by Lynn Hagen
A soft rap sounded on his door. Emilio got up and opened it.
“I need my pants and shoes.” Malik slid past him, their bodies brushing. Emilio felt an electric jolt and suppressed a moan. Malik grabbed what he’d come into the room for but paused at the door.
“I have to bring you to the station to file charges against Calvin.” He slid on his pants but carried his shoes out of the room.
Emilio just wanted last night to fade away. He didn’t want to go down to the station and file a damn thing. The town would know what had happened, and that was the last thing he wanted since he was an insanely private person.
But if he didn’t go down there, Calvin would walk free, and Emilio felt sick to his stomach at that thought. Would the bastard come after Emilio again if he was set free, or would Calvin leave him alone? Bile reached the back of his throat at the thought of Calvin coming back to the bar, of Calvin laying in wait for him.
No matter how much Emilio wanted this to just go away, he knew he had to file the complaint.
He dressed then walked into the living room to find Malik still there, drinking his coffee. Emilio shouldn’t trust the guy. Malik was a complete stranger who kept popping up. He should think of the guy as a stalker, but in truth, Emilio just didn’t want to be alone right now.
“Can you…if it wouldn’t be a problem…” Emilio rubbed his hand over his nape. “Can you take me there?”
Hell if Emilio felt like walking. And he was still unnerved. Although he didn’t trust Malik, Emilio wouldn’t mind stealing a little more of the man’s strength.
With a nod, Malik said, “I planned on it. My Jeep is downstairs. If you’re ready, we can go.”
They rode in silence as Emilio looked at the town, but he couldn’t ignore the strong presence next to him and hated the fact that he felt as if no one could hurt him as long as Malik was at his side.
Emilio didn’t need to feel that way. He didn’t need to rely on someone else who would eventually let him down. After he was done at the station, he planned on ditching Malik.
When they pulled in front of the station they saw Sheriff Copache standing outside, sipping on a cup of coffee. He looked up and saw them then grimaced.
Emilio had no idea what that look was about, but the expression made his gut clench as he got out and stood by the passenger door. He was too afraid to open his mouth because, if he did, that would make last night feel all the more real.
Malik joined Emilio and brushed a hand over his shoulder, as though it was second nature to him. Although every instinct told Emilio to walk away, he buried his face into Malik’s chest.
“We’ll go as slow as you need,” he whispered into Emilio’s ear. “Take a few calming breaths, hon.”
Emilio breathed in and out, and the only thing that accomplished was to make him dizzy.
“Slower breaths,” Malik said. “I didn’t say to make yourself pass out.”
With one last inhale, Emilio pulled away from Malik and let the air out slowly. He turned toward the sheriff, ready to put Calvin away for life, although he knew that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t as though Calvin had murdered him.
Sheriff Copache walked toward them. He looked from Emilio to Malik. “I don’t know how it happened. We’re still trying to figure that out.”
“What?” Malik asked.
Sheriff Copache took another sip of his coffee as his gaze darted around. “This morning, when I went into the holding area to check on Calvin, he was gone.”
Chapter Three
“What do you mean gone?” Malik asked as he pulled Emilio into his arms. It had been an instinctive move, but his mate didn’t pull away. He stayed tucked next to Malik as the sheriff shook his head.
“I mean poof, disappeared into thin air. His cell was still locked, and no one had let him out. I know because there’s only one way in and out of the holding area, and that’s through the hallway by my office door. I’ve had my door open all morning, and I would’ve seen him pass by.”
There was only one reason Malik could think of that Calvin could have vanished. He hadn’t been human. But…had Malik missed the man’s scent in his rage? Had he blocked it out in his need to have the son of a bitch arrested?
He tried to think back but couldn’t recall Calvin’s scent.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Emilio looked bug-eyed at the sheriff. “Just fucking great.”
He pulled from Malik’s embrace and stormed down the street. Malik turned to the sheriff. “We’ll talk later, but put Darren on this. If Calvin vanished, that means he isn’t human.”
