Mackie hummed. “So it is. Was he supposed to be part of the plan?”
“I didn’t hear anything about him, but then again, I came into the middle of the conversation. He must be, though. No way it’s a coincidence, and he’s on our side, isn’t he?”
“Of course he is, mun.” Dafydd’s voice brooked no argument. “He’s a good man, make no mistake, and he shouldn’t be in harm’s way. Not again. What are they thinking?”
And just like that, Demi understood how much Dafydd was one of them.
* * * *
Trey checked his watch. It had been ten minutes since Paz had entered the pub. Trey turned to glare at a sweaty Murphy, who sat in the back seat with Karl. “You’re up. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you how important it is for you not to fuck up. It’s the difference between seeing the light of day again as a free man before you die and not.”
The lawyer tugged at his collar. “I understand. No need to be vicious about it.”
Trey bared his teeth. “And there was no need for you to brutalize vulnerable boys, but here we are, heh?”
“Come on,” Karl said, opening the door and dragging Murphy by the arm.
The moment they left the car, Trey hopped out and sprinted over to the SUV where the Stelalux men were positioned. When he opened the door, he could hear Karl’s voice over the monitoring device Val had rigged him with. The sunglasses dress code worked in their favor. Val had already had a pair rigged for this kind of surveillance. Once inside the vehicle, Trey could see the video feed on the dashboard screen, as well.
Karl, bless his little heart, was reinforcing the rules on Murphy as they headed into the pub. It was nearly closing time, except that the private club could stay open as long as it liked. That would give them a chance to conduct the raid with as few humans around as possible. The place was already fairly empty, from what Trey could see. Karl positioned himself to catch sight of Paz. The doctor sat at the bar, sipping a beer. He nodded in a particular direction, confirming that Murphy was leading Karl to the right spot.
Trey and the others watched intently as Karl followed over to a bookcase in the corner where a large man wearing a dark suit and sporting sunglasses stood at parade rest. This was another bit of luck. According to Murphy, this was the man who had engaged him. As far as the lawyer knew, it was this mere human named Kevin Fuchs, who ran the show. And Fuchs had a long list of arrests and convictions for vice-related activities and violent offenses. It made him the perfect fall guy.
Cadoc had helped them in being smarter than they’d anticipated. Because he’d kept to the shadows, when they turned him to dust, no one would worry about the lack of a body. Everyone would accept that Fuchs was their guy, at least where the prostitution ring was concerned. The scary man with the scarred face had been the dupe who fronted the operation and acted as the enforcer who ran the boys and even killed when needed. Too bad he’d gotten away, but at least the head man would be behind bars. That story wrote itself, thank fuck.
Of course, there would never be legal closure for the murders of Father Ted and Umi. Although everyone would accept that the guy who’d escaped was the killer, he wouldn’t be caught. The cases would stay open, a mark against all concerned. Yet, Trey couldn’t bring himself to frame even a fucker like Fuchs for crimes he hadn’t committed.
Karl and Murphy stopped in front of Fuchs. “Good evening.” The lawyer’s voice sounded almost normal. “This is, ah…a good friend of mine. He’s here as my guest.”
Fuchs’ expression remained stony, although it was hard to tell his expression with those glasses hiding half his face. “I see. He understands the rules.”
“Naturally.” This was where Murphy’s natural defensiveness helped their cause. His indignant tone sealed the deal.
Without further comment, Fuchs activated a hidden device and a narrow section of the bookcase opened. Then the men descended a narrow, winding staircase into an underground world decorated like an eighteenth-century brothel. At least, that was Trey’s impression. There was a lot of red velvet and black lace, plus disturbingly young and pretty boys scantily dressed. Some wore frilly girl-type lingerie, others were more obviously masculine. It was like something out of a movie, an echo of Club Lux, except there boys were all of legal age and anything they did with the members was purely voluntary and entirely of their own making.
