by Maggie Walsh
“If I tell you, will you promise not to hurt anyone?” Crew asked in a frightened voice. He knew he had nothing to worry about. The mates could kill these two turds without moving a muscle. But when crazy people felt trapped, they did crazy things and he didn’t want these two crazy bastards anywhere near the people he loved. So he acted afraid to try to throw them.
“Let them inside, Crew. We have a plan. First we need to get them away from the outside world so they don’t hurt anyone else,” Jesse said with the link again.
“I promise, lover,” Dirk said and kissed Crew hard. He pulled back and gave Crew a sexy smile, but it did nothing for Crew anymore. This man was a psychotic asshole and Crew didn’t want anything to do with either of them anymore.
“6-2-2-6,” Crew said.
J.C. punched in the numbers on the security keypad and the panel slid up revealing the thumb scanner beneath. “Damn, baby, who’s your brother that he needs this kind of security?”
“I told you he was powerful,” Crew mumbled.
“So now what do we do to get in?”
“Roll down my window,” Crew said. J.C. rolled down his window and Crew leaned out. He pressed his thumb to the screen and a red laser came on and scanned his finger. A green light flashed and Crew pulled his finger away and sat back against the seat. A click sounded and the gates began to open in front of them. Another rumble of thunder pierced the darkening sky and a bolt of lightning flashed. Raindrops began to hit the windshield.
“Damn. What does your brother do? Is he some kind of politician or something?” J.C. asked as he drove through the gates.
“Something like that. Stop at the other side, at the next panel, and key in 5-5-7-2,” Crew instructed.
J.C. moved forward and keyed in the code Crew had given him. The gates buzzed and began to close. J.C. continued driving down the long road as lightning flashed across the sky and the rain quickened.
* * * *
“So when do we leave?” Xander asked.
“We wait until…” Micah started, but then cut himself off. He stared into space and then smiled. “We head home.”
“Why?” Cass asked in confusion.
“Jesse just contacted me and said that there was a strange car at the gates. It looked like Crew was in the backseat, but the car was just sitting there. I told him to use the link and let Crew know to let them in,” Micah explained as he stood.
“But the mates are there,” Xander said in a panic.
“Yeah, I know,” Micah said with a smirk. “Think about the ramifications of that.”
Everyone started to laugh. “Jesse will keep me posted on what’s going on. I think we should let these guys think they’re in the clear and safe. Then we take care of them. We have Dante, and his men here. They can pop us in at any time. And all we have to do is call for Phenex and these guys are instant hellhound kibble.”
“So what’s your plan?” Lexi asked with a smile.
“I say we let them get inside, get comfortable, then we start to mess with them. Jesse thinks it’s a great idea. He and the mates are thinking of ways to spook them before we get there.” Micah laughed.
* * * *
Crew opened the front door and stepped in as Dirk pressed the barrel of the gun against his lower back. Dirk kept a tight grip around his waist as they both shuffled into the pack house, with J.C. following. J.C. closed the door and locked it behind him, then whistled as he looked at his surroundings. “Damn, baby, this place is huge. Just you and your brother live here?”
“No, we all live here,” Jesse’s sweet angelic voice came from the top of the stairs. Crew winced at the sound and closed his eyes. He had hoped the mates all left before they got into the house. Then he could have shifted and attacked these two scumbags.
“Damn.” Dirk whistled in appreciation as he looked up the stairs at Jesse. “This gorgeous creature is your brother, Crew? Because I gotta tell ya, he has got to be the sexiest thing I have ever seen.”
“Stay the fuck away from him,” Crew growled fiercely.
“Is that jealousy, baby? Or a protective streak for your brother?” J.C. asked and pinched Crew’s ass as he stepped up next to Dirk.
“I promise you both that if you lay one finger on him, or anyone else in this house, you will live to regret it. And very painfully,” Crew said through clenched teeth.
“Crew, who are your friends?” Jesse asked sweetly as he slowly descended.
“Yeah, Crew? Who are your friends?” Taylor’s voice came from their right. Crew knew Taylor was there since they had walked in. He could smell him as well as sense him. Along with the others who were close by waiting.
