by Faith Gibson
MALAKAI WAS WORKING the front desk at Hartley’s, waiting for his women’s self-defense class to start. A young man entered the building, looking around. “Welcome to Hartley’s. Can I help you?”
“Hey, uh yeah. Is Matthew here?” the man asked with a faint accent. “I was hoping to catch up with him before school started.”
“No, I’m afraid not. He’s on vacation for a few days.”
“Oh. Good for him. We all need a break between high school and college. Who’d he go with? Where’d he go? Somewhere fun, I hope.”
The door opened, and several women from the class walked in. Kai’s attention was distracted when he answered, “I think they went to the beach. Him and Slade. Not sure. I can give him a message when he gets back if you’d like.”
“The beach? Wow, that’s great. Is he somewhere on the Atlantic?”
“Yeah. No. I think the Keys,” Kai muttered to the kid, not taking his eyes off one of his students. It had been a long time since someone caught his eye, and this particular blonde had caught it, but he couldn’t figure out why. Kai couldn’t get her off his mind. It was like he was drawn to her, but only mildly. Not like the others when they found their mates. She smiled at him, and everyone else in the room – the kid included – melted away. “Good morning, ladies. If you want to go on back and begin stretching, I’ll join you in a few minutes.” After they were out of sight, Kai returned his attention to Matt’s buddy, but the man was already gone.
Chapter Eighteen
SABRINA’S DAY WENT by slowly. Several times Lorenzo approached, asking if she was okay. She needed to get her head out of the clouds and focus. Her patients as well as her colleagues counted on her to be professional, but she couldn’t help it when her thoughts turned to Deacon and the mate bond. The notion of giving herself over to someone – a shifter at that – so quickly was irrational. It had only been a few days ago when he approached her for coffee, and now she was considering something permanent with him. It was the equivalent of agreeing to marriage after such a short time, and that should scare the crap out of her. He had said it would be a lifetime commitment. And not just that, but she would stop aging. There was so much to consider, but she’d already made up her mind that morning when she awoke in his home.
By the time Deacon returned, Sabrina was on edge. Not because of her decision. Several times during the day, she’d felt as though she were being watched. She knew Lorenzo was shadowing her, but this was different. More than once, the hair on her arms stood on end. Each time, she’d glanced around, but there hadn’t been anyone there who shouldn’t have been. Not that she recognized anyway.
When Deacon stepped into her office, Sabrina had to bite back a groan at how hot he looked. Gone were the loose-fitting, ripped-at-the-knee jeans, and in their place were new ones that molded to him like a second skin. The dark denim hugged his thick thighs and wide hips. Deacon’s ass was a cliché all its own, and Sabrina could look at it every day for the rest of her life. Grab onto the firm globes while he was thrusting into her.
“If you don’t want me to bend you over your desk right here and now, you need to curb whatever it is you’re thinking about,” Deacon warned, his voice low.
“If you don’t want me thinking sexy thoughts, you need to not wear those jeans,” she countered.
Deacon gestured down at his pants. “These old things?” he joked. Sabrina laughed out loud, and Deacon grinned. They both knew the jeans were one of the pairs that Brynna had shopped for him. Sabrina needed to call the woman and thank her. “Come on, Pretty Lady. Let’s get out of here and onto our date.” Deacon held out his hand, and Sabrina took it. She was packed up and ready to go, eager to see what the night brought them.
After walking her to her car, Deacon followed Sabrina home. She parked in the garage, leaving the door up so he could follow her into the house through the side door.
“Hold up.” Deacon gripped Sabrina’s elbow and was standing so still she wondered if he was breathing.
“What is it?” Sabrina looked around, but nothing was out of place.
Deacon moved his hand down to clench Sabrina’s. “Stay close.” He led her to the side door where he pushed the button to lower the garage door. “As soon as we get inside, punch in the code and wait there.”
Hands shaking, Sabrina did as Deacon asked. Or she was going to, but the alarm had been disabled. “Deacon?”
“What’s wrong?”
“The alarm. It wasn’t set.”
Deacon muttered a “fuck” under his breath while getting his cell phone. Sabrina waited while Deacon made a call. “Jules, I need a favor. Can you hack into Sabrina’s alarm and see when it was disabled?” Deacon put his arm around Sabrina and tugged her close. “Okay. Yes. I have a different idea, but if that changes, I’ll let you know. Thanks, Brother.”
“What’s going on?” Sabrina curled her front against his chest, tucking her arms between them.
“Someone disabled your alarm this morning around nine. They aren’t here now, but that doesn’t mean nothing was disturbed. I don’t hear anything out of the ordinary, so I feel it’s safe for us to move about the house.”
Sabrina was calm, considering. She attributed it to being with Deacon. He was a shifter, so if someone were in the house, he would keep her safe. Deacon bent down and kissed her softly before taking one of her hands. Together, they walked through her home, looking for anything that had been broken, taken, or otherwise disturbed. After checking every room, including the closets, they returned to the kitchen. It wasn’t until she stepped around the island that she noticed something on the floor. “What’s that?”
Deacon squatted down and picked up what looked like a patch. “Kennedy,” Deacon said, holding the name patch up so Sabrina could see it.
