by Olivia Black
Reyes didn’t respond. How could he? Devin had just dropped a bomb, the words exploding inside Reyes’s head. The murdered vampires and the threat written in blood on the wall, Devin was responsible. Devin had killed the coven members. He beat them and drained their blood.
Devin pulled Reyes in close. He brought his mouth down on Reyes’s lips. Shock gave way to disgust. What the fuck? Lifting his hands, Reyes pushed against Devin’s shoulders, trying to create some distance. But Devin was stronger than he was.
Devin’s lips moved—hard and cold—and Reyes struggled to get away. He didn’t want Devin touching him like this. It was wrong in so many ways, not just because they were brothers, but because he had found his True Match. This shouldn’t be happening. This wasn’t what he wanted.
When Devin tried to pry Reyes’s lips apart with his tongue, Reyes bit down on the appendage. Devin finally let go of him and Reyes stumbled backward.
“What the hell are you doing?” Reyes shouted, wiping his mouth, trying to erase all trace of Devin’s lips.
He didn’t understand what had just happened. Why would Devin kiss him as if they were lovers?
His brother had to know that Reyes had found his True Match. Reyes could still smell Evan’s scent on his skin which meant that Devin could as well. This whole scene made Reyes’s skin crawl. Turning on his heel, Reyes started marching toward the front door. He needed to get out of this house.
Before he reached the front door, Devin was there, locking the door and blocking the exit. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t let you go, Rey-Rey. I love you. Everything I’ve done, my whole life, it’s always been about you. I built this house for the two of us. We’re safe here. We can finally be together.”
“I love you, too.” Moisture filled Reyes’s eyes. He didn’t want to fear his brother, but Devin’s words scared him. “I can’t stay here, Devin. I have to go. I found my True Match.”
Devin’s jaw tightened, his nostrils flaring. Reyes took a step backward, creating space between them. He didn’t know how Devin would react to the news about Evan. Reyes didn’t think his brother would hurt him.
“I know. I can smell him on you, but it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong, Rey-Rey.”
“Devin, please let me go.”
“I can’t.” He shook his head. “We belong together.”
Chapter Ten
When the elevator doors opened into the foyer, Evan stepped out, walking toward his bedroom. After driving around for hours, Evan was looking forward to seeing Reyes. He just hoped that his True Match was still in bed. When he turned down the hallway, Evan saw that the bedroom door was wide open, and a piece of paper was laying the floor. He knelt down and picked it up, his eyes skimming over Reyes’s words.
Evan’s cell phone started ringing, vibrating in his jeans pocket. Standing up, Evan fished his phone out of his pocket. Axel’s name flashed on the screen and Evan immediately answered. “Yeah.”
“I’ve got some information for you. Do you have time to stop by?”
“Sure, I’m on my way.” He disconnected the call and turned around, heading back toward the federal building.
Evan placed a call to the coven as he stepped back onto the elevator. He didn’t want to miss Reyes if the man came back home. They needed to talk—the sooner, the better. Evan was a little concerned. He wasn’t sure how Reyes would take the news about his brother. Devin was officially a suspect. There was no denying the fact that the man had dropped off their radar and he would have a legitimate reason to want revenge. Evan just hoped Reyes didn’t hear about Devin from anyone else.
“Hello.” Someone answered on the third ring.
“Hi. This is Evan Vexen with the FPA. Is Reyes Caliar available?”
“No, I’m sorry. I haven’t seen him since the interviews at your office yesterday afternoon. We were just getting ready to call and report his absence. With everything that’s been happening, some of the members thought that he might’ve been…you know…killed.” He stumbled over the last few words.
“He was with me last night. He’s my True Match.”
“That’s good news.” The man on the other end of the phone sighed in relief. “I’ll let the coven know he’s safe.”
“Listen, I just got a note that Reyes was heading to the mansion to pack his belongings. When he gets there, have him call me. Okay?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“Thanks.” Evan ended the call.
