by Cree Storm
Sparky whistled low, “I can’t wait to find out what that all-consuming feeling is like.”
Sighing, Cobra murmured, “Yeah, well, it isn’t all roses and kisses. My sentience, maharishi, and I really need to get our shit together before something happens.”
“And if what Loon says means anything, it looks like your sentience has been found. What are we going to do about it?” Sparky asked.
“Shit! I need Taco guarding Gio. How the fuck did I forget about that?” Cobra exclaimed.
“Hey, quiet back there.” The cop ordered.
Closing his eyes and using his bond link to his maharishi, Cobra called out. “Taco, you need to get to Gio now.”
“I’m already on my way back to the house. Is something wrong? Oh gods, did Gio take a turn for the worst. I fucking knew his healing was too good to be true. What happened? Did they miss an artery? Is he bleeding out? Oh shit! That’s it, isn’t it? He’s bleeding out and I was off pouting and eating my weight in tacos.”
“Taco! Stop! Nothing is wrong with Gio.” Cobra snapped, within his bond link.
“Then why the hell did you say there was? You scared the shit out of me for nothing? That’s just not right, Cobra.” Taco practically snarled.
Cobra rolled his eyes, saying, “I said you need to go to Gio now because he’s there with Jude and Rylee, but I want him guarded at all times. I mean it Taco. Do not leave our sentience for any reason.”
“What’s going on?” Taco asked in concern.
“Sparky and I came into the Boulevard for some dinner and ran into a couple of the Tiger Sharks. One of them made a comment about telling our grocer his daddy says hi.”
“Oh shit! When are you getting back?” Taco gasped.
Cobra was really not looking forward to answering his maharishi’s question. “I don’t know. We got into a bit of a fight, and Sparky and I are on our way to the police station.”
“The police station? What the fuck, Cobra? You’ve been arrested? How the hell am I going to tell Gio you’re not here because you’re in jail?” Taco asked angrily.
“You’re not. Just keep him with you at all times until I can get home. Rylee and Taj are coming to bail us out. I’ll get there as quickly as I can.” Cobra ordered.
Taco let out a long breath, “Fine, but if he asks where you are I won’t lie to him, Cobra, and don’t bother trying to bribe me with tacos, because no amount of them will get me to lie to our sentience.”
“I understand. Just keep him safe.”
“I will kill anyone that even thinks of looking at him cross-eyed.” Taco vowed.
CHAPTER 9
Gio opened his eyes, looking around. He didn’t see Cobra or Taco anywhere. Instead, Rylee and Jude were there, which was nice, but it still was hurtful that every time Gio opened his eyes, his supposed mates were nowhere to be seen. Then again, his good friend and supposed maharishi Taco had left him. He had just opened the doors and flew off. Must be nice to have that ability.
Yes, Gio could open a door and take off using his lightning or even his wind, but he could accidently cause damage to Drago, or wherever he landed, and besides, he still had no clue where he was going to go to. Maybe he should say fuck it, and just head home and face the music. He could fight his father if he wanted to and he might even win, but at what cost? The only way to win was to kill the man, and he might not be the best father in the world… okay, the man was an evil son of a bitch, but he was still Gio’s dad. He couldn’t kill a stranger for his father, so how the hell could he do that to his own parent?
Rylee interrupted Gio’s thoughts, saying, “I have no clue what you’re thinking about, but you need to stop right now. You need to take a breath and think about how overwhelmed your mates are at this moment. They discover you’re their sentience, you get shot saving Cobra’s life…”
“Then they discover you aren’t who everyone thought you were for over twenty-five years, add into that the fact that your father is the godfather on the ten-most-wanted list.” Jude added.
Rylee nodded, saying, “And then you start talking stupid by saying you’re leaving. Which I have to say I am completely baffled about. Why would you leave the one place you know your father can’t get to you?”
“Fuck that! Why would you leave your sentiences? The two beings that will love you unconditionally, put your happiness and safety above their own, and do you know how off the charts sex is with your mate? I can tell you it is mind-blowing. You will never remember an orgasm as wonderful as the ones your mate can provide, and your maharishi… well, he has this way of linking you together so you feel everything your mate does and…”
“Jude! We are not talking about sex. We’re talking about Gio having a death wish and why he would choose to leave and most likely die, then stay and be with family that will help him, no matter what?” Rylee snapped.
