by Joyee Flynn
We also did a lot of talking. Diets would call from the station when there was downtime and talk with both or one of us. It was nice and low pressure. We’d watched TV a few nights together that way when Curtis had business to attend to.
And was our mate ever curious. I mean, I knew our ways and lives were different, but even other stuff, like my schooling. Diets wanted to know everything about me and why I liked what I did. It was nice. It made me feel special to him when he was being so cautious. He also liked to give gifts. Most dates he had something for me, normally smaller things that were so thoughtful.
For instance, he found me a label maker that printed in Braille. He said with the move, new roles in Curtis’ household, he figured it would make life a little easier on me. Other times it was gag gifts. I told him I thought I needed a cowboy hat now that I was living in South Dakota instead of the East Coast. Next date, he showed up with one for me. It was things like that that had me totally and utterly in love with him.
He did the same for Curtis. Diets didn’t make either of us feel we were second best. He’d just spent more time with me so far, and we knew each other better.
We were waiting for him to get off shift at a local restaurant that he and Curtis loved when my phone rang.
“Hey, angel,” Diets said when I answered. “I’m sorry it’s so last minute, but I have to cancel our date. I was just leaving when the alarm sounded for an all hands on deck call. I’m on my way there now, so I can’t really talk.”
“We understand,” I replied as Curtis took my hand, so I knew he heard, too. “Just be safe and call us when you’re home so we can reschedule.”
“Thanks for being cool about it. Give Curtis a kiss from me.”
“You bet.” I giggled as we hung up.
“You okay, my angel?”
“Yeah, I just don’t like that his job is so dangerous when he’s more fragile than we are.” I sighed. We were interrupted then by the waiter and ordered. I tried a local treat, fried pickles. And as normal, I was incredibly graceful, biting the end since it was hot and pulling the whole thing out of the fried shell.
Curtis laughed so hard as it dropped out of my mouth and onto my plate. I flipped him off as I wiped my mouth, and before I could say anything, he sucked my finger into his mouth. In retaliation, I rubbed my foot over his leg suggestively, and we both started laughing. I loved that about Curtis. He was always fun no matter what we were doing.
We finished dinner and left after Curtis paid the check. Then he helped me back to his vehicle before we headed home. He took my hand in his as we drove along and sat in a comfortable silence.
“Holy shit,” Curtis gasped, and I smelled the smoke a few blocks away. “That’s gotta be the fire he was called into. I think we should pull over and see what happens, Shem.”
“That bad?” I asked quietly as he put on his signal and pulled over.
“Yeah, angel. That bad,” he answered as he threw the vehicle in park. Curtis came around to help me out after I got the door open. “I know you don’t like being around this kind of stuff when you can’t see, but I’ll keep us far enough away, okay?”
“I trust you, big guy,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. I could fell apprehension flowing off Curtis in waves, which scared the shit out of me since he was normally so calm and collected. He led me for about a block before stopping. I smelled so much smoke it was scaring the shit out of me. Was Diets really in there? I really hoped not.
As if fate just had to fuck with me, I suddenly felt Diets’s fear in waves. It had to be intense for me to feel it when we were that far away. Then I felt Curtis’ panic, and I knew it had to be bad.
“Everyone out, the building’s going to go,” someone shouted, and I guessed it was one of the other firemen.
“Go,” I said to Curtis as I squeezed his hand. “Go save our mate. He’s in there. I can smell him.”
“Where is he? I can’t smell anything but smoke,” Curtis asked, panic in his voice.
“Far back corner, right side,” I said, praying I was right. “I don’t know what floor.”
“Stay right here, okay? I’ll come back for you,” he replied and leaned down to kiss me. “I love you, my angel.”
“I love you, too,” I said, swallowing my own fear. “You keep your ass alive, you hear me? I will be so pissed if you die.”
“I’ll bring him back,” Curtis whispered, giving me another quick kiss before letting me go. Fuck, I hated being blind! There I stood, completely useless unless I was planning on shifting in front of a bunch of humans. I tried my best to keep my emotions under control, knowing Curtis would need to focus to find Diets.
Someone bumped into me, and I had nothing to grab onto as I fell. I picked myself up in time to have someone else crash into me. I started moving farther away, trusting my sense of smell that I was going the right way. Finally, my back bumped something, and I realized it was a building I could lean against out of the way.
It felt like hours that I waited. Since I couldn’t read the time on my phone, I had no clue how long it really was. But I guessed it was closer to twenty minutes of agonizing waiting. I sent up silent prayers that my parents were able to watch over my mates for me when I couldn’t.
“Shem! Where you are Shem?” Curtis called out finally.
“I’m here,” I shouted and waved my hands. Seconds later he was there pulling me into his arms. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby,” he whispered in my ear. “I found him. He was trapped under a fallen beam.”
“H–How is he?”
“He was dying, so I drank from him and gave him my blood. The humans won’t know why, but he’ll heal now when he wouldn’t have before. I got the beam off of him and carried him out after I did it. I couldn’t risk someone seeing us, and he’s totally out of it.”
“Can we see him?”