Lifting his hand, Evan rubbed his chest. Something wasn’t right. He tried to push the sick feeling away, but the unease remained. He’s okay. Don’t start panicking. Reyes is fine.
“You’re just being paranoid.” Evan spoke aloud, trying to convince himself that Reyes was okay.
This case was starting to wear on his nerves. With so many vampires dead and dumped throughout the city, Evan wanted to close it as soon as possible. And he needed to talk to Reyes. He would feel a hell of a lot better when the man was by his side.
Evan walked a little faster, hustling toward the tech room. When he arrived, Ian was already there, sitting down beside Axel. The two men were staring at the computer screens.
“Hey,” Evan said as he came up behind them.
Axel typed something on his keyboard before leaning back in his chair. “Meet your three suspects. This is Deák Erno, Blaeing Audrson, and Devin Caliar.” He gestured toward the screens. “Deák is back in his home country of Hungary. Blaeing was killed a few years back.”
Evan cursed, a litany of foul words playing through his mind. Pushing his hands through his hair, Evan rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s Reyes’s brother.”
“Yeah,” Ian said. “I got here after you went to the coven early this morning. We started running checks on everyone. We were looking for other suspects, but Devin Caliar’s name kept appearing over and over again.”
“Can you pull up the video from our building?” Evan asked. He had a bad feeling. Instead of pushing it away, he followed his gut. “I need to track Reyes.”
“Sure.”
Axel pulled up the video feed from the elevators in their building. He worked his magic, finding Reyes fairly quickly. Reyes was holding the metal bar inside the elevator as it moved down. When the doors opened, Reyes stepped out. Axel quickly changed the screen to another video angle, following Reyes on the monitor. Reyes walked slowly through the lobby until finally stepping outside.
“Are there any cameras outside?”
“Yeah.” Axel’s fingers flew across the keyboard and the video changed once again.
Reyes paused right outside the building. He looked up toward the sky and smiled. Evan’s lips twitched as he watched Reyes. A breeze blew through Reyes’s black hair, ruffling the strands. He’s so beautiful. Evan followed Reyes with his eyes, as the young man walked down the street. Axel continued to change cameras, hacking into other systems, in an attempt to follow Reyes.
“There he is.” Ian pointed at the screen and Evan took his eyes off Reyes, focusing on the crowd of people.
Evan spotted Devin and his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He immediately looked at Reyes, and saw the exact moment his True Match spotted his brother, Devin. The two men stood frozen for only a brief moment before they met and embraced.
“Oh, gods.” Evan pushed his hands through his hair, messing up the blond strands.
“It’s obvious that Devin cares for his brother. He won’t hurt him.” Ian easily reasoned.
“He might,” Evan said, staring at the two men. Devin held out his hand and Reyes took it, allowing his brother to lead him down the sidewalk. “Reyes is my True Match. I took him away from Devin. I should’ve been his target, but for some reason, Devin went directly to Reyes. If Reyes denies Devin’s advances after everything he’s done to secure their relationship, Devin might kill Reyes and then commit suicide.”
“Maybe he’s going to try to convince Reyes to choose him. It might not turn violent,” Axel interjecte
d.
“We need to figure out how to end this without Reyes getting hurt. I don’t want my True Match to be stuck in the middle of this battle with his brother.”
“We’ll find Reyes and get him away safely,” Ian promised.
“I have a question…” Axel said and Evan turned his attention toward the tech guy. “How did Devin know Reyes was even at our condo building?”
“He must’ve followed the coven members over to the federal building. He watched and waited. It’s not exactly a secret that we own the condo building. When Reyes didn’t go back to the coven, Devin decided to stake out our place. His guess paid off.” Evan glanced back at the screen, and stared at the paused image of Reyes holding hands with Devin. “And now he has Reyes.”
“He obviously has a secure location to take Reyes…” Ian started.
“I’m on it.” Axel started typing.
Evan began pacing around the room as Axel worked his magic with the computer. His mind and emotions were a mess.
