Simon

by Catherine Lievens

  “Anything in particular you want to watch?” he asked Kir as they entered the living room.

  “You can choose. I haven’t been watching much TV lately, or ever, really.”

  “That’s not helpful at all.”

  Kir grinned. “I wasn’t trying to be.”

  Kir flopped onto the couch and Simon sat next to him. He felt like a kid next to Kir, but then he was smaller than most of the guys in the pack, except for his friends. He took the remote and looked for a movie he hadn’t yet seen. Kir settled deeper against the back of the couch.

  Simon sighed. This was going to be a long day. He just hoped he’d have Malik back when it ended.

  * * * *

  Malik stared at the house he knew Tom was in. “You’re sure he’s in there?”

  “That’s what Kameron said,” Quincy answered.

  Malik had a hard time believing they’d gotten to Tom so easily. The man apparently lived in a small settlement they hadn’t had any problems getting to. There were three houses close together, and Malik had noticed tents planted in the backyard of one of them.

  Quincy had parked far enough that they wouldn’t get anyone’s attention, but close enough for them to be able to see what was happening. They’d been watching the houses for half an hour, and they knew there were guards walking around. The men weren’t very discreet, and that wasn’t even counting the wendigoes stumbling around and fighting.

  “Is the entire council here?”

  “Kameron said only Tom and his men were here.”

  “So how do we get him to come out and talk to us?”

  The last thing Malik wanted was to enter the house Tom was in. He knew they wouldn’t get out of it in one piece, because as soon as Tom realized who they were, he’d make sure to send a message to Kameron.

  “I’m going.”

  Malik turned to Quincy just as Quincy opened his door. He grabbed Quincy’s wrist and pulled him back into the car. “Shut the door.”

  Quincy scowled. “Let me go.”

  “We’re going to talk about it before you do anything stupid.”

  “I never do stupid things.”

  Malik snorted. “Please. Now, let’s talk.”

  Quincy sighed and slumped in his seat, a pout on his lips. Malik ignored him.

  “Kameron gave us Tom’s phone number, right?”

  “Yeah. I wonder how he got it.”

  “I don’t care. Give me your phone.”

  For once, Quincy obeyed without protesting. He dug his phone out of his pocket and let it fall into Malik’s open hand. Malik opened the directory, snorting when he found Tom’s number saved under asshole who’s trying to kill us all. He pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear.

  It rang twice before someone answered. “Who the fuck is this and how did you get this number?”

  “Why, hello, Tom.”

  Tom growled. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “My name is Malik Ayodele.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Not even a hello?”

  Quincy grinned at Malik and Malik rolled his eyes. He clearly was spending too much time with Quincy. He was starting to sound like him.

  “What do you want?” Tom asked again.

  “To talk.”

  “About what?”

  “Come on, don’t pretend you’re stupid.”

  “You can tell Kameron I’ll see him soon, right after I take the pack back and kill him and his mate.”

  The last word was spat out, and it made Malik want to roll his eyes again. Tom was an asshole. “We want to negotiate.”

  “I want to kill all of you.”

  Malik wasn’t surprised. “What would it take for you to leave Kameron and the pack alone?”

  Tom wasn’t stupid. So far, he’d attacked only the pack, but he’d left the council alone. Malik knew that as soon as he managed to get the pack back—if he ever managed to get it back—Tom would attack the council next. The guy was an asshole, but he was a clever one. He knew he’d get all the power through the council, but he also knew there was no way he’d be able to get it unless he took out at least a few of its members.

  “Nothing. I want my pack back, and I’ll get it.”

  Malik sighed. Who had thought this was a good idea again? Because it clearly wasn’t. There was no reasoning with Tom. “We’re stronger than you.”

  “So sure of yourself, are you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I guess we’ll see who is stronger when I attack.”

  Tom hung up and Malik handed the phone back to Quincy. “Let’s go home.”