Dirk turned quickly at Taylor’s voice, bringing the gun out from behind Crew and pointing it in Taylor’s direction. Jesse stopped two steps from the bottom as the gun came into view. “Whoa there, big boy. Take it easy with that thing before someone gets their balls blown off,” Taylor said and gave Dirk a saucy smirk.
“And who are you, beautiful?” Dirk asked Taylor.
“Who, little old me? I’m just Tay. Nobody special,” he said in a southern accent. Crew saw Jesse from the corner of his eye. The man smiled and then bit his lips to hide it. He knew Jesse hated Taylor’s fake southern drawl. He always told Taylor that one day a southerner would hear it and scream all the way to church to have the demons thrust from Taylor’s body, because surely only a demonic possession could make anyone desecrate their accent like Taylor did. Crew chuckled internally at the remembered argument between Jesse and Taylor over that one. The thought of demonic possession made him think of Laylen. His heart hurt with the thought that Haven may be dead and Laylen would blame him for them losing their mate. He wanted to get this over with so that he could go find Haven and make sure he was okay. Then there was Laylen who was chasing an evil demon around the Underworld. Shit, he wished his mates were here and they were safely up in his room, exploring each other’s bodies. J.C.’s question brought him back to the scene in front of him.
“Why don’t you sashay that beautiful body over here and introduce yourself properly, hot stuff?”
“I don’t know, that’s a pretty big, scary…piece your friend is holding. It’s very impressive. Is yours as big?” Taylor fluttered his lashes flirtatiously and gave J.C. a sexy smile.
“Oh yeah, sexy, mine is just as big. Would you like to hold it? I’m sure my big, fat gun would look great in your hands. Probably would look better between those luscious lips,” J.C. flirted back.
“Crew? I’m okay, baby. We’re all at Dante’s and Jesse is keeping us informed of what’s happening through his link with Micah. Micah wants you to just play along, let them feel comfortable and make them think they are in control. The mates want to fuck with them for a while before we come. Let them suffer for what they have done. The bank guard is dead. We also found out that they have killed five other people in their prior bank robberies. So Micah agrees with the mates. Fuck with their heads,” Haven said in his head, then chuckled.
“If I may cut in for a moment,” Jesse interrupted and all eyes turned to him. “Why don’t we go into the den there and you can introduce us to your friends, Crew?”
“That’s a great idea, gorgeous. Lead the way,” Dirk said as he gave Jesse a hungry look.
Jesse slowly walked past them, turned his back, and headed toward the den. He looked back over his shoulder and flashed Dirk a sexy smile. Crew heard Dirk’s groan of approval behind him as he once again shoved the barrel of the gun against the small of Crew’s back and pushed him in the direction of the den.
“You should have told us you had the hottest brothers in the world, Crew. We could have had us a great orgy,” Dirk said with a chuckle.
“Eww. Why the hell would I want to have an orgy with my brothers?”
“Oh, we’re not Crew’s brothers. We belong to Crew’s brothers,” Jesse said as he took a seat in the wingback chair.
“You belong to his brothers? What does that mean?” J.C. asked.
“We’re th
eir men, just like they are ours.”
“Wha…whoa, what the hell is that?” J.C. asked in horror, eyes wide, as he jumped back a few feet.
A very large white tiger casually strolled into the room and plopped down by Jesse’s feet. He stared intently at Dirk and yawned, feigning boredom. Jesse reached out a hand and stroked the animals head gently. “Oh this? This is my good friend. He’s adorable, isn’t he?” The tiger chuffed his disapproval and looked back at Jesse. Jesse gave him a big smile. “Well, you are adorable, and I know of two others who would absolutely agree with me on that point. So keep your growls to yourself.” The tiger shook his head and turned back toward Crew, Dirk, and J.C.
“Is he safe? I mean, is it even legal for you to have him as a pet?” Dirk asked as he kept his eyes locked on the big cat, waiting for the slightest movement.
Jesse covered the tiger’s ears and gave Dirk an angry look. “Don’t insult Storm like that. He is not a pet. He is a warrior, a protector, and a leader of men,” Jesse chastised him.
