by Lynn Hagen
"You might want to go before Matt comes back in here and throws you over his shoulder," Darius said.
Gritting his teeth, Jason moved from behind the bar and stormed outside, the screen door slamming shut behind him. Matt was leaning against his Hummer, his arms crossed over his chest, looking furious.
Jason skirted around Bo, who simply lay there staring at him with mild interest.
"Let me guess, Devin called you." Jason was going to kick his boss in the nuts.
"What did you expect him to do?" Matt asked. "Bael isn’t to be taken lightly."
Jason walked over to the picnic table and parked his butt on it. "And I didn’t ask to be pulled into this crazy world. Excuse me for wanting to surround myself with normalcy in order to cope with things."
"I’m not so much mad that you came to work as I am that you walked here."
"Since I don’t have a car and the ability to pop into places is lost on me, walking was my only option." Jason wasn’t going to apologize for his decision. Being cooped up at Matt’s wasn’t an option. He’d go stir-crazy if he had to stay there twenty-four-seven.
Matt had a beautiful home, but Jason wasn’t influenced by other people’s money. He enjoyed the simpler things in life like friends and having a good time.
He’d traveled to Southern Louisiana from Minneapolis to care for a sick uncle who’d died not two days after Jason’s arrival. He’d fallen in love with the small town and had decided to stay. He had no other family, and Mercury had made him feel welcome.
Now he wasn’t so sure he’d made the right decision. He’d traded a lonely life for one filled with dangers he’d never known existed. But was it really so bad? He had good friends and a man who wanted him for more than sex.
Matt pushed from his Hummer and settled beside Jason. "Do you know how long I’ve looked for someone I connected with? I won’t have you jeopardizing us because you’re too stubborn to realize the dangers all around you."
Jason ran a hand through his hair. "In the past twenty-four hours I’ve learned that shifters, demons, and vampires exist. I had a demon suddenly appear in my apartment, and I found out I’m mated to a wolf. I think I’m allowed to try to cope with it the best way I can."
Matt tugged on Jason until he slid from the table and was situated between the man’s legs. Matt curved his hand around Jason’s cheek. "Do you know how much you mean to me?"
"No," he answered honestly as he scuffed the dirt with his shoe. Although they had only slept together last night, Jason did feel a strange connection to the wolf, as if he’d known Matt forever.
"You feel it. The connection between mates." Matt pressed his hand on Jason’s chest, right over his heart. His fingers were warm and strong, and he was right. Jason did feel it, but the thought of opening himself up like this scared the hell out of him. True, he’d been looking for someone willing to commit, but now that he had that chance, God…it was so damn scary. His heart pounded in his chest, letting Matt know just how the man affected him.
"Either that or its heartburn," he said as he blushed.
Matt shook his head as he smiled. It was the most innocent and seductive smile Jason had ever seen, and he felt himself slipping into it. "I think you’ll adjust without too much problem." He stood, tilting Jason’s head back.
Jason gazed into Matt’s intense gray eyes, feeling as if he were falling into them. His palms became wet, his throat dry. He could barely take a breath.
Matt dipped his head but paused inches away. The lopsided smile he gave Jason was so damn wonderful. It was one of those smiles that said hello, and Jason found himself smiling as well.
"You can do this," Matt said. "I have all the faith in the world you will be just fine."
Jason breathed in sharply just before Matt kissed him. Their lips touched, slow, sweet, and tender. Jason leaned into Matt, feeling like he was being knocked off his feet. Matt’s arm slid around him, and his hand grazed up Jason’s back.
When they broke apart, something inside Jason protested.
"I have to get back to searching for Colton. Stay here and I’ll pick you up after work." Matt kissed him quickly before stepping back. Jason ached to close the distance. God, what was wrong with him? He wanted Matt with a need that bordered on insanity.
Jason nodded before following Matt back inside, unable to stop smiling. He felt like he was walking on a cloud. That sounded corny as hell, but nonetheless it was true. Jason bit his lower lip, trying his best to stop the smile from growing wider.