Plus, however alien Alex and his ‘family’ were, they weren’t monsters. The same couldn’t be said about the hulking figure sitting in a large, high-backed and overstuffed chair in the corner. Like a gargoyle, Cadoc presided over the large room with a boy sprawled on his lap. No, impaled on the creature’s dick. The boy’s eyes were at half-mast, probably high on something. He reminded Trey of Umi, who then reminded him of Demi. Cadoc had a type, apparently.
Those thoughts caused him to mutter his concerns out loud. “Are we sure the boys are safe tonight?” He hadn’t liked learning that they had all gone out for the evening.
“Relax, Duncan,” Val said from the passenger seat up front. “They’re on a mission to help Dafydd adjust to society. They’re probably back at the club by now.”
“They are going to be very pissed off when they find out what we did,” Emil observed.
“They’ll get over it,” Alex replied.
Trey wasn’t convinced about that. He had a feeling the men were going to have some lonely nights in their future. As did he, but that was nothing new. And once this was over, he could take the time to figure out how he wanted to handle the Demi situation.
A moment later, all thoughts of the boy fled when Cadoc turned his dead-eye stare in Karl’s direction. This was the risk they had to take. After the fight in the underground T storage room, the hybrid would know Trey. The hope was that he’d never had the chance to see Karl in any setting that would out Karl as a cop.
“That’s the bouncer,” Murphy said in a low voice. “Good luck with him. He makes Fuchs look like a pussy cat.”
“You let us worry about that,” Karl replied. A boy came up to flirt with him. Trey could only imagine how hard it was for Karl to keep in character. “Sure,” he said, “I’m up for a party, but my friend and I want to stick together. You know, a foursome?”
“Anything you want, big guy,” the boy cooed. “Right this way.”
Karl allowed himself to be tugged away but managed to keep his camera positioned so that they could watch Cadoc. Then Paz left the pub and came over as the rest of them were piling out.
“I count twenty or so people, including the staff, still inside the bar and restaurant area,” the doctor said as he took the seat vacated by Emil. “I have no idea what the kitchen situation is, though.”
“That’s my job,” Emil assured him before shutting the door.
“Thank you, doctor, for you excellent help this evening. Please wait here and lock up.” Alex got out to join the others.
Trey popped his head back inside before shutting the door. “Hey, doc, I thought you might want to know that Dafydd went out tonight with the boys. They had dinner or something. Good sign, huh?”
Paz’s face lit up. “Yes, very. Thanks.”
Now, Trey really put everything out of his mind except checking one final time that his gun was loaded. He palmed his badge and, letting the aliens enter first, followed them into the pub. They’d planned out their movements carefully. Alex and Val raced straight toward Fuchs, restraining him before he could activate any warning system in place. Emil headed for the kitchen, while Harry positioned himself in the dining area.
Trey held up his badge. “Everyone, if I could please have your attention. This is a police raid. I need everyone to leave the premises now, please, patrons and employees alike. No need to run, but don’t dawdle. Forget your bills and tabs, too. It’s all on the house tonight.”
No one moved at first, surprise causing them to hesitate. And in the age of the Internet, they might have even thought it was some kind of prank. “Now!” he repeated in a louder and sterner voice.
A herd of employees fled the kitchen, as well, courtesy of Emil, who was shooing them from behind as if they were a gaggle of geese. That also helped get everyone moving, and Harry was guiding them along like a flight attendant, as if finding the door would be too hard for the humans. Satisfied that those men had the evacuation under control, Trey pocketed his badge and pulled out his gun. He followed Alex and Val as they frog-marched Fuchs down the stairs.
There were screams now from the boys and cries of alarm from the patrons. Unlike the legitimate pub customers, these guys knew what a raid meant to them. Trey planted himself at the foot of the stairs to stop any escaping. Across the room, Karl disentangled himself from a boy and pulled out his own badge and gun.
Trey took the whole room in a glance. He saw a short hallway at the far end. “Karl, check whatever rooms might be down there and flush out the occupants.”
