by Lynn Hagen
The lie rolled easily from his tongue.
The paramedic’s eyes softened. “Yeah, my wife’s six months pregnant and I worry about her when I’m not home.” With a sigh, he took his phone out of his pocket. Raven gave him Devil’s phone number, and the guy dialed, then pressed the phone to Raven’s ear.
“What’s up?” Devil asked when he answered.
“I’m in an ambulance, honey. There’s no need to worry, but I’d appreciate you coming to the hospital to get me. I think they might do x-rays.”
“Fuck,” Devil said. “I’m on my way. You stall them for as long as you can.”
“Okay, honey. I love you, too.”
“Dude, keep calling me honey and I’m gonna put my foot up your hairy ass.”
If Raven had to call him that one more time, he just might let Devil. “And bring Caleb with you. It’s important that he comes.” It might be a bad idea to bring Caleb, but Raven needed to reassure himself that his mate was okay. And if he was being honest with himself, Raven was scared and wanted Caleb at his side—even if he wanted to keep his human at a distance because of Kovachi’s threat of being in Raven’s mind.
“I’ll grab Caleb on my way out. No one is gonna get their hands on him.”
Relief flooded Raven. “See you there.” He nodded at the EMT, who ended the call. “I think you can unstrap me. I’m feeling like myself now.”
“I’d like to, but I’m gonna err on the side of caution.” The ambulance dipped downward, as if heading into a loading dock. “Besides, we’re here.”
Chapter Seven
Caleb wasn’t sober enough for this. He’d been passed out, and apparently drooling judging by the wet spot on his pillow, when he was shaken awake. He’d cracked his eyes open to find a sexy-as-fuck guy standing over him. He thought he was dreaming, then was disturbed that he was dreaming about someone other than Raven standing by his bed.
After flipping the hell out about a stranger breaking into his apartment, then being calmed down by the guy, Devil had introduced himself. Caleb had stumbled to get dressed and was now entering the emergency room. The worry that clung to him was enough to help him focus, but he still felt a bit tipsy.
Devil made a beeline for the information desk, but Caleb hung back, biting his thumbnail as he wondered if Raven had been taken to get x-rays. Devil had explained on the ride to the hospital how bad that would be, and that they needed to get Raven out of there as quickly as possible.
Caleb kept looking for government agents to swoop in and bag-and-tag Raven for their experiments—even though his common sense told him no freaking hospital did their procedures that fast. Caleb had broken his arm a year ago, and he’d sat in the emergency room for five stinking hours before his name was even called.
Raven was probably still lying on some gurney in a room with the curtain drawn, waiting on someone to remember he was there. Yeah, that was what Caleb would believe, because the alternative was too damn frightening.
Devil grabbed his hand and pulled him through the opening double doors. Caleb let the guy drag him through the back department, glad he didn’t have to think right now. Whatever Saul had given him felt as though it still sat in his gut, burning a hole in the lining.
Henry had been right. There had to have been ghost peppers in the bottle.
“What did they say?” Caleb asked as he jogged to keep up with Devil’s long strides.
“I don’t know anything,” he replied. “Just what room he’s in.” Devil looked at him. “And that you and I are his brothers.”
Caleb grimaced as he thought about the night before when they’d had sex. “So glad that’s a lie.”
They stepped into room 4 to find it empty. Devil cursed as Caleb’s panic went into overdrive.
“Maybe we have the wrong room,” Caleb said. “Maybe he already slipped out of here.” Or maybe they’d sedated Raven and he’d been unable to stop them from taking him down to X-ray.
Caleb followed Devil from the room and noticed the nurses behind the station talking in a group. Devil stopped at the station but didn’t say anything. He scowled before turning away, then grabbed Caleb’s hand.
“They’re talking about a missing patient.”
“Raven?”
“That would be my guess. Now I just have to figure out where he’s hiding.”
“The bathroom?”
“Too obvious.”
Caleb spotted an Exit sign at the back of the hallway. He nudged Devil and jerked his head toward it. Devil headed that way, Caleb in tow. Only, they didn’t come out on the street when they went through the door.
