by K. C. Wells
Horvan’s chest tightened. Judging by Rael’s expression, he was feeling the same. “A week?” Rael stared at Horvan, clearly aghast. “Dellan could be dead in a week.”
Horvan’s stomach turned over. He couldn’t afford to think like that. “We can’t go in without good intel. We need to know a whole load of shit before we even set foot in that building.” He met Hashtag’s gaze. “Is there any way you can hack into their system so we can see their video feed here on a laptop?” He was assuming there was a system of cameras in the building.
Hashtag stroked his jaw. “It might be possible. It depends how strong their system’s defenses are.” He cocked his head to one side. “Why is this important?”
“Because that way, we can see how Dellan is doing at any given hour.” Horvan glanced at Rael. “You can’t go back in there, as much as you’d like to. You’ll only arouse their suspicions.”
The anguish in Rael’s eyes was almost too much to bear.
“I think I’d better get started right away.” Hashtag grabbed his bag. “Give me the address and I’ll carry out my first recon.”
Crank placed his hand on Hashtag’s arm. “You want some company?”
“Nah. I’ll do this first one on my own. I’ll be back later to let you know what I found out.” Hashtag met Horvan’s gaze. “I’ll be here for dinner.” He grinned. “An address would be good.”
Rael got out his phone. “Put your number in here. I’ll send it to you.”
Hashtag quickly typed in his cell number. “There.” His eyes sparkled. “Send me loads of memes and you’re a dead man. I hate that shit.” Then he patted Rael’s cheek. “Don’t you worry. We’re gonna get your mate out of there,” he said quietly. “And you never know. I might go there and find out all I need real quick.”
Horvan smiled to himself. For all Hashtag’s brash manner and talk, he was a sensitive soul. Horvan walked with him to the front door. “Be safe.”
Hashtag held out his fist, and Horvan bumped it. “You know it. So point me in the right direction.”
Horvan snickered. “Head for the skyscrapers. The Global Bio-Tech building is one of those.”
Hashtag blinked. “You weren’t kidding. Your mate is on the top floor of a skyscraper?” His lips twitched. “Piece of cake, then.” His expression grew more somber. “You know you can rely on me. I might be a bit of a joker, but when the chips are down….”
Horvan knew it. “Go find out all you can.”
Hashtag nodded. He clasped hands with Horvan before heading up the steps to the street. When he was out of sight, Horvan came back inside.
“When we have a better idea of what’s going on, we’ll take turns doing the surveillance with Hashtag, if we need to,” Roadkill told him.
“So what do I do?” Rael demanded.
“Right now? There’s nothing you can do. And I know that feels awful, but we have to wait.” Horvan hated the weariness that stole over Rael’s face. “You really didn’t sleep that well last night, did you? Why don’t you go take a nap?” He indicated Crank and Roadkill. “These two are probably gonna play cards until Hashtag gets back. It’s not as if you’re missing anything.”
Rael nodded wearily. “A nap might be good.”
Horvan walked over to him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “I’ll wake you if there’s any news or when it’s time to eat, whichever comes first.”
Rael smiled. You’d better. He headed for the bedroom.
As the door closed with a snick behind Rael, Roadkill cleared his throat. “Okay, can we talk? Because you gotta know we have a shitload of questions.”
Like Horvan hadn’t seen that coming. “Sure.” He joined Roadkill on the couch, and Crank sat on the coffee table facing them. “Fire away.”
“So how come you never told us?” Crank demanded. “Why keep it a secret? Have you always been able to do this?”
“How come nobody knows about shifters?” Roadkill chimed in.
Horvan held up his hands defensively. “Whoa, there. How about one question at a time?” He leaned back against the cushions. “As for how come no one knows about us, I was always told we were viewed as a myth. Maybe we should stay like that.”
“For God’s sake, why? I think it’s freaking awesome.” Crank chuckled. “Scary as hell, but awesome.”
