Page 13 of Adding Fuel To The Flames

"But he may have seen us coming in here earlier," Zev argued.

"Which is why Jett will have the same protection as Rhys, until this bastard is caught. Salem is beyond evil. He is an insane evil, which makes him far more dangerous than your typical threat. You are also off duty until this prick is caught," Illan stated firmly.

Jett drew in a sharp breath. "Oh, hell no!"

Illan immediately snapped, "There is no argument on this, Jett. I will not have this bastard creating a fire that you get called out to so he can take you out when you respond. No, you are officially on leave starting now. Do I make myself clear?"

Jett pursed his lips, muttering, "Perfectly."

"Good. Now we need to tear this town apart. Look under every rock you can until we find this fucking asshole," Illan snarled.

"I can talk to Dimitri and find out if he may have seen Salem in town or maybe find out where he is staying," Marco suggested.

Dain was still standing eye to eye with Day, hissing, "And I can talk to my head bouncer at the club, Devonte. He knows everyone in Maddox. If there is a new guy in town, he’ll know where to find him."

"We should probably let Captain Holt know what's going on as well. He, Sut, and the guys can help keep an eye out," Jett stated.

Destrain turned to Baldwin, "I want you to pick out three guards. There will be two with Rhys at all times."

"Sir, if Rhys is going to be here at the club, two may not be enough," Baldwin stated.

"If you think more are needed at any time, you have my permission to up the protection level." Destrain answered back.

"Yes, Sir," Baldwin replied, turning immediately to do as the King ordered.

Rhys sighed, "Is this all really necessary? Maybe if I talk to Salem and make it clearer that I have no interest in the man, he might just go away on his own."

"No, he won't," Zev rasped.

Zev walked over and looked straight into Rhys's eyes. Rhys could feel the pain and sadness rolling off the man. Zev took a deep breath and forced out his next words. "My father used to beat the shit out of me and my mom just for breathing. Whenever my mom said the "N" word, and I am talking about the wordno, it would set him off like a stick of dynamite. I swear those beatings were worse than when he caught my mom cheating on him. Trust me. Salem Brady doesnottakenofor an answer."

"And that is why Ethan and I are not letting you out of our sight until Salem has been dealt with," Day said without room for argument. The thing is, Rhys and arguing seemed to always come hand in hand.

There was no way Rhys could stand to have Ethan and Day around him day in and day out. To see the two lovers kissing and cuddling on his couch while he sat there wishing and thinking "what if".

Shaking his head, Rhys replied. "No, Casimir and Aracas will look out for me just fine."

Day felt his dragon coming forward. No way in hell were his and Ethan's uncles going to protect Rhys. That was his and Ethan's job, end of fucking sentence.

A gentle squeeze to his shoulder had Day jerking away and ready to attack. Illan gave a low growl then hissed, "You will stand down or I will make you stand down."

Ethan snarled and jumped between Illan and Day. "Back off my mate! You have no idea what you're getting in the middle of."

Avery hissed and started towards Ethan. "And you have no right to speak to my mate like that either. So, I suggest you back the fuck off or you might find yourself trying to learn to breath under water."

Justice jumped in the middle holding a hand up to Ethan and Day and the other on Illan and Avery. "Everyone just take a step back. This shit is crazy." Turning to Ethan. Justice asked, "What is it that we are getting in the middle of, Ethan?"

Ethan turned away, looking at Day. Rhys could see that something was up, but he didn’t understand for a second what that something was. It was like a puzzle needing to be put together and Rhys hated the damn things. He never could figure out where to start, and when he tried to put the fucking thing together he never could get the stupid pieces to fit right. Normally Rhys just ended up banging the damn pieces of cardboard with his fist until he just tossed them around the room. Day and Ethan were not two men he could toss around even if he wanted to, which he didn't.

"Ethan, I asked you a question. What is it we don't understand?" Justice asked again.

Destrain went to Rhys and started pulling him away, saying, "Look, like we said, just take care of Jett on your end, and we will take care of Rhys."

Rhys jerked and pulled, yelling, "Let me go."

Destrain let out a loud sigh, "Just come with us Rhys and stop making a scene."

"I am not making a scene. I don't like to be manhandled, by you or anyone else. Now let me the fuck go," Rhys shouted and pulled. Destrain's grip slipped and Rhys fell backwards, smacking his elbow on a table and landing on his ass.