They were in another hallway with another Exit sign. They walked toward it and emerged into the emergency room. Caleb felt like they were going in circles. Raven couldn’t have gone this way because the information desk was facing this door. The nurse behind the desk would have seen him leaving.
“I can’t take much more of this,” Caleb whispered. He just wanted to see his mate, make sure Raven was okay, and get out of here. “Where the hell is he?”
Devil spun, ready to head back the way they’d come, but when he tried the door, it was locked. He cursed as he pulled his phone free, then sent a text.
All Caleb could do was hold his breath and pray that Raven replied. He was still dizzy from drinking and wanted to sit down so badly, or find a comfortable bed. But he stayed at Devil’s side, his nerves fraying more and more the longer the seconds ticked by.
Finally, Devil’s phone played a tune that sounded like a typewriter. Caleb could only assume that meant he’d gotten a text. The next thing Caleb knew, Devil was pulling him through the ER’s doors and onto the sidewalk.
“Where’re we going?” Caleb didn’t want to leave the hospital if Raven was still in there.
“He said to meet him on the south side of the building.” Devil finally let his hand go, and Caleb’s legs burned as he tried to keep up. He had thoughts of whacking Devil’s legs with a pipe to slow him down.
When they made it around the building, a gasp whooshed from Caleb’s throat. Raven was lying on his back in the grass with his eyes closed, and his skin was pale and covered in sweat. Caleb rushed to him and dropped to his knees. “Raven?”
He cracked his eyes open but he didn’t seem to notice Caleb was there. He stared skyward, blinking rapidly.
Devil bent and pulled Raven to his feet. Raven swayed, leaning heavily into Devil’s side. “What the fuck happened to you?” Devil asked as he helped Raven to the parking lot.
Caleb stayed behind Raven with his arms out, as if he could catch his mate if he fell backward. But the most he would be able to do would be to cushion Raven’s fall with his body. But Devil managed to get Raven into his truck. Caleb got into the passenger side, and immediately began sweating from the heat coming off his mate.
“What’s wrong with him?” Caleb asked when Devil got into the driver’s side. Yeah, Caleb had just heard Devil ask Raven that, but it was a knee-jerk question.
Devil pulled out his phone as he maneuvered onto the street. “Hey, Dr. Sheehan. I have a situation that needs your attention.” He rattled off Caleb’s address and apartment number. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.” He listened, then added, “Okay, thanks.”
“Dr. Sheehan?” Caleb asked as he hung up.
“He’s one of the doctors who take care of the nonhumans.”
“You guys have your own doctors?” That made sense, but it still surprised Caleb, and served only to remind him how very little he knew about Raven’s world. He needed to remedy that if he was going to spend the rest of his life with his mate.
But his inquisitiveness would have to wait until Raven was taken care of. His mate was half-awake, but he didn’t look as though he knew where he was or what was going on. Caleb curled his hand around Raven’s and held on, biting his bottom lip as he hoped Raven would be okay.
The ride was brief, but by the time Devil pulled into the underground parking, Caleb was soaking in sweat from the he
at coming off Raven’s body.
A large guy was waiting by the elevator. As soon as they pulled in, the stranger met them at the truck door. The two got Raven upstairs as Caleb trailed behind them, feeling more like an intruder than a helpful hand.
Caleb hurried ahead of them when the elevator reached the fourteenth floor and the doors swished open. He unlocked his apartment and stepped aside so the men could carry Raven inside.
They shoved Jacob’s boxes aside and laid Raven on the carpet. Under any other circumstances, Caleb would have thrown a fit about Jacob’s possessions being handled so carelessly. “Shouldn’t you put him in my bed?”
Once again Devil ignored him as he made a call. Two seconds later, two men appeared out of thin air in Caleb’s living room. Caleb stumbled backward, a croaking squeaking from his throat. He so hadn’t been ready for that kind of shit, and prayed he didn’t pass out next to Raven.
“It’s cool,” the guy who had helped Devil said. He patted Caleb’s upper arm. “I’m Kivani, by the way.”