“Thought already crossed my mind,” the sheriff said.
Malik took off after Emilio and caught up to him by the diner. “Where’re you going?”
“To buy an arsenal of weapons. If Calvin comes near me again, I’m blowing his goddamn head off.”
Anger. Malik could deal with that much better than fear. But he knew his mate wasn’t buying a damn thing if his home was any indication. Emilio wouldn’t be able to afford a handgun, let alone an arsenal of them.
“The gun shop is the opposite way,” he pointed out as he easily kept pace.
Emilio turned and glared at him. “Go away.”
He grabbed Emilio’s arm and hauled him into the diner. Malik needed to let Moose know what was going on. He needed as many eyes as possible if they were to catch Calvin.
“Why’d you bring me in here?” Emilio paled as he looked around. “I-I can’t be in here.”
“Why?” Malik saw Steven clearing a table. His brother was behind the counter pouring coffee, and Moose was waiting on some customers. Nothing appeared threatening inside the diner.
“Emilio!” Steven grinned as he set his tub aside and hurried to the door. “It’s so good to see you.”
“What the hell do you want?” Kenny snarled as he joined them. Malik was taken aback by the guy’s venomous tone.
Emilio turned and ran out, and once again Malik was chasing his mate down. If he’d known he’d be doing all this running, Malik would’ve worn track shoes today instead of his boots.
“Goddamn it, Emilio. Stop and talk to me.”
Emilio spun and shot daggers at Malik. “Why? I don’t even know you. Last night all you were interested in was fucking me, and for all I know, your kindness is just a ploy to achieve that.”
A kick to the nuts would’ve hurt less. Unfortunately, Emilio was right. All Malik had been interested in was a quick fuck, but that was before he’d found out that Emilio was his mate. Now all he wanted to do was protect the hothead.
Although Malik wouldn’t turn down sex. His lion was dying to claim Emilio and bind their souls together.
Emilio narrowed his eyes. “Tell me why you were at the bar after closing, Malik. Tell me you weren’t there to talk me into going home with you.”
“I was there to make sure you got home safe,” Malik snarled.
“Bullshit!” Emilio spun and headed down the street, flipping up his middle finger over his head.
With a deep growl, Malik caught up to Emilio. “So you’re just going to walk around on your own knowing Calvin is out here somewhere?”
Emilio didn’t bother to look at him. “I was caught off guard last night. I won’t be the next time he comes near me.”
And if Calvin wasn’t human, no defense strategy Emilio came up with would help him. Preternatural beings were ten times stronger than humans, and Calvin would easily overpower the shrimp.
That thought made ice cubes form in Malik’s gut. He needed to find out what Calvin was. He could be a shifter, demon, vampire, ghoul, fairy, or any other deadly creature, and any of them could kill Emilio.
If Calvin was a fairy, that would explain his disappearance since they were capable of vanishing into thin air, as did demons.
He grabbed Emilio’s arm to stop him from crossing the street. “We seriously need to talk.”
Jerking his arm free, Emilio looked both ways before using the crosswalk. “There�
�s nothing to discuss. Like I said before, I appreciate the help you gave me last night, but you can fuck off now.”
“What in the hell is your problem?” Malik demanded. “Are you always this caustic toward those who want to help you?”
He wanted to take Emilio back to the apartment and tell his mate about the preternatural world. Emilio needed to know the real dangers out there and that Malik was truly there to protect him, not just looking for a quick fuck.
When they stepped back onto the sidewalk, Emilio stopped and let go of a long breath. Malik saw the anger drain away as his mate chewed on his bottom lip. “I’m not a trusting person.”
“Really?” Malik asked. “And here I thought you were all sunshine and rainbows.”
He felt just as defensive as Emilio was acting, but Malik was also dying to touch his mate, to hold the guy in his arms, to kiss those worries away. Fuck, he was dying to kiss Emilio.