“They took him away in the ambulance already,” he answered, taking my hand and leading me back to his car. “I know which hospital they’re going to. We’ll go find him now. The firemen were calling after me to answer questions, so we might have a few issues at the hospital, but I don’t care. We can figure an explanation out. Losing him wasn’t an option.”
“I agree,” I said, squeezing his hand before he got me in the vehicle. Moments later, Curtis was racing towards the hospital. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Me? Why?”
“You raced into a burning building, risking yourself to save our mate,” I answered, shocked he didn’t know what I’d meant. “You thought quickly on your feet, giving your blood and strength to help him survive.”
“He’ll have your strength, too, since you’ve claimed him,” Curtis said after a moment. “Worst case, he’s got some injuries he doesn’t fully recover from. But by the time the ambulance was pulling away, his pulse was stronger, and he wasn’t having as much trouble breathing.”
“He won’t be mad you mated him given the circumstances, Curtis.” I could feel his angst and assumed that’s what it was from. Curtis and Diets hadn’t discussed Curtis claiming him yet. But since he did it to save Diets’s life, I was pretty sure he’d get a free pass from the man we loved.
“I just keep wondering if I had to do it. I really do think I did it to keep him alive. I’m not a doctor, and I’ve never been around humans that much. But I don’t think a heart can sound that weak and recover again. And he could barely breathe.”
“I would have done the same thing,” I said firmly as he stopped the car. We got out, and Curtis led me into the hospital as quickly as he could.
“We’re here for Lieutenant Dieter Sheron,” Curtis informed someone.
“He’s being taken into surgery,” the woman said after a moment. “Are you family?”
“I’m his blind brother,” I replied, shamelessly trying to gain her sympathy. Being a boyfriend or girlfriend wasn’t enough to get access to your loved ones. “This is my husband.”
“I’ll let the doctor know the
lieutenant has family here,” she said after a moment. “You want the surgical waiting room, sixth floor. Turn right when you get off the elevators and follow the signs.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied, putting my hand over my heart and giving her a slight bow. It’s not like I could reach out and see her hand to shake.
Curtis said thank you as well and got us onto the elevator.
“Smart thinking,” he whispered in my ear.
“Yeah, but the other firemen would know if he had a brother probably,” I grumbled.
The elevator dinged then, and Curtis got us to our destination. He helped me find a seat before telling me he needed something to drink and he’d grab me a pop.
“Are you okay?” I asked when he came back and gave me my drink. “You were in there, too. Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine, angel,” he answered, taking my hand. “I feel like I’ve smoked a carton of cigarettes, but nothing that won’t clear up by tomorrow.”
“Good,” I said before taking a sip of my pop. We didn’t talk for a long while, trying to give each other silent comfort as we waited. And waited. And then we waited some more while losing what was left of our minds.
Somewhere along the waiting marathon, Curtis called my brother, Cass. Shortly thereafter, all my brothers came in full force with snacks and coffee. Then some of the firemen I’m assuming worked with Diets started joining us.
“I was told Diets’s brother is here,” a man said loudly. Well, fuck, this was going to suck.
“Me,” I squeaked out, clearing my throat and trying again. I heard the guy approach me and then invade my space on the chair while Curtis started to growl at the guy. The man put his hands on both armrest and leaned in to my ear.
“Diets doesn’t have any brothers,” he whispered. “But you’re just like he described the man he was in love with. Shem, I assume?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, realizing the guy wasn’t a jerk. “Sorry, but they wouldn’t give a flying fart that I’m his boyfriend. I figured since Diets spent some time in the foster system, maybe I could get away with saying a foster brother.”
“Smart and cute, Diets is a lucky guy.” The man chuckled and backed away. I reached to take the guys hand. “Right, forgot you’re blind, sorry. I’m Kaleb Bauer. Diets is my best friend.”
“Nice to meet you, Shem Cowell.”
“And I’m Ham Cowell,” my older litter-mate purred as he joined us. “Diets has such attractive and hot friends.”
“Oh, fuck,” Curtis groaned under his breath. “This is so not the time or place for this.”
“So what if he wants to flirt, it—” And then it hit me. Ham wasn’t a flirt. “Oh, fuck me sideways.”
“Cass, you might want to come over here,” Curtis said as he took my hand. I heard them whispering together for a moment as my brother and the fireman flirted.
“Are you free tomorrow for some lunch?” Ham asked Kaleb. “I know there are a few things on you I’d like to eat.”
“Depends,” Kaleb drawled. “Are you normally this flirtatious? Am I just going to be a notch in your headboard?”
“Ham flirt?” I busted out laughing, completely shocked with the idea of my eldest, introverted litter-mate being thought of as a player. “Yeah, because he’s got such great lines. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him flirt or date.”
“Hey, I can flirt,” Ham said softly, and I could hear the pout in his voice.
“What you said got me hard, baby. I think you did a great job as long as it’s only directed at me,” Kaleb whispered before leading my brother away. Well, at least some good might come out of all of this. It would be nice for Diets to have someone to talk to about all of this, but I wasn’t envious of Ham trying to fill Kaleb in. I couldn’t even think about all of this right now. I had bigger issues on my plate.