“He’s a…” J.C. started but stopped as another beautiful man strolled into the room. He had long flowing sandy-blond hair with white streaks in it, and his eyes were a pale blue. He wore a tight black mesh half shirt, and a black-and-white plaid skirt that was short and flowing, white thigh-high stockings, and black patent leather Mary Janes on his feet. He was sucking a red heart-shaped lollipop as he strolled in and sat on the arm of the chair next to Jesse.
“Hi,” he said seductively. “I’m Raffy. Who are you?”
“Yours,” J.C. commented, causing Raffy to giggle.
“No, silly, what’s your name?” Raffy flirted.
“I’m J.C. and that’s Dirk.”
“So what brings you two hunky men all the way out here to our humble abode?”
“Raff,” Crew warned.
“What? I was just trying to be friendly, isn’t that right, Ry Ry?” Raffy said with a pout and Ryland strolled into the room, wearing a black kilt and combat boots, and nothing else.
“You’re right, little one. We should be friendly to Crew’s friends. Although I do wonder about those guns though.”
“You all live here? What is this place, a brothel?” Dirk’s eyes filled with lust as they roamed over Ryland’s body.
“Yes, we all live here. And no, it’s not a brothel,” Jesse answered in disgust. “We’re family. My man owns the place and he and his brothers live here. Then there are their men, us. Well except for Ryland over there. He’s one of my fathers. My other father isn’t here right now,” Jesse explained nonchalantly.
“He’s your father? He only looks about fifteen years older than you. How can he be your father?” J.C. asked in confusion.
“He looks damn good for his age. You should see his husband.” Taylor chuckled.
“So this whole house if full of hot gay men?” J.C. asked with excitement.
“Pretty much.” Jesse shrugged.
“We hit the fucking jackpot, Dirk.”
“Yeah, well, something about this place is giving me the willies,” Dirk said cautiously as looked around at everyone.
“Why is that?” J.C. asked.
“Two strangers walk into their house, holding a gun against one of their own, and they’re all acting like we’re invited guests that came for dinner. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”
“I think they’re just a friendly bunch, that’s all.” J.C. shrugged.
“Why aren’t any of them scared? Not a one of them has shown an ounce of fear,” Dirk asked suspiciously.
“Oooh, can I answer that question?” Noah asked as he quickly walked into the room with excitement.
“What the fuck are you?” Dirk asked angrily as he spotted the blue-haired fae.
“I Noah. What the fuck are you? Besides being rude and a dickhead,” Noah answered. “Jesse, can I answer him?”
“Be my guest, big brother. Have at ‘em.” Jesse chuckled.
“He’s your big brother?”
“Yes. Well maybe not my big brother, but he is older than me…so.”
“So, shit-for-brains, can I answer your question now?” Noah asked in annoyance and sighed heavily.
Dirk narrowed his eyes at Noah as an angry scowl crossed his face. “I’m the one with the gun, pipsqueak, so you better learn a little respect.”
“Why? Just ‘cause you hold banana in hand and think it a gun, no make it gun,” Noah said with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Listen, you crazy blue-haired freak, this is a…” Dirk cut himself off as his expression turned into one of disbelief. He thrust the gun out in front of him, pointing it directly at Noah as he spoke, but he froze when he realized he actually did hold a banana in his hand.
“We no scared of you because you have no power here. You no can hurt us,” Noah explained.
J.C. held out his gun in front of him and pointed it at Noah also. “Oh yeah? I don’t know how you pulled that trick on Dirk, but I still have my gun. So that means I still have all the power,” J.C. sneered.
Noah laughed and walked over to stand by Jesse. He knelt down onto the floor next to Storm’s tiger and hugged his neck. “He funny, Stormy. Can we keep him and play with him?” Noah asked sweetly.
“What’s wrong with him? The elevator doesn’t go to the top floor or something?” J.C. asked.
“Why are we prolonging this? Can’t we just get it over with? I want to go find Haven and make sure he’s okay,” Crew asked in annoyance.
“Because Micah says so,” Jesse said and gave Crew a smile.
Crew sighed heavily and shook his head. He pulled away from the still stunned Dirk and walked to the couch, dropping down on it.
“Who said you could sit down? Get the fuck up, Gav…Crew,” J.C. ordered as he pointed the gun at Crew. “Dirk, snap out of it, babe.”
