Buried Treasure

by Jools Louise

  “If we want to remain as members of society, we have to show we’re not evil predators,” Pace reminded him.

  Sully shot him a look. “Society tolerates us at best,” he said flatly. “It wouldn’t take much to have some of those fringe groups joining forces with Flashpoint. And having the likes of Petrovsky, Crash, and Daniel creating havoc hasn’t done us any favors. Taking out a couple along the way just evens the odds.”

  “We can’t have a rogue shifter on the loose,” Ryder said emphatically.

  “Nobody’s gone rogue,” Cullen responded tautly. “What would you do if it was your mates, Ryder? You wouldn’t stop at just Nikolai, would you? And if Doyle and Louis wound up hurt again, I’d be inclined to go after whoever was involved.”

  “If we play tit for tat, we’re no better than Flashpoint’s goons,” Pace cut in impatiently. “That’s why we have law and order. And special shifter prisons to incarcerate our trashier elements.”

  “Speaking of trash,” John drawled from the counter as the door opened and in walked Vince Smith, bold as brass and looking dangerous as he peered around. “Remind me again why he’s still breathing?”

  “Callahan was injured. Where is he?” Vince asked, staring straight at Ryder.

  “Safe,” Cullen interjected sharply, glaring at the man.

  “I need to know where he is,” Vince insisted.

  “You need to leave my café,” John told him fiercely, leaping over the counter. “You hurt a good friend of mine, and you apparently don’t listen too good when you’re told to get the fuck out of this town.”

  Vince turned on him, quick as a flash, fangs bared. “This is none of your concern, douchebag,” he snarled. “I had nothing to do with whatever you’re dealing with, so back the fuck off. I’ve lost loved ones too, you know. Quit acting as though you own the patent.”

  John growled viciously, and even Cullen felt a chill down his spine. John was on a knife-edge and ready to snap.

  “Callahan was just attacked by someone we suspect might have been sent by Daniel,” Cullen said, watching the two brawny men warily. “Why the fuck would he want to speak to you, also sent by Daniel, who attacked his mate?”

  Vince looked startled and shot Cullen a searching look, taking his attention from John for a split second. “Mate? Callahan and Drew are mates?”

  John sneered. “Why? Wanting a second crack at the cherry since the first one ended so badly? ” It was a vicious comment, designed to get a reaction. And it did.

  Vince roared loudly and leaped at John. And all hell broke loose as the two big, angry feline shifters got rid of their pent-up aggression, in human form, wrestling and punching one another relentlessly. Despite Vince’s arm being in a cast still, he was giving as good as he got.

  “Fuck me. What the fuck is going on?”

  Cullen glanced up as Drew and Callahan entered the café, looking in awe at the combatants rolling around the café, splintering chairs and tables as they went.

  “They could at least take it downstairs,” Sully said dryly. “Less to clear up.” Nobody wanted to try to break up the fight. Safer to just let the two go at it until they ran out of steam.

  “Vince came in looking for you,” Cullen explained to the newcomers. “John hit a nerve.”

  “I’ll say,” Callahan said, wide-eyed, the bruise on the side of his face vivid and ugly. His eye was swollen, and he was hanging on to Drew carefully, looking shaky.

  “Sit down, sweetie,” Bryce said, running in behind his friends and helping to guide Callahan into a chair. “You’re not working today, so let me get you breakfast.”

  He dodged around the fighters, rolling his eyes, and went to fire up the coffee machine. “This is what I have to deal with?” he muttered, eyeing his boss balefully. “John, you’re gonna be so pissed when you have to clean this mess up.”

  The words fell on deaf ears.

  “What did John say to set Vince off?” Callahan asked.

  Sully explained.

  “Ooh! Nasty,” Drew drawled as Vince got in a particularly vicious uppercut, sending John flying.

  “If you two wreck this place, you’ll be in time-out for a month!” Ethan called from upstairs where the tattoo parlor was located, peering over the balcony with his mates, Slug, Rage, Lash, and Charm cheering their friend on.

  “Time-out?” Bryce called back dourly. “I’ll be kicking ass myself if they break this counter. Take it outside, will you?”

  “Why was Vince looking for me?” Callahan asked Cullen.