Chapter 8
“Is one of you Dieter Sheron’s brother?” I heard a man ask, waking me up. I didn’t think I had it in me to sleep, but I must have dozed off at some point.
“Yes, that’s me. How is he?”
“He’s resting in recovery. I’m Dr. James,” the man said gently as he moved closer to me. “When he first came in, we took X-rays, and they showed he had a crushed pelvis. There must have been something wrong with the machine because when we took him into surgery, there was only a small hairline fracture. I apologize for that, and we called in techs to check out the equipment.”
“Better to be safe than sorry,” I replied, waving away the doctor’s concerns. I knew it had nothing to do with the doctor’s machine and everything to do with being mated to a shifter and vampire. “How is he otherwise?”
“He’s healing remarkably well considering how he came in,” the doc replied, confusion in his voice. “We had to set his leg back into his hip socket, some stitches, and he’s got a concussion. I’d like to keep him for observation.”
“I’m Curtis Booth, Shem’s husband. If it’s all right, I called in my private physician, so Diets can recover at my estate.”
“Oh, of course, Mr. Booth,” Dr. James replied. “I was sorry to hear about your brother’s passing. I know the board of directors was looking to talk with you about taking his spot on the board.”
“Yes, I apologize for not replying yet. With Harold’s passing, there’s been a lot to take over with the estate. I know he had some funds set aside for another donation this year, and my attorney is sorting it out.”
“I’ll let the board know to expect your call. But I can discharge your brother-in-law into your care within the hour if that’s what you’d like. I can also set up an ambulance for transport.”
“That would be wonderful, Dr. James,” my mate said smoothly.
“Thank you so much, doc,” I sighed, feeling a huge weight lifted. The doctor said his goodbyes after assuring us the paperwork would be handled right away and we’d get instructions for Diets’s care. When we were alone, I asked the question on my mind. “Board of directors?”
“Helps our image in the community if we donate money, and since we have ties with blood banks, the hospital was the likely choice,” Curtis explained quietly. “We needed to get Diets out of here before they start asking too many questions about his miraculous recovery.”
“I understand,” I replied, giving him a quick kiss. “You really are full of surprises.”
“I have to keep my mates on their toes.” Curtis chuckled.
As the doc had said, within the hour Diets was discharged and being transported to home. The things you can get done when you have money and an influential name to back it up. When we were all home, Curtis showed them our room for Diets, tipping the paramedics for their help and time. I wasn’t sure if that’s what you did, but Curtis knew what he was doing.
When we were alone, I crawled into bed with Diets, needing to touch him more than I needed air right then. He groaned slightly when I touched his cheek.
“They said the sedatives should be wearing off, but we’ve got pills for his pain if he needs them,” Curtis said softly as he moved to the other side of Diets.
“I’m good for now,” Diets croaked out. “Water would be nice.”
“Anything you want, big guy,” I said gently as I heard Curtis move to get the water. “Don’t you ever scare us like that again! I’m going to tie you down to this bed for the rest of our lives.”
“You can tie me down naked any day you want, angel.”
“You know what I mean.” I sniffled, trying to fight back the tears.
“I’m okay, Shem. Someone got me out.”
“Curtis did,” I replied. “The building was going, and everyone was getting pulled out, but I felt your distress, so Curtis went storming in there.”
“How am I not crippled? I remember part of the building falling on me. I thought I was dead.”
“I drank from you and gave you some of my blood,” Curtis said, and I heard Diets sputter his water.
“Don’t you dare get upset,” I growled. “He saved your life
by mating you. You were dying, and he didn’t know what else to do.”
“I’m not mad,” Diets whispered. “Surprised is all. Thank you, Curtis. I know you took a big risk at getting outed by doing that.”
“You’re more important to us than that,” Curtis said, kissing Diets. “I couldn’t sit back and do nothing when one of the men I love needed help.”
“I love you, too,” Diets replied after a moment. Then he took my hand. “I love you, too, angel. You both were the only thoughts on my mind when it happened. I was so sad that I thought I’d never get to tell you both I loved you.”
“I love you, too, Diets,” I purred, nuzzling his shoulder. We all lay there for a few minutes, enjoying our glow from admitting how we all felt about each other. But then of course the real world had to come crashing back in.
“Sooo, if Curtis came rushing in to save me with everyone else was pulling out… How did you guys explain that one?”
“We didn’t,” Curtis answered. “I helped them get you loaded into the ambulance and ran back to Shem.”
“How were you guys even there?” Diets asked, and I snuggled up as Curtis explained everything up until Diets woke up.
“Oh, and we’re pretty sure that Kaleb and my brother, Ham, are mates.” I giggled when they were done. “So we might need your help explaining to your friend what’s going on so I don’t lose my brother.”
“That’s going to be a fun conversation,” Diets groaned. “I think I’d like something for the pain after all.”
“Curtis, it’s Mitchell,” the man said as he pounded on the door. Our mate hopped off the bed and let him in. “Mel’s escaped somehow. One of my men went to check on him for the night, and he was gone.”
“And the hits just keep on coming,” Curtis growled. “How did this happen?”
“I think there’s someone still here that was loyal to your brother,” Mitchell answered. “I know none of my men would be a part of this.”
