared at Annika as if she had two heads, including himself. “Merlin is our ally.”
Malcolm spoke for all of them. “Och now, lassie, I know you like to see the good in everyone, but that boy is lost to us. We have to consider him our enemy now.”
She gave him an indulgent smile. “I assure you that is not the case. He is what you’d call a mole. Did I say that right?” she asked no one in particular.
“She’s telling the truth.” This from Alun, who’d been lurking outside the circle of people for some time. Now, he stood close to Jefferson’s chair, a curious fact that Christos didn’t bother to ponder. There were bigger issues to worry about at the moment, and with the cop now privy to the truth, there was nothing to be concerned with anyway.
Alun stared at the ground for a few seconds, playing with strands of his hair in his usual shy way. Then he lifted his chin and faced everyone head on. “When he…attacked me, he whispered something.” There was a long pause. “He said to trust him, that he knew what he was doing and that he’d find a way to communicate with us as soon as he could. And… he apologized right before he knocked me unconscious by slamming my head into the wall. He’s never said those words to me before without Annika’s prompting.”
Christos barked out a laugh. “And you believed him? After everything you’ve been through, surely you know that no one influenced by Dracul can be trusted.”
“Dafydd can,” Paz declared hotly.
“Because of me, Mr. Christos. I am a far stronger force than Dracul could ever be. Merlin belongs to me, not that wicked drone.” Annika punctuated her statement by placing kisses on the top of her dog’s fluffy head.
He couldn’t argue with the Queen, not when she looked down her nose at everyone with righteous certainty. Dare I hope that Merlin is the key to finding Mateo? Just thinking it made that spot in his chest ache more. He rubbed at it. “How will he help?” He heard himself ask.
“When he can manage it without arousing suspicion, he’s going to send the information about their location, strength of numbers and any security systems to Mr. Val’s server. I gave him the access codes, which I ferreted out during one of my lessons.”
“Fuck me,” was all Val said.
Alex narrowed his gaze. “It would seem, my Queen, that you’ve been a few steps ahead of us all along. How much further do your plans extend?”
Annika didn’t answer. Instead, she added, “It will be very hard, but we must be patient. Dracul will not trust Merlin right away. We can’t know how long it will take him to find an opportunity to contact us.”
Christos rose. He couldn’t help it. If he sat any longer, his head would explode. “In the meantime, he has Mateo. What’s Dracul going to do when he sees the boy and realizes they didn’t take Brenin after all?” That had been the nagging question in the back of his mind all along.
“Make another attempt to get him,” Malcolm spat out. “And heaven help them if they try.” He pulled Brenin to his side and hugged him tight enough to make the boy grunt.
Christos rounded on his friend. “I mean to Mateo! What’s to stop him from killing him on the spot?” Oh God. This was the thought he’d been trying to keep out of his head, that Mateo wouldn’t even have a chance to stay alive.
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