“Caleb.” He looked at one of the men who had popped into his living room.
“That’s the doctor,” Kivani explained. “Raven’s in good hands.”
“And the other guy?” Caleb wasn’t sure why he was whispering.
“Carter,” Kivani said. “He’s an elf who can pop in and out of places. He’s basically Dr. Sheehan’s ride.”
“I resent that,” Carter said. “Do I look like I have wheels attached to my ass?” He winked at Caleb. “But I don’t mind helping Nicholas out. I’ve learned a lot over the years and have witnessed some pretty bizarre situations.”
“Does anyone know anything about what happened to him?” the doctor asked. “Drugged, bespelled, witchcraft, silver poisoning, or none of the above?”
“Bespelled?” Caleb asked.
“Vampires,” Kivani said.
Caleb was not going to examine that right now. No, he wasn’t. He was gonna shelve that word and freak out about it later.
“He just called me from the ambulance and told me to come get him from the hospital,” Devil said. “I have no idea where he was before that or what took place.”
“I need to take him to my clinic at the Den,” the doctor said as he rose from kneeling beside Raven. “I’ll be better able to help him there.”
He turned to Caleb. “Do you belong to Raven?”
“Are you asking if I’m his mate?”
Dr. Sheehan nodded. “I didn’t want to assume, and I didn’t want to give anything away in case you were just a concerned neighbor or boyfriend.”
“He’s Raven’s mate,” Devil said. “And he needs watching over. The Hunters are after him.”
Dr. Sheehan scowled. “I’ll be glad when those fanatics are taken care of.”
“Come over here,” Carter told Caleb.
When he approached, Dr. Sheehan bent and touched Raven’s arm. Carter touched the doctor’s and Caleb’s shoulder. The room spun and disappeared. Caleb screamed as the room finally stilled and they were standing in a medical room. The scream slowly died and Carter chuckled.
“It’s better than a car,” Carter said before he walked out of the room.
“I have a couch in my office,” Dr. Sheehan said. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Caleb shook his head. “I don’t want to leave Raven’s side until you know what’s wrong with him.”
Dr. Sheehan grabbed a cushioned chair from a corner and set it close to the bed Raven was lying on. Caleb sat, and the waiting began.
Raven’s entire body hurt as he climbed the jagged edges of fog that slopped through his brain. But the higher he climbed, the harder it was to get free. Soft, echoing voices filtered into his consciousness, but he couldn’t find the source. It didn’t help matters a slight weight was pressed into his side, preventing Raven from lifting his right arm.
But he had to keep trying to escape the fog. He had to get to Caleb, had to make sure Bayne and the Santiago brothers were okay. Raven was struggling to climb his way out when he heard a whispering voice from somewhere behind him. He couldn’t make out the words, but the sound sent a chill down his spine.
Another voice swept past him. This one he knew and could grab hold of.
Raven, come back to me.
Caleb’s voice sounded sad and haunting, and Raven couldn’t understand why. They’d known each other only two days. Although the connection between them was there, Raven hadn’t felt like they were clicking, as though he was trying too hard to hold himself back from Caleb.
And it wasn’t just because Raven was trying to protect him, either. He was trying to protect himself, too. He’d been alone for so long that letting someone get close was hard. Raven’s greatest fear was that he would open his heart to Caleb and something would happen to his mate.
He didn’t want to feel that devastating loss, and with Caleb on Kovachi’s radar, that could be a possibility.
Raven.
He spun, searching for Caleb, yet hoping his mate wasn’t trapped in this place—wherever this was. Raven knew he was in his own head, fighting to wake up, but it felt too damn real, as though he was in an actual place—like a forest with fog so thick he could touch it.
Wake up, Raven.
“I’m trying!” he shouted skyward. The prickling sensation he’d felt at the warehouse returned. Raven felt someone watching him, someone hidden from his view.
Kovachi. Raven felt the man’s presence like a cancer slowly growing over his skin. Raven clawed at himself, desperate to get Kovachi’s oily coating off him.