Jude huffed, “Well, we have to give him the pluses on why he needs to stay now, don’t we? I happen to think if I wasn’t the sentience to Casper and Smoky, I might have gone for Cobra and Taco. Not only are they hot as hell, they are a wonderful pair, and have you seen Cobra in those short shorts he wears in the summer. Damn, he is packing.”
“Hey!” Gio shouted.
“Jude! I swear if you don’t stop talking like that, I’m telling Smoky and he’ll light your ass on fire, then he’ll tell Casper and he’ll whoop your ass like you deserve.” Rylee threatened.
Jude moaned, “Please tell them. I do love my ass played with, and a good spanking.”
“If he doesn’t stop talking about my mates like that, I just might light his ass on fire, and trust me, you won’t enjoy it.” Gio grumbled.
Jude snorted, “As if you care. If you gave a shit you wouldn’t talk about leaving them.”
Gio sat up, ignoring the pull of his stiches, hissing, “I don’t want to leave them, damn it, but I saw the anger in Pit’s eyes as well as yours, Jude, and Cobra’s. There is no way in hell I will be allowed to stay. When Pit gets back, he is going to tell me to go and I won’t fight him on it. I know what my father is, and I know what I’ve done. I am not someone Pit will ever trust to be around Bren, or any of his family, and I don’t blame him. For twenty-five years I have lied about everything. I used Drago as a safe house and never trusted anyone with my secret in all that time. I was only supposed to be here a few months. When more and more time went by, I should have gone to Pit and told him everything, but…”
“Why didn’t you?” Rylee quietly asked.
Sighing, Gio replied, “At first I didn’t because Clem said to keep my mouth shut. Then, when he stopped calling me, I got scared. I waited and waited to hear from him, and got scared that my father had got to him. I chanced it one day, and when I went into town to get some supplies for a few of the townspeople, I called his number, but an Agent Weisner answered. I asked for Clem and he told me Clem had retired. I didn’t know what to do, Rylee. How could Clem just leave me here and not say anything at all, and by then so much time had gone by, I was terrified Pit would toss me out on my ass, and what would I do then? I’d die. There was no other outcome.”
“Stone? You talked to Stone?” Jude asked.
Gio had no idea what Stone’s last name was, “I have no clue. He just answered Agent Weisner. So, if that’s his name then I guess so.”
“How long ago was this?” Rylee asked.
Gio had to think, then said, “About a year or so ago. The point is, by then I had been here so long, I was too afraid to go to Pit. How do I tell the leader of the D.O.A. I have done nothing but lie since coming to Drago? Like I already said, I was afraid that if I came clean he would make me leave, and then where would I go? My family would be in danger if I went there, and I know my father would find me no matter where I went anyway and I would be forced to fight him, and it wouldn’t be a fight to submission like shifters do it. It would be a fight to the death. I don’t want to be forced to kill my father. Yes, he is a vile evil man… but…”
“He’s st
ill your father.” Rylee finished for him.
Gio nodded as the tears formed. “I don’t think I could do it. I don’t think I could kill my dad, no matter what he’s done to me and all those other people.”
“What if he was to attack Drago, Gio? What would you do then?” Jude asked, giving him a look Gio couldn’t define.
Not even hesitating, Gio said, “I would do whatever I had to do to keep the people in this town safe from my father. I would hate it and I would struggle with what I had to do, but I would do it regardless, because I love the people in Drago. They are wonderful people that went through their own hell. They don’t deserve to be put through more because of me.”
“Pit wasn’t angry with you, Gio. He has no intention of asking you to leave. He’s angry that Clem didn’t trust him enough to tell him what was going on. He’s angry because of what you had to do to save your family. He’s angry that he has been after your father for so long and hasn’t caught him yet. He’s angry because he and some of the other D.O.A. guys are the ones that stormed onto your family ranch to arrest him, but he was already gone.” Jude explained.
