Lost & Found (A Lost Ones Novel Book 1)

by Khristine Stain

It was Pappy’s son, Nikolas. He just graduated high school and was going to Syracuse in the fall. The kid got a full scholarship too. He was smart, had good parents and he was only mildly annoying to Dae. Ever since Dae had inadvertently helped him with the essay portion of his college applications, his father the owner of Pappy’s Pie House, occasionally gave her free food. Pappy was only mildly annoying as well. Dae figured Nikolas got that from his father.

  “This time, it’s not all for me.” Koda handed him a bill and began taking the bags to the table. Iya intercepted and placed them on the counter so he could get the pies. Just how much did he order? Dae wanted to ask, but she had a mouth full of crust so verbal communication had to wait.

  “Thanks man –Dae?” Nicholas asked as he saw her from the door. Dae could only wave with her mouth that full. “Should have known my dad’s favorite customers knew each other. Are you all related?”

  The look on Koda’s face said that murder was the nicest thing he had planned for Nikolas. Dae choked on her crust and Iya smacked her on her back to dislodge the bread. Once Dae could breathe again, Iya moved to the door to stand between the two men.

  “Sugar, what’s your name?” Iya asked the pale –steadily getting paler– kid.

  “Nik. Nicholas.”

  “We are just so appreciative you rushed this right on over. How much is it?” Iya laid as much sweet charm as she could manage on Nik to make him feel less like the meal.

  “He paid.”

  “Just checking.” She turned to Koda “Now why don’t you go on over there and get to eating. The sooner ya’ll eat, the sooner I get my explanations.”

  Koda didn’t move.

  “And if you don’t do it quick enough, Dae is going to eat up every little bit of what you bought.” That seemed to snap him out of his death stare, Iya thought but the lazy grin he wore as he made his way back to the folding table they used for meals didn’t make a lick of sense.

  Koda was surprised to find that Dae had eaten half of Iya’s pie and was reaching for more. Gods, he loved to feed his mate. It made him feel like a million bucks. He couldn’t not have this every day. It was an impossibility.

  “Wait. I got the good stuff.” He moved to place the new pies on top and the empty boxes out. Then he brought two bags from the counter and handed her two large rectangular aluminum containers.

  “What’s this?” Dae questioned.

  “The best lasagna in the state. Pappy makes it special for me. It’s not even on the menu.” Dae knew it wasn’t on the menu because there’s no way she would have not ordered it before. Strange voices and extra personalities she may have but Dae wasn’t that crazy. He handed her a fork and some napkins and sat with two of his own trays.

  “How’d he make it so quick?” Dae wondered as she peeled the lid off and almost laughed with how happy she was to see all of that lasagna before her.

  “He makes a few daily for me, but he waits for my call on where I’m going to be to deliver it.” That made sense while it didn’t and it wasn’t a lie.

  “Why?” Dae said around a mouthful of the best lasagna she ever tasted.

  “I did him a favor a while ago.”

  Wow, could he be more vague? “Must have been a big favor.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” He said that around his own mouthful. Dae got immersed in her lasagna and was silent until she got to the second tin. It was filled with steak and rice. Dae looked up to see Koda smiling at her. Dae couldn’t think, all she could do was smile back before she dug in.

  “Oh my Lord in HEAVEN! Dae, how can you eat more?” Iya had been watching those two chow down. They had the lasagnas finished and still they were eating more.

  Dae felt bad; she didn’t even offer Iya any. She went to swallow and offer Iya some but Koda held up his hand, swallowing his own mouthful of steak.

  “Iya, yours is on the counter in the bag.”

  “No thanks. Watching you two makes me never to want to eat again.” Iya replied.

  Huh, she sounded sarcastic, Koda thought. The Nephilim didn’t need to eat and neither did the Fallen. They ate to blend in but it wasn’t a necessity. He wondered if Iya was playing her part for him or for him and Dae.

  He pondered that as he finished the tray and moved on to a meat lover’s pie.

  Iya went to watch TV while the bottomless pits had their fill. She couldn’t watch that anymore. It was starting to become scary.

