Rescue Inc Collection Vol 2: Mine to Protect & Mine to Keep

by Pritchard, Megs

  "Amazing, isn't it? You should speak to Sacha too. He's Jared’s mate, a vampire too, but knows so much about this, like the blood exchange." Stirring his coffee, Jeremy added, "Sacha should speak to Troy. He could help, you know."

  "How?" Silas would take any help that was offered. Troy's mood swings were unpredictable, and he knew it was affecting him because he needed to feed more often.

  Jeremy shrugged. "He knows so much. He could answer questions we can't and if he doesn't know, his father will. They come from Europe and know the history."

  "Okay, I'll speak to Troy about it."

  "Did you know vampire numbers are decreasing?" Silas furrowed his brow, shaking his head. "Sacha and his father, Alessio, are investigating it. They think it might have something to do with the lack of mates."

  "Makes sense." Silas agreed. "Tina and I tried for years, and we only had Troy. We wanted a brother or sister for him, but it never happened."

  "But you weren't mates."

  "No, we weren't, but we loved each other."

  Jeremy reached across the table and touched his hand. "I'm sorry, Silas, for everything."

  "I wish I'd seen it."

  Jeremy gave him a small smile. "So do I."

  Now, Silas felt like shit. "God, I'm sorry, Jeremy."

  "No, don't be. If none of that had happened, I would never have met Donnie. Going through all that shit with Patrick was worth it because I have my mate and I wouldn't swap him for the world."

  "Everything's still new with Chester, and Troy is being... difficult."

  "Of course he is. He's the very thing he hates, and now another one is coming into his life. He must look in the mirror and hate what he sees. The eyes, the fangs, even the way he moves will tell him he's different. And we haven't started on the whole sense and speed thing."

  "Shit, Jeremy. I'm failing my own son." He dropped his head, sighing deeply. He just didn't know what to do to help him.

  "No, you're not. You're his dad, and you want to protect him, but you're too close. Sometimes someone who is on the outside sees more than those on the inside."

  "Donnie is lucky to have you."

  Jeremy grinned, popping another piece of pastry into his mouth. "Yeah, he is."

  They grinned then laughed. "Thanks, Jeremy."

  "Anytime, Silas."

  * * *

  Crawling into bed next to Silas, Chester spooned behind him, shivering when his cold body touched Silas’ warm one. He heard Silas grumble, but his hand came over and pulled Chester's arm over his waist.

  "Missed you," Silas mumbled, voice distorted by sleep.

  "Missed you too. You don't mind?" They'd never talked about him coming here when he returned home, and Chester didn't want to cause any further problems with Troy, but he needed to be with Silas. He needed to hold him and feel him against his body.

  "No, it's fine. Go to sleep, Chester. We can talk more tomorrow."

  Closing his eyes, Chester sighed and was settling down to sleep when he heard a crash from downstairs. Both he and Silas jumped up, both reaching for their weapons.

  "You check on Troy, and I'll go downstairs."

  Silas nodded, and they carefully opened the bedroom door. As Chester stepped out, he saw Troy's door opened and nodded his head, telling him to go back inside. Troy's eyes dropped to the weapon in his hand and flashed red, his fangs dropping.

  Silas rushed over to him and pushed him back into his room, closing the door behind them. Chester crept down the stairs and paused at the bottom, glancing around the corner. When he saw Tank, he stepped out.

  "What the fuck are you doing here?"

  Tank almost dropped the beer in his hand. "Fuck, Chester. Don't do that."

  "Answer the fucking question. My mate and son are upstairs."

  Tank sighed, pulled out a chair and sat down. "Bitch threw me out."

  "Kylie?"

  "Yeah."

  "So, why come here?"

  "I followed you and waited until I thought you'd be asleep."

  "What the..." Chester held his hand up, shaking his head. "No, don't. How much have you had to drink?"

  Tank swayed on the seat and squinted at the bottle in his hand. "One, maybe two."

  "Chester. You know him?" Silas asked from behind him.

  "Yeah, I do. Silas meet Tank. Where's Dodge?"

  "Prob on your sofa."

  "What's a Dodge?" Even Chester heard the growl in Silas' voice.

  Tank grinned, his eyes slightly glazed. "Dodge is a dog." Tank nodded. "A bloodhound."

