by Fel Fern
“Good. Talk to me, Asher. A man like Chris Roman is probably a creature of habit. Did Dan tell you details about his imprisonment?”
He mulled over that question for a bit. Dan had been reluctant to talk about his past, ashamed, even though his brave little cat had no reason to feel that way. “Dan told me about a house. He couldn’t recall much, but I tried to get as much information as I could.”
It was understandable Dan couldn’t remember much, the last memory of the place was of the time Dan escaped.
“Dan mentioned the property being big enough to contain a garden, some kind of fountain, it wasn’t far from the city, because he managed to hitch a ride in cat form from a passing by car,” he said.
“Wait a second, that actually helps a lot. There can’t be that many extensive properties of that scale around the city. Let’s get Raul to contact his cop friend again.” Jax phoned Raul again.
On edge, Asher exited the office. The fresh air did him some good. He narrowed his eyes at the tire skid marks on the curb. According to the witnesses walking on the street, they spotted a middle-aged bald man dragging an unconscious Dan to the car. A hired lackey, perhaps? Raul’s cop friend still ran the plates on the car, but a pro would change the plates or ride.
Reaching for the mate mark again, he sensed his mate waking up, confused, then frightened. Asher didn’t know if it helped, but he sent soothing energy to Dan, the way Raul taught him.
“Hey, got off the phone with Raul’s contact. The plates belong to a Chester Sanders, a forty-five-year-old human with a PI license. According to the cop, Chris Roman also owns two nearby properties, one near the beach, so that’s out, but the other one is only a couple of miles south of the city.”
“That has got to be the place.” He wasn’t certain, but he trusted his gut feeling and his wolf, even though his animal wasn’t the least bit logical when it came to saving their mate.
Jax hesitated. “You sure about this, Asher? If we make the wrong choice—”
“Don’t say it. Dan’s strong. He doesn’t look like it, but he’s survived this monster before, and he’ll do it again.”
Jax looked like he was about to say something else, but kept his mouth shut. “You know him best.”
A statement, not a question. Jax respected his decision and would follow him to the ends of the earth to save his mate. He couldn’t ask for a better friend.
He nodded. “I’ll get Winter and Raul to check out the other property just in case. If not, we’ll figure out something else. Plan B.”
Staying positive was the only way he could keep himself sane. A guy like Chris wouldn’t have the patience to transport Dan to somewhere far. He bet Chris took his mate back to his house. Fuck, but he prayed he was right, because if the alternative came to pass, he didn’t think he’d ever forgive himself.
* * * *
Dan woke, groggy, bruised, aware of two things: the metal bars biting against his back, and his head hitting against the same bars. Panic nearly set off in him, his breathing turned ragged. Scared to open his eyes just yet, he gripped the bars, wanting to make sure this wasn’t a nightmare, but real.
Laughter in the dark.
He opened his eyes, tasting acid in his mouth. Fear made his heart hammer, the animal in him frozen, terrified, still recalling the sensation of limited freedom. Chris dragged a stool in front of him and sat, something metal dangling in his hands. It took him a second to process what his captor held—a hammer.
He swallowed, unable to take his eyes off the simple tool that could be his next instrument of torture. Dan could remember the number of times Chris threatened to use that on him, to break all the bones in his limbs just so he could never escape.
“You’ve been a very bad pussy cat.” Chris rose, closed in.
Dan drew back, back hitting the bars as Chris dragged the head of the hammer against the bars, the sound shaking him up. All he could imagine was that hammer descending on skin, breaking bone underneath.
If he didn’t have use of his legs, he wouldn’t be able to shift, the pain hindering the transformation. Worse, he wouldn’t be able to leap, to run if the opportunity for escape arose. It wouldn’t be like last time, either. After this, Chris wouldn’t make the same mistake of coming down here drunk and forgetting to close his cage door.
It felt like his heart would burst out of his chest, until a sense of calm suddenly reached for him, soothed him. For a second, he didn’t recognize where it came from. Then it hit him. Asher. Dan rubbed the mark on his neck, freezing when Chris’s roar filled the basement.
