by Lynn Hagen
“Did you just imitate Mike’s voice?” Aiden asked.
“Who?” Gavril gave them a confused stare. “You mean that guy who just walked out of here?”
“But I felt immense power when you were in my bedroom,” Aiden said.
“For you they felt immense,” Gavril said. “For me, it’s like trying to take down an elephant with a super soaker.”
“So you’re saying you can’t close the deal?” Rudy smirked.
Gavril pointed his finger at Rudy, his booze bottle wrapped in his hand. “Watch it, puny human.”
Aiden rubbed a hand over his face. “What’re you doing here? Why are you back in our lives?”
Gavril looked toward the floor, shrugging one shoulder. He looked like a kicked puppy, but Rudy wasn’t going to feel sorry for the guy. Gavril had been nothing but an asshole since popping into Aiden’s bedroom.
“I have nowhere else to go,” Gavril said.
Rudy shoved at Gavril’s arm, gaining a small growl from Aiden. “Well, you aren’t coming home with us. Preston will obliterate us if he finds out we helped you. Can’t you pop into someone’s home on the other side of the world?”
Aiden grabbed Rudy’s wrist and pulled him back. “Stop touching the naked angel.”
Rudy glared at Gavril. “Put some clothes on.”
Because damn, even with scars, Gavril really did have a rocking body. Rudy just wasn’t stupid or suicidal enough to say that out loud.
Gavril snarled. “Touch me again and I’ll turn you into a grain of sand.”
Rudy rolled his eyes. “Right, Mr. Teeny Tiny Powers.”
When Gavril narrowed his eyes, the nebulas Rudy had seen in them before disappeared, replaced by rolling fire. “I may not be at full strength, but I have enough juice in me to remove you from existence.”
If Rudy had learned one thing—and he prayed that it was true because Gavril looked seconds away from making good on his threat—it was that Gavril’s bark was worse than his bite. The angel talked massive shit, but Rudy had a feeling that, deep down, the angel was a good guy.
But he still had to get out of there before Preston found him.
They managed to get Gavril out the back door before Rudy closed and locked it. A part of him—a very small part—felt sorry for the guy. But no way was Rudy getting involved in angel business.
“You know he’s probably gonna show up at the cabin,” Aiden said. “What happened to your plan of putting the two of them together so we could be done with them?”
“Did you see him?” Rudy asked as they headed for the door that led into the bar. “I have a feeling Gavril isn’t the bad guy in all of this. Those scars…”
“I already said as much, but we should stay out of this.” Aiden pushed the door open. “Maybe we should get a room at the motel until this blows over.”
Aiden stopped just outside the kitchen door. Although no more food would be served for the night, the bar was still packed. Aiden’s gaze bounced around so quickly that Rudy feared his eyes would roll right out of his head.
His mate’s anxiety was kicking in. Rudy cursed. Aiden simply stood there frozen in place, and it looked as though his muscles were coiling tight. A bead of sweat worked its way down Aiden’s temple.
The last thing Rudy needed was for his mate to turn into a bear and destroy the bar.
If that was what Aiden planned on doing. Rudy wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t willing to take that chance.
“Go back into the kitchen.” He shoved at Aiden, but the guy was huge and made of pure muscles.
Rudy cupped Aiden’s face, rose on his toes, and kissed the living daylights out of his mate. At first, Aiden didn’t respond. Then he groaned and circled his arms around Rudy’s body, taking the kiss deeper.
With his mind occupied, Rudy slowly moved them backward until they were past the door and once again in the kitchen. Rudy broke the kiss and led Aiden to a chair. “Have a seat and try to calm yourself.”
Aiden worked his jaw from side to side, as though he hated that crowds damn near crippled him.
“We can go out the back door,” Rudy suggested. “Gavril should be gone by now.”
Aiden rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes.
“Come on, I’ll help you.”
“Just give me a damn minute,” Aiden snapped.