  “We didn’t even talk to him!” Quincy protested. Before Malik could stop him, he was out of the car and headed for the houses.

  Malik swore. They hadn’t planned this. They were only supposed to talk to Tom, face to face if it was possible. Quincy was being an asshole, just like always, but this time it could end badly for him, and Malik couldn’t let him go alone.

  He slid out of the car and ran toward the houses. He crouched against the sidewall of the one they knew Tom was in, not surprised to see a guard flat on his back, his eyes closed. Quincy had already taken care of him, and Malik expected all the other guards he might encounter would be in the same state.

  Malik peeked around the house. The back door was slightly open, and a hand was barely visible through the opening. Malik skulked against the wall until he reached the door. He pulled it open, shaking his head at the man that was out, a bleeding gash on his forehead. Why had he come with Quincy again? It was obvious Quincy could take care of himself, probably even better than Malik could.

  Malik stepped over the man. He was in a kitchen, and it was empty, apart from the man on the floor. He was almost at the door when footsteps came closer. Malik tensed and hid behind the door that led further into the house. It opened and stopped just before it hit his nose. A man stepped in and swore when he saw the man on the floor. He reached for his pocket, but before he could take out whatever it was he was looking for, Malik sprung forward.

  He grabbed a heavy-looking pan as he moved, and hit the man on the head with it. The man turned around, so Malik hit him again, and this time, the man crumbled. Malik put the pan back where it’d been and left the kitchen. People were shouting, and he hoped Quincy hadn’t been found.

  Malik took his knife out of its sheath and crept along the hallway. He knew he’d find Quincy where the noise was coming from, so he headed that way. It came from an open door, and when Malik peeked in, he wasn’t surprised to see two men on the floor, while Quincy was fighting with another two. A third man was yelling on the phone, and Malik went straight to him.

  The man noticed him and dropped the phone. He got up and jumped onto the desk, ready to take Malik on. Malik grinned and attacked. He ducked to avoid the fist coming his way and landed one of his own against the man’s stomach. The man oomphed, but he didn’t back down.

  Malik swung his knife and tore a hole into the man’s shirt. Blood glinted in the light, but before Malik could do anything else, someone grabbed him from behind. He turned, ready to attack, but it was only Quincy. “What the fuck, man?” Malik yelled at him. Being silent didn’t matter anymore. The entire house probably knew they were there by now.

  Quincy nodded toward the door, and sure enough, people were filling in.

  “You better get me out of here, because I’ll kill you if your idiocy gets me killed!” Malik yelled. There was no way they could take everyone down, not now.

  Quincy grinned and shifted. His clothes exploded around him, and Malik reared back. He didn’t get far. Quincy flew upward and toward the window. Malik swore. “If you’re thinking of leaving me here, I’ll kill you myself!”

  He followed Quincy to the window and climbed out of it. Someone tried to grab his shoulder, but Quincy was there, biting into the hand hard enough that Malik saw blood pooling out as the man it belonged to snatched it away.
r />   Malik looked down. It was high up, and he’d probably break something if he tried to jump, but it was his only possibility. He had to do it before the men behind him got to the garden under him to wait for him.

  Claws dung into his shoulders, and Malik tried to move, but Quincy was already lifting him. Malik grabbed at Quincy’s legs, praying Quincy wouldn’t dump his ass. Quincy flew as if Malik didn’t weigh a thing, and Malik tried not to look down. “I’m going to kill you as soon as you put me down,” he swore, and he just knew Quincy was rolling his eyes.

  The claws in Malik’s shoulders hurt, but the flight was short. Quincy dumped him next to their car, and Malik hurried into the driver’s seat while Quincy shifted and slid into the back seat to dress. Malik put the car in gear and drove away as fast as he could.

  “What the fuck were you thinking?” he yelled at Quincy. “You might not care about your life, but I do.”

  “I just wanted to talk to Tom.”