Matt winked at him before he strode from the tavern with Rio and Nick. Everything inside Jason felt light. He turned to see Dustin grinning like a goof. The guy gave Jason a thumbs-up. Jason shook his head as he threw himself into his work.
The night flew by. When he went into the kitchen to clock out, he saw two trash bags sitting by the backdoor.
He glanced around for the kitchen staff but didn’t see them anywhere. Taking the trash out wasn't his job, but since he was already by the back door, he grabbed the bags and stepped outside. As soon as he threw them into the dumpster, he felt someone behind him.
Jason spun around and saw the guy from his apartment.
Bael.
He backed away in quick, jerky steps, colliding into the dumpster before he spun and took off toward the end of the building.
Before he could shout for help, something tightened painfully around his throat. The pressure built until he struggled to breathe. He clawed at his skin, fighting to relieve the pressure. He felt as though a hand was wrapped around it, but nothing was there, like the demon was choking Jason with his mind.
Full-blown terror washed over him when his body inched back to the demon. He kicked and swung his fists into the air, but there was nothing solid he could fight. When he neared the dumpster, Jason latched on, desperate not to get anywhere near the demon, but he was tugged harder and lost his grip. He fell onto his back while steadily being pulled closer.
He was going to die. Bael was going to kill him. Jason kicked his feet out, trying to stop the momentum as he continued to claw at his neck, desperate for air and desperate not to get any nearer. He tried to scream for help, but his airway was cut off.
He finally came to a stop and the pressure at his neck disappeared. His throat felt like it was on fire when he inhaled a lungful of air. His eyes watered as he coughed uncontrollably. Jason rolled to his side, feeling like he would vomit.
Bael moved closer. He lowered himself to one knee, resting his arms on the bent one. Leaning in, he sniffed at Jason. His lips curled into the evilest smile Jason had ever seen.
"I can smell him all over you."
Jason’s mind was in a whirl. He wanted to run as fast and far from this man as possible, but instead, he lay on the ground trembling so hard that his muscles spasmed.
"Fuck. You." His throat stung as he spoke. He wasn’t sure why he was being so brave when the demon scared the hell out of him. The only thing he knew for certain was the fact this stranger intended to hurt him in the worst possible way. He saw the promise of pain in Bael’s eyes.
"I’m afraid you’re the one who is fucked." The man stood and stared down at him. "He should have known better than to leave behind a bargaining chip."
Jason’s mind whirled once more. A bargaining chip for what?
"The vampires hired me to kill Matt and Colton, but I think using you as bait will be so much more fun." His eyes gleamed as if he was getting pure enjoyment out of Jason’s terror.
"Such a shame," the stranger continued as his voice grew dark and deep. "Matt all but handed you over to me, and I intend to take what he failed to protect."
Jason screamed before everything went black.
Chapter Seven
The hunt for Colton was taking longer than expected. Matt, Nick, and Rio had searched every square inch of town and had come up empty. Matt didn’t think Colton was dumb enough to go back to the nightclub, but then again, he was talking about a pissed-off wolf. Since they hadn’t located
Colton yet, it was worth a shot, though he was certain they were going to meet a hell of a lot of resistance from the vamps.
Matt parked a few blocks from Black Dragon and was getting out of his Hummer when unease trickled through him. He closed his eyes as he tried to shake the feeling. The sensation was like sticking your tongue on a nine-volt battery. The tingling lasted for only a second, but long enough that Matt knew he hadn’t imagined it.
"Something wrong?" Rio’s hand lingered on the backdoor, holding it open as he stared at Matt.
He started to dismiss the feeling as unease, but the sensation slammed into him this time. The nine-volt turned into a jacked-up Taser, causing Matt to grit his teeth as he curled his hands into fists.
Shit, that hurt.
He rubbed at his chest as he glanced around. Nothing seemed out of place and he couldn’t sense any immediate danger. Whatever the feeling was, it wasn’t coming from anyone around him. It was more like something that was coming through him.