Would Devin hurt Reyes? If Reyes didn’t return Devin’s affection, would he be punished? Would Devin kill his own brother? Evan’s anger and frustration turned inward, toward himself. Why did he leave Reyes’s side? There wasn’t anyone more important than Reyes, his True Match. With everything that was happening to the coven, he should’ve been more careful. If anything happened to Reyes, it would be on his shoulders.
“When we find them, Devin will need to be punished for his crimes,” Ian said, breaking into Evan’s thoughts.
Evan glanced toward Ian and nodded. “I know.”
Devin needed to be punished. He was responsible for taking innocent lives, torturing and killing other vampires. His punishment would be death, but Evan wasn’t sure he wanted to accept this particular assignment.
Reyes. Reyes. Reyes. The man’s name played over and over again inside his mind.
“There aren’t any properties owned by Devin or Reyes Caliar in New York,” Axel said. The click…click…click of the keyboard filled the empty space. “But there is a home in Garden City listed under the Caliar name.”
“Reyes’s childhood home,” Evan murmured. “He said there was a fire and it burned down, killing his parents.”
“If you give me a few minutes, I can turn our satellite, and get some pictures of the property.”
“Yeah.” Evan nodded, although he couldn’t wait around for confirmation. He needed to get on the road and drive to Garden City. Even if it is a dead end, and the house was still burnt to the ground, he could sit around and do nothing. “Call me when you know something.”
“Sure,” Axel said. He didn’t bother to turn around, just waved.
Turning on his heel, Evan walked out of the tech room. He headed down the hallway toward the armory. He wasn’t going to Garden City empty handed. He’d do whatever it took to get Reyes back.
“I’m going with you,” Ian announced, following after him.
When he reached the armory, Evan grabbed a double shoulder holster and secured it around his back before picking up two 9mm handguns. He tested the weight of the weapons before ejecting the magazine. Holding the empty cartridge, Evan picked up a silver bullet and rolled it between his fingers, inspecting it. The liquid silver was evident behind the glass enclosure. From years of being an agent, Evan knew that the bullet alone could do a lot of damage on a paranormal, but the silver was an added component that would kill any enemy.
Evan inserted the ammo, one bullet at a time until both magazines were filled to capacity. When he was finished, he locked his 9mm guns inside his holsters.
He glanced toward Ian. The man was casually leaning against the doorframe. “Are you ready?”
“I was born ready,” He chuckled darkly.
“Let’s do this.” Evan’s only thoughts were of Reyes’s safety. His heart ached. Phantom finger gripped the organ, squeezing it so tight that Evan could barely breathe.
“I’ll drive.”
The seriousness in Ian’s voice prevented Evan from arguing. He merely shrugged and started marching down the hallway, toward the parking garage. When he reached the bank of elevators, he pressed the call button, rapidly.
“It’s not going to arrive any faster.”
He ignored Ian and continued to press the button. When the doors opened, he stepped inside. Ian blocked his hand this time, pushing the button for the basement parking garage himself.
“You need to clear your head.” Ian stepped in front of him, his bright blue eyes staring into Evan’s. “This job.” He sighed. “It can’t be personal, otherwise you’ll get yourself killed. We have to walk into every situation completely in control. Don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m not thinking about myself. My only concern is Reyes.”
“If you keep a calm head, he’ll be fine.” There was a ding and the doors slid open.
Evan took a deep breath, clearing his mind. Ian was right. He needed to stay calm and focused. He couldn’t allow his mind to wander to the worst case scenario.
“Come on.” Ian elbowed Evan, getting his attention.
Evan followed Ian through the underground parking garage, their footsteps echoing off the concrete walls.
He walked along the passenger side of Ian’s car, and climbed in. Ian had barely pulled out of the underground parking garage, when the sound of a ringing phone filled the inside of the car. Ian pressed a button, and Axel’s voice boomed through the speakers.
“From the images I’m getting, there isn’t any fire damage. Do you want me to send back-up?”
Ian glanced over at Evan, a questioning look on his face.