He curled his hands into fists to stop himself from reaching out and caressing Emilio’s cheek. His mate might be livid, but Malik saw the lost and lonely look in his blueberry-colored eyes. He wasn’t sure what had happened in Emilio’s life to make him so jaded, but Malik was determined to gain his mate’s trust.
“How about we go back to your place to talk and enjoy weak coffee?”
He could tell Emilio was fighting against a grin. “I was dead asleep when you came by this morning. You can’t blame me for making crappy coffee. Hell, I don’t even remember you coming by until I saw you in my bed.”
Malik touched Emilio’s shoulder because he couldn’t stop himself from needing the connection. “I’ll even order some takeout.”
The mention of food brought the smile front and center. “Chinese?”
“Whatever you want.” He coaxed his mate back to the station where his Jeep was parked. Malik wanted to ask what the diner thing was all about, why Kenny had looked pissed off to see Emilio, but he had Emilio in a mood that wasn’t geared toward anger, and at the moment, Malik wanted to keep it that way.
They drove back to Emilio’s apartment, and as promised, Malik ordered them some food. He was starving considering he hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Neither of them had, and Emilio was too damn skinny to skip a meal.
After they stuffed their faces and read their ridiculous fortunes, Malik helped Emilio clean up their mess.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Emilio asked as he tossed the empty containers into the trash and Malik washed the glasses they’d used for their sodas.
So much for their easygoing mood. Once Malik explained his world to Emilio, his mate just might kick him out.
“I’m not sure Calvin was human.” Malik set the glasses in the drainer and turned to face Emilio. He braced himself, waiting for his mate to call him a liar, insane, and to tell him to get the fuck out.
Instead, Emilio furrowed his brows. “You mean he’s a shifter?”
Malik was blown away. He’d been prepared to argue his point, and to shift if he had to prove he was telling the truth. Now his thought pattern stumbled, and he had to blink in order to reboot his brain.
“How do you know about shifters?”
“I work with Jericho, and he’s a bunny shifter. Reese, the cook, he’s a rhino. My stepdad was a rhino shifter.” Emilio’s eyes turned stormy as he walked out of the kitchen.
Malik followed.
Emilio shook his head. “So what do you think Calvin is?”
“Maybe a fairy or demon. They can pop in and out of places, as can elves.”
Emilio’s steps faltered as he spun and stared wide-eyed at Malik. “Did you just say fairies and demons?” He blinked several times. “And elves are real? Like the kind that live in trees and make cookies or the kind that fix shoes?” He scratched at his head. “Do they really like cream and need to count sugar?”
Malik couldn’t stop the laughter that burst from his throat. “The Keebler Elves and elfish shoemakers aren’t real. At least I don’t think so. But that’s not the kind of elves I’m talking about.”
How had they gotten so far off track? Malik wanted to tell Emilio they were mates, but the guy kept rattling on, as if talking helped him absorb the new reality around him.
And Malik let him talk so Emilio could work things out. Maybe that would help him accept that they were mates. Besides, he loved hearing the sound of Emilio’s voice.
“What kind of elves?” Emilio curled into the armchair and tucked his feet under him, seeming enraptured with the subject.
“There are wood elves and shadow elves. Since Calvin wasn’t blue, I’m gonna scratch shadow elves off the list.”
Emilio’s eyes gleamed, as though what Malik was saying fascinated him. “And wood elves?”
Malik sat on the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table, tossing one arm over the back as they discussed the different nonhuman species.
It felt as though hours had passed before Malik brought up the subject of mates.
Emilio brows drew down. “So you’re saying that nonhumans get a mate, like a soul mate?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Malik nodded. “A mate is a person created by fate solely for a preternatural being. There isn’t anything a person wouldn’t do for their mate, and their happiness is a nonhuman’s top priority, along with their safety.”
Emilio scooted a little closer to the edge of the armchair. “And how does a person find his or her mate?”