"What’s wrong?" Nick asked from the other side of the Hummer. "You look like…I don’t know…like you’ve seen a ghost or something."
"Just feeling a bit strange." Matt lingered by the vehicle, trying to get his bearings. He didn’t need to confront any vampires while feeling wonky. The feeling didn’t dissipate, though. It only grew stronger.
A name whispered through his mind.
Jason.
Something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but he felt it down to his bones. "Something’s wrong with my mate."
They climbed back into the Hummer and Matt took off for Grizzly’s. The tavern was crawling with shifters. If Bael had gotten to his mate, someone would’ve called him.
Things might have started out as casual sex between them, but his feelings for the human had gone to a whole other level in only a day.
He pressed a hand over his heart as the pain intensified. It was almost too difficult for him to breathe. Was he feeling Jason’s pain or his own? Both?
When Grizzly’s came into sight, Matt slammed the brakes and got out, not bothering to close the driver’s door. As soon as he walked into the tavern, he scanned the place. The furniture wasn’t smashed to hell and no one was injured. There hadn’t been a fight, yet Matt felt that something was wrong.
Devin gazed at him with an apologetic look while Dustin and Darius wore twin expressions of unease. Devin’s triplets stood by the bar, arms crossed over their massive chests, watching him approach their father. He was acquainted with each of Darius’s sons, and although the bears were considered neutral in Mercury, Matt was well aware how lethal they were.
Nobody poked the bears unless they wanted the entire LaSalle clan to converge on them. Matt didn’t plan on poking any of them, but he wanted answers.
"Your expression tells me my gut isn’t wrong," Matt said. Devin was well respected in Mercury. He was at least one hundred years older than Matt, and Matt—though he’d never admitted it out loud—always looked at the man as sort of a father figure. Everyone did.
"He just disappeared," Devin said as he shook his head. "He went to clock out and no one has seen him since. I should have been watching him more closely, but I didn’t feel Bael enter the tavern."
Matt gave the men in the tavern a murderous glare before he entered the kitchen and then walked out the back door.
The sulfuric odor burned his nostrils.
Matt cursed. He should have never left Jason. The demon must’ve grabbed his mate for leverage. Matt couldn’t be sure Bael was the one who’d done this, though. He hunted preternatural creatures for a living, which pissed off preternatural who didn’t walk a straight line. Everyone at Mercury Rising had been targeted more than once by the bad guys, and every bounty hunter knew to watch his back. Still, Matt’s gut told him it was Bael.
When the air stirred behind him, Matt spun and pulled his gun free in one fluid motion, only to find Rio and Nick standing behind him. "You almost got your heads blown off," he snarled.
One of the humans from the tavern strayed outside. His hazel eyes widened when he saw Matt’s weapon drawn.
"Go back inside," Rio advised.
"Fuck that," the sandy-blond male said. "I heard them talking by the bar. Jason’s my friend and I have a right to know what the hell is going on here."
"What’s going on here is that you’re five seconds away from getting your ass kicked if you don’t go back inside." A satanic smile spread across Rio’s lips.
"Beat me up all you want. I’m not budging until someone tells me where Jason is." The male glared at each of them in turn.
Matt fought to leash his rolling anger, but fury nearly burst from him as his canines tried to lengthen. "Go. Inside."
"No."
"Jason is in trouble." Matt moved closer, a growl rumbling in his chest. "There isn’t a damn thing you can do, so get the hell out of here." He normally had patience when it came to small men, but he didn’t know if Bael would return and he didn’t want anyone getting caught in the crossfire.
"Then I want to help." The human seemed determined and Matt didn’t have time for this.
"What’s your name?" Nick asked.
"Benjamin."
Matt remembered Jason mentioning him.
"You can help by getting your skinny ass back inside, Benjamin," Rio snapped. He towered over the male, but Benjamin didn’t back down. Matt had to give the male points for sheer stupidity. Not many stood up to Rio.
"Can you go get Devin for me?" Matt asked.