  Dae was just finishing her tray by the time he finished his pies. She felt blessedly full for the first time in a long time. She ran her hand across her stomach, which was now threatening escape from her short shorts. She didn’t know what time it was but all she wanted to do was go to bed.

  Koda wiped his mouth and gave her a look that said he wanted to go to bed too, just not the way she intended at that moment.

  “Thank you.” Dae said. She didn’t say ‘thank you’ much but this meal was amazing. She was full.

  “You liked it?”

  “It’s gone isn’t it?” Dae retorted with a grin.

  “Yeah but you said you’d eat wood if you were hungry enough.”

  Dae laughed. It made her sound alive and he hoped he would hear her laugh a lot more.

  “And if it didn’t break my teeth. But that was a great meal.”

  “I’ll talk to Pappy if you like and let him know you want the special when your there.”

  Dae smiled another genuine smile. “I’d like that.”

  Koda was going to talk to Pappy but he’d just tell him to make him double since he planned for Dae to be by his side indefinitely.

  “Are the hungry hungry hippos finished? Or is there more food on the way?” Iya shouted from less than 6 feet away as she lay on their crappy green plaid 70s sofa. Koda laughed. Iya was just as sarcastic as his mate was when she wanted to be.

  Dae took a deep breath and resigned herself to breaking the bad news to her sister.

  Twelve

  Iya came around and sat on the counter. Dae decided she would need to tell Iya everything, except for the inner dialog where she was going to rip out throats with her teeth, where she stopped Koda from killing her attacker, and where she walked for three hours looking like an extra from a horror movie.

  She basically told Iya that she was attacked and had not a clue why.

  Iya wore a worried frown. Koda’s expression didn’t show any disagreement with her explanation of the morning’s events and that made Dae feel uneasy. Wasn’t that his whole reason for coming upstairs?

  “What about the cops?” Iya asked, her green eyes widened in a silent plea for help.

  “What about the cops? Their uniforms are real spiffy.” Dae replied.

  “You know, calling the cops? Filing a report? You were attacked. That’s what people do.”

  Koda did not like the turn of this conversation. It was not going to help him at all. “I don’t think this is one of those situations people would call the cops for.” He tried to sound understanding and not condescending. It wouldn’t do to patronize his one ally.

  “If this isn’t, then what is a situation people call the cops for?” Iya glared at him and he noticed the green of her eyes was getting lighter. It was a subtle change, one that only a few Supes would recognize and even less would be smart enough to fear.

  Dae noticed Iya’s scent had changed. It wasn’t a huge difference but she scented an increase of her natural cinnamon and hot cream scent. It made Dae worry and Dae didn’t like worrying one bit.

  “We’re not calling the cops. I could find this guy faster and better than they could.” Dae wasn’t lying. Her nose and sense of him would all but drag Dae off. And he would run with his friend or friends. She figured there were more in other places. Dae felt the truth of that deep inside herself.

  They would run and she would chase.

  It would be inevitable; Dae couldn’t turn down a chase. Something in her being retaliated at the idea of turning down a chase. Once they had Dae right where they wanted her, they would try to
box her in. Depending how good they were, Dae might not get out of it intact. Not to mention she’d have to worry about Iya getting hurt because if Iya knew that Dae was chasing them, Iya would not let her do it alone. And Dae couldn’t chase them with Iya around. It was a catch 22.

  Koda growled so low that Dae knew Iya probably didn’t hear it. She felt his gaze on her skin and Dae could almost guess he knew what was running through her mind right at that moment.

  He had that don’t-you-dare-think-about-it face on.

  “Why? Why does it have to be you? That’s what the police are for!” Iya, so naïve, so trusting. How Dae wished she didn’t have to expose Iya to the real world.

  “Tell me this: you have a woman who was ‘attacked’ in broad daylight with no witnesses except for the guy who found him and beat the crap out of him. The attacker runs into a black fancy schmancy car with no plates as the guy runs a completely unnecessary diagnostic check on the ‘attacked’.”

  Koda rolled his eyes as Dae glared at him pointedly.