  "There's a dog on my nice, clean leather sofa?" Silas gritted his jaw. “Chester, sort this shit out, or I'll shoot someone."

  Chester ran a hand over his face, sighing at the same time. "Tank, man. Why not call?"

  "I didn't want to bother you."

  "So you thought breaking into my fucking home where my son lives was better?" Silas shouted.

  Tank jerked and had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry?"

  "Pops! Why is there a big dog drooling all over the place!"

  Silas stabbed a finger at Chester. "Sort this shit out, or I swear the dog gets it!" As Silas stormed out of the kitchen, he heard him shout, "Didn't I tell you to stay in your room?"

  "Sorry," Tank hiccuped then went pale.

  "Shit, Tank."

  "I don't feel so good."

  Chester hauled Tank to his feet and barely managed to get him to the bathroom before he vomited. Chester made sure he wouldn't fall over and left the room. He could see blood, guts and gore, but vomit? He heaved a number of times then breathed slowly, trying to calm his stomach. When he had control, he walked into the living room to find Troy on the floor with Dodge's head in his lap.

  Dodge's tail thumped the floor, and Chester knelt down, stroking his head. "Where's your pops?"

  "Making up the spare bed."

  "I'm sorry, Troy."

  "He broke up with his girlfriend, yeah. He needs a place to sort his head out."

  "Who are you and where is Troy?"

  Troy grinned. "I'm not some heartless kid. It sucks when someone breaks up with you. Stacy dumped me. Didn't even get to first base."

  "Don't say shit like that around your pops."

  Troy stood and stretched. "At least he isn't a vamp," he muttered, walking from the room.

  Sighing, Chester also stood, ignoring the cold nose butting his leg. Tank staggered in, still looking like shit. "Silas is making up a bed for you now. Come on, I'll show you where it is."

  Chester led Tank and Dodge upstairs to the spare bedroom and found Silas making the bed. He stopped and glared at Tank and when he caught sight of Dodge, he muttered something under his breath.

  "Bed's made," he said, storming from the room.

  "Sorry, man."

  Chester shook his head. "Bathroom's door opposite this one. Don't throw up in here. Silas will shoot you."

  Tank grumbled something, but Chester couldn't care less what it was. He left the room, not bothering to close the door, and walked back into Silas', finding him in bed already and leaning up against the headboard.

  "So, what's going on?"

  Sighing, Chester crawled into bed and lay down with his head on Silas' chest. "Split up with his girlfriend, and she kicked him out."

  "And he breaks in here because..."

  "He's drunk and not thinking straight. Shit, I didn't check the doors."

  "I did."

  Chester yawned and sighed when Silas ran his hand over his head. "'M tired, Sheriff."

  "Go to sleep. I'm sure Tank and the dog will be here to greet us in the morning."

  Chapter Eleven

  Chester sat in the kitchen reading the news on his tablet. He heard the sound of heavy footsteps and then the distinctive sound of Tank throwing up.

  "Lovely," Silas muttered. "Just what I want to be listening to when I'm eating my breakfast."

  Troy snorted. "At least you didn't hear him during the night. It got so bad his damn dog ended up in my room." As he spo
ke, his hand drifted below the table.

  "Don't think I haven't noticed you feeding the 'damn dog,' Troy."

  "Pops. Dodge is hungry. Whatshisface didn't bring any food for him. What, I'm gonna let him starve?"

  Chester chuckled. "Give it up, Silas."

  "I don't need your help," Troy muttered darkly.

  "Troy. Apologize to Chester."

  "Fuck, no! Just cause you're fucking him doesn't mean I have to play nice with the bloodsucker."

  Silas sighed. "Is that how you see yourself, son? A bloodsucker."

  Troy glared at Silas, pushed his chair back, and stormed from the kitchen.

  Silas groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "What am I going to do with him?"

  "Make sure he keeps seeing Gloria for a start. Has he always been like this?"

  Silas winced, shaking his head. "No."

  Chester nodded. "Me."

  "I don't think us being mates helps things."

  "Should I stay away for a while?"

  Smiling, Silas leaned back in his chair. "Think you can?"

  Chester grinned, eyeing Silas. Licking his lips, he said, "Nope, but I'll try."