“No, I don’t want Devin to feel cornered. If too many agents show up, he might feel threatened and act out.”
“Keep me posted,” Axel ordered. “If you need back-up, it will take the guys about forty minutes to get there with lights and sirens.”
“We’ll call if we need anything.” Ian ended the call.
Ian pressed a few buttons—a loud siren started to wail, red and blue lights flashing bright—signaling to everyone that they were an emergency vehicle. The cars in front of them parted like the Red Sea.
Evan grinned. He was grateful that he agreed to have Ian drive, considering the man’s car was equipped to get through New York City traffic during rush hour.
Chapter Eleven
“I just want to take care of you,” he insisted.
“Devin.” Reyes kept his voice low and calm, hoping he might be able to convince Devin to let him go.
Fear and uncertainty started creeping into Reyes’s mind as Devin stood in front of him, blocking the door. This wasn’t the same man Reyes remembered. Devin had always been so caring and protective, but the look on his face was anything but loving. He was fierce, a man willing to do anything to get what he wanted. Reyes had a bad feeling.
“Please.” He begged, hoping to convince Devin to step aside. “I just want to go home. Please let me go, Devin.”
“This is your home, Rey-Rey.”
Reyes shook his head. He was really starting to hate Devin’s little pet name for him. It was cute when they were younger, but now, the name made him uncomfortable. Devin was looking at him as if they were lovers.
“No, Devin. The two of us.” He shook his head. “Our relationship isn’t like that. We’re brothers. I met my True Match, I belong with him.”
Devin’s eyes flared, anger sparking in his baby-blues. He took a step toward Reyes and grabbed him, unceremoniously tossing Reyes over his shoulder.
“No!” he shouted.
Reyes squirmed, trying to break free of Devin’s tight hold on his legs. He pummeled Devin’s back with his fists.
Devin ran up the stairs toward the bedroom suites. He rushed into one of the bedrooms and dropped Reyes down on the bed before quickly abandoning him without a word. Reyes heard a few locks engage and his heart dropped. No! Jumping off the bed, Reyes ran toward the door and jiggled the handle. He banged on the door, hopin
g to break through it, but quickly realized that the door was made of reinforced steel.
“Devin! Devin!” Reyes yelled, pounding on the door. “Don’t do this to me.”
He lifted his foot and kicked the door repeatedly; putting everything he had behind each strike in an effort to get out. Even with his supernatural strength, the door was stronger than he was. He didn’t even leave a damn dent. Growling in frustration, Reyes punched the door. He heard a crack and knew he’d damaged the bones in his hand. Shaking out his wrist, the bones easily knitted themselves back together.
Reyes took a deep breath. He leaned his head against the cool metal, trying to clear his mind.
He didn’t know what Devin was thinking or why he was doing this. The two of them had always been close. They depended on one another after their parents died. Devin had spent many nights in Reyes’s bedroom, his brother holding him as he cried. Their relationship continued to evolve as they aged. Reyes was a loner, preferring to stay away from the other coven members, and Devin was always by his side. Their relationship never crossed the sibling line. Nothing sexual had ever happened between the two of them. So why did Devin believe that they were in love? Somehow the line got blurred over the years. Maybe it is my fault.
“Devin? Are you out there? Can you hear me?” Reyes waited a moment, but Devin never responded. “Please…please let me go.”
After a few minutes, Reyes stepped away from his spot at the bedroom door. He walked around the large suite, looking for another way to get out, but Devin was far more prepared than Reyes realized. The windows were made of an unbreakable clear material, and the walls might look like regular drywall, but there was a thick panel of steel underneath.
He was stuck. There was no way out, not unless Devin permitted it, and Reyes knew without a doubt that Devin wasn’t going to let him go.
“Evan.” He whispered the man’s name.
A sick feeling filled Reyes’s gut. He didn’t have his cell phone. And the note he left behind for Evan, said that he’d gone back to the coven to pack. Nobody knew where he was. Nobody would know where to look for him. And worse of all, Reyes had gone with Devin willingly, trusting his brother completely.