“Is that...?”
“A patch that could belong on your brother’s uniform? Looks like it.” Deacon stood and showed it to Sabrina. “Look,” he pointed to the back of it. Written in black marker were the words “Help the kid.”
“I haven’t seen or heard from Jerrick in years. Do you think he could be the one leaving these messages?”
“Anything’s possible. I was going to wait until later to tell you something, but considering this” – Deacon indicated the patch – “I think now’s a good time. I had Julian and Lucy run checks on your brothers. Terrence is still in California, but Jerrick was medically discharged from the Army three years ago. After that, he disappeared.”
“Why did you have them check out my brothers?” Sabrina wrapped her arms around her waist.
“I was speaking with Tamian, and he made a good point. Whoever is leaving you these messages isn’t being malicious. Even though he left roses which you hate, they are still one of the most popular flowers to give someone. Then there was the photo of your siblings, and now, the patch. Tamian thinks it’s possible whoever is doing this is someone close to you but afraid to approach you. You’ve been in contact with Terrence, and I doubt he’d have an issue picking up the phone if he was trying to warn you. That leaves Jerrick.”
“But why not Jasmine, too?”
“There’s something I haven’t told you.” Deacon closed his eyes and let out a harsh breath. When he looked at her, his smile was sad. “This isn’t the way I wanted our first date to start, but it’s par for the course with mates.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that none of the other Gargoyles who’ve found their mates have had it easy in the beginning. There were kidnappings, car chases, malicious husbands, attempted murder. I’m not trying to scare you, but the fates haven’t made it easy for us to just find our mate and live happily ever after. Not that what you’re going through is on par with what the others went through, but I was hoping now that the war was over and Alistair was gone, things would calm down.”
“What war? Who’s Alistair? And husbands?” Sabrina had a lot to learn about Deacon and his Clan.
“I promise to tell you everything. First, I want you to
go pack your things. Until we figure out who’s doing this and why, I want you to come stay with me. While you do that, I’m going to send a picture of this off to Julian and Lucy so they can add it to the other messages and see if they can figure out what the hell they mean. After, we’ll go to dinner. Eat good food. Drink some wine. Enjoy our first date like we planned. Afterward, we’ll go back to my place and have a long conversation.”
“Sure.” Sabrina went to her car and retrieved her bags. Instead of emptying them, she filled them with more items she would need for at least a week. She had hoped to go back to Deacon’s to spend another night, but she hadn’t wanted these messages to be the reason. Was it possible Jerrick was behind everything? She thought back to the man she saw in the parking garage and then the one in the hallway. She couldn’t see his face because of the hoodie, but that man was larger than Jerrick had been. Then again, she hadn’t seen her baby brother in years. He would have filled out in the military. Been trained how to move differently that the regular person. If it was him, why wouldn’t he just come up to her and talk to her?
When she returned to the kitchen, Sabrina picked up the patch and ran her fingers across the name. It was hard for her to see Jerrick as anything other than the skinny little kid he’d been before their mom died. He’d been so sweet and loving. She couldn’t imagine him as a war-hardened soldier, but she had to face the fact that it was probably what he’d become. Was that why he wouldn’t approach her? If it was even him leaving the messages. And this last one – “help the kid.” What kid? Deacon said there were things he needed to tell her, so maybe he had an idea of what the messages were about.
“Ready?” Deacon asked as he entered from the back door. He stepped into her space and ran a finger down her cheek.
Sabrina shivered at his touch. She was ready all right. Ready to get back to his house and get comfortable. She knew they had a lot to discuss, but the way he lit her body up from the inside out had her mind on other things. She had changed from her work clothes into something better suited for dinner out, including matching lace lingerie. Keeping her hands to herself, she managed to respond, “Ready.”
Instead of going through the garage, Deacon led her out the front door. Sabrina set the alarm. “How do you think the alarm was turned off earlier?”
“I was talking to Julian about that just now. Your system is good enough to deter your average person, but someone with any type of advanced training could bypass it easily. Lucy found out your brother was an ordnance expert during his time in the Army. Not saying he’s definitely the one leaving the messages, but he would have the knowledge to bypass a security system like the one you have. I’ve asked Julian to upgrade your alarm.”
“Thank you.” Sabrina had no issues with her home being more secure, even if she didn’t plan on staying there for much longer. She’d already decided to accept the mate bond, and when that happened, she planned on moving in with Deacon. It was what she’d thought about all day.
“Do you have any idea what the messages mean?” Sabrina asked once they were seated inside Deacon’s truck.
“I think so. The one on the photo mentioned Craven. He’s a scientist who helped create the Unholy. Now it seems he’s found a way to unmake them. That could have been coincidence, but with the last message about the kid, we don’t think so. We captured one of the Unholy who went through the reversal process. He has been cooperating, and in doing so, Isabelle took some of his blood to try and figure out what he was given to reverse what was originally used to make him Unholy. She found evidence of an adolescent Gargoyle’s DNA in Evan’s blood. While it might not be your brother leaving these messages, whoever it is might think because you’re a doctor that you can help somehow.”
Deacon’s phone rang, and he hit the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel. “Jules, you’re on speaker.”