  “He seemed concerned,” Cullen replied, smirking. “And he was a little startled when I said you were mates with Drew.”

  Drew and Callahan exchanged glances. “Damn!” Drew whispered. “He’s…”

  “Seems like it,” Callahan sniggered, then grinned. “Should be interesting. Having him as our third. You felt it too, didn’t you?”

  “You really think he’s your mate, too?” Cullen asked. “He does seem fairly interested, doesn’t he? And more concerned than you’d think, given your short acquaintance.”

  “He smells good,” Drew commented artlessly, then blushed furiously when both Cullen and Callahan chuckled.

  “Yeah. Shame he’s working for Daniel,” Ryder said sardonically.

  That shut Drew up, and he scowled, his golden eyes troubled.

  “He said he’s wanting revenge,” Cullen reminded his boss. “And he’s already spilled a lot of beans about Daniel’s setup. He didn’t have to.”

  “I don’t trust him, but I agree. He’s been fairly cooperative,” Ryder admitted.

  “And he smells good,” Callahan cut in, laughing when Drew blushed even more.

  “Boys!” Maizie had arrived and did not sound happy.

  “Now they’re in trouble,” Bryce taunted, pouring lattes. “Geez. Moe and Flint behave better than these two.”

  Maizie waded in and grabbed Vince by the scruff of the neck. He swung before he realized who had hold of him, then toppled over when she released him quickly, dodging aside, after smacking him upside the head. Hard.

  “Young man, show some decorum, please,” she warned him, fixing John with a hard stare, as well. “And you. If you’re done with your tantrum, I’d like a breakfast roll, please, filled with sausage, bacon, and egg. And clean yourselves up, as well. I don’t want blood with my breakfast.”

  There was a tense silence, each person debating whether John would take on Maizie, too, but he seemed to relax suddenly, all his aggression oozing out of him. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll clean up first, though, if you don’t mind,” he replied, almost sheepishly, and strolled downstairs to the break room.

  Vince lay on the floor, nursing cuts and bruises, panting hard. “He started it,” he said, pouting like a three-year-old.

  “I finished it,” she replied sharply. “You follow him, sort out your differences like adults, and then come back up here and clean this place up. If not, you’ll have more to worry about than one angry pussycat. Trust me, you don’t want me on your ass, kitty.”

  She wasn’t joking. He eyed her warily, nodded, then rose carefully, and followed John downstairs.

  “Some enforcers you are,” she told Ryder and Pace, who flushed uncomfortably.

  “We’d have stopped it if they’d meant to kill each other,” Pace said, shifting restlessly on the chair.

  “Really?” she responded dryly. “Perhaps you should have defused the situation, instead.”

  “They needed to get rid of some of that t-tone overload,” Drew piped up, wincing as she stared at him balefully. “Well, they did. Otherwise, someone was going to get hurt. At least they’re evenly matched. Both can take a pummeling without too much injury. Would you want John attacking anyone else?”

  “Hmmph!”

  She turned to the counter, ordered her beverage, and then sat beside Drew, eyeing him with a smirk. “How’s that website going?” she asked coolly. “The one you’re planning to trap your father with.”

  Ryder shot him and Cul
len a hard look, arching one brow. “What website?”

  Drew looked at the table. “The one I’m building to trap Flashpoint.”

  “You were planning to tell me, when?” Ryder asked gruffly.

  “When I had it up and running,” Drew admitted, firming his jaw pugnaciously. “I have a few things to check, a few bugs to squash. Then it’s good to go.”

  “He’s created an algorithm that can track Flashpoint suspects right back to their source, similar to GPS tracking, only no traces,” Maizie said cheerfully. “It creates a marker for anyone using The Shifter Network, and our ally-run sites, and tags them. That gives us a location…and a network of who they are. Pretty smart, actually.”

  Callahan smiled proudly, kissing Drew’s cheek. “Yeah, he’s an intelligent little fucker, isn’t he?”

  Drew grinned, embarrassed. “It’s been said,” he drawled back, nudging Callahan with his shoulder.

  “When will it be up and running?” Ryder asked impatiently.