  "What? Meet up in some seedy motel for an hour to fuck our brains out?"

  "As long as you-"

  "God, coffee," Tank croaked behind them. He staggered over to the machine, stared at the knobs and dials, and groaned. "I have a coffee pot at home. Why do you need one of these?"

  Standing, Chester walked over to him. "Here, I'll make you one. Go and sit down. You look like shit, and have you had a shower?"

  "Fuck off, Chester. I've showered. Fuck, I'm never drinking again." He slumped in the chair and put his head on the table. "Oh my god, that feels good." He rolled his head slowly from side to side.

  Silas stared at Tank then slowly raised his eyes to Chester. Chester shook his head, sighing deeply.

  "Hungry?"

  "God no. Just coffee, that's all I need." He lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes scanning the room. "Where's Dodge?"

  "Probably with Troy," Silas muttered. When Tank looked blankly at him, Silas narrowed his eyes. "My son. Troy."

  "Oh right. Yeah, I don't remember him. Sorry."

  Chester placed the coffee in front of him. "Here, Tank. Drink your coffee."

  "Oh, thank fuck."

  He lifted the cup and sniffed loudly then drank it all. Chester shook his head, got up again and grabbing Tank's now empty cup, walked back over to the machine to make him another one.

  "So, Kylie," Chester asked, waiting for the machine to finish.

  "Don't wanna talk about it," Tank muttered, then said, "She dumped me."

  "Why? I thought you two were good?"

  "We were."

  Chester leaned back on the counter, folding his arms over his chest. "And?"

  "I'd had a drink with friends, and when I got home, she started asking me about some guy."

  Chester raised an eyebrow. "Some guy?" he prompted.

  "Yeah. When we were on the last search and rescue, I met some guy. Seemed nice." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see what the deal is? So I've been messaging with him."

  "Who is he?" Silas asked, leaning his elbows on the table.

  "Just some vamp. Like I said, he's a nice guy. We got talking and swapped numbers. He knows about Kylie. We're just friends."

  "He's a vamp who happens to make friends with you. Why?" Chester asked. He had a suspicion he knew why this vampire had made friends with Tank.

  "I don't know. Met him at the hospital where he's a doctor. We got talking. I don't know what the fucking problem is?"

  "Was he involved in the treatment of the people we rescued?"

  Tank frowned. "Er, don't think so. I think he was walking past us in the hallway and stopped to talk to me."

  Chester and Silas shared a look. "He just stopped to talk to you?" Chester raised his eyebrows at Silas, who shrugged in return.

  "Yeah. He's a nice guy. We have fun."

  "So, you've met him since then?" Chester's mouthed 'mates' to Silas, who gave him a slow nod.

  "I just said so, didn't I. Jeez. What's with all the questions? You sound just like Kylie! I met a guy, and we're friends. That's it, but Kylie accused me of cheating on her. Me!" Tank pointed to his chest. "After what I went through with Simone, I'm the last person who is gonna cheat, and Kylie knows this. She's just being a bitch."

  Chester shook his head at Silas. No, she'd just figured out something that Tank hadn't, and Chester wasn't about to tell him. Let Tank discover it on his own.

  Dodge padded into the kitchen and Tank grinned. "There's my boy." He bent down and rubbed Dodge's head then groaned and sat back up, leaning on the table. Breathing deeply, he muttered, "Fuck. Never drinking again."

  Chester chuckled. "Until next time."

  "Nope, never. It really doesn't taste as good coming up as it did going down."

  Silas grimaced. "Thanks for that." Standing, he walked over to Chester and kissed him. "I'm off now. See you later?"

  "Sure you will." Chester stood and pulled Silas in hugging him. "Catch some bad guys for me."

  Kissing him again, Silas muttered, "Or not. Handcuffs." He waggled his eyebrows, and Chester grinned.

  Walking away, Silas shouted over his shoulder, "And make sure my bathroom is clean."

  Tank grunted. "It is."

  Chester watched Silas leave, or rather, his ass. The uniform might be a horrendous brown color, but the pants fit Silas' ass like a second skin.

  "Stop staring at him. You can fuck him later." Tank groaned and put his head on the table again but dropped his hand to stroke Dodge, who was nudging it. "I'm still here, boy."

