Hagen, Lynn - Hunter [Zeus's Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting ManLove)

by Lynn Hagen

  Sidney grabbed the nearest yellow neon marker and started stabbing at his first bingo card. In no time at all, he had two markers in his hand, twelve bingo cards on the table before him. He bounced from foot to foot as he waited for the next number to be called out. His right hand shot toward the card and then pulled back quickly. “Damn it, almost had it, one number off.”

  “B-four.”

  Sidney’s left hand shot out and then snapped back to his chest. “Damn it, will you stop teasing me.” He wiped the thin sheen of sweat from his upper lip.

  “Dude, how exactly does this work?” Sammy asked.

  Sidney rolled his eyes. “Newbie.” He stepped over and stared down at Sammy’s two cards. “What a freaking lightweight. Every time a number is called out, you mark it with your highlighter. If you get all of the letters and numbers and can connect five spaces, in a straight line or diagonally, then you win.” Sidney swiped each free space on both of Sammy’s cards and the already called numbers. “Now you’re ready.”

  “Like this?” Tristan held up a yellow-dotted card.

  Sidney growled as he took the card and checked it against his own cards. “No fucking way!”

  “Did I win?” Tristan asked.

  “Uh, no, do you want to trade?” Sidney grabbed his nearest card and tossed it at Tristan. “Here you go.”

  “If you take his card I’m going to—”

  “Bingo!” Tristan shouted, knowing already what Sidney was up to. He grabbed the card and ran from Sidney, who was hot on his heels, threatening him with his yellow markers.

  “I told you that if you came in here all hopped up on sugar, you were going to be kicked out,” the caller shouted at Sidney.

  Sidney skidded to a halt and held up his markers in surrender. “No you didn’t.”

  “Marge, get him out of here.” The caller pointed a boney finger at Sidney. Tristan ran his card up to the front, handing it over before Sidney could swipe it from him.

  “No, I swear, I haven’t touched a Red Bull in a week. I have the token in my pocket to prove it. I’m on the wagon!” Sidney turned and ran as the caller and the woman named Marge closed in on him. He ran past the table and stabbed at a few spaces on his card with his marker before he took off toward the bathroom.

  “I’ll help you, Sidney,” Jasper shouted and then backed away, laughing his ass off. Tristan stared at the scene, wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. Sidney slammed the bathroom door closed as the woman caught up to him.

  “I can hear from in here,” Sidney shouted through the door. “I just need someone to slide my cards under the door.”

  Tristan ran to the table and scooped up Sidney’s cards, running to the bathroom door and kneeling down, cards in hand.

  “No you don’t.” Marge held her hand out. “Give them over. He can get them back when he’s brave enough to come out of there.”

  Tristan wasn’t sure what he should do. How the hell did he end up in the middle of this? “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”

  “Hey, my grandson sings that song.” Marge grinned and began to sing along with Tristan.

  “Jellybean.”

  Tristan spun around to see Quinn, Torem, and Zeus coming through the door. Did they call and tell on Sidney? If they did, that was fast. Relief flooded Tristan as he looked across the hall at Quinn.

  “We have to go, now.” Zeus grabbed Jasper around his waist and tossed him over his shoulder.

  “I told you no nooky for acting this way. Are you going for indefinitely? Put me down.” Jasper wiggled around as he smacked Zeus on his back.

  Torem looked around the hall, his face pulling back in anger. “Where is Sidney?”

  Tristan, the caller, Marge, and even Jasper pointed to the bathroom door. Tristan watched as Sidney shot out of the bathroom, grabbing the cards from his hands, and taking off across the room. “I’m playing bingo, damn it, and I’m not leaving until I win something.”

  “We don’t have time for this.” Torem shot across the room, grabbing for Sidney and missing. “Sidney, stop,” Torem shouted.

  Sidney stuck his tongue out and cradled the cards in his arm, stabbing at them as he tossed them aside one by one. “Bingo!”

  “How the hell do you have bingo?” Marge shouted at him. “No one’s called anything out.”

  Sidney finally came to a stop, holding the remaining cards in his hands up. “I can call it if I’m being forced out of here.” Sidney shoved the yellow markers in his back pocket and tossed the cards on the nearest table. “Pay up.”