  “Yeah, and that went well. You knew he wouldn’t have tea and cookies with you. You shouldn’t have gone.”

  Quincy pressed himself between the two seats and slid into the passenger seat next to Malik. “At least now we know Tom will attack soon. He’s not going to let us get away with this.”

  “And that’s a good thing?”

  “Yes, because we’ll be prepared.”

  “How? We don’t know when.”

  Quincy grinned. “We’ll know. I bugged Tom’s office.”

  Chapter Five

  “Keep him away from me if you don’t want me to hurt him,” Simon said, scowling at Quinn.

  Quinn arched a brow. “Hurt me? As if you could. I’d like to see you try, though.”

  “You should sleep with one eye open from now on.”

  Malik put his hands on Simon’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m fine, Simon.”

  Simon turned to look at him. He glared, even though he wasn’t angry at Malik. “Yeah, you’re fine, but it’s a fucking miracle. You could have been killed.”

  “But I wasn’t.”

  “Like I said, it was a miracle.”

  “Or maybe we’re just good at what we do,” Quinn said from behind Simon.

  Simon took a deep breath, then another, but he still wanted to hurt Quinn. “You’re obviously not if you went in there without preparation and backup.”

  Quinn growled, and Simon stared at him, trying not to look like he was afraid. He didn’t think Quinn would hurt him, especially with Malik in the same room, but he knew he was pushing Quinn by basically saying he wasn’t a good council member, or a good alpha. He wouldn’t have said something like that if he hadn’t been spitting mad with Quinn, but really, what had the man expected? He’d gone into Tom’s house without any backup and had to fly Malik out of there. If Simon could have hurt Quinn, he would have, even though he wasn’t usually a violent person. God knew his brother would be dead ten times over if he had been.

  “I think we can all agree that what Quinn did was foolish and rushed, but there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Kam said from behind his desk.

  He looked tired, and Simon couldn’t blame him, especially not with Quinn around. The guy’s presence was enough to make Simon want to go back to bed and sleep until Quinn was out of his life.

  “It might have been rushed, but we all know there was no way me and Malik would have convinced Tom to leave the pack alone.”

  “And you still had to put your life and Malik’s in danger?” Simon asked, already knowing the answer.

  Quinn smirked. “I didn’t know you cared for me too.”

  Simon took a step toward him, thinking that since Quinn was a hawk, he could probably wring his neck like a chicken’s. Chickens weren’t too different from hawks, right?

  Malik wrapped an arm around Simon’s waist and pulled him closer to him before he could do anything, though. Simon slumped against his side, wondering what the fuck he’d done to Fate to find himself saddled with Quinn. Malik and Quinn were a package deal, especially since Quinn didn’t seem to have problems with Simon wearing make-up anymore. He just didn’t like it when Simon insulted him, and Simon promised himself he’d do just that at every opportunity he had. And he’d call him Quincy, so many, many times.

  “So you bugged Tom’s office,” Kam said.

  Quinn turned to look at him, and Simon relaxed. Kam winked at him, and Simon couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on his lips, even if he quickly made it disappear when Quinn peeked at him

  Quinn rolled his eyes and looked at Kam. “Yeah.”

  “Do you think anyone noticed?”

  “I put three of them around, just in case.”

  “How did you do it?” Malik asked. “The office was full of guards.”

  “It wasn’t hard. There’s one hidden behind the frame of an ugly portrait, one stuck under Tom’s desk, and one on his shelves.”

  “Can we listen to what’s being said?”

  “I already have my beta doing it. He’ll wade through the bullshit and let us know what’s happening.”

  Kam nodded. “So now we wait.”

  “Unless you want to directly attack him, which isn’t a bad idea, if you ask me.”

  Simon snorted. “Of course you think attacking is a good idea.”

  “Oh, are you talking from your experience as an alpha. No, wait. You’re not an alpha. Right.”