  Sitting at the table, Chester asked, "So, he's a friend?"

  "What do you want me to say, Chester? That I like the guy and it freaks me the fuck out? I've never looked at a man and thought about fucking him."

  "Never?" Chester stared at Tank, seeing the blush develop on his neck and cheeks.

  "Okay, maybe once or twice at school. But I didn't do anything about it. I didn't have to. I had plenty of pussy to fuck."

  Chester winced. "Thanks for that."

  "What do you want me to say, Chester? I'm struggling enough as it is! I want to fuck him, and I'm..." Tank trailed off, then added in a much quieter voice, "Scared. I'm scared, Chester."

  Chester leaned forward, putting his hand on Tank's arm. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Tank."

  "That's easy for you to say. You've been gay your whole life."

  "So you're bisexual. I don't see what the issue is here."

  Sighing, Tank shook his head. "My parents are the problem."

  Grimacing, Chester leaned back in his chair. "Still that bad?"

  "You've met them. They're racist, homophobic, vampish... vampophobic… is that the right word for it?" Shaking his head, Tank continued, "If you aren't white, middle class, churchgoing, straight, and human, and there's probably more I can add to that list, then they don't want to know."

  "So, if you continue getting to know-"

  "I lose my family, Chester. Yeah, that bad."

  "Shit, Tank. I'm sorry."

  "Not your fault. I'll figure something out."

  "Do you want to be with him?"

  "I know where you're going with this, Chester." Tank stared at him. "You're thinking we're mates, aren't you? I asked him, and he didn't answer, so yeah, there's a good chance we are mates."

  "What are you going to do about it?"

  "Nothing and he knows this."

  "Tank-"

  "Stop, Chester, okay. I know. Just... stop, please."

  Chester nodded, and they sat in silence, Chester wondering how on Earth Tank was going to ignore his mate.

  * * *

  Sitting in his office, Silas glared at the mound of paperwork he still had to get through. Had it bred overnight? The fucking pile was huge now. Maybe he could stare it into submission.

  There was a knock on his door and Silas looked over at i
t as Officer Clarence poked her head through. "Silas, Graham's here."

  He raised his eyebrows. "Graham, as in Tina's father, Graham?"

  "Yeah." She bit her lip.

  "Shit," Silas muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. "Best send him in."

  The door closed and Silas inhaled sharply. Shit, Graham was the last person Silas wanted to see. He hadn't been anywhere near them after the whole situation with Tina had ended. What did he want now? Why come here after all these years?

  There was no knock on the door. Graham walked in like he owned the place and closed it quietly behind him. He surveyed the room, curling his lip up in disgust, and walked over to sit opposite Silas.

  "Graham."

  "Silas."

  "What can I do for you?"

  "I've come for my grandson. He needs to learn our ways." Graham stressed the word 'our' and Silas stiffened.

  "You mean vampire ways, Graham."

  "Yes, I do. Troy needs to immerse himself in his true heritage, and you are unable to provide it. You're merely human."

  "You're right, I am merely human, but my mate isn't."

  Graham blinked, but his face remained blank. "You've mated? I don't think so."

  "I have, and my mate is showing Troy what he needs to know about being a vampire."

  Graham scoffed. "Silly boy. What could a female show a male vampire?"

  Silas grinned. Oh, Graham was going to love this. "Who said anything about my mate being female, Graham?"

  That got a reaction. Graham's eyes widened and his skin flushed. "A man? You've mated to a male vampire? Ridiculous."

  "No, it isn't. Chester's a fantastic mate, and I'm proud to have him as mine. He'll teach Troy everything he needs to know."

  Graham slammed his hand on the desk, his eyes flashing red. "I won't have it. No grandson of mine will be exposed to this. I want him, and I'll have him."

  "Isn't that Troy's decision? He's eighteen, so I'll tell him you came over. What he does with that is up to him."

  "He is still a minor until he is twenty-one under vampire law."

  "Luckily, we follow human laws, so as I said, I'll tell him you came over and let him decide."

  Graham surged up, knocking the chair over. Leaning on the desk, he closed the distance between them. "Listen to me, human. I will have my grandson back. Pack his belongings. I'll pick him up tomorrow."