  “See you next week.” Marge laughed, shaking her head at him. “And bring Missy with you. She seems to know how to calm you down.”

  “Come on, Sid.” Torem grabbed Sidney around his waist and hauled him up into his arms.

  “I object!” Sidney shouted as Torem hit the push bar and exited the hall.

  “Is he always like this?” Tristan asked Sammy.

  “I have no clue. This was my first time here. And from what I’ve seen, I’ll be back.” Sammy laughed as he walked out.

  Quinn slid his hand into Tristan’s. “We have to go, jellybean. There’s a man out in the forest somewhere with a rifle. Staying here isn’t safe.”

  Tristan immediately followed behind Quinn. “Where’s Hunter?”

  “He’s at the hardware store, babe. I guess closing up during the day set him behind. We’ll stop by and pick him up.” Quinn gently squeezed his hand.

  Quinn pulled his car in front of the hardware store. He became uneasy when he saw the lights were out but Hunter’s truck was parked out front. “Stay in the car, Tristan.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out. There was no one on the street, no noise he could hear. It was eerily quiet. “Lock the door.” Quinn shut the driver’s door and scanned the area as he approached the entrance to Hunter’s hardware store.

  Something didn’t feel right. His gut was telling him Hunter was in trouble. Quinn didn’t want to leave his jellybean in the car but didn’t want to take him into danger. He cupped his hands to the storefront window and peered in. Nothing was overturned or broken. No struggle was evident.

  Quinn tried the handle, jiggling it to no avail. It was locked. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed Hunter’s number, hearing it ringing from inside the store. The counter illuminated, showing off Hunter’s phone. “Fuck.” He cursed as he looked back at Tristan. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  He called Dino, desperate for help. If he went into the store, Tristan was at risk with that rifle-carrying man still out there. If he took Tristan with him, he was at risk because Quinn knew in his heart Hunter was in trouble. It was a lose-lose situation.

  “Dino Tiziano.”

  “It’s Quinn.”

  “Like my caller ID didn’t tell me that.” He chuckled.

  “I need your help. Something’s wrong at Hunter’s store, and I can’t leave Tristan in the car alone.” Quinn paced back and forth in front of the store.

  Dino’s tone changed. It became edgy and deep. “I’ll send Torem. He just got back with Sidney.”

  “Thanks.” Quinn slid his phone into his back pocket and glanced back at his car. He didn’t want to scare Tristan, but the way he was manically pacing, the shifter would soon figure out something was amiss. Tristan may be quirky, unsure, and eager for praise, but he was far from stupid. He could already see Tristan’s eyes following his every move. They were anxious and quizzical as Tristan leaned forward in his seat.

  Quinn took a step toward the car, ready to reassure his jellybean when a loud crash came from inside the store.

  Tristan jumped out of the car and ran to Quinn’s side. “I heard that. What’s wrong, what’s going on?” Tristan fired the questions off, not waiting for an answer. “Did you try to call him, sir?”

  Fuck, he was back to using that word again. Where the hell was Torem?

  “To hell with this.” Quinn ran to his car and popped the trunk, grabbing the tire iron in a tight grip. “I hope you aren’t going t
o get too pissed about this.” He murmured as he walked back to the door. “Get back, jellybean.”

  Tristan ran over to the car, covering his face as Quinn’s arm swung forward, smashing the glass in the door, the loud shatter echoing all around him. He reached in and fumbled until he found the lock, giving it a twist and then opening the door.

  “Get back in the car,” Quinn shouted over his shoulder as he walked into the store. His shoes crunched over broken glass, his determination set as he gripped the tire iron and headed to the back.

  Quinn cursed when he saw the back door hanging wide open. “Hunter!” he shouted, listening for any sign of his shifter mate. Moving cautiously, Quinn crept to the open door, watching for shadows as he stuck his head out. His hand rose over his head, ready to swing the iron bar down if need be. The back parking lot was clear, no one in sight.

