by Jools Louise
Thomas tuned into the conversation going on around him, seeing the younger shifters sitting at a couple of tables nearby and digging into their own breakfast. The boys, young men now, were chattering away, smiling and laughing, but he noted the subtle tension between David and Chaz.
“Is everything okay with those two?” he asked, frowning, as he spoke softly to John. “I thought they were pretty much a permanent couple?”
John turned slightly and replied directly into Thomas’s ear. “I don’t know details, but I get the impression Chaz is not as into the garage idea as David. I’m not sure if that’s the whole reason, but they’ll be okay. I think there’s been assumptions made, without discussing what they both want.” He smiled a little, easing back. “This is the first time they’ve been off the ranch really, in nearly four years. They graduated from the nearest college only a few miles up the road from Powell, so they’ve never lived off-ranch full time, or had to make adult decisions, not when it comes to the couple kind of things. They kept in a close-knit group and came home on weekends. None of them, given their background, has tried to date other young guys or gals their own age, so they’re a little clueless when it comes to some of the hard decisions.”
“Growing pains,” Thomas replied, smiling as he relaxed.
John nodded, although he still seemed concerned. “I think so. There’s something else going on, private stuff, but neither is talking, so we’ll just have to wait for the fallout.”
“They make a nice couple,” Thomas said. “I hope they work things out.”
John nodded, patting Thomas’s arm, then got to his feet after finishing up his tea. “Well, that’s my break time over, no rest for the hottest baker in town,” he said, raising his voice. “Time to prepare for the next stampede.” He laughed at everyone and then headed back to work, moving with an effortless efficiency as he swapped out breakfast pastries, placing them in the glass-fronted counter and making room for sweeter delicacies such as donuts, eclairs, fruit-filled tarts, and other treats.
“Can I help?” Douglas asked eagerly, getting a nod.
“Wash up, grab an apron, then you can help decorate these beauties,” John said, mixing up a batch of fondant cream and chocolate icing for some donuts he’d taken from the fryer a little earlier. “We have a bunch of these to decorate. I have some sugared donuts to fry, full-size and minis, plus eclairs to fill, lemon tarts to bake…I’d love you to help.” He smiled at Douglas.
Douglas looked ecstatic and hurried to help out.
Thomas smiled to himself, eyeing the youngster, who seemed to be adjusting well to everything. He was glad the cult hadn’t broken the boy, his stay at the ranch being a godsend to helping him heal mentally. There would still be some hurdles to come, but so far Douglas was taking everything in stride. He finished off his coffee and popped the final crumb of the final pastry into his mouth, chewing happily. If this kept up, he’d weigh a ton by the end of the week. Thomas would rarely admit it to John, but the guy baked really well. He just didn’t need to be told that too much…he bragged enough as it was.
“Excited to get back to work?” Thomas asked Jack, getting a nod.
“I don’t know how I’ll feel being in there for long periods,” Jack admitted, his eyes faraway with memories.
“Mick and I will be there for you,” Jamie said, placing a hand on his father’s hand on the table. “We won’t leave you alone in there.”
“Do you get flashbacks?” Thomas asked, knowing that Jack had been trapped underneath his own counter after the explosions in Sage.
“Yes.” Jack replied simply. “I’ve been in the diner a few times now, overseeing things. I haven’t been able to stay overnight yet. That’ll take time. Mick’s dad and I share a cottage at the ranch. It’s been tough, but because the place looks completely different now, modern and new, with new decor, a bar and proper restaurant, it hasn’t been as bad as I thought.” He paused. “I haven’t been downstairs yet, to the sublevel. I know I need to, but I can’t do it yet.”
“It’ll take time,” Thomas said, knowing the feeling. He’d had flashbacks himself, so knew it wasn’t so easy getting the mind to forget the fear, the helplessness. “I had to concentrate on the feeling that no matter what else happened, the man who did this to me,” he indicated his bum leg, “is no longer around. He died, too, so he can’t ever hurt me again. That helped.”
