Heavyweight (Hallow Brothers Book 3)

by Tricia Andersen

  Samuel jumped off the bed and followed Henry through the cabin as he struggled to tie the bed sheet around his waist. “How’s Delilah?”

  Henry stopped cold and looked at him. “She’s fine. Why?”

  Samuel shrugged. Then he scuffed a bare foot against the polished plank floor. “I haven’t talked to her since she left three weeks ago. I kind of miss her.”

  Henry stared at him. Then he crossed the living area to Samuel. Pulling Samuel to him, he parted his mate’s lips with a soft, long, tantalizing kiss that made Samuel’s cock stiffen and his knees go weak. “My big, bad MMA fighter is getting soft.”

  “I asked how she was. No need to make a federal case out of it.”

  “She’s fine. By the way she rambles on, I’m pretty sure she misses you too. I’ll text you her number so you can message her.” He brushed his mouth against Samuel, smiling at the gasp he drew from his mate. “I love you. I have to go.”

  “See you in a week.”

  “Bye.” Henry kissed him once more. He gave Samuel a quick wave before he stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

  Samuel loosened the knot and let the sheet fall to the floor. He stomped off to the bathroom and flipped on the knob in the shower. He growled as the hot steam filled the little room. He didn’t get it. His brothers’ mates moved in with them shortly after the mystic tattoo appeared. They may not have liked it, but they did. His? He was just a booty call. Their careers were more important than him. Henry showed up long enough to appease the pull. He had no idea how Delilah was surviving. It was killing him not to have her in his arms.

  Maybe it was time for him to put his career before them. Pounding the shit out of someone took the edge off a little.

  He stepped into the warm stream of water and lathered the washcloth with soap. He slowly rubbed the suds into his skin. Once he was rinsed off, he toweled dry. Hanging up his towel, he strutted out of the bathroom. He had a couple of hours before he started training. He might as well get more sleep.

  Samuel clicked the button on his phone to check the time and smiled. There was a text message from Henry. A phone number and the words I love you. He quickly tapped Love you too and sent it back to his mate.

  Copying the phone number, he pasted it into a new text message screen and then typed.

  How’s it going, sweetheart?

  There was silence for several painful moments. Samuel realized he was clutching his phone harder than he should. He let it drop on the mattress. As it hit the comforter, it lit up. He scooped it up and read it.

  Who is this?

  He tapped the screen furiously. Your friendly neighborhood werewolf.

  He watched the screen. His heart fell into the pit of his stomach as the reply popped up.

  Not texting.

  He heaved a sigh as he set the phone on the bedside table. He settled into his pillow and buried his face into it. This mating thing was so fucked up.

  His head shot off the pillow as his phone buzzed. Glancing at it, he saw the number he texted calling it. He slid the prompt across the screen to answer it. “Hello?”

  “I don’t want to text. I want to hear your voice,” Delilah replied.

  Sam cocked a grin. His heart stampeded out of control. “Miss me, huh?”

  “Do you miss me?”

  “I asked you first.”

  “You accused me of being a ballbuster. You were right. So there’s no possible way I would admit to missing you.”

  Samuel chuckled. “So you do miss me.”

  There was no answer. He frowned. “Delilah?”

  “What?”

  “If it means anything, ballbuster, I miss you too. And I’m terrified. You’re not near me. How do I protect you?”

  “My dig is in the middle of nowhere, Sam. We can see vehicles a half mile away before they reach us.”

  “We don’t know what these things are capable of.”

  “Well, I lined my tent with garlic too, if that means anything.”

  “Not really.”

  “I’m a big girl, Sam. I’m keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.”

  “Come home and keep an eye on me. I’m pretty suspicious.”

  He heard her laugh before she spoke. “It must be six o’clock in the morning there. What are you doing?”

  “Henry just left. He won’t stay here with me, but he ends up in my bed every night.”

  “I wish I were in your bed every night. That thing that took us over is driving me crazy.”