“First, I’ll cut off that filthy mark you let a stranger place on you, then I’ll mark you so many times, no one will look at you with desire in their eyes,” Chris said, voice like venom, gaze a deep gold. He once fell for those pretty eyes, that superficial shell, until he glimpsed and tasted the darkness underneath.
Dan despaired at the naive fool he’d been, but he couldn’t give up hope now. Asher was with him, and he didn’t want his mate to see him cowering and begging like a coward. Raising his head, he spat, the spittle landing on Chris shoe.
Chris’s eyes gleamed, and the tiger shifter’s laughter alarmed him. “It really looks like you have some sport left in you. I’ve got to thank your wolf for that. I’ll get one of my men to take him here, too, so you can watch him bleed.”
It was his turn to laugh. Chris looked slightly taken aback. “You think you can easily take Asher the way you took me? Think again. Asher’s smarter than that.”
Chris snarled, dropping the hammer, slamming a fist between the bars. Claws sliced out of his skin, but Dan darted back, so they wouldn’t touch him. “Spoiled piece of shit. You won’t be smiling soon enough, not after we have plenty of quality time together.”
Quality time. That was Chris’s favorite phrase.
Chris continued, “Soon enough, I’ll have you licking my shoes, begging for my mercy, when there’s none to give.”
“You still like hearing yourself talk, don’t you?” Dan wouldn’t have answered back in the past, but someone had to take Chris’s ego a notch down.
“I think,” Chris said coldly, reaching for the key in his pocket to undo the padlock on the cage. “Lesson one begins now.”
Gunfire erupted somewhere upstairs. Chris paused, furrowed his brows, and took out his phone. “Johnson, is there a problem?”
Dan was close enough to hear that it wasn’t Johnson on the other line.
“Yeah, walking dead man. You have my mate, and I’m here for him,” came Asher’s voice, loud and clear.
Then the line went dead. With a snarl, Chris threw his phone to the ground, gaze narrowing at him. “Wipe that smug look off your face. You think your pals could breach my security? Think again. My men will end them where they stand.”
His heart raced at those words, but he knew Asher and his friends were more than capable of handling themselves, especially when it came to combat. Another round of gunfire, shouts, then silence. For the first time, he saw a gleam of sweat appeared on Chris’s forehead. The basement door burst open. Chris might be a monster in a suit, but he was still a predator.
Clothing ripped as Chris shifted, reaching for his tiger.
Light flooded down the stairs, accompanied by a feral howl of pure anger.
Then, a red-furred monster wolf came bounding down the stairs, yellow eyes full of fury. Asher.
Chapter Eleven
Asher left the security details to the others. There was only one thought left in his head: retrieve Dan before that fucker hurt his mate any more. All of them were combat capable, knew the layout of the house and the number of security guys before storming the place. In wolf form, he leapt at the poor bastard who came at him, hands shaking on his gun.
One down, more to go.
“Asher, head for the basement, we’ll be fine here,” yelled Jax.
Trusting his friends wouldn’t let him down, he ran further into the house, past the lavish living room, the enormous dining
room, and into the kitchen. No security here, only a frightened chef who quickly ran out of the back door when Asher growled at her. Narrowing his eyes, he spotted what looked like an unassuming closet door by the fridge.
Asher ran to it. Not patient enough to turn to human form to try the knob, he used his shoulder, rammed at the wood with his supernatural strength. Once. Twice. On the third time, the hinges creaked open, the door turning inward.
Darkness greeted him, dampness and mold hit his nose. Dan had been kept prisoner here, was his last logical thought, before the fury of his wolf took over. A roar met him from below. He leapt at the half-shifted tiger with the torn clothing on the floor. Beyond it lay a cage big enough to contain a human. His mate stared back at him, face pale, eyes wide with terror.
Soon, Asher thought, sending soothing energy to Dan via the mating mark. This would all be over in seconds.