  Quinn walked back into the storeroom, looking around for clues to the crashing sound he had heard. Nothing seemed out of place, and it was pissing him off. “What in the hell is going on here?” he asked himself, walking back up front.

  The iron swung in front of him at the shadow behind the counter.

  “Whoa, it’s me, Torem.” He held his hands up in defense, taking a step back from the lethal weapon clutched in Quinn’s hand.

  “Hunter’s missing.” Quinn ran back out to his car, checking on Tristan.

  “No!” The tire iron clattered to the ground.

  The car was empty.

  Chapter Ten

  Quinn spun around and shoved Torem as hard as he could, the shifter falling back a few steps before regaining his footing. “Do that again and I won’t care if you’re human.” There was a coarse thread of warning in his voice.

  “Where is Tristan? He was in the car. Tell me you watched him get taken.” Quinn was at the end of his rope. This was just too fucking much.

  “First of all, I didn’t see anyone in that car when I came in. And second, do you honestly think I would watch your mate being kidnapped?” Torem advanced toward Quinn, his hands balled into fists at his side.

  “I don’t fucking know you well enough to say what you would or wouldn’t do. All I know is that my mate was sitting in the front seat only a few minutes ago,” he answered in a tense, clipped voice that told Torem he was done arguing about it.

  Torem walked over to Quinn’s car and opened the passenger door, inhaling deeply. “Don’t freak out, human.” Torem looked around and then began to strip.

  “Geez.” Quinn gave his back to the man. He was ready to kill and maim if his men weren’t returned to him soon and unharmed. Whoever was behind this was going to be beaten to within an inch of his life.

  Quinn looked behind him when he heard nails clicking on the ground. A wolf was sniffing around the area of his car. This was weird as hell, but Quinn didn’t have time to process this right now. “Find him, Torem, so I can kill him.”

  The wolf growled, his head giving a quick nod. Could the animal understand him? Quinn picked up the tire iron, following as the wolf led him away from the store and down Route 14. Right on the outskirts of town, just past the county line, Quinn spotted a vehicle’s tail end sticking out from between some trees.

  His grip tightened on the tool he was going to use, his heart rate picking up, worrying that he may be too late.

  No, you can’t think like that.

  Were Hunter and Tristan together? Was this even the right place to look? Even though Torem was leading him here, Quinn feared they were on the wrong trail and wasting time.

  What if, what if, what if.

  Fuck, shut up! He scolded his overactive brain.

  Deep breaths. Take deep breaths. It’s not going to do you any good to get all worked up right now. You won’t be able to think. You need to stay sharp and focused.

  The wolf stopped, and a low, primitive growl rumbled ominously from the creature’s chest.

  Apprehensively, Quinn looked out into the darkness, trying to spot what Torem was warning him about. Or was that warning meant for the person foolish enough to take what was Quinn’s?

  He stepped carefully behind Torem, trying to be as quiet as the wolf. Quinn wanted the element of surprise, yet he wanted to rush in to save Hunter and Tristan.

  “If you don’t back the fuck off, I’m going to rip your throat out.”

  That was Hunter’s voice, but who was he talking to? And was Tristan with him?

  Please let Tristan be with him.

  Quinn walked around the vehicle and spotted Hunter and Tristan.

  Thank fuck.

  Quinn saw red when he noticed Tristan standing in the middle of Hunter and another man, looking from one to the other. He was fucking naked and shaking.

  “Get the hell away from him!” Quinn raised his tire iron, rushing at the stranger. With swiftness Quinn would wonder about later, claws shot out of the man’s fingers and slashed through the air, knocking his tire iron some twenty feet away.

  Quinn changed tactics and grabbed his jellybean around his waist, running toward Hunter. “Why didn’t you just grab him?” Quinn shouted at Hunter. He was relieved they both seemed unharmed, but his anger was superseding his joy and relief.

  “Because.” Hunter looked down at Tristan, his eyes full of pain and something else Quinn couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Tristan doesn’t know who he wants to be with.”

  Quinn’s ears heard the words, but his mind refused to process them. Everything seemed to lose focus as Hunter’s statement fell apart around him and crumbled to his feet. Quinn numbly released Tristan, wondering what those words would say if he could only put them together.