  He mindlessly wrapped his hand around his cock. “You do? What would you do if you were?”

  “Sam, not now. I can’t. I wish I could. I’m at the library in Cairo.”

  He frowned as he left himself go. “I thought you were on a dig.”

  “I was. I am. I was talking to my colleague, Walt.”

  “Walt, huh?”

  “Get that out of your head. He’s old enough to be our dad. Even though he brushed against me a couple times and I almost threw up. It was odd.”

  “It’s the pull. If someone who wants you who isn’t your mate touches you, there’s a violent reaction. So this guy is innocent, huh?”

  “He’s not you, okay? I don’t want him. I want you. And Henry.”

  Samuel smiled smugly even though she couldn’t see it. “All right. So why are you in Cairo?”

  “Walt told me a story of a magician they referred to as the Heka. He was around over four thousand years ago. He was incredibly powerful. He enchanted an amulet with the power to rule the world so he could use it after he murdered the Pharaoh’s girl on the side. It would make him invincible. He could wipe out nations. He would rule by fear. He was executed instead. I came here to do more research, and I’m glad I did. Walt said it was a fairy tale, but there have been historians who believe differently. The Heka had impregnated one of the local prostitutes. She gave birth to a son. They say that the boy was possessed with the spirit of his father. He inherited his father’s power and everything. One researcher reported incidents throughout history where the Heka appeared. The amulet was passed down from generation to generation and was sold or stolen. It seems that every time the Heka and the amulet crossed paths, a major war broke out. But these could be myth.”

  “This amulet. Is there a picture of what it looks like?”

  “A sketch. Yes.”

  Sam ran a hand through his Mohawk. “Shit, Dee. I got to go for a minute. I think she’s up. I hope she is. She can’t wake up to that old shit rooster she calls a pet. I’m going to take a picture and send it to you. Then I’ll call you right back. All right?”

  He could hear the hesitation in her voice. “Sam, where are you going?”

  “I need to go see my mom. Talk to you in a bit. Hang on for a second.” Samuel ended the call and climbed out of bed. He swiped up his cell phone and the sweats he left on the floor the night before when Henry undressed him. He didn’t stop as he tugged them on. He barely got them up to his waist as he charged out the door.

  He bounced from one toe to the other as he knocked on Momma’s cabin door. He was going to get an earful from her if he woke her up. He breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled open the door clothed in her best dress.

  “Sam, why are you up this early?” she asked.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” he countered.

  “Watch your sass. It’s the full moon. I’m packing to leave with your sisters.”

  “Heading to Littlefoot’s, huh? Not staying with Aunt Edna and Aunt Edith?”

  “I’m having lunch with your aunts and Adam tomorrow. Not that it’s any of your concern.”

  “Uh-huh. Momma, I need to see your amulet.”

  “Why?”

  “I just do. Please?”

  She snorted indignantly at him before she turned on her toe and stormed through her house. She returned with a chain laced through her fingers. She handed it to him. “Don’t go far with that.”

  He studied the blood red stone set in gold. Mysterious etchings
wrapped around the gem. He aimed his cell at it and snapped a picture.

  Then he handed it back to her. “That’s all I needed. Thanks.”

  “What are you doing with that photo?”

  Sam buried his nose in his cell as he sent the photo to his mate. “Delilah is looking into something for me. It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

  Momma’s eyes narrowed as she glared. “Who is Delilah?”

  He dropped the phone to his side exasperated. “My mate, Momma.”

  “Don’t give me that tone, young man. What about the one that I saw sneak off this morning?”

  “Henry?”

  “Yes, Henry. Samuel Antonius Hallow, why haven’t you introduced me to your mates?”

  “Delilah had to work. And frankly, Henry thinks none of you will like him.”

  “Does he make you happy?”

  Samuel paused before he answered. “Yes. He makes me happy.”