Malik tapped his chest. “They feel it in here. A magnetism that draws them to that person, an insane attraction that they can’t fight, no matter how hard they try.”
Emilio moved back and looked Malik over. “How do you know so much about the nonhuman world?”
Malik braced himself again. So far Emilio had been accepting of everything Malik had explained to him, but it was a different story when Emilio was personally involved.
He cleared his throat. “Because I’m a lion shifter.”
Emilio blinked several times. “Seriously?”
He studied Malik a little too long and Malik saw the wheels turning in his mate’s head. He must’ve put two and two together, because Emilio’s relaxed pose turned stiff as his eyes widened. “No.”
“I wasn’t at the bar at closing time to get laid, Emilio,” Malik said. “I was honestly there to make sure you made it home safely.”
Emilio shot from the chair and bolted down the hallway, slamming his bedroom door closed.
Malik rested his head on the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He kind of figured Emilio would react this way, but damn it. Why couldn’t he have rolled with the punches as he’d been doing the entire time they’d talked?
Instead of going to his mate, Malik kicked his boots off and stretched out on the couch, getting cozy for the long wait. He’d let Emilio freak out in his bedroom. Sooner or later the guy would calm down and process the information.
And hopefully, once Emilio had done that, they could get to the claiming part because scenting the guy’s baby powder smell on the couch was driving Malik insane.
* * * *
“Are you sure?” Deputy Christopher asked as he wandered to the holding area, Moose right behind him.
“No, I actually let him go free.” Grayson wasn’t happy he’d lost a prisoner, especially one who had committed such a heinous act. He was also still pissed about Joshua’s reaction to the situation after finding out it was a man-on-man sexual crime.
Darren moved into the holding area and inhaled deep drafts as he turned in circles. Moose stood at the entrance as he sniffed the air.
The two looked at each other with wide eyes.
“What?” Grayson asked.
“We’re dealing with a demon,” Moose said.
Just fucking great. That was the last thing Grayson wanted to hear. He didn’t need a nonhuman criminal on the loose, not when he was dealing with a distraught daughter. Every time he thought of how Alisha broke down and cried on his shoulder after telling him that her husband had cheated on he
r, Grayson wanted to shoot David between his fucking eyes.
His daughter and granddaughter were at his house, Alisha unsure what she wanted to do. Grayson could easily say to leave the bastard, but that wasn’t his call.
“So how do we trap a demon?” Grayson asked.
“They can move in and out of shadows,” Darren said. “That was how he got away.”
Grayson knew Darren’s mate was a demon, so he had to treat the subject delicately. He didn’t want to offend his deputy, but the knowledge that demons could move through darkness bothered him on a deep level.
“This jail cell won’t hold him,” Moose said. “When we catch Calvin, and we will, he has to be taken to the underworld. That’s the only place capable of imprisoning him, and since you said he attacked Emilio, and Emilio and Malik are mates, Calvin has also interfered in a mating.”
Grayson furrowed his brows. “What does that mean?”
“The Ultionem have laws against interfering with newly mates couples,” Darren said.
Moose had explained about the leaders a while ago, but Grayson still had a hard time believing they existed.
“I wouldn’t get them involved just yet,” Moose said. “They’re scary motherfuckers that you don’t want to call on unless absolutely necessary.”
“They still need to know,” Darren argued. “Calvin is a demon. There’s no telling where he is or if he’ll try to attack Emilio again. We can’t take that chance with a mate.”
Moose sighed. “You’re right, but you’re making the call.”
Darren narrowed his eyes. “Chicken?”
“Damn straight.” Moose shrugged. “I’ll help keep an eye out for the demon and make sure Emilio stays safe, but you can deal with the leaders.”
“We only need one of them,” Darren said. “Who should I call?”
Moose looked as though he was thinking about it. “I think, since we’re dealing with a demon, we should call Panahasi.”