Then he turned his attention to the main show. Having knocked out Fuchs, Alex and Val had Cadoc cornered. They couldn’t take a shot, however, because the fucker had the boy from his lap held up in front of him by his armpits. The kid was so strung out, he didn’t even struggle—or maybe he’d learned not to fight back. Regardless, he made an effective shield as Cadoc kept the boy between him and his enemies’ fatal bullets.
Trey ran to join them, hoping to find an opening. Cadoc was quick, his movements almost a blur as he backed away to a spot behind his chair. Then, in the blink of an eye, he tossed the boy at them and disappeared.
It was Val who caught the kid and gently lay him on the floor before the three of them took off after Cadoc. No surprise there was a secret escape route. As Trey followed the aliens into the dark, mustiness and mildew assailed his nostrils. He stumbled in everyone’s wake, his human eyes at a disadvantage until he thought to take out his phone and turn on the light. The others were already out of sight around a bend in the old brick tunnel. He pressed forward as fast as he could.
Chapter Twelve
Demi watched the humans flee the club, his heart in this throat now that the assault on Cadoc’s lair had begun. He hated not knowing what was happening to Trey. He was so vulnerable compared to the rest of them. As much as he trusted Alex and the others to keep his man safe, he also knew that their first priority would always be ridding the world of Dracul’s evil son.
“I wish we could go inside,” Demi lamented to no one in particular.
“Why don’t we?” Jase asked. When they all turned to look at him, he shrugged. “We could help with the boys, just like we did in Wales. Right? There must be some. That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”
Demi shared a look with Mackie before they broke out into a grin. “Brilliant! Why didn’t we think of that?” he asked Mackie.
The boy shrugged. “And here I thought Jase was the quiet one. You go, girl,” he teased before getting out. Quinn and Jase also jumped out, and the three of them sprinted toward the pub’s front door.
Before joining him, Demi looked at Dafydd. “You should probably wait here.”
The Welshman nodded, his expression unreadable. “Yes, all right. Be careful, like.”
“I will.”
Demi started after the others when a flash of movement caught his eye. Out of a narrow back alley charged a large, dark figure. Although he’d never seen Cadoc before, a hybrid knew his own kind. It took no time for the import of the situation to assemble in his mind. There had been an escape route and Cadoc had managed to use it before the others could stop him. Demi refused to believe it meant that Trey was somehow incapacitated. He couldn’t allow himself to think that or he’d end up curled in a ball of fear.
So, he did the only thing that made sense to him. He abruptly changed direction and ran headlong at the beast.
* * * *
As the pub patrons hurried out and away, Ric sat drumming his fingers on his thigh and feeling useless. He hadn’t wanted to get involved in another fight between these alien factions, yet he was in too deep to ignore what was going on. It had been easy, as well, to simply sit and nurse a beer until Anderson came in with that sleaze-ball lawyer. With a nod to confirm that they were heading in the right direction, and not into a trap, his job had been done. No one would fault him if he got out and simply went home.
No one other than himself. What if someone gets hurt? Those abused boys downstairs might need immediate medical help, and sure, Harry was in there, but he could only do so much at once. He had to stay, except the SUV was too small to contain his nervous energy. Stepping out, he stretched and scanned the area.
That’s when he saw Dafydd. The Welshman had come out, as Duncan had said, but he wasn’t at a restaurant or any other place that was safe. No, he was running toward the back of the building.
Ric didn’t even question himself as he took off after him.
* * * *
Although he was going at a speed faster than he should for a human, Demi felt as if he were in slow motion. He could almost see his own death in the hulking form he was on a collision course with, not that Demi had any intention of dying, nor did he think he could overpower Cadoc.
Slow him down until the others arrive.
That was his goal. He merely had to turn into an immovable object, keeping Cadoc from escaping. It was hard to keep going, however. Seeing him, the fucker twisted his scarred face into a sneer and seemed to pick up his pace.
Demi’s heart skipped a beat, but he continued. Visions of Trey wounded and in need of help egged him forward. He put his head down and poured on a burst of speed at the last moment. It was like hitting a brick wall. He knew it would be, although the shock of it nevertheless scrambled his brain. Fortunately, all he needed was his muscle and he used it to impede Cadoc.