“I think it’s because of how long I spent in those damn tunnels,” Jack said quietly, looking a little pale. “Jamie, too. The cult kept this town in total fear. They pretty much told us how to breathe, who to speak to, what to sell in our shops—everything. It was like one big prison camp. I’ll feel more confident once we open and I get to run the business the way I want to, the way Jamie and Mick and I want to.” He smiled at his son and son-in-law. “We’re partners, now.”
“We’re partners in the best damn licensed restaurant in town,” Mick said proudly, grinning over at his friend who was showing Douglas how to ice donuts and fill them with cream.
“Yeah, just leave the bread making to me, love,” John smirked, glancing up and grinning back. “Dough just ain’t your thang,” he continued with a western twang.
Jamie rolled his eyes, smiling at the banter.
“There is one way to get over your fears of the sublevel,” Mick announced, smiling at his husband, Jamie.
Thomas had an idea he would regret asking, but took the bait anyway. “How is that?”
“You have to christen it, with a loved one,” Mick whispered loudly, winking when Jamie groaned, flushing at the laughter coming from the other table. “You know, like having sex, lots of sex. Then the only memories you’ll have are good ones. It works a treat.”
“And on that note,” Thomas said, laughing at Jamie’s blushes, “I’ll be on my way. I need to take Cody some breakfast—the man’s working too hard,” he said and wheeled his way to the counter, trying to pay for the other pastries. He was waved away by John, who bagged up some other goods for Cody.
“See you later, Douglas,” he called to the youngster, who nodded and continued piping icing over a plump doughnut, his tongue sticking out slightly between his teeth as he concentrated.
Winking at John, he said good-bye and left.
* * * *
Blindfolded, Thomas was wheeled along the deserted streets of Sage by his lover, smiling to himself as he wondered what the big man had in store for him this evening. Work was over, and the workers had returned to the ranch for the night, leaving the place quiet and still.
The occasional screech of an owl rent the air, the noise of crickets waking after a long winter, calling for mates, joined in the harmony. Thomas loved this time of night.
“Here we go, stud,” Cody said softly, and Thomas felt the chair leave the smooth concrete of the sidewalk, rumbling over a rougher surface, like cobbles or something.
They stopped a few moments later, and Cody lifted the blindfold off, Thomas blinking as he saw a gazebo sitting in the middle of what would be a green park at some point in the future, when the heavy construction was finished. Set up on the benches inside was an outdoor heater, lots of soft lighting, and a picnic.
“Wow!” Thomas exclaimed, seeing the candles, napkins, and an array of roses sitting in various vases as he was wheeled inside, up a shallow ramp. “You outdid yourself, baby,” he said.
“Do you like it?” Cody asked nervously. “I wanted this to be our first romantic date…even though we’re already sleeping together, this seemed like a fun thing to do. Douglas wanted to help John at the bakery, get some stuff done for tomorrow. It’s too nice an evening to sit inside.” Cody was speaking too quickly, and Thomas’s heart melted as he realized Cody was still unsure of their relationship.
“Come here,” he said, beckoning Cody to bend closer.
Cody obliged, and Thomas cupped his nape, pulling him into a soft, tender, and loving kiss that had his toes curling in his shoes. The kiss went on and on, the softness and gentleness leav
ing them both sighing at the beauty of it. “It’s perfect, baby,” Thomas whispered. “Nobody’s ever done this for me before.”
Cody stroked Thomas’s face gently, his eyes fluid in the moonlight. “I’ve never done anything like this before, either. I’m glad you approve.” He kissed Thomas again, their lips sliding over one other, tongues mating restlessly, mouths open and demanding more and more and more. The kiss deepened quickly, and fingers began reaching, finding engorged flesh contained by straining denim.
Cody eased Thomas’s zipper down, and Thomas hissed as he felt the cool night air caress his hot dick. Cody knelt before him, his head going down and his mouth opening wide around Thomas’s aching cock, swallowing him down in one go. Thomas gave a gasping cry, bucking his hips, fucking into that succulent mouth over and over, his eyes closed against the blissful heat that was sending his senses into an overload of pleasure. Within seconds he was spurting, hot cum searing the back of Cody’s throat, the sides of the gazebo shielding them from prying eyes.