“Hey, Brother. I wanted to let you know we were able to decipher the message on the card from the flowers.”
“Go ahead,” Deacon said, glancing at Sabrina before turning his attention back to the road.
“It said, ‘I need your help.’ That, along with the other two, doesn’t sound like someone who means to harm Sabrina.”
Sabrina spoke up. “Julian, has Lucy been able to find out anything about Jerrick’s whereabouts over the last three years?”
“No, I’m sorry. Like I told Deacon earlier, it’s like he disappeared. But Tamian brought up another good point. If whoever this is knows about Craven and the child Isabelle suspects is being held, it’s a possibility they are one of the Reborn.”
“Reborn?” Sabrina asked.
“It’s what Craven and Drago are calling the Unholy who have their conditions reversed.”
“Oh, god. Do you think Jerrick could have been an Unholy?” Sabrina covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes burned with unshed tears.
Deacon reached over and took her free hand, lacing their fingers together. “It is a possibility. From what Evan said, Flanagan made joining his army enticing. When men and women come home from war zones, they already have to deal with the lack of support. Being away from their team and those who became their family while serving. A lot of them have PTSD or are depressed from all the things they did and saw. Being accepted, given a job with supposed benefits, doing the same thing they were familiar with, it was too good to turn down. What he didn’t tell them was instead of being given an immunization, they were given the Unholy serum.
“I’ve listened to Evan’s story. His family turned their back on him when he enlisted, so he had no one to come home to. And even though he is now one of the Reborn, he still has nowhere to call home other than a warehouse filled with others like him. He has no marketable skills other than fighting. He begged us to kill him instead of sending him back. It broke my heart.”
Sabrina choked out a sob. Was that what had become of her little brother?
“Jules, I need to call you back.” Deacon disconnected the call, pulled the truck over to the side of the road, and put it in park. He unbuckled Sabrina and tugged her against him. “Shh. It’s going to be okay. We’ll find Jerrick and make sure he has all the help he needs.”
“But what if he’s still Unholy? You and your Clan hunt them down and put them in prison.”
“If he’s the one giving you notes, he is more than likely one of the Reborn. That means he has the ability to think and function at a normal level. Let’s focus on finding him first, and then we’ll see what kind of help he needs.”
“Can we please go to your house? I don’t think I can sit in a restaurant and put on a happy face.”
“Of course. Tell me what your favorite dish is, and I’ll call in a to-go order. Maybe you’ll feel like eating once we get home.”
Home. That sounded so good to Sabrina. She didn’t allow herself to think too hard about how they were moving too quickly. She’d already decided she was going to be with Deacon, so she told him what she wanted to eat. While he called in the order, she closed her eyes and tried to put Jerrick out of her mind.
Chapter Nineteen
DEACON’S HEART WAS breaking for his mate. They weren’t sure the stranger leaving notes was Jerrick, but if it was, Deacon was going to find the male and help him any way he could. He had no idea of how to find him, but he had the best person to help in his Clan. While he was waiting to pick up the food he’d called in at Giovanni’s, Deacon reached out to Julian. After telling him what he and Sabrina had discussed, Julian promised to make finding Jerrick a priority. There were other things he and Lucy were working on, like finding Craven, but nothing they couldn’t tackle together. Julian had already called Nikolas to come in and be an extra set of eyes.
Sabrina was silent as they drove to Deacon’s home, and his beast was trying to help push her emotions to the side, but in that moment, Deacon realized he didn’t want that. He wanted to share in her pain just as he wanted to feel her happiness. “Would you like to sit outside?” Deacon asked. The weather was warm but not unbearably so.<
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“Sure.” Sabrina grabbed the plates and silverware while Deacon poured the wine. Once seated, Sabrina took a look around. “I really like it here. I guess that’s a good thing since I’ll be living here.”
“Does that mean you’ve made up your mind about being with me?”
“Yes.” Sabrina took a sip of wine before continuing. “It’s all I thought about at work today. I hated that for my patients, because they need my complete focus, but this is a life-changing decision. I wrestled with how quickly everything is happening. But then I figured I have no one to answer to except myself. Joseph is putting my name in the running for chief of staff when he retires, but since he’s one of your kind – he is a Gargoyle, right?” Deacon nodded, and she said, “Then, I don’t see him having a problem with us.”
“If anyone understands, it’s Joseph. He was one of the first of our kind to mate with a human. Theirs is a story in its own, but let’s say the two of them weren’t without hardships when they mated. He understands the bond and how quickly these types of relationships move. Once a Gargoyle finds their mate, it becomes nearly impossible to take things slowly.” He wasn’t going to mention how Tessa refused Gregor for years or how Brynna was keeping Travis in the dark. Tessa had her reasons, those being how she was influenced by Jonas. As for Brynna, she was giving Travis time to mourn his lost girlfriend.
“I know I’m staying here because of whoever is stalking me, but I’d like to use this week as a trial run to make sure we get along. You know all about how the bond affects mates, but it’s an idea I’m still trying to wrap my head around. I have no doubt we’ll end up making things official, but I’d like to take this week to be sure, if that’s okay.”