  What did he just say again?

  “Come here, Tristan, now.” The man’s voice was stern with no vestige of sympathy in its hardness. Quinn raised his head, staring roughly thirty feet ahead at the stranger.

  This had to be Xavier.

  “Who in the fuck do you think you’re talking to like that?” Quinn snapped out of his muddled stupor. Anger the likes of which he’d never felt before started in the pit of his stomach and rolled up like a ball of fire until he was consumed with it. His body felt like it was burning alive.

  “You think just because you’re his mates that he’s willing to follow you? I trained him better than that. His feeble mind is mine.” Xavier scoffed at Quinn and Hunter, giving his attention back to Tristan. “Now get over here.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to the spot in front of him.

  Tristan took a few steps in Xavier’s direction.

  “Jellybean?” Quinn cocked his head, wondering what the hell his Tristan was doing.

  “That’s what I was trying to tell you.” Hunter stepped closer to Quinn, his body physically shaking with untapped rage. “I won’t force our mate to stay with us. It has to be his choice.”

  “Look at his fucking scarred-ass back,” Quinn shouted, stabbing his finger in Tristan’s direction, “and how quickly we forget about the sir shit.”

  Hunter shook his head. “I know. But until Tristan opens his eyes and sees Xavier for who he truly is, he’ll only run if we force him back with us.”

  “Then force him!”

  “Do you really want a mate who doesn’t want to be with us?”

  “Fuck this. At least he’ll be safe from that asshole’s abuse.” Hunter grabbed Quinn’s arm before he could take a step.

  “Choices, you have to give him choices. It sounds really screwed up right now, but he has to decide. Have you ever seen a woman who has been beaten by her husband or boyfriend? I have. Every time someone stepped in to stop it, the woman turned on her rescuer, continually returning to her abuser. We’ve shown him another side of the coin. Now he is the one who has to decide.”

  Quinn’s leg snapped nervously in place as the anger built in him. If his jellybean chose Xavier, he was kidnapping him, no matter what Hunter said.

  “I want to rip Xavier’s fucking throat out, but give Tristan half a chance.” Hunter growled.

  Let him decide, or grab and
run? Let him decide, or grab and run? The thought spun around his mind like a merry-go-round. Quinn was torn. He didn’t want to force Tristan, but he didn’t want to give him up if his jellybean chose that prick. This was almost too unbearable.

  “I love you, jellybean. I can love you past your pain and bring you happiness you only dreamed of.” Quinn’s agonized voice cut across the field. “Please.” His world began to lose color, darkness trying to engulf him like a slow-moving fog, rolling in to take him away. There was no anything without Tristan and Hunter.

  “I didn’t know why I couldn’t say it before, rainbow, but I honestly do love you. I’m not telling you this to sway your decision. Hell, yes I am, but it’s true. I love you, rainbow. You’re magical to me every morning I wake up and discover you’re still there, that you’re still mine. I’m a lucky bastard just for having the honor of knowing you.” Hunter ran his hands over his head, pulling at his own hair as they watched Tristan stop in his journey.

  “Do you want your master to be upset with you?” Xavier’s voice was so calm, so egotistically smug, that Quinn could feel the fault line between his conscious and his id shift.

  Tristan looked back at Hunter and Quinn, his face full of regret.

  No!

  Tristan turned back toward Xavier, his master grinning triumphantly. His jellybean’s shoulders squared, his head rose regally.

  “I want to thank you, Xavier.”

  “You will call me master. I see your training will start fresh once we return home.”

  “I want to thank you, Xavier,” Tristan repeated, ignoring the insidious tone. “If you hadn’t treated me so badly, I wouldn’t have found not only my mates, but the loves of my life.”

  “Get. Over. Here.” Xavier’s composure started to slip. That was something Tristan had only seen when the man pulled his whip out. He steeled his spine and continued.

  “I never gave you all of me. You didn’t deserve it.” Tristan pointed behind him at Quinn and Hunter. “They have all that I am. My mates have shown me what true love is, what real love is.”

  “You know what I can do to you,” Xavier reminded him. “Do you really want to test my patience?”