“Baby, you humble me,” Thomas murmured as Cody placed a tender kiss on the head of Thomas’s limp cock, then carefully zipped him up again.
“I can’t get enough of you, Thomas,” Cody admitted, standing and resting his forehead against his lover’s. “You always made me feel safe and protected. I remember regretting not staying in touch, but my fears of rejection kept me away. I didn’t see how you could possibly want me after all this time.”
“Cody, I never stopped wanting you. When Pace heard about the shooting where I lost my leg, he told me what he was doing here and mentioned your name. I knew I couldn’t stay away, even if we only remained friends.” Thomas kissed the tip of Cody’s nose lightly. “I’m so glad I came,” he teased, then pulled Cody down for another toe-curler, leaving them both panting and hard.
“If we don’t stop, we’ll still be here for breakfast,” Cody said huskily, laughing softly. “You taste so good, I’m addicted to you.”
“You never had dark chocolate, that’s why,” Thomas said, grinning widely. “It’s the only way to go,” he added, smacking Cody’s ass gently. “Now quit molesting me, man, and feed me.”
Cody chuckled louder, easing away and heading for the large picnic hamper sitting on the bench seat and what looked like a bain-marie set onto a small Formica-topped table, with delicious smells emanating from it. Another table had been set with plates, champagne flutes, and a small vase of roses, long tapered candles lighting the scene.
“I went for traditional stuff,” Cody said, dragging out fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, barbecue ribs, and some corn cobs dripping with butter and a couple of gigantic, foil-wrapped baked potatoes, steaming gently. The meat and cobs were warm and fragrant, the delicious scents making Thomas’s mouth water.
The pair of them dug in, feasting on mounds of delicious food, chatting away like the old friends they were, sharing childhood memories and laughing at how many scrapes they’d gotten in together.
The night hours melted away, and when dawn found them sated with food and love, Cody was curled up against his lover, who sat on the floor of the gazebo, legs extended, sleeping deeply as they held each other close.
Chapter Five:
A Nasty Surprise Left Beneath Sage
Cody was poring over plans for the new construction sites that were getting underway the following week. David’s garage, a mini shopping mall, and he’d just had a planning application granted for a series of offices for medical professionals, including a dentist, lawyer, and doctor. Zack was the lawyer in question and had gotten together with some people at the ranch to see about sharing premises and also the costs involved in maintaining such a place. Government funding had subsidized most of the project, aided by donations from all over the world once the shifters had gone public, revealing themselves after Sage had been destroyed.
He looked up quickly when one of the supervisors for one construction team ran into the office he’d set up inside a trailer.
“You need to come see what we found,” the man said, a guy named Shane who had once lived in town when it was a thriving community, but left when the cult arrived. He’d returned recently and had been extremely helpful, having worked on plenty of jobs all over the place, including big builds like Sage.
“What did you find?” Cody asked, following Shane out of the trailer and hopping into a pickup truck, heading toward the end of town where the garage was going to be situated. They were doing some surveying of the structure beneath the place, making sure it was stable, since with the tunnel system, there needed to be extra-strong foundations built to replace those damaged.
“We found something that doesn’t match anything on the original town blueprints,” Shane replied, arriving at the location in seconds. “You need to see it,” he repeated and Cody had an uneasy feeling. Whenever things didn’t look like they should, especially in this town, it usually meant the cult had been interfering where they shouldn’t…which meant bad news all around. He sent up a quick prayer to whoever dealt with happy endings that what the workers had found was not too bad. He’d had enough bad to last an eternity.
