Jeff didn’t speak, watching Aidan and knowing this had to be painful for him. After a few moments, Aidan had chopped all the onions and moved to the bok choy. “The bottom line is Chloe was murdered. The guy almost killed Ryan in the process. He nearly died trying to save her. From his injuries and from losing Chloe at the same time. So what’s Hades going to do, let his son, the guy in line to take over, die like that?”
Aidan rubbed his face against his sleeve. Jeff didn’t miss the way Aidan’s eyes looked moist.
“I don’t understand how it all works,” Aidan continued. “Hades brought Will in and bound the three of us as soul brothers. Because of that bond, Ryan could draw strength and energy from both of us to survive. Being bonded to both of them helped keep me moving forward, too. If you have a soul mate, you can heal from damn near almost everything. Ryan was severely injured and had just lost his soul mate. It was a double whammy.”
“That must have been rough on you, too.”
“Yeah. If Ryan could have found a high enough cliff to jump off and kill himself, we would have held hands on the way down, believe you fucking me.”
He wiped his eyes on his sleeve again. “She was my baby sister,” he softly said. “As much as it nearly killed me to lose her, Ryan was so injured that he would have died if Hades hadn’t done it, bound us as brothers. Will’s a full-blooded archdemon, too, he was strong and young, really young then. Jesus, he was younger than Chloe.” He paused his tale while chopping more vegetables. “Between the two of us, we finally pulled Ryan through. Will’s strength helped both of us get through it.”
“Why did the guy kill her?”
Aidan was slow to respond. “We don’t know. We think he wanted her. Assholes used to cross over all the time from other realms, tried to steal women, especially half-demon ones. Full-blooded demon women were usually too strong for them to try to take.”
“Steal?”
Aidan nodded. “Yeah.” He continued chopping. “Apparently, he’d set his sights on Chloe. He picked the wrong woman to fuck with.” Aidan wistfully smiled. “I taught her how to fight. She could have kicked my ass if she’d wanted. She didn’t go down without a fight. By the time Ryan got there, it was too late to save her. The guy attacked him. Ryan had to fight to save his life at that point.”
Jeff remained quiet for a moment. “What happened to the guy who killed her?”
He shrugged. “He got away. We never did find him. Ryan put a fucking hurting on the son of a bitch in the process, though. It wouldn’t surprise me if he died later. Ryan nearly put his sword through the asshole’s face. We think he jumped off-Earth because Hades and the others couldn’t track him. Back then it wasn’t as easy for us to cross like it is now. I don’t know why that is.”
Jeff carefully worked on the wine cooler label, slowly peeling it from the chilly bottle. “Then what happened?”
“We survived.” Aidan’s face darkened. “It took a while. Took a long fucking while before Ryan tried to live again, even longer than me. Will kept us going. Then the three of us stood together, taking on the world.”
A sad smile caressed Aidan’s lips. “Like real brothers. Going on assignments together, fighting side by side. No one could get past the three of us. For years we were like that, you know?” He chopped some more vegetables, his face darkening again. “In some ways that was a good thing. Ryan and I used our rage over Chloe’s death in a constructive way. Hades made the three of us his head Enforcers.” Aidan lifted knife and brought his hands together, flexing his empty one before turning it over and staring at his palm. “We exacted a lot of justice, the three of us, but we never could avenge Chloe.” He stared at his hands for another moment, lost in his memories before he started chopping veggies again.
It struck Jeff for the first time that the kind and gentle man he’d given his heart and body to had a bloody history he might not want to know more about.
Now that the story was coming, Aidan would finish it. “One day, Ami and I went on an assignment while Will went to a nearby village to scope things out, right? We met up again in three days and, dude, it was like a fire had lit inside Will. To call him glowing was no understatement. He’d met a girl and wham, love at first sight. Just like Ami and Chloe. Me and Ami—”
“Ami? Who is that?”
Aidan dumped the veggies into the wok. “Sorry. Amiago. We called him Ami. That was Ryan’s name back then. We were happy for him, right? Our brother had found a soul mate. Then we went back with Will to meet her.”