Horvan shook his head. “Think about it for a second. Think how people react to things that frighten them. Other races, gays, et cetera. Mankind doesn’t have a good record when it comes to dealing with stuff that’s out of the ordinary. Sure, they might understand, but let’s be honest—who wants to test that theory?”
Roadkill gave him a speculative glance. “Have you met other shifters?”
“Sure. Not that many, but yeah.”
He smiled. “But how do you know they’re a shifter? Is there some secret handshake or something? A code sign you give each other?”
Horvan laughed. “We do it by smell.”
Crank wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, I can understand that. I can still smell that bear.” Roadkill whacked him on the leg, and he scowled. “Come on, don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”
Roadkill ignored him. “What about kids?”
“What about them?”
“Well… if you had kids, would they be bears?”
“You only get shifter babies when you mate with a shifter. If I mated with a human, the babies would be human too. And as for whether or not they’d be bears, that would depend on who had the dominant gene.”
“Wait.” Crank’s eyes widened. “Shifters mate with humans?”
Horvan nodded. “A buddy of mine—he’s a bunny shifter—he mated with a human. A woman,” he added for clarity.
“A bunny shifter? For real?” Crank shook his head. “Now I’ve heard everything.”
Horvan chuckled. “They have eight kids.”
“She does know, right? That he’s a shifter?”
Horvan laughed. “Of course she does. Otherwise it might be difficult to explain why he disappears from time to time to go shift.”
Crank snorted. “Or why they’ve got eight kids.”
“Is that what you do? Shift now and again?” Roadkill asked.
Before Horvan could respond, Crank grinned. “Now I know why you live in that piddling little town. You’ve got all that space to shift in.”
Horvan nodded. “I have to be careful. There aren’t that many black bear sightings in Indiana.” He glared at Crank. “And watch what you say. I happen to like that ‘piddling little town.’”
Roadkill gazed at him thoughtfully. “When did you first shift?” He smiled. “Because I have visions of this cute little bear cub running around.”
“At the onset of puberty. That’s when I found out what I was. My parents are both bears. They took me on vacation to some god-awful remote spot. I’d been grousing the entire time about how there was nothing to do. Then I learned why we were there.” Horvan smiled. “It was the best vacation ever. Dad taught me to fish in the lake, and I spent most of the time in bear form. When it came time to go home, I didn’t want to go.”
“When you say he taught you to fish….” Roadkill laughed. “Suddenly I’m envisioning every bit of footage I’ve ever seen about bears catching salmon.”
Horvan chuckled. “Yup. Although we fished for trout, not salmon.” He smacked his lips. “Delicious.”
“I hate to stop you in full reminiscing mode, but you still haven’t answered my question.” Crank looked him in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Horvan had known that one was coming. “If I’m honest? I was scared. I didn’t want you to look at me differently. I… I didn’t want to lose your trust.”
Roadkill smiled. “As if that was gonna happen.” He inclined his head toward the bedroom door. “So when did you meet Rael?”
Horvan grinned. “Yesterday.”
Crank’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? From the look of you two, anyone would think you’d been together ages.”
“So that’s it? You just accept that he’s your mate? You don’t question it? He fits into your life, and you assume everything is going to be hunky-dory?”
Horvan turned his head slowly to face Crank. “How can I explain this to you? Yes, he’s my mate, but… I don’t know him—yet. I look forward to finding stuff out about him. I know I’m gonna love him—that’s a given—but I have the rest of my life to work out why he’s perfect for me.”
“Wait—you know you’re gonna love him?” Crank gaped. “Whoa. This is—”
“Tell me about it.” This whole state of affairs was still making Horvan’s head spin. “And as for accepting the situation and not questioning it….” He smiled. “It’s pretty difficult to doubt it when I can hear his thoughts in my head, and he can hear mine.” He could imagine how that was going to go down.
Roadkill gaped. “Seriously? There’s some kind of telepathic link between you?” His eyes widened. “That is so freaking cool.” Then his expression softened. “You’re really worried about Dellan, aren’t you?”