They exited the truck and stepped down the ramp created to the basement level of the site. Cody stopped dead when he saw something that should not be where it was. A stone hatch, which had been removed from a large hole in the ground, iron steps leading down into the void, with handrails on either side. The hole was twice as wide as Cody and there was a strange odor coming from below. He remembered mapping out the cave system with Rafe Cordoba, recently married to his two mates Lucas and Archie. They were currently on honeymoon, secreted away on a tropical island and due back in about a week. Rafe and Cody had spent months travelling the underground network, finding hidden stashes the cult wanted to remain secret, and taking great pleasure in destroying everything, after photographing the stuff. The smell from this second sublevel was similar to some of the places they’d been in, unused tunnels which had traces of something having been there, but not recently. A whiff of some unknown creature.
“Has anyone been down there?” Cody asked, getting headshakes all around from the six workers who’d unearthed this void. “I’ll need backup here. Who’s shifter and who’s human?” he asked.
“I’m cougar,” Shane said. “This is my brother Stephen, who’s cougar as well. The others are all shifters, too.”
Cody nodded. “I need someone to go let my old crew know, John and Mick, plus the sheriff. They need to see this.”
“Already here,” Sheriff Pace said, striding down the ramp, his eyes widening as he viewed the shaft. Mick and John weren’t far behind.
“What the fuck?” Mick said, looking stunned. “Is this another sublevel, another tunnel system?”
Cody shrugged, not wanting to think about that. “I’m about to find out,” he said. “I’ll take a couple of flashlights and rope. Radios won’t work down there, so time me. If I’m not back in a half hour, it means I need help.” He grabbed the things he needed, hopped his butt onto the edge of the hole, then eased his way onto the first step about six inches below the rim. The hole was black as pitch, his jaguar eyes not needing added light right now, since the lights from above were sufficient. He hunted well in the dark.
He’d hooked one rope to the top step, using it to gauge how deep he was going, and had hooked it around his waist in case he got into difficulty, like if the steps suddenly gave way. The second rope was secured to Mick, attached to a harness, and fed through steel loops as an extra safety measure. The hole went on and on, the light from above a mere pinprick now, but at least it didn’t curve, shooting straight down. At the sixty-foot mark, he came to a halt, the steps ending and he carefully tested the flooring beneath with his foot. It was solid concrete. He flicked on the flashlight, attached to his hard hat, blinking in the sudden brightness. The tunnel he was in went one way, off to the left, in a straight line. In this obsidian darkness, he couldn’t make out where it ended and began to walk.
He heard move
ment behind him and scented John following him down. He smiled. The guy might be a joker, but he’d saved Cody’s life more than once over the years. He could kick ass like a mean fucker when he chose to.
“Nice of you to join me,” Cody said, hearing the low chuckle.
“I didn’t want to miss this little party,” John said, tense but lightening the mood with levity. It helped to keep the fear at bay, something they were both feeling. If this was a cult tunnel, anything could happen.
“There’s a door,” Cody said, barely audible, then frowned as he heard a whisper of noise farther up the tunnel. It sounded like nails scratching. Out of the black, a set of eyes glowed, reflective in the light of the torch.
“Who is that?” Cody asked, raising his voice. “If you’re shifters, we are, too.” He watched the eyes blink, and then a second pair appeared, and then a third and finally a fourth.
The scratching sound grew louder, the four pairs of eyes glowing eerily. Cody had the feeling he had been understood, but took a defensive stance in case all went to shit. The eyes were about three feet off the ground, and he heard an audible sniff.
“We’re here to help,” Cody said gently, moving into a crouch, not wanting to frighten whatever was in the tunnel. His flashlight picked out a flash of a white muzzle, whiskers, and large paws loaded with lethally sharp claws. The creatures stopped, blinking furiously now. “Are you shifters?” he asked.
One shifted slowly, almost painfully, and Cody gave a gasp of shock. The man was emaciated, his bones protruding through his flesh, which hung there like a limp sack. The thick fur had hidden how thin he was. In human form he was about five feet eight inches in height. The guy’s eyes narrowed against the torch’s light and he stood there wavering on his two legs.
“Who are you?” he asked, his voice painfully raspy. “Did Leonard send you?”