He fell silent. Jeff was loathe to interrupt him again. Eventually, Aidan continued. “I couldn’t understand it. I loved her immediately. Like a sister,” he quickly added. “She was great. Abby was wonderful. Real feisty woman, too. Perfect for Will, a young human woman. The first thing I thought when I shook her hand was how much she reminded me of Chloe.”
He stirred in some garlic and whisked the contents around as it cooked. “Ami, man, he looked like someone socked him in the gut when he shook her hand. He wouldn’t talk to us. He walked away from us later that night without explanation.”
“Walked away?”
The sadness etched on Aidan’s face nearly brought Jeff to tears. “No explanation.” He shook his head. “We tried to get him to tell us what was wrong, but he wouldn’t. Finally, the chickenshit sent word through his old man that our trio was now a duo.”
“Except for Abby.”
“Yeah, well, that. It was the three of us in that way, yes. Abby insisted I stay with them and it was almost like having Chloe back in some ways, right? That’s the kind of relationship I had with her. Like my little sister all over again. Jesus, I loved her to death.”
“So the soul brother bond…?”
“We’re still bound. That’s the only reason Will survived Abby’s death. There’s other archdemons out there, not just the group of us. We’re the ‘top three’ so to speak. Being bound to Ryan makes us both line heirs for The Firm. Ryan was working under his old man back then, of course. Hades was actively running The Firm for a lot of years. After a while, Ami—Ryan would give assignments to Will through Abby if I wasn’t around. They started talking and they got along great. Ryan never would tell her why he walked away.”
He paused again, considering it. “I thought maybe he was jealous, or maybe because he lost Chloe, he didn’t want to see Will happy, but then I realized that wasn’t it. I don’t know what it was, but he and Will were never on good terms since. I hung my hat with Will. I couldn’t desert him, man. He’s my cousin by blood, but he’s my soul brother. Ryan might have walked away from us, but I damn sure wasn’t walking away from Will.”
Jeff had never mentioned to Aidan the look in Ryan’s eyes when the man talked with Kal when the other men weren’t around. Perhaps that was something best left unsaid for now. “Ryan gets along good with Kal.”
Aidan nodded. “Yeah. Like Abby all over again. Kal’s so much like Abby—” He stopped talking, pursing his lips as if he’d almost revealed something that should remain unsaid. After a moment he spoke again. “She’s good for Will. I don’t agree how the shit weasel brought them together, but I won’t deny she’s good for Will and I love her like a little sister.”
He met Jeff’s gaze. “I don’t have a beef with Ryan except for him walking away the way he did. Part of me still loves him as my brother-in-law, and I always will. He took damn good care of Chloe. He really, truly loved her. Part of me still loves him as my soul brother. As far as I’m concerned though, he’s my boss, and not someone I’d call a friend. I mean, yeah, we’re getting along better now than we have in a long while, mostly because of Kal.” He let out a sigh. “I’d rather not spend our evening talking about him.”
Jeff had finally denuded the bottle of its label during their talk. He nodded. “Sure.” He thought for a moment as he watched Aidan cook. “Has your name always been Aidan?”
He laughed. “No, but it’s been that long enough. Chloe…” He looked wistful again. “Chloe sort of named me
that. When she was a baby and learning how to speak she’d call me daddy and I’d say no, big brother. ‘Frère ainé.’ Eventually she shortened it to ‘ainé’ and it morphed into Aidan after a while. She liked it, so I never changed it. I didn’t have the heart to change my first name after she died.”
His voice softened. “Ryan changed his name after he left us, but kept his original given name as his last name over the years. I’ve been changing my last but not my first.”
“What about Will?” He’d been wanting to ask this. “A demon named ‘Hellenboek’?”
Aidan laughed. “Yeah, that was Abby’s idea.” He grinned. “She did it just to bust Ryan’s balls. She loved puns and stuff like that. I thought Ryan would pop a gasket when she told him what she’d come up with. It was pretty damn funny.”