  Dae continued, “Then the ‘attacked’ and said guy take a leisurely stroll looking like members of the Manson family instead of calling the police to the scene of the crime. What could a regular cop do with that? What would they do with that? Can you honestly believe that they would be able to find them? And if by some knock on wood, four leaf clover, lucky rabbit’s foot, fingers crossed luck they find the guys? How are they going to prosecute without evidence?”

  “They’ll use their police smarts and…crime lab and…” Iya couldn’t think of one thing the cops could do in this instance.

  “Exactly.” Dae said. She took no enjoyment for crushing Iya’s fantasy of the world they lived in.

  “Well, who told you to take a leisurely stroll? Why didn’t you call the cops right away?”

  “I knew they wouldn’t help. And why would they? I’m a random college student with no family money or fame. If I disappeared tomorrow they wouldn’t care.”

  Koda growled louder and Dae wanted to smack him upside the head. She would have if it meant she didn’t have to touch him and his silky hair. She didn’t think she’d be able to stop once she started. And that was a very bad thing.

  Yes, it was a bad bad thing, Dae repeated to herself.

  Koda’s nostrils flared at the unexpected scent of Dae’s arousal. This was not the time, he told himself. No, it was a very bad time, he chanted. But her scent was intoxicating. He lost himself in the scent of her wanting him.

  “I care Dae and that’s not going to happen. The cops would have to help because–”

  “Because the world is a wonderful place filled with unicorns, candy corn and brotherly love? And the nameless faceless people matter? Come on Iya, the cops are out and you know it.”

  Sometimes the way Dae put things made a scary kind of sense to Iya. Iya knew good cops, bad cops and many in between. Getting even the good ones involved might not help Dae. But that didn’t mean Iya would stop trying. Iya just wouldn’t tell Dae about it.

  Hmmm, that was the kind of sneaky underhanded behavior Dae would be proud of if she knew what Iya was thinking. And Iya was starting to like her plan entirely too much.

  “So the cops are out. Where do we go from here?” Iya asked, hoping for some kind of plan of action that kept Dae safe in her presence until everything was good again.

  “There’s something’s I still don’t understand.” Koda was quiet for so long Dae would have thought he left if she hadn’t felt the constant need to rub herself all over him. Naked. Something about the man was magnetic and Dae was struggling with trying to reverse her polarity.

  “Did you see anyone follow you to class and home?” Koda asked Iya.

  Dae didn’t understand why he would ask; they clearly were after Dae. Iya was just known to be with her.

  “No, I didn’t see anyone. Marcus was with me all day and he didn’t see anyone either.” Iya paused and then continued. “But maybe they were like the first stalkers before the single and double stalkers…”

  “What?” Koda sounded confused but Dae scented shock and curiosity. She found that strange.

  “Dae tried to warn me before you helped her and she was missing.” Iya answered. Dae scowled, still not comfortable with the idea that he or anyone else ‘helped’ her. It left a sour taste in her mouth, spurned her side and she swore she had elephant crap under her shoe.

  Koda looked broodingly at Iya. He didn’t respond, change his expression, or even blink in his stare. Iya continued, “Dae had announced that two guys and then a single guy where following her before and I just thought she was pulling my leg–”

  “Why would you think that?” He asked. Dae wasn’t sure if he was asking her or Iya. The shocked scent was stronger. Hmm. Maybe that large meal had messed up her sense of smell…

  Iya answered rolling her eyes, “You don’t know Dae well enough yet to understand my reasoning. Don’t worry, you’ll understand soon enough.”

  Dae felt offended and was going to argue, but Iya was right. Dae sighed dramatically in defeat. Dae admitted she talked crap constantly and it was better for Koda to know that now. Dae didn’t permit herself any delusions of reality.

  I am what I am. It is what it is.

  Wait –what? No, no, it didn’t matter if or what he knew. It didn’t matter. That’s what it was. Yeah. Dammit.

  “I hope your right about that.” He looked meaning fully at Dae but spoke to Iya, “Please continue.” Dae felt the uneasy feeling increase tenfold. It was like her stomach was being tickled and twisted. Indigestion?

  “So, when Dae said it was two guys first then a completely different the single guy, I thought she was full of crap.” Iya quirked an eyebrow because Koda visibly flinched.