  Simon’s glare deepened and Malik sighed. “Do you two really have to fight like that?” he asked, his voice weary.

  Simon felt guilty. Watching his mate and his best friend fighting like that couldn’t be easy on Malik, especially not after what had happened that morning thanks to Quinn. Malik probably wanted to go rest, and shower, but instead, he was playing referee.

  “Sorry,” Simon said. “Let’s go home, yeah?”

  Malik nodded, but of course, Quinn couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “We should start planning.”

  Simon moved out of Malik’s embrace and poked at Quinn’s chest with his finger. “Now you want to plan? Now? Really?”

  Simon knew he was playing with fire, but he thought he was doing a good job of not hitting Quinn in the face with his fist. No one would blame him if he did, yet he was restraining himself. He was being so good.

  “Tom will attack, and we need to be ready,” Quinn said, strangely not trying to kill Simon.

  “No, you needed to be ready to get into Tom’s office, which you clearly weren’t. I swear, if you ever put my mate’s life in danger, I’ll kill you. And I know you’ll probably kill me before I can even get to you, but I don’t care, because then I’ll just haunt your ass for the rest of your life. I’ll make your life hell.”

  “I’m so scared.”

  “And you should be. I know I don’t look like much, but I wouldn’t have any problems killing you, or maiming you very badly. Don’t underestimate me, Quincy.” Or rather, Quinn shouldn’t underestimate Simon’s friends. Simon couldn’t do much on his own, but he knew his friends would help him hide the body if he needed them to. They were good that way.

  “Don’t call me Quincy,” Quinn said between gritted teeth.

  “I won’t if you stop being an idiot.”

  Malik pulled Simon back. “Come on, let’s go home.”

  Simon breathed in and out and tried to calm himself. He knew he wouldn’t be able to, not as long as he was in Quinn’s presence. He pointed at Quinn. “I don’t want to see you again today, or even tomorrow. Leave me and Malik alone.”

  Quinn opened his mouth, and Simon knew it was to give him a scathing answer, but Malik must have done something behind Simon’s back, because Quinn looked above Simon’s head and snapped his mouth shut.

  Malik gently pulled Simon away, and Simon followed him outside Kam’s office, then outside the house. He shivered when the wind blew around him, and Malik wrapped an arm around his shoulders again. “Do you want my jacket?” he asked.

  Simon shook his head. “I just
want to go home, shower, and get into bed with you. Maybe eat if someone cooked, because I’m not about to do it.”

  It had been easy to dismiss the deep-seated fear Simon had felt for his mate when he’d found out what had happened until now. Yelling at Quinn and threatening him had managed to keep that fear away, but now that Simon and Malik were alone, Simon couldn’t avoid thinking about it anymore.

  His hands shook, and he stuck them under his armpits so Malik wouldn’t see it. He should have known better.

  Malik stopped walking and put himself into Simon’s path. He pulled onto Simon’s wrists until Simon let his hands fall by his side. Malik took them and rubbed his thumbs on them. “I’m fine. I know that what Quincy did was stupid, but I’m fine. It’s over, and I’ll talk to him when I don’t feel like helping you kill him and bury his body.”

  Simon smiled. “I knew you were angry with him.”

  “Of course I am. He was rash and stupid. He is, sometimes, but not usually.”

  “Yeah, well, he’d better think about what he’s doing next time. I don’t want to lose you, and even though I’d be happy to kill him slowly, I know you’d be hurt if something happens to him, and it’s the last thing I want for you.”

  Malik smiled and kissed Simon. “Let’s go home.”

  Simon followed him, happy to stay quiet as they walked through the darkening forest toward their home. Malik climbed the porch step and opened the door, but before they could walk in, Mal was there, looking angry. He pushed them back onto the porch and looked at Simon. “Your parents are here.”

  * * * *

  The change in Simon made Malik want to hit something. His shoulders slumped, the smile disappeared from his face, and his eyes grew darker.