  Drew studied him and shrugged. “Actually, the algorithm is already running. Been tracking Flashpoint and their affiliates for months now. The website is an added layer. I’ve set it up to attract a certain clientele.”

  “And?” Ryder asked intently. “Any success with the algorithm?”

  Drew met his gaze calmly. “I have their whole network,” he said quietly. “Usernames only, I’m afraid. But they’re so cocky, they don’t often bother to hide who they are too deeply. I’ve been working at tracing them all, but there’s literally thousands. Some are bots, which can be traced, eventually, back to a source. Flashpoint and co have some serious resources.”

  “Which is why they want that money,” Pace said. “They have to fund their activities somehow.”

  “Exactly. And they’re not fucking getting it,” Drew retorted fiercely. “No way am I going to just hand over anything that helps them get the upper hand with us.”

  “How much is at stake?” Callahan asked, rubbing his forehead.

  Drew shot him a concerned look. “Enough to build their own kingdom if they wanted,” he said. “Or annihilate this whole town, ten times over, plus every shifter on the planet.”

  There was a pregnant pause.

  “Just how much did Irina have stashed?” Cullen asked, frowning.

  Drew lowered his voice. “Between her, Dorothy, and my mom? About fifty billion dollars.”

  A collective gasp went up. “Fuck. That’s a lot of reasons to send someone after you, dude,” Cullen said, looking fearfully at his friend.

  “So I guess it looks as though I’ll be your very own personal bodyguard for a while longer,” Maizie chimed, grinning widely when Drew moaned despairingly.

  “That’ll cramp our style,” Callahan whispered, laughing.

  Maizie winked at him. “Big time,” she said, chuckling.

  “I figured, with you being an elephant shifter, that you’d be vegetarian.” Callahan teased her about her breakfast choice, changing the subject quickly before he and Drew got teased themselves. He frowned suddenly, touching his face lightly as though in pain.

  “That’s the human side of me,” she said, unfazed. Her gaze softened on him. “You hurting?”

  He nodded, rubbing his temple again. “Hurts like fuck,” he said, wincing.

  “You haven’t shifted,” Drew said gently. “That should help.”

  Callahan looked afraid for some reason. “You’re safe here,” Maizie told him, frowning. “Nobody’s going to hurt you for shifting.”

  “You still get nightmares, don’t you?” Ethan said, coming downstairs. “From what the cult did to us. We weren’t allowed to shift while we were beaten. It was forbidden,” he explained, looking troubled.

  Callahan grimaced. “Like a bitch. Those guys played rough. Made us afraid of being shifters.”

  “You’ve seen me shift, haven’t you?” Drew kissed his cheek.

  “I saw you standing naked in the snow,” Callahan said, smiling slightly. “Missed the shift.”

  Drew laughed. “Rodrick Ambrose now has Drew-sized fang marks in his ass, thanks to my lion,” he teased. “Now shift.” He lowered his voice. “I have plans for later, and you having headaches from a concussion are going to hamper my style,” he murmured.

  “Yeah, good luck with that,” Ethan taunted. “With Maizie on guard duty, you’ll be lucky to get laid this side of the new millennium.”

  That raised a chuckle from the entire table.

  “Shift, baby,” Drew whispered. “Please.”

  Callahan gave him a look that was two parts terror, the rest resignation. “Fine,” he said. The next moment, a smallish mountain lion was sitting on its haunches, staring around at them warily.

  “Feel better?” Cullen asked sympathetically.

  Callahan chuffed in agreement, yowling plaintively, his long tail curled around him.

  “Oh, great. The fighters have returned,” Maizie said dryly, drawing attention to John and Vince standing shoulder to shoulder, looking sheepishly at everyone.

  Bryce grabbed a broom, and a dustpan and brush, and offered it to his boss. “Here you go,” he said, hands on hips. “I worked tirelessly to get this cleaned up last night. Now look at the place.”

  “He started it!” the pair chimed together, pointing at one another, then grinned widely.

  “Fuck me. They made up,” Ryder interjected, rolling his eyes comically. “Mayhem, welcome to Sage.”

  Cullen shook his head. Mayhem indeed. John Hastings and Vince Smith. Together at last. Shoot me now.