Sighing heavily, Gio whispered, “None of this matters anyway. Cobra and Taco want nothing to do with me now that they know who I am. Them not being here says it all.”
“You are their mate, Gio. I don’t care how pissed they might be at you, you are still their mate.” Rylee stated.
Jude nodded, “And as their mate, I don’t care how upset they might be. Your safety and happiness is still going to be our number one priority. It’s just how it is.”
Shaking his head, Gio whispered, “I might be their mate, Jude, but them not being here says it all. They want nothing to do with me.”
“Everyone needs to take a step back once in a while before they can move forward, Gio. If we don’t, then bad things might be said or done, and once the words or actions are out there you can’t take them back. We want everything to do with you. Yes, we’re pissed because we were lied to about who you really are. Not because of the name change, but because your father is an evil, vile man that has always been one step ahead of us, each and every time we get a lead.” Taco said, as he walked through the balcony doors. “Then, when we heard what you said, both Cobra and I were upset because we were in on the raid to take out your father, and missed him by one lousy hour. Had we moved in quicker we might have gotten your dad and he wouldn’t have had two more chances to try and kill you.”
Gio looked at his maharishi. He saw a sadness and a bit of regret, but there was something else in the dragon’s caramel eyes that he couldn’t quite place. The door flew open and Taj rushed in. “Rylee, we need to go to the police station, now. Sparky and Cobra are in trouble.”
Gio gasped, “What happened? Why is Cobra at the police station?”
Taj shook his head, saying, “It’s going to be fine, Gio. He got into a bit of a fight with a rival biker gang and was arrested along with them. We’re going to see about getting him and Sparky bailed out, and then he can tell you all about it.”
Gio tossed off his covers, saying, “I’m coming with you.”
Jude and taco rushed to Gio, both shouting, “No you’re not!”
Gio slapped at both of them saying, “I will not lie here in bed while my sentience is sitting in a jail cell. I’m coming and that’s that.”
“You can’t go.” Taco insisted, hissing out, “Besides the fact that you are still healing from a gunshot wound, it isn’t safe for you to leave Drago. Now lie the hell down before I sit on you or get Jude to give you something to knock your ass out.”
Gio pursed his lips, really looked at Taco. He and the dragon had been friends for a very long time. The way Taco was acting was the same way he acted when Cobra took off without him on an assignment. It was pissed with a bit of fear added in, and right now, there was more fear in the maharishi’s eyes than anger, and that only meant one thing. “My father’s in town isn’t he? Somehow he found out about me being in Drago, didn’t he?”
“I didn’t say that.” Taco quickly said.
“That’s not an answer and just saying, you didn’t have to say anything, Taco. I know you better than I know anyone in this town. Your eyes tell me everything. You’re afraid, and the only thing I can think of that would put that look in your eyes is if you were fearful of something you felt could happen to someone you care about, and if I believe Jude and Rylee, no matter how angry you might be with me, even though I am still your mate, that means my safety is a priority. The only thing threatening my safety is my father. Don’t lie to me or try and hide the truth from me, please.”
Sighing, Taco lifted Gio and placed him back onto the middle of the bed, then covered him up, “I don’t know if he’s in town or not. Cobra and Sparky were having dinner in the outer town, and when they were leaving, one of the Tiger Sharks made a comment about telling you that daddy said hi. Cobra flipped and a fight ensued, and as you just learned he and Sparky were arrested. Now you know all I do. So, lie there and we will wait until Rylee and Taj return with Cobra and he can fill us in on the rest.”
Gio was stunned. His father knew where he was. He knew he was in Drago. Son of a bitch, how did he find him? Yes, it had taken the man twenty-five years, but Gio hadn’t left for the outer town in over three weeks. He hadn’t seen anyone except the usual people. How did his father find him? It had to be someone else that recognized him… but who? Cameron! It had to be Cameron! Looking up, Gio realized it was only he and Taco in the room. “What happened to Cameron?”
Taco must have been thrown off by the question Gio asked, “Cameron? Um… He’s a human so Stone would have been the one to deal with him. We would have to ask him. Why?”