“Caleb!” Raven shouted. “Help me!”
A maniacal laugh crackled like thunder. Bring him to me, Raven. Bring me the key to your destruction.
“Never,” Raven growled. “You’ll never get Caleb.”
The murkiness gradually lifted. The fog faded, replaced by soft lights and the sound of beeping. Raven lay there, afraid to open his eyes, afraid he’d just warped into another nightmare. His heart still pounded, and he was still on edge and ready to kill if he had to.
Until Caleb’s scent wafted toward him, filling his lungs. Fresh-baked bread. A tickling breath ghosted against his cheek, a weight pressed against his side, and fingers curled into his chest.
He forced his eyes open, then closed them. Raven tried again, and this time he managed to keep them open.
“You’re awake.”
Raven turned his head and spotted Dr. Sheehan sitting in a chair on the far side of the dimly lit room, tapping away on his laptop.
“Raven?”
Looking to his opposite side, Raven saw Caleb tucked against him, his big blue eyes filled with hope as he slid his hand over Raven’s chest.
Dr. Sheehan moved to the side of the bed. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Raven opened his mouth, then shook his head. “I think I was under a spell.”
“Vampire?”
He shook his head again. “Sorcerer.”
“No wonder nothing I tried worked,” the doctor said. “I really hate magic when it’s used like that. I’m powerless to help, and I hate being powerless.”
“How long have I been out?”
“Since we found you on the side of the hospital a few hours ago,” Caleb said. He curled harder into Raven, as if afraid Raven would fall back under the spell.
A few hours? That was impossible. It had felt like months, years, decades. It couldn’t have been only a few hours. “I need to call Devil.”
“Whoa.” Dr. Sheehan held up his hands. “Take it easy and I’ll get you a phone, but I don’t want you getting up right now. Not until I’ve consulted with someone who knows about spells. We don’t want you cracking your engine block.”
Raven had no fucking clue what that meant. He just curled his arm around Caleb and accepted the phone. Raven dialed Devil and was thankful he answered on the first ring.
“How is he, Doc?”
“It’s me.” Raven had to clear his throat. It felt rough and dry.
“Man, I’m fucking glad you’re okay. You’re okay, right?”
“I think so,” Raven said. “But we need to talk. I saw Bayne’s car at the warehouse. I’m not sure what happened to the Santiago brothers.”
A frown puckered between the doctor’s eyes. “They’re downstairs. I saw them about a half hour before I got the call about you.”
“I’m on my goddamn way.” Devil hung up.
Although he didn’t run the Dark Knights—none of the Knights were technically in charge—they always seemed to look to Devil for guidance, making him their unofficial leader.
Which was ironic since he was no longer a Knight.
Raven handed the doctor the phone. “I want to talk to Tryck, now.”
Dr. Sheehan smirked. “Only if you ask in a nicer tone.”
Raven clenched his jaw and said through gritted teeth, “Please.”
If the Santiago brothers were here, then why in the fuck had they left Bayne in Kovachi’s hands? Had they tucked tail and run? That didn’t seem like something they would do, though. Not that Raven knew them, but their aura had said they were badass, and men like that fought to the death, instead of running away.
When the doctor left the room, Raven turned his head toward his mate. “I’m sorry for not being the man I should be for you.”
Caleb kissed the side of Raven’s mouth. “I think we’re both trying to adjust the best we can. I haven’t exactly been perfect, either. I’m still working through my loss, and now—”
“You’re dealing with my crap.” Raven sighed. “I should just take you away from this.”
“You don’t seem like the type to run from your problems,” Caleb said. “I’m not gonna lie and say your world isn’t scary. I’m also not gonna lie and say I can take it on the chin. Being kidnapped terrified the shit out of me.”
All Raven could do was apologize. Again. What Caleb was saying was true. He was human and had never been exposed to the preternatural world until he’d stalked Raven, even if he did know about shifters already.
“I’ll make sure nothing else happens to you,” Raven promised.
But just as those words slipped from his lips, something ached in his head, a pulsing sensation that made Raven want to take Caleb to that warehouse.