Rudy took a step back. This was the first time Aiden had gotten testy with him. He understood his mate was fighting to regain his composure, but…
“You don’t have to talk to me that way,” he said. “I was just as embarrassed when you found me in that tent. You don’t have to put up a front. I already know why crowds bother you.”
He spun and headed for the back door. His feelings shouldn’t have been wounded, but they were.
Aiden grabbed Rudy around the waist and hauled him into his strong arms. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It was wrong of me to take it out on you.”
“Do you think I’m still not trying to get a handle on everything that’s happened to me?” Rudy leaned his head back and stared up into Aiden’s pale green eyes. “Most of the time I’m okay, but there’re moments when all this seems too much. A guy who can change into a bear, a drunken angel, and demons are real? On what planet should that be okay?”
Aiden brushed his thumbs over Rudy’s cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me you were still struggling with all of this?”
“The same reason you just acted like an ass. I didn’t want you to think I was weak, that I couldn’t handle things.”
Aiden grinned. “We’re both pretty screwed up.”
Rudy held up his hand, his index and thumb pressed together with just a small space between them. “Maybe just a little.”
His mate took his hand and opened the back door. “Come on. Let’s go home. As I recall, I owe someone a blowjob.”
“That would be me,” Rudy said with a smile.
“Ah.” Aiden nodded. “I knew it was someone I was falling in love with, but I just couldn’t think of his name.”
Rudy elbowed Aiden, and then his mate’s words sank in. He stopped just outside the door, staring up at him. “Did you just say you were falling in love with me?”
Aiden’s grin lit up his eyes. “That I did. I’m falling madly in love with you, sweetheart.”
Rudy’s heart kicked up a notch. This massive guy, with pretty eyes, gorgeous blond hair, who could have his pick of any guy was in love with him. None of this felt real.
“I-I love you, too.” Rudy had to force the words past his lips. He truly loved Aiden, but he’d never uttered the words to anyone before. Not even to his parents. They felt foreign on his lips, yet he felt giddy when he'd said them.
“You just made my night.” Aiden chuckled. “Now I’m gonna show you just how much I love you when we get—” Aiden let go of a deep, vibrating snarl.
Rudy looked over his shoulder, and his eyebrows hiked to his hairline.
Standing there at the corner of the building was Preston, but he wasn’t alone. He had three guys next to him, and Preston looked pissed.
* * * *
“Why is it every time I get a lead on Gavril, I find you two?” Preston said with a curled lip. “He was just here. Where did he go?”
Aiden pressed his hand into Rudy’s hip, keeping his mate behind him. He was sick and tired of these feathery fucks. “How should I know?”
“My patience is wearing thin.” Preston took a step toward them. “Hand over the traitor, or you’ll suffer right along with him.”
Aiden thought of the horrendous scars he’d seen littering Gavril’s body. He had no doubt the angels could make him suffer, but something deep inside him—a part of him that had to have lost its ever-loving mind—refused to hand Gavril over.
Even though he had a sneaking suspicion that Gavril was at the cabin. Aiden was still convinced that Gavril wasn’t the bad guy in this, but he seriously needed to think this through. Did he really want to go up against Preston and his goons? They were freaking angels
for crying out loud. The immense power radiating off them should’ve had Aiden telling them whatever they wanted to know.
Aiden decided to stick with some of the truth. “He keeps showing up like an unwanted toothache and we keep telling him to go away. How’s it our fault he keeps bothering us?”
Preston closed the distance, stopping when they were eye-to-eye. “You have no idea the crimes he’s committed. Gavril is at the top of our most wanted list. You’d do well to keep as far away from him as possible.”
“Like I said,” Aiden snarled, “he’s the one harassing us.”
Preston reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a thin metal necklace that looked more like a collar. “Put this around his neck the next time he harasses you. The necklace will restrain any remaining powers he possesses.”
“It’ll make him as vulnerable as a human,” Aiden guessed as he stared at the thin material. There were symbols in the metal, but hell if he could make out what they were.
The side of Preston’s mouth curled into a smile. “You’re not as dumb as you look, bear.”