The asshole barely grunted at the contact. He grabbed Demi’s arms with his meaty fingers, digging into the flesh with sufficient force to cause Demi to cry out. When Cadoc tried to swing him out of the way, Demi leaped up and wrapped his legs around the guy’s waist. He hung on like a rhesus monkey, no matter how fast or hard Cadoc moved to toss him off.
That was until the guy pushed him against the alley wall, causing Demi’s head to hit the hard surface. His vision winked out and his limbs went limp. He fell off his enemy and slid down to the ground. He managed to pry open his eyes in time to see the muzzle of a gun pointed at him.
“Trey.” He whispered his lover’s name one more time, knowing that he’d failed his man because Trey would never forgive himself for this ending.
* * * *
Dafydd’s steps faltered at the sight of his son slamming Demi against a wall. The boy, who had been so kind to him at the risk of his own life, fell like a ragdoll onto the ground. That wasn’t enough for Cadoc, though. Like his viciously cruel father, he wasn’t content with defeating his enemy. He had to annihilate him.
He watched him raise his gun, saw him aim it at Demi’s head and acted without thought. After months of proper food and care, Dafydd was able to tap into a strength he hadn’t really understood he possessed. Dracul’s blood and done more than make him ready to bear children. It made everything about his body better and faster. He was upon his son before the monster could pull the trigger.
Uttering the battle cry of his youth, he slammed into Cadoc’s arm. The surprise attack did the trick. His son let go of the weapon, and it went flying away. Cadoc countered by shoving Dafydd aside. He landed face-forward, scraping his hands and knees against the pavement. He ignored the bite of pain and lunged for the gun that had landed a few feet away. He grabbed it and rolled up to a kneeling position.
Cadoc stood sneering down at him. “Why, father, what a surprise! You survived my brother’s birth, I see. I hope you killed the brat. There’s really no room in this world for more of Dracul’s sons. Bran is a thorn in my side, as it is.”
He cocked his head and took a step forward. “Are you Alex’s slut now? You never were good for anything more than taking a strong man’s cock.” He laughed as Dafydd raised the gun. “You’d better give me that
before you hurt yourself.” He held out his hand.
Dafydd had to use both of his to steady the weapon. A well of painful emotion overtook him, making his shake. There was no choice, though. There was only one thing that he could do. He had to be strong, for Demi and the others. For all of humanity—and even for Idris.
“If there is a God, I hope He can forgive me.”
Then he pulled the trigger.
* * * *
“Jesus, fucking Christ,” Trey fumed, “find the damn lever.”
“Not helping,” Alex retorted as he felt along what looked like a solid wall at the end of the tunnel. Val threw his weight against it in the meantime. “That’s not helping, either. Even you can’t force bricks and mortar to move.”
There was nowhere to pace in the narrow space, so Trey stood there, slowly losing his mind. Cadoc was getting away. Maybe they could track him by scent, but in this part of town, there were still cabs and private cars for Cadoc to escape in. Why hadn’t they waited and scoped out the area more? They might have realized there was a back exit to the place. They’d been too anxious to move against Cadoc before he brutalized more boys and possibly ramped up his criminal acts. And this was the price they were paying for their haste. After so many centuries of fighting, the aliens could be forgiven their desperate efforts to end it. Trey couldn’t be so easy on himself.
There was a click. “Got it.”
Alex and Val went out ahead of him, but when the shot rang out, Trey shoved them aside. If there was to be a confrontation out in the open, he wanted to be front and center. He was still a cop and this was his city. When he rounded the corner, he tripped to a stop from the shocking sight.
Dafydd knelt beside a pile of clothing, weeping uncontrollably and raking ashes through his fingers. Paz stood behind him, his hands on Dafydd’s shoulders, giving silent comfort. But it was the crumpled form against the wall that finally had him racing forward again.
Mating Dance Page 20