Dirk blinked his eyes and looked at J.C. “How the hell did I get a banana in my hand like that, man? I know it was a gun. One minute it was my gun, the next minute it was a banana.”
“We don’t have time for this shit, Dirk. So snap the fuck out of it. The Feds are out there looking for us. We have a house full of hostages and a rich sugar daddy who would probably pay us a fortune for these freaks.”
“Don’t call them freaks,” Crew growled angrily and stood up. “I have had enough of this shit. It’s time for me to kill you two bastards for hurting my mate.”
“Mate? You got a husband, man?” Dirk asked angrily.
“Yes, I do.”
“Well he can’t mean too much to you if you’ve been stepping out on him with us.”
“It was a recent development. That’s why you haven’t seen me in a while,” Crew explained through clenched teeth. “Now enough of this. Let me get rid of them, Jesse.”
“No way, Crew. We’re having too much fun playing with them. And Micah did say we could until he and the others get here. Besides, I think he’s kind of cute dressed like that,” Taylor said with an evil smile.
“What are you all talking abou…” J.C. cut himself off when he glimpsed at Dirk. “What the fuck?” he cursed and his eyes opened wide.
“What?” Dirk asked and looked at J.C.
“How the hell did you do that?” J.C. questioned and motioned toward Dirk’s body. Dirk looked down and screamed when he noticed he was wearing tight purple short-shorts and an electric-blue halter top. On his feet, he wore a pair of purple wedge sandals with white frilly ankle socks. “What the hell?”
“I think you look hot.” Raffy chuckled. “But your chest is a little too hairy for that top. Ooh, can we shave him?” he asked with excitement.
“Who did this? How did you do this?” Dirk asked and pointed the banana at Raffy.
Raffy stood up and strolled over to Dirk. He grabbed the banana out of his hand. “Thanks, I love long shafts in my mouth.” He peeled the banana and opened his mouth. Raffy stuck his tongue out and began to circle the tip of the banana with it. He rubbed the banana on his tongue as he moaned. He slowly closed his lips a
round the tip of the banana and slid it into his mouth. He closed his eyes and moaned again. Slowly he slid the banana back out and began to lick and suck it. “I love a sweet shaft. I really like the ones that I can suck cream out of the most.”
“I got a shaft full of cream for you, baby,” Dirk said huskily.
He reached out to grab Raffy, but Raffy stepped back. “No, no, no, you can’t touch. If you do, my mate will pull your intestines out through your eyeballs. He gets pissy when anyone touches me. He’s so good that way,” Raffy said happily and bit the tip off the banana and turned, walking back to Jesse.
“What the hell is going on around here? You all act like I’m not standing here pointing a loaded gun at you,” J.C. said in exasperation.
“That because you not.” Noah giggled. He pointed at the gun in J.C.’s outstretched hand. “Look at hand.” J.C. looked at the gun in his hand. Suddenly the gun was gone and was replaced with a big spider.
J.C.’s eyes went wide in shock and fear as he froze. Dirk jumped back away from him and stared at the arachnid in horror. “How the fuck? What is that thing?” Dirk asked with a shaky voice.
“Oh look, big badass bank robber is afraid of a little spider,” Taylor said in amusement.
“Little spider? You call that a little spider? That thing’s fucking huge. What the hell is it?” Dirk asked, never taking his eyes off the hairy thing.
“That Giant Huntsman spider. Biggest spider in the world. Cute, right?” Noah asked.
“Hell no! Get it off me!” J.C. said in a yelled whisper.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Pussy.” He waved his hand and suddenly the spider was gone, and J.C.’s hand was empty.
J.C. and Dirk’s eyes bugged out in shock as they stared at J.C.’s now empty hand. “So who has all the power?” Jesse asked.
Dirk jumped and grabbed Crew, pulling him in front of himself and wrapping his arm around Crew’s throat. “I still do. You said your boyfriend is on his way here, right? Well, he gives me a million dollars and we walk out of here untouched, I’ll release his brother.”
“That’s such a lowball figure,” a deep voice said from behind Dirk. He spun around with Crew still in his grasp. Crew moved with him easily with a bored expression on his face. Micah stood there with a mischievous smile on his face, but his eyes showed his anger. “My brother is worth a hundred times more than that. Actually, he’s priceless.”