  Momma smiled. “Then I already love him like he’s my own. But you’d better get those two back here and settled in pronto. The magic that bound you all together doesn’t mess around. Understand me?”

  Samuel gaped, astounded at his mother. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. Now shoo.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I need to finish packing.”

  Samuel backed off the porch steps as he watched Momma close the door. Shaking himself to his senses, he dialed Delilah back.

  “You said you’d call right back,” she chided.

  “Sorry. Found out my mother is far more open-minded than I ever gave her credit for. I’m a little stunned. Did you get my photo?”

  “I did. It’s exactly the same as my sketch. Where did you find it?”

  “It belongs to my mother. My father stole it from my grandfather before he ran off with her to protect her from his pack. He wanted to sell it to provide for them, but she fell in love with it.” He felt his voice pitch dangerously into a whine, but he didn’t care. “Delilah, please come home. Something is going on. If things go down, I need you by my side, not half a world away. Please, beautiful. I’m begging you. I can’t protect you in Egypt. Come home to me and Henry.”

  Her voice was soft when she replied. “But I’m finding out so much. The information is here. If it protects your family, I need to keep trying to find it.”

  “Fuck my family. You’re what’s important.”

  “Sam.”

  “Is any of this digitized?”

  “I’m sure it all is but on secured servers. It took all the clearance I had to access it. I don’t have access to the digital files.”

  “I bet Eve can get them. She’s a world-class hacker. She can get in and get them. Just come home. It’s not safe there. It’s not safe anywhere but my arms.”

  There was silence on the other end. Samuel continued. “Delilah, I know how important your job is to you. But you are my everything. You and Henry. If anything happened to either of you, it would destroy me. It tears me apart to think about it. The three of us are stronger together. Please, Delilah. What do I need to do to make you see how much I need you?”

  He cringed at the quiet. He checked the screen of his phone to see if she was still there.

  He pressed it back to his ear when she started to talk. “I need to get back to the dig site to wrap my stuff up. It should only take a day or two at most. Then I need to get my flights arranged. The full moon starts tonight, right?”

  His voice was weak. “Yeah. Tonight.”

  “I’ll be back in your arms when you’re done wolfing out. I have some other things to look into stateside anyway.”

  “What’s up?”

  He could hear the hesitation in her voice. “Nothing to worry about right now.”

  “All right. If you need me…”

  “You’re my first call. Go get some sleep, Sam. You have a long night ahead.”

  “We have to see my mom, Meg, and Eve off first. But yeah, I’ll be thinking of you and Henry in my dreams.”

  “I’m counting on it. See you soon. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Samuel ended the call with a smile. It wasn’t the information that she gave him that was priceless. She would be home soon. He could hold her tight and kiss her softly. All he had to do was convince Henry too. Regardless, he couldn’t wait. With a grin so big his cheeks hurt, he ran off to talk to Josiah about the Heka.

  Chapter Nine

  The library was quiet. Not that it should have bothered Henry. Libraries were supposed to be quiet. The last time it was this quiet Jenny died. The whole place at the moment gave him the creeps.

  He slipped the book in his hand back on the shelf as he lost himself in his thoughts. Just an hour ago Delilah texted him saying she was coming home. She learned more about the Heka and was dying to tell him about it. Since he was working, it would have to wait.

  He sighed as he shelved another book. He had been an ass to Sam the past few weeks. He couldn’t get over his mate trying to take over his life. It wasn’t that he was terrified. He was scared shitless that the two vampires would return. But he had wanted to be a librarian since he was ten and used to hide away in the library to lose himself in an adventure in a book. He worked hard to get to where he was. He couldn’t live in fear.

  It didn’t stop that mysterious tug, though. He fought against that pull to stay rooted in Duluth. It made him lose his lunch more than once. By the time his shift was over, he was in his car driving north, and he didn’t stop until he was in Sam’s bed with his mate beneath him. In three weeks, he nearly hit fifteen deer and three bears. It was going to get him killed one of these nights.