  He had no idea how Dae knew to differentiate between who was following her. He counted on her not realizing anyone was following her period. Surprise, surprise.

  “That’s when Dae stormed off the rest is history.” Iya looked up and then quickly looked back down. He scented the faint aroma of guilt… It made him think there was something Iya was holding back; her earlier explanation of the need to ‘bar-hop’ had been irking him but he knew Iya wouldn’t do anything to hurt Dae. They were both so entwined together he couldn’t see where one started and the other ended. He didn’t know if that was Iya’s talent or the natural state of their relationship.

  He did know that he needed to separate them for a time so Dae could let him in. Dae wouldn’t allow him an inch if Iya was there, no matter how much Iya pushed her along. Dae was as stubborn as an ox and had the temperament of a, well, female wolf.

  “But these guys didn’t go after you, they left you alone?” He waited for Iya to piece it together.

  “Yes, or I would have definitely told you before. They stayed seated and watched me like they were waiting…” Iya paused, trying to figure out what they were waiting for. It would explain why they followed her and attacked–

  “Like they were waiting for someone you mean?” He questioned.

  Koda’s logic nearly whacked Iya in the forehead. She didn’t know how she didn’t see it before. “They weren’t after me, were they?” Iya asked with more fear in her voice than panic.

  “I seriously doubt it. They had many chances to get you when you didn’t realize they were there and they didn’t move to intercept. But when Dae was alone…” He let that drop off so Iya could fill in the blanks for herself. It was important not to push her or arouse her suspicions in any way. He needed Iya to understand that they weren’t after her, only Dae. It was completely true but his reasons for doing this were less then honorable.

  Dae was silent and he hoped the wheels weren’t turning in her head. He didn’t need Dae to catch on to what he was attempting. Iya’s reaction meant everything to getting what he wanted.

  Iya didn’t want to believe it but in her heart she knew it was the only thing that made sense. Iya was frazzled; thinking someone was after Dae made Iya’s emotions kaleidoscope. This was Iya’s frie
nd, her family. Dae wasn’t safe and it made something inside Iya chill.

  Iya prayed silently for Dae to take this seriously. No matter what Dae thought, Dae was not invincible. Dae couldn’t be the protector anymore. She needed to be protected. But how was Iya supposed to protect her friend? Iya’s heart clenched when she realized she didn’t know how to. Iya could sooth her if Dae let her close. She could make Dae gravitate towards her but that was useless; they were always together by choice so what would be the point? If she could find the bad guys, maybe she could lure them in? And how would that help her friend? She couldn’t even see if they would be ok in the future because their threads of life were woven so tightly together.

  And the future was always changing, she didn’t even see Dae coming until she was already there. An unanticipated variable; the future was full of them. Crap, her gifts sucked! There were so many things she didn’t know about herself; things her parents hadn’t been able to show her or have her master before they were taken away. Iya felt helpless and tried to blink away the moisture in her eyes. Great, her friend was being stalked, had been almost kidnapped twice and Iya was going to cry all over her!

  Iya asked Dae, “Do you think it’s true?”

  “Yes.” Dae replied. Iya didn’t know what she expected Dae to say or what emotion for her to express. Maybe Iya would have felt better if Dae had been outraged, incensed, or worried. But Dae answered Iya like she asked Dae if she needed to do laundry or if popcorn was better in the movie theaters. That careless one word answer told Iya exactly what she feared. Dae wasn’t going to take one precaution, one step or measure to ensure her safety. Dae was going to treat this like business as usual. Lord knows what these guys wanted from Dae, but that wasn’t going to make Dae act any different. They could want Dae dead. Iya’s heart clenched thinking that.

  Was Dae so ready to die that she wouldn’t fight to live?

  Dae had contemplated all of this in the cab and in her silence as Koda spoke with Iya. She knew it wasn’t Iya they wanted because they didn’t make a move on her. They followed Dae when she snuck out at night as opposed to trying to get in the apartment when Dae was gone. When Dae felt a new single presence opposed to the duel presence, she abandoned her food hunts and came back to make sure Iya was safe. Dae nearly ate them out of house and home for those two days until she was sure that the single presence wasn’t one half of a whole. It confirmed she was the target.