If anything happened to Jason, Matt would never forgive himself. He would also hunt down the bastard who’d harmed his mate and rip his fucking spine out before shoving it down his throat.
"Yeah, but don’t think I’m stupid. I know you’re going to ditch me as soon as I go inside." Benjamin yanked the screen door open. "Just find him or you’ll wish we’d never met."
"I should have never left Jason here." Matt headed around the side of the tavern. He’d screwed the pooch on this one. "We need to find him."
Nick shrugged. "I mean, if you want him back, sure."
"He’s Matt’s mate, moron," Rio said.
"I’m not the one who let him get snatched by a demon," Nick ground out. "Don’t be pissed at me because I don’t see the significance of a mate."
There were times when Matt wanted to shoot his entire pack and start over. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he hated breaking in anyone new—that and he actually liked a few of them.
Ignoring the bickering men, Matt closed his eyes and opened his mind. Since Jason was his mate, they had a connection. He used that connection to try to find the male. He let the energy flow through his wolf as he mentally searched for Jason.
A tremor vibrated along the connection, and fear and anger pulsed through Jason. As he tried to make out the images, he felt like he was looking through a cloud of smoke. Laser lights cut through the fog and he felt the heavy beat of music. Faint images of people, talking, laughing, and dancing floated through the haze as the smell of alcohol, sex, and sweat filled his mind. He knew this place, had been there before.
"He’s being held at Black Dragon." Matt opened his eyes and cursed. He’d just left there. He’d been that close and had left Jason. They climbed into the Hummer, and Matt drove at breakneck speed back to the club.
Matt parked a block away, then got out and stormed toward the front door. The upper floor was off-limits to humans. If a demon wanted to hide one, that would be the perfect place since no one would think to look there.
Andreas held up his hand. "Sorry, wolf. You and your men have been banned from here."
The vampire gazed at him as if daring Matt to try to get past him. Andreas might be inhumanly fast, but Matt wasn’t anyone to trifle with, either.
He ground his back molars as he matched Andreas’s menacing glare. "I don’t have time to have a pissing contest with you."
"There won’t be a pissing contest, bounty hunter. I run the show at the door." Andreas crossed his arms o
ver his chest, his face set in stubborn lines. The male wasn’t going to let him in. If Matt had the time, he’d wipe the streets with the vampire.
Leashing his anger, Matt turned on his heel and headed back down the street, slipping into the alley at the last second. He took out the two vampires guarding the fire escape and climbed to the roof.
No one would stop him from getting to Jason.
He moved through the door on the roof and made his way down the stairs until he spilled into the dim hallway of the upper floor. How could he have been so careless with his mate? Matt had taken a huge gamble leaving Jason and now the male’s life was in danger.
One thing was for certain. He’d gotten Jason into this mess and he damn sure would get his mate out of it.
Halfway down the hall, Matt sensed Jason, but the connection was weak.
"Did you seriously think you could party without us?" Rio said from behind him.
Matt glanced over his shoulder to see Rio and Nick sauntering his way.
"He’s in here." Matt nodded at the door in front of him. "But he’s not alone."
Rio and Nick pulled their weapons and waited for Matt to give the word. He kicked the door in, pulling his Beretta free at the same time. The door swung wide to reveal a nightmare that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Matt threw his head back and howled before he rushed the room.
The three vampires who had been feeding on Jason flew from the bed as they bared their fangs. Matt's baser instincts took over as a maddening need to rip flesh from bone consumed him.
He shot at the bloodsucker, but the vampire spun free and swung his claws at Matt’s neck, but missed. It was a fight to the death and Matt was determined to be the one walking away.
"His blood was the sweetest ambrosia," the vampire taunted, then slid his tongue over his bottom lip. His eyelids fluttered as though he was savoring Jason’s taste. "I’m going to have to kill you quickly so I can feed on him again."
Matt snarled while circling the vampire. His stomach squeezed, and the image of Jason being fed on fueled his rage. If any of the vampire’s blood had infected Jason, his mate would become one of them. The thought nearly brought Matt to his knees.