  And in the middle of night, as his mate softly snored, Henry held him as close as he could. He loved Sam so much it hurt, despite the fact that the Hallow was a controlling, obnoxious pain in the ass.

  “Good evening, Mister Hakimi.”

  Henry knocked over the books stacked neatly on the cart beside him as he spun around. He knew that voice. He glanced around for anything that could serve as a weapon. What killed vampires? Shit. Nothing around him of course. He didn’t have any idea what could do it. He read Dracula at least a dozen times, and at the moment he couldn’t remember one word.

  His heart stuck in his throat as he faced Cort and Rock. His voice tremored as he spoke. “What do you want?”

  “We wish to talk,” Rock answered. “We have a proposition for you.”

  “And that would be?”

  “We want you to join us. We need your power and the amulet to accomplish our goal.”

  “You want me to join a bunch of vampires? Yeah. Not interested.”

  “We can give you something no one else can.”

  “And that would be?”

  “Eternal life.”

  “So eternal life with a bunch of vampires. Eh. Still not remotely interested.”

  “What about eternal life with the woman you love? That ginger-haired archeologist?”

  Henry swallowed hard as his nerves quaked. “How do you know about Delilah?”

  “We know quite a bit about you, Mister Hakimi.”

  “What about Sam? Does Sam get eternal life too?”

  Cort chuckled. “We don’t give gifts to his kind. His kind doesn’t deserve what we can offer.”

  “They are not worth our time,” Rock added.

  “Well, I can tell you the three of us are a package deal. Either you take all of us or none of us. And what amulet are you talking about?”

  “The one Hallow’s ancestor stole from our family. It belongs to us. And it can make your wildest dreams come true. We have ways, Mister Hakimi, to get what we want. We do not take no for an answer. Remember that. We’ll give you time to reconsider our offer.”

  Cort and Rock nodded in unison before they strode off. Henry didn’t move a muscle until they were gone. He left the books in a heap on the floor and raced up the steps to his office, locking the door after himself. He slumped in his leather chair and stared out the window. He would sit here and watch. He wo
uld see them coming. Unless they flew in from a window. Could they do that? He rubbed his forehead. Fuck. He was screwed.

  He picked up his phone and fired off a text to Samuel. Then he glanced out the window at the setting sun. There was no way his mate would respond. He was about to change. It was hard to carry a cell phone as a ginormous violent beast.

  It was past midnight when Henry finally found the courage to sprint to his car. He gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles as he sped through the streets to his house. Locking himself in, he searched every corner and crevice for any sign of the vampires. He settled on the couch and stared at the door. He wouldn’t sleep. He couldn’t. His mind raced with the millions of things Cort and Rock could do to him. It robbed any chance of slumber from him. He sent another text to Samuel. Then another. He breathed a sigh of relief as the sunrise painted his living room in a warm glow. He finally was able to relax. His eyes grew heavy. It wasn’t long before he was asleep.

  Henry bolted awake and nearly fell off the couch. He searched for a clock. It was almost noon. Picking up the phone, he couldn’t wait to read Samuel’s response. He had hoped his mate would show up on his doorstep, but his message would do.

  Except there was nothing. Ten texts but not one answer. He growled as he dialed Samuel. It went to voicemail. He tried again as his anger peaked. Again Sam’s mailbox greeting was a substitute for his voice. He dialed again.

  “What?” Sam demanded, his words short.

  “I texted you several times. You can’t bother to respond? I need you.”

  “Yeah, well, someone killed my aunts last night.”

  Henry’s heart fell. His voice grew quiet. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I shouldn’t have snapped. They were bitchy and judgmental, but they were still my aunts.”

  “What happened?”

  “Momma and Littlefoot went to get them for lunch. There was blood everywhere. It appeared to be a burglary gone wrong. But we’ve seen it before. We suspect vampires.”

  Henry’s heart twisted in his chest. After this, he couldn’t tell Samuel about Cort and Rock. Could he? “You do?”