Horvan let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I am. We both are.” He told them about Rael’s nightmare. “If he’s right, Dellan is getting weaker. I think what Rael fears most is that Dellan might totally lose the ability to shift. Worse, he might lose his humanity, and we’d never get him back.”
“Do you have any idea as to why he’s stuck as a tiger?” Crank asked.
“None whatsoever. But once we get him out of there, I want answers.” Horvan glanced at Roadkill. “I’ll need you for that part.”
Roadkill frowned. “Me?”
Horvan nodded. “To fetch Doc Tranter. He might know what’s wrong.”
Roadkill gaped at him. “Doc Tranter.” He expelled a breath. “Oh my God. The doc is a shifter too, isn’t he? How many of you are there?”
“I have no idea. My parents didn’t know much either, beyond the basics. I had so many questions growing up. Where do we come from? How long have we been around? How many different kinds of shifters are there? Only there were no answers.” It felt like there was a gaping hole in his life. Horvan hated knowing nothing of his origins.
Roadkill coughed. “Can I be practical for a moment? If Rael turned up yesterday, and it looks like we’re going to be here for at least a week…. You didn’t plan on having four guys to stay, did you? So maybe while we’ve got the time, I should go do some grocery shopping.”
Horvan nodded. “That would be great.” Supplies had been the last thing on his mind.
“And I’ll start looking into transport options. Because you know what my first thought was when your message said skyscraper.” Crank grinned. “We’re gonna need a chopper. I’d better see what’s available.”
A wave of gratitude washed over Horvan. “Thanks, guys.” He pulled them up to their feet and grabbed them both in a hug.
Roadkill cupped the back of his head and looked him in the eye. “Anything for you. Because you’d do the same for us.” His eyes twinkled. “Hell, we were gonna go hunt the bear that ate you.”
Horvan laughed as he released them. “Wow. That might’ve been awkward.”
Crank patted his back. “I know you’re not gonna pay me any attention when I say this, but… try not to worry, please? We’re gonna do all we can to get your mate out of there.”
“What he said.” Roadkill placed his hand on Horvan’s shoulder. “When Hashtag gets back, you’ll see. The ideas will start flowing, and before you know it, we’ll have a plan.”
God, Horvan prayed they could carry out this rescue before it was too late.
Chapter Eight
HORVAN WAS removing the pasta dish Crank had concocted from the oven when the doorbell rang. “Hey, Hashtag’s timing is spot-on as usual.”
Rael laughed as he filled a platter with chunks of garlic bread. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“Oh, I mean it. If Hashtag says he’ll have something done by a certain time, you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be done.” He inclined his head toward the living room. “Go tell ’em to get their asses in here. They can help themselves.” The plates were already warming in the bottom oven.
Rael disappeared from sight. Horvan placed the dish on a metal rack. Hashtag’s text had filled him with hope.
I think I’ve got it. Back soon with news. Get those beers chilled!
The others filed into the kitchen, chatting loudly.
“This isn’t anything like that chicken dish you made for us, is it, Crank?” Roadkill asked, eyeing the pasta with suspicion. “You know, the one that gave us all food poisoning.”
Crank glared at him. “That was a perfectly fine meal. Don’t blame me because you reheated the leftovers twice. You gotta be careful with chicken.”
Roadkill rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom.”
“I think we’re safe,” Horvan said with a grin. “This one’s only got vegetables and tofu in it.”
“Tofu?” Hashtag seemed horrified. “Since when do you eat tofu?”
“Since he met that girl last year. The one who was vegan. Ain’t that right, Crank?” Horvan shook his head. “The things we do for love.”
“Say what you like, you bastards. Tofu is a healthy option.” Crank helped himself to a large portion before adding a couple of chunks of garlic bread. Horvan made sure everyone had plenty before helping himself. In the living room, Rael, Crank and Roadkill had taken the couch, with Hashtag sitting on the floor, his plate on the coffee table, his laptop open beside it.