Chris and he tangled, a clash of claws and teeth. When it came to size, Asher was bigger, but Chris proved faster, managing to get in a few claw swipes. Growling under his breath, Asher was distinctly aware of footsteps pounding on the stairs.
He knew it was Jax from his scent, though, and wasn’t worried. Jax would get Dan out while he dealt with this fucker. One thing was certain. Chris Roman couldn’t be allowed to live. He saw madness and darkness in the tiger shifter’s eyes, knew Chris’s father had the best defense lawyers. If this came to trial, Chris could drag out the court date and the fucker would never stop hunting Dan.
Chris already got to his mate once and could easily do it again with his wealth and resources. Decision made, Asher struck out, not seeing Chris’s teeth on his throat. He dodged at the last second to avoid the tiger piercing his jugular. Dan cried out, but he knew Jax would stop his mate from running into the fight.
Blood tickled down his neck. They parted from each other, circled each other warily. Chris should know by now that Asher and his friends made mincemeat of his security team. To be fair, they left the men seriously injured but alive. Asher argued against that, because only fools would work for a monster, but he let the others deal with the hired guns.
For now, he focused on the fight against him. Chris was proving to be a challenge. Clearly, the tiger prince was not all for show, but probably had been trained by his father and his clan’s enforcers. They came at each other again, a blur of violence, each side refusing to let up. Asher landed on his back, Chris’s sharp claws digging into his tender underbelly.
Triumph shone in Chris’s eyes.
“Asher! God, no,” Dan whispered from the side.
Chris unsheathed his teeth, struck, not skin but concrete as Asher moved at the last millisecond. Encouraged by Dan’s cry, he felt energized. He threw the tiger off him, had Chris’s furry throat in his mouth a moment later.
“Asher, kill him and there will be repercussions,” Jax warned.
He risked looking at Jax, but Jax must have read something in his gaze and nodded. His friend still used his body as shield to protect Dan. Asher would deal with the consequences of his actions after the fucker who hurt his mate could no longer draw breath. Without hesitation, he ripped out Chris Roman’s throat.
The tiger shifter still struggled, all the way to the end. Eventually, he dropped Chris’s body at his feet, howled in triumph. Footsteps. He saw Jax let go of Dan. Dan ran up to him. For a second, he doubted. Dan saw the savage side of him today, and his mate had already seen far too much violence and cruelty in his life.
Would Dan turn away from him?
Asher held his breath, drew it out when Dan knelt in front of him, pulled him into a tight hug. Dan’s heart, he realized, raced in fear not at him but for him. It took a little longer for Asher to tell the distinction.
“Baby, I was so worried. Just now, he could have ended you, what would happen to me then?” Dan stared at him with accusing eyes.
Deciding this conversation needed to be done in human form, he shifted, wrapped his mate in his arms tightly. Dan leaned in close, sniffing, rubbing at the tears in his eyes.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay now. That fucker can no longer touch you.”
“I’m so happy you came for me that words can’t describe it. I never doubted for a second you’d find me,” Dan whispered, looking up at him, worry in those eyes. “But what’s going to happen next?”
Pride filled him at those words. Dan never lost hope. His mate was a fighter to the core. He thought back on Dan’s question.
“The clean-up crew’s arriving,” Jax told them. “Ten minutes, Asher.”
Jax went back up the stairs.
Dan blinked. “What does he mean by that?”
“Well, we know a couple of guys who clean up messes. We’ll leave it at that. They’ll sweep this entire place clean of evidence. As for Chris, I know how to deal with him. He’s foolish enough to probably leave evidence of his activities.”
Dan bit his lip, looking thoughtful. “He films our sessions sometimes.”
That made him mad. Breathing hard, he gripped Dan’s shoulder. “I’m so damn proud of you for not cracking.”
“I spat at his shoe. If I could stand in that cage, I would have spat in his face.”
He hugged his mate tighter.
“Will things be really all right?”