“He’s the only one that could have told someone I was here. He’s the only one that has been out of Drago.” Gio said in concern.
Taco replied, “Someone in Drago might have heard the news. Gordy could have told someone. He found out this morning. He could have let the cat out of the bag.”
Shaking his head, Taco quickly said, “No way. Gordy would never do that, and I refuse to think anyone in this town would as well. Besides, the fact that they never leave Drago, no one besides all of you and Gordy knows my secret at the moment. No, the only one that could have said anything would be Cameron.”
“We’ll have to ask Stone. He can let us know where he took Cameron, but not until tomorrow. You’ll get your stiches out and…”
Gio tossed the covers off once more, and was out of the bed before Taco could stop him. Taco hissing, “What are you doing, Gio? You need to get back in bed.”
Gio held up his hand, stopping Taco from walking towards him or saying anything more. “I can do this. My strength is returning. Granted I’m not at full strength and this is going wipe out my charge, but I can do this.”
“Do what?” Taco asked in confusion.
Closing his eyes, Gio spread his arms wide and called to his healing fire. It took a little longer than normal, but soon he felt the warmth he was all too familiar with. Taco gasped, telling Gio he was standing there, his body turning to burning embers as it got hotter.
Gio was concentrating on what he was doing and barely registered Jude’s shocked, “What the hell?”
Within moments, Gio felt the flames licking his skin, the intensity of it causing Gio to toss his head back on his shoulders as he let out a shout of pain while the flames took over healing Gio from the inside out. Taco screamed his name, but Gio ignored him as he focused until the flames began to die down and finally dwindle to nothing, and he dropped to his knees panting.
A blanket was quickly placed around Gio and someone said in wonder, “Damn, Cobra is one lucky bastard.”
Opening his eyes, he saw Taco looking towards the door, growling and showing his very large teeth. “Keep looking at our sentience like that, Wiz, and I will eat you.”
“Hey, you can’t blame a single man for staring at the goods when they are out and flapping free.” Wiz replied with a snort.
<
br /> Gio looked towards the door and found just about every D.O.A. agent standing there, looking at him in awe. A tiny dragon with beautiful aqua-blue butterfly wings, pink underbelly, grey body that got darker to his tail, stood there clasping his tiny claws, sitting on Wiz’s shoulder.
“I wasn’t trying to be rude. I was only saying that Gio is a very handsome man that has been very blessed.” Wiz stated defensively, without anyone having said anything.
Gio was confused as he asked Taco, “Is Wiz alright? No one even said anything to him.”
Smiling, Taco replied, “No, he’s talking to his maharishi. His dragon is not outwards verbal. He communicates within Wiz’s mind. It’s the way of a few of us.”
“So, not all of you can talk?” Gio asked.
Shaking his head, Taco replied, “No, Azul is the same. He talks within the minds of Bren and Pit… well, all of us now that we are blood bonded, as does Wiz’s maharishi.”
“Blood bonded?” Gio asked in confusion.
Nodding, Taco replied, “A while back, Jude, Bren, and Rylee were talking about how they wanted so much to be brothers they had done a human ceremony where they cut into each other’s palms and brought them together, making a blood oath of swearing loyalty to each other and now consider each other brothers. The other D.O.A. wanted this, and they all cut their palms and joined hands. It brought about an interesting effect none of us had predicted. Not only can we now speak to each other within our minds, the D.O.A. agents and mates can share in our gifts. Lex and Stone will be going through the blood bonding soon, and I know Cobra and I hope you would too.”
“So, if I was to do this, any of you could use mine?” Gio gasped, not certain he could do that. It was hard enough being a multiplex elemental and trusting himself, let alone allowing someone else to be given this type of power.
Taco shook his head, saying, “We don’t know. So far, it has only been done with the humans and our own soul bonds. However, the soul bonds and humans can call on the dragon powers. For example, mine is astral projection, Blade’s dragon has telekinesis. That little guy on Wiz’s shoulder has a super-smell ability, and so on. At any time, due to the blood brother bond, any of us bonded can call upon those gifts if needed. It has made our job as D.O.A. agents much easier.”