“Eat first,” Horvan instructed him, perching on the table, his plate balanced on his knee. “You can tell us what you’ve learned later. Because I’ll bet you haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
Hashtag rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom.” He dug his fork into the cheese-covered pasta. “And never mind what Roadkill says, Crank. This looks fucking amazing.”
“Tastes pretty good too,” Rael added.
For about five minutes there was no talking but plenty of appreciative noises. Horvan got up briefly to go into the kitchen when he realized he’d forgotten the beers. By the time all the plates were empty, he was buzzing with anticipation. “Okay. Now you can tell us.”
Hashtag pushed his plate aside and peered at the laptop screen. “Like I said, I think I’ve got a plan, but I’ll need time to set it up. However—” He tapped on the keyboard. “—important stuff first.” He turned the laptop so Horvan could see the monitor. “Your mate, I believe.”
Horvan caught his breath at the sight. The image was in black and white. A lean, magnificent tiger was pacing slowly up and down along the front of the cage, its head bobbing now and again. “He’s beautiful.”
Rael was at his side in a heartbeat. “Oh God, that’s not good.” His face paled in the light from the monitor.
“What do you mean?” Hashtag demanded. The other two got off the couch and crowded behind Horvan and Rael to see.
“Oh my God, look at that,” Crank said in an awed tone. “Look at the size of him.”
Horvan ignored him, his attention focused on Rael, his pulse racing. “What’s not good?”
“Him pacing like that? It’s a form of neurosis. It means he’s under a lot of stress. Animals in zoos or confined environments go cage-crazy after a while. It’s usually a sign they need to be released back into the wild.” Rael touched the screen, caressing the tiger, his eyes filled with anguish. He turned to Horvan. “We have to move fast.”
Horvan couldn’t agree more. “Okay, Hashtag. What’s your plan?”
Hashtag swallowed a mouthful of beer before speaking. “The good news is, we won’t need to do a week of surveillance. I found out all I need today, which is a good thing seeing as tomorrow is Saturday. The b
ad news? We’re still gonna need a week to set things up.”
“But have you worked out how we’re going to get him out?” Horvan demanded.
“Sure. We’re gonna take him out through the roof,” Hashtag replied with obvious confidence.
Crank blinked. “What are we gonna do—cut a hole in it with a can opener?”
Hashtag raised his eyes heavenward before continuing. “I’ve seen the layout of the building. There’s a staircase that goes from the top floor to the roof. They’ve got a helicopter pad up there. The CEO uses it. So… we’ll go out that way. Crank, we’ll need a military chopper, something big enough for all of us and the tiger.”
“Wait a minute.” Horvan focused on Hashtag. “Define ‘us.’” His heartbeat sped up.
“You, me, Roadkill, and Rael, plus any other guys we get in on this. Crank will be flying it, of course.” Hashtag regarded him mildly. “Is there a problem?”
Horvan nodded. “Rael’s not going with us.” There was no way he was about to endanger his mate.
“Hey, don’t I get a say in this?” Rael yelled, his face reddening.
“We need him!” Roadkill shouted.
Crank shook his head. “You can’t tell him what to do, mate or no mate.”
“Hold it!” They all fell silent at Hashtag’s holler. He stared pointedly at Horvan. “Rael has to go. As far as we know, he’s the only one of us who can communicate with Dellan.” He peered at Rael. “That’s right, isn’t it? You already have a rapport with him?” Rael nodded, and Hashtag turned back to Horvan. “No offense, H, but you and Dellan don’t have that yet. Obviously you will, once you guys get together, but for now? We need to go in there and have Dellan cooperate with us. He has to know what’s going on. From the look of things, he’s already stressed. Imagine what his reaction will be if all these strange guys turn up and try to take him from his cage.” He paused, his gaze locked on Horvan’s. “We need him, H.”
Horvan looked from Hashtag’s earnest expression to Rael’s tortured one, his heart quaking. Finally he nodded. “You’re right, of course.” He knew in his heart that Rael would be protected, but it didn’t stop him from worrying.