  Chapter Six

  Callahan shifted back to human form the instant he entered his apartment, with Drew following closely behind. Maizie chuckled at his warning look, waved cheerfully, and departed.

  “It doesn’t do much for my ego, as one of Ryder’s Warrior Brigade, to have a woman as old as Maizie escorting me around town,” Drew said ruefully.

  Callahan laughed. “Yeah, I thought for a second she’d be asking to sleep on the couch,” he said, grinning.

  Drew frowned. “We still don’t know where your attacker got to,” he said. “You need to be careful.”

  “I know,” Callahan replied softly, cupping Drew’s cheek gently. He was very aware that he was stark naked, and Drew stood there in jeans and a black T-shirt. His cock began to rise to the occasion. “Bryce is staying over at the ranch tonight,” he murmured. “He’s visiting our friends from the Idaho bunker. Jeremy, Kai, Michael, and Xander live there still. They love working with the horses, and with Sage getting bigger, they like to catch up on the gossip in town.”

  Drew stared, then blinked slowly, his cheeks flushed and his eyes showing a dawning realization. “We’re alone?” he asked.

  “Completely,” Callahan muttered, pulling Drew closer. His time spent in animal form had hastened his healing, and his headache was virtually gone now. He’d had a mild concussion, but the CT scan and MRI had revealed no lasting damage. And he really, really needed Drew to fuck him into the nearest mattress.

  Their kiss was scorching, lips mashing together, tongues entwining in fierce combat. Drew’s arms wrapped around Callahan, and he ground against the older man’s cock, cupping his bare ass and kneading the taut globes firmly. Callahan moaned as he tasted Drew again, loving his flavor, already addicted. He was about ready to come already, the friction of denim against bare flesh zapping up the excitement tenfold. Drew was hitching him up and down, stimulating him even more. God, but he needed this. Drew was heaven in a six-foot-plus, sinfully gorgeous package. He wanted more. Much more. And he also wanted to make it special.

  He pulled back a little, breathing hard, his dick hard as a rock, trapped between them and leaving a sticky trail all over Drew’s shirt.

  “I want this so much,” he whispered, nuzzling Drew’s neck. “But I don’t want to rush it. We have all night, baby.” He took a deep breath and asked a question that had stuck in his mind since he’d admitted to his past. “Are you sure you’re okay about what I was?”


  Drew snorted indelicately. “Does this feel like I have reservations?” he retorted, placing Callahan’s hand on his zippered crotch. “Believe me, this has never happened before, with anyone.” He looked a little ashamed. “I thought there must be something wrong with me. That my dad had…damaged me, somehow. The trauma, you know.”

  Callahan hugged him tighter, loving the feel of him in his arms. “It’s never happened to me, either,” he admitted. “I know this probably isn’t the right time, but before it wasn’t about feelings or caring. It’s all physical, you know? This is the first time I’ve felt like this about anyone. It’s special.” He kissed Drew again, hungrily. “You’re special.”

  They made their way, kissing passionately, into Callahan’s bedroom. Decorated in fairly utilitarian colors, it had splashes of color, but nothing that spoke about who Callahan was. No knickknacks. No photographs of family. After being in Drew’s home, where there were pictures and mementos galore, it made Callahan a little sad that this was the total of his life so far. Then he shrugged off the feeling and concentrated on making love to his mate.

  Taking his time, Callahan helped Drew out of his clothes, gasping in delight at the feel of his mate against him, his flesh silky smooth and a little damp with sweat. Their dicks slid together, rampant and raring to go. Callahan felt his ass clench in anticipation, wanting Drew to claim him first. He needed to be claimed.

  Falling to the bed, the pair slowed it down, their explorations softening as they made love. Soft sighs blended with the slick glide of their lips meeting again and again, and the slight rasp of whiskered jaw against whiskered jaw. Writhing like eels, they undulated gently, lost in each other, losing clothes as they explored one another intimately.

  Callahan dragged Drew closer, sliding his leg between his lover’s, enjoying the feel of their hair-toughened thighs closely entwined, then dipped between their bodies to fist both cocks in his hand.

  “Oh god that feels wonderful,” Drew panted, moaning when Callahan began to pump his fist along both dicks, twisting slightly at the end on the upstroke, his touch firm, his hand slightly rough.