Before Aiden could open his mouth to reply, the angels vanished.
“What’re we gonna do?” Rudy asked. “I’m not comfortable handing Gavril over to them. And how’re you supposed to get that necklace around him, anyway?”
Aiden shoved the thin metal into his front pocket and grabbed Rudy’s hand, no longer in a playful mood. Getting a motel room was looking better and better. He cursed Gavril for getting them involved in the first place.
“I need to talk to Reese,” he said. Aiden needed ideas. He wasn’t coming up with any on his own.
Instead of taking Rudy home, he drove to his best friend’s house. Aiden hated to get Reese involved in this, but he didn’t know where else to turn.
“I love you,” Rudy said on their ride over there. “I just like saying it. I’ll probably say it a hundred more times.”
Aiden’s foul mood lifted just a bit as he squeezed his mate’s hand. “And I’ll never tire of hearing it.” He lifted Rudy’s hand and kissed his knuckles.
When they made it to Reese’s house, the lights were out. With a groan, Aiden knocked on the door. He wouldn’t be surprised if the rhino shifter tried to remove his balls for showing up so late.
The porch light came on, and Reese opened the door. He looked between Aiden and Rudy before allowing them in. “What’s wrong?”
Reese had a mate and a newborn to protect. Aiden felt like shit for showing up as he explained what was going on.
“Angels?” Reese’s brows shot up. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I were,” Aiden said. “And now they want me to help them capture Gavril.”
“That’s like getting in the middle of an Ultionem fight.” Reese gave a low whistle. “That is not a place I would want to be.”
“No shit,” Aiden said. “I was kinda hoping you knew what to do.”
Reese looked incredulously at him. “How should I know how to handle angels? I didn’t even know they existed, and you said they have immense power. Why don’t you get out of town? Take a road trip for a month or two or ten?”
Aiden had thought about getting a motel room, but Reese’s idea seemed much better. It had been forever since he’d seen his friend Chauncey, and if anyone could help him, it was the Lakelands.
Chapter Nine
“Mind telling me why I just drove through the night to get here,” Chauncey Lakeland said when he got out of his truck. “Not that I mind helping out an old friend, but Pa’s gonna be pissed when he finds I’m gone. I was supposed to help him break in a new horse.”
Aiden smiled as he gave the six-foot-five-inch man a quick hug. “It’s good to see you.” He waved for Rudy to join him. “And this is Rudy.”
Chauncey grabbed Rudy’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “The pleasure’s all mine.”
Aiden growled. “That’s enough or I’m telling Curtis you were flirting with my mate.”
“I wasn’t flirting,” Chauncey argued as he let Rudy’s hand go. “I was just being overfriendly. Now tell me why we’re parked in a Walmart parking lot at five in the morning.”
Aiden looked around. They were parked at the back of the lot, far enough away from the store. “I needed to leave Maple Grove in a hurry.”
“You’re in Maple Grove?” Chauncey laughed. “How’s Moose doing?”
“Who?”
Chauncey rolled his eyes. “Never mind. What’s going on? Do you need me to kill someone, or is this some strange reunion that couldn’t wait ’til a proper hour?”
Aiden leaned against his car and explained to the bear shifter what was going on. “I felt it best to get out of Dodge until things were settled.”
Chauncey gave a low whistle. “When you get mixed up in shit, you don’t play around.”
“I didn’t get caught up in anything,” Aiden argued. “Gavril just popped into my cabin. He’s the one who involved us.”
“Angels.” Chauncey scratched at his head. “That’s a first for me. I can believe they’re real.”
“And nothing like we’ve ever imagined. Gavril is a drunk who smokes, walks around naked, and has the worst attitude.”
The side of Chauncey’s mouth twisted into a grin. “I gotta meet this guy. He sounds like a real charm.”
Aiden didn’t want to imagine Chauncey and Gavril meeting. “Anyway, I was wondering if my mate and I can stay at the ranch.”