“Yes,” he answered honestly, kissing Dan gently on the forehead. “Leave it to me and the others. For now, think about going back home. Eventually, you’d forget all this.”
“I don’t want to forget,” Dan whispered. “This is part of my past, a door I’ll shut, but there might be others. Chris mentioned I’m not his first.”
Asher understood the need for closure. “Come on. Jax has spare clothes upstairs. We’ll use the remaining time to scour the place for evidence.”
* * * *
In the end, with the help of the clean-up crew Asher and his friends seemed to be close with, Dan stood with his mate, freshly dressed, in the garden outside the house. He shivered, rubbing at the goosebumps over his arms.
Asher wove an arm over his shoulders, tugging him close. Grateful for the warmth, he rested his head against the curve of Asher’s shoulder. In front of them, the cleaners had unearthed several dead bodies.
“Looks like you were right,” Asher told him.
“I didn’t want it to be true,” he whispered. He could have been any of them, he realized, lying in some asshole’s backyard, hidden from the rest of the world. These victims had families, loved ones who worried about them.
Dan thought about his parents, his clan, and decided after all this was over, he’d reach out to them again, tell them the truth.
“Don’t worry,” Asher said, as if understanding his train of thought. “We’ll get to identifying the bodies and returning them to their loved ones.”
“Thank you.”
“No need for that. These victims deserve closure.”
Spotting them, Jax came over. Dan spied Raul and Winter talking to the cleaners on one side.
“They agreed to extract the bodies with full respect, of course,” Jax said.
“They asking for more?” Asher asked.
It made him a little angry that the cleaners would consider charging more but kept his mouth shut. As long as the victims were returned to their families and friends, it was all right with him.
“No,” Jax replied, surprising both of them. “For once, they’re not billing us extra. They feel these victims need their final resting place, too.”
Jax turned to him, and he was suddenly speechless, grateful Jax, Raul, and Winter would drop everything they were doing to help Asher search for him. He even heard Tom helped with the preparations, had been adamant about coming, but Raul persuaded him to stay behind in case anything happened.
“We found the films,” Jax told him. “Also, Chris liked to keep his instruments. This is enough evidence.”
“Evidence?” he asked blankly, mind not completely functional after all they discovered today.
“Chris’s father is a pow
erful man, someone who’s had accusation after accusation flung against him, but he’s smarter than his son. A powerful man like that would want vengeance for his son, even though it was clear as day Chris is a monster,” Asher explained.
He understood. “You’re going to make a deal?”
“I’ve not forgotten the other details. I expect him to compensate the victim’s loved ones somehow, too. We’ll talk about it in detail when we get home,” Asher said.
Dan didn’t want to linger on the property any longer than necessary, either. This was one of the reasons he loved his mate, because they talked things through and made decisions together.
“All right.”
“Come on, baby. You must be exhausted.”
Leaving the cleaners to their work, Dan let Asher steer him to the car outside the vast property that belonged to Chris. He looked at the wrought iron gates, then to the grand house beyond, which he first thought was a castle.
“Baby?” Asher prodded, holding the car door open to him. “You okay?”
“Just remembering the first time Chris brought me, what an idiot I’d been to think he was some kind of real-life prince, and this place was a castle. In the end, I only experienced the basement.”
Asher walked in front of him, blocking the view of the mansion. Tipping his chin, Asher grazed the day-old stubble on his jaw with his thumb, drawing his attention from the house and back to his mate. He looked into Asher’s clear blue eyes, blazing bright with pride, with love, not just desire.
His mate stood in front of him, as if to say “I’m your future.”
He smiled. Dan didn’t need the reminder, because he’d known even though he woke up in the same cage that Asher would come back to claim him.
“Kiss me?”
“My little cat being so polite? Something must be up,” Asher mused.
He opened his mouth to laugh, only for Asher to close in, sealing his lips. Heat slammed down his throat. Asher tasted of the mouthwash he used earlier. Engulfed in his mate’s familiar scent, he wrapped his arms around Asher’s muscled frame.
