Page 6 of How to Hack a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #2)

Chapter 6

Liam

I watched on my computer screen as Aiden gently pet Quinton’s head while he fell back asleep. Good. He needed to sleep off what the bartender had given him, and I didn’t think the few hours he had would be enough. I wished Aiden had given him some orange juice, too, in order to get some nutrition into him, but I’d tell Toby to bring them over some muffins and drinks from Cassius’s shop in a couple hours.

Aiden eventually wandered out into the kitchen and living room area, and I added that camera view to the screen, watching as he started rifling through the cabinets and pulling things out.

Maybe I wouldn’t need to tell Toby to get them some food after all. It looked like Aiden was going to start baking. I nodded my head in approval. I had a feeling that baking would make Aiden more comfortable in the space.

I’d made sure the kitchen equipment was top notch, and I’d started stocking nonperishables about a week ago. I had already planned to get the two into the pool house, but I hadn’t figured out exactly how I was going to make that happen. I certainly didn’t expect it to happen so soon. It was a good thing I’d installed the cameras a few days ago. I turned off the kitchen view camera so that only Quinton’s room was on the screen. I didn’t want to invade Aiden’s privacy, after all.

I hoped Aiden liked the apartment. I didn’t think Quinton would move without him. I was sure we could come up with a reason why they both needed to stay there and not in their apartment, especially in light of what had just happened to Quinton.

I looked over at James, the man responsible for the entire evening. One eye was mostly swollen shut, but the other looked at me pleadingly as he whimpered and groaned behind the gag in his mouth when he saw my stare.

“I suppose I should thank you, James. You certainly expedited my plans. That really doesn’t excuse you drugging Q, however. He trusted you.” I tutted at him as I walked over, and he whimpered, his body shaking. “Shh,” I whispered. “No screaming or I’ll cut out your tongue, ok?” I asked.

He nodded his head, and I removed the gag. It was time for us to chat. He’d been nicely softened up, and I felt like he’d be honest at this point.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that Q—” he started whimpering, but I put my finger close to his lips, making him flinch back and instantly be quiet.

“I have questions, James, and