Chauncey shook his head, which made Aiden’s heart drop. “Sorry, we’re all booked up, but there’s plenty of room at the bed and breakfast. Or you could call Maverick. I know he has room at the Den.”
Worse than Chauncey and Gavril meeting would be Maverick and the angel sizing each other up. Aiden didn’t want to think about that happening. The two would probably start an apocalypse.
“But no matter where you stay, you know you’ll have protection,” Chauncey said. “The Lakelands or Maverick’s pack won’t let anything happen to either of you.”
This had been a mistake. Aiden saw that now. Just like he didn’t need to pull Reese into this mess, he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. But damn it, this wasn’t his problem, either.
Fucking Gavril.
“I’m sorry you came all this way,” Aiden said.
Chauncey arched a brow. “You saying we can’t protect you?”
“No, I’m saying no one else needs to get involved.” Aiden and Chauncey shook hands before Aiden climbed back into his car. Rudy got into the passenger seat and eyed him.
“What is it?” he asked. “Why are you turning down help? That guy is as big as you are, and he mentioned a pack. We could use all the help we can get.”
Aiden watched the bear shifter drive away. “I know, but I can’t let anyone get hurt, Rudy. I know how that devastation feels. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel the level of loss that I’ve felt.”
The Lakeland men came from good stock. They were honorable men, and if one of them died because Aiden had brought trouble to their door, he would never be able to forgive himself.
He just wished he’d thought about that before he’d called Chauncey and driven all this way.
Aiden’s head snapped up when he heard the roar of motorcycles. He looked over his shoulder, and not only did he see three men riding their hogs but Chauncey was back.
Getting out of his car, Aiden was shocked the Santiago brothers were there. Chauncey got out and grinned. “I asked them to come just in case there was trouble,” he said. “They agreed to follow you back to Maple Grove and help out.”
Tryck Santiago looked Aiden over, seeming unimpressed. “You got angel problems?” he asked.
Aiden nodded.
“Do we get to blow some shit up?” Law Santiago asked. “Tell me we get to blow some shit up.”
The Santiago men loved setting fires. That worried Aiden. What if they set his cabin ablaze? “Chauncey, I can’t ask—”
Chauncey held up his hand. “No take-backs. They’re he
re, so use them while they’re loaning you their time. I gotta get back, though. Pa’s gonna skin me already because I’m late helping him out.”
This time when the bear shifter left, he didn’t come back. Aiden stood there staring at three deadly wolf shifters. Chauncey was right. When Aiden got mixed up in something, shit got real.
* * * *
Rudy looked out the back window for the hundredth time. “Why are they out there in their wolf forms? Wouldn't it be better if they were inside?”
Aiden snorted. “Trust me, you don’t want the Santiago brothers sitting around your living room, especially Tryck. He’s surlier than Gavril. They’re patrolling. Let them stay out there.”
Rudy sat on the couch, feeling as though some doomsday clock was counting down. Gavril would return. He had no doubt about that. Preston didn’t seem like an idiot. He’d be back just to make sure Gavril hadn’t stopped by.
He stared at the necklace on the coffee table. It was thin and was light as a feather, but in Rudy’s mind, the burden of having it there made it weigh a million pounds considering Preston wanted them to put that thing around Gavril’s neck.
Rudy thought about Gavril’s scars. He’d only glanced at them, but he’d seen enough to know that some were long and jagged and others were crisscrossed in certain places. The angel had definitely been tortured.
And Rudy wanted to know why. What crime could Gavril have committed that deserved that kind of punishment? Unsure of the reason, Rudy grabbed the necklace and shoved it into his pocket before Aiden came from the kitchen. He just knew he couldn’t allow anyone to put it around Gavril’s neck.
“Here you go.” Aiden handed him a cup of tea then sat down next to him. “I think we deserve a quiet night.”
Rudy’s head snapped up when the doorbell rang. Would Gavril ring the doorbell? He highly doubted it. The angel was far more likely to walk right in, cigarette between his lips and a booze bottle in his hand.