“So what were your names before you were Aidan and Will?”
He stirred the wok’s contents. “My given name was Camulos.” He looked at Jeff. “Please don’t Google it. Remember, you can’t believe everything you read on Wikipedia. A lot of shit’s been spliced together over the years and no one has the whole story right.”
He returned his attention to the wok. “Will’s was Arnau. He never really liked it, I think. It was sort of neat though, the three A’s, the A-Team, so to speak.” He reached over and turned off the stove. “Amiago and Arnau and Aidan.”
The dark and crazy days, Aidan thought, not wanting to give much thought to them at all.
It was too painful.
* * * *
They ate, fell into bed together, and made love again. Jeff was already asleep when Aidan heard Ryan’s call. He carefully climbed out of bed and pulled on his robe before appearing in Ryan’s living room.
“You have the world’s suckiest timing, dude.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your celebration.”
“Smart-ass.”
“I just wanted to let you know I’m back.”
“Technology’s a great wonder, you know? Text messages, IMs, even a flipping phone call.”
Ryan was already working on a glass of bourbon. He held it up, offering one to Aidan, who declined.
“Did you find out anything about Bera?” Aidan asked.
“No. Our powers are different there, not as strong, as you well know. We couldn’t track her. If she’s even there. I’ve put out some inquiries through reliable channels, however, and hope that will soon bear fruit.”
“So now what?”
“You go on with your life. I’m taking care of things on my end. Concern yourself with Jeff and your job.”
“And Kal’s wedding.”
Ryan wistfully smiled. “And that.”
Chapter Fourteen
Will was asleep in bed with Kal when the annoying mental tap awoke him. Fortunately he was dressed in pajamas. That part had taken a little getting used to, but since they were staying in Kal’s parents’ home, Will felt it only appropriate he abide by Kal’s wishes. Anything he could do to reduce her stress, he would.
He’d have her all to himself for most of eternity to sleep naked with her. He could suck it up.
He carefully untangled himself from Kal’s arms and swung his legs over the edge of the bed before appearing in Ryan’s Atlanta condo.
Ryan was alone, sipping a glass of bourbon. “I’m sorry to call you so late. I wanted to make sure she was asleep.”
Fear chilled Will’s heart. “Why?”
Ryan closed his eyes and shook his head, his voice weary. “No, nothing like that. She has enough on her plate to worry about as it is without concerning herself with our business.” He opened his eyes. “We need to have a talk, you and I.”
“About?”
“Recent events I need to catch you up on.” He waved Will into one of the chairs and told him about the latest with Bera, including her attempt to seduce Aidan.
Will frowned as he contemplated the information. “So what’s her game?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t know. Did she ever drop any hints to you during her attempts that might shed light on this situation?”
“No. Never. I just thought she was an opportunistic bitch.”
“It’s not like she can ever take control of The Firm.” Ryan thought for a moment. “Perhaps that is her erroneous supposition, however, considering her desire to have a line heir.”
“Like your dad would seriously ever let her be in charge.”
“We’d be ice skating in the Sahara first.”
Will snorted, amused. “So no idea where she is?”
“I have my suspicions. Even talked to her father and he hasn’t heard from her lately. He did say he’d heard she was up to no good and warned her to knock it off, but she didn’t reveal any of her plan to him. Since then, he’s had no contact with her. There was nothing at her apartment to give us any leads. I have a team of Enforcers working on it.”
“Tosko?”
Ryan nodded.
“He’s good.”
“Not as good as Aidan.” Ryan smiled. “Although I dare say you and Aidan have been much more effective over the ages as Protectors. Aidan certainly didn’t have the fortitude for the Enforcer way of life long term, even though in the beginning he was probably the best there ever was or will be.”
Will frowned. “Do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Let’s not talk about those days around Jeff and Kal. Okay?”
Ryan sent an eyebrow skyward. “Obviously. They don’t have any reason to know about those things regardless.”
“Do you need me to go off-Earth to track Bera?”
“I’m hoping it won’t come to that. Not when Kal needs you. I have enough bodies on the job for now, as it were, to keep Bera away from Columbus and Tampa. After… After everything’s settled down and you’re sure Kal’s stable enough to be away from you, perhaps we’ll form an expedition and cross. I’ve already been over once for a quick look, but I couldn’t find her. That doesn’t mean anything.”
Will arched an eyebrow of his own. “You did what?”
“I went to Tavares.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Why does that surprise you?”
“You doing field work? It’s been a while.”
“Well, my most powerful archdemon is back on the job. Now that I have a second powerful backup at my disposal, I felt secure leaving this plane for a while.”
“Second backup?”
Ryan smiled. “Good night, Will.”
Will returned to Columbus. Who the home was his other backup? Unless Hades had fathered another line heir Ryan had neglected to tell him about. Couldn’t be Aidan, he didn’t have a soul mate, and wasn’t powerful enough to do it without one. That’s why he’d always got stuck with the job in the past and Aidan never had to worry about it.
Well, it doesn’t matter. He climbed into bed with Kal and went back to sleep.
* * * *
The next day, Jeff and Aidan made it in to work. Aidan drove them in his car, and the entire way he forced himself not to grope Jeff.
He had a feeling Jeff wouldn’t have minded, not from the way he trailed his fingers up and down Aidan’s thigh. The sensations, even through his shorts, made Aidan’s cock stand up and harden like iron.
Working with him would be the best kind of torture.
As Aidan expected, Kal wasn’t in the office. Gery and Purs had to leave for a normal job. Will stopped in, checked on things, handled some paperwork, and disappeared again. By lunch, Aidan was fighting the urge to spirit Jeff home to make love to him. It was like his very presence called out to Aidan, stole every ounce of his concentration.
A little after noon, Aidan walked down to Jeff’s office. He closed and locked the door behind him.
Jeff turned from his computer. “What’s up?”
“Me,” Aidan growled. He strode over and pinned Jeff in his chair, hungrily kissing him.
Jeff eagerly kissed him back. When Aidan reached between Jeff’s legs, he felt his
erection through his slacks.
“Me, too,” Jeff gasped.
Aidan pulled Jeff out of his chair and backed him against his desk. A feverish hunger, desperate need, overwhelmed him. He had to have him—now. Aidan kissed Jeff as he fumbled at his slacks and finally pushed them and his briefs down, then dropped his own shorts. Without breaking contact with Jeff’s lips, Aidan ground his hips against Jeff’s, their stiff cocks rubbing against each other.
He cupped the back of Jeff’s head with one hand and wrapped his other hand around both their shafts as they rubbed back and forth. Jeff’s arms encircled him, his fingers digging into Aidan’s back and intensifying his need. They found a rhythm, and as the room filled with the sound of their ragged breath, Jeff’s eyes closed and he dropped his head to Aidan’s shoulder.
“I’m so close,” Jeff whispered.
Aidan squeezed a little tighter, his own climax rapidly approaching as their hips bucked against each other.
As his grip on Aidan’s body stiffened, Jeff came, his hot juices slicking them both and adding a sudden lubrication to Aidan’s movements. Aidan clamped his free hand firmly around the back of Jeff’s neck and he pressed his lips against his throat.
“You’re all mine,” he growled as he nipped Jeff, then moaned as he came.
Jeff shivered and hooked one leg around the back of Aidan’s. He almost instantly hardened in Aidan’s hand again. Aidan never softened, and he continued thrusting, holding Jeff’s cock hostage against his own.
Jeff clung to him, simply along for the ride. He moaned against Aidan’s shoulder.
Aidan slowed his strokes, moving his hand further down their shafts. “Put your hand down there, buddy,” he whispered.
Jeff did, gasping when Aidan thrust into his grip. “Look what you did to me,” Aidan murmured. “If I make you my soul mate, can you handle me chasing you around like this all the time? You fucking make me so goddamned horny I can’t see straight.”
Good Will Ghost Hunting: Hell's Bells [Good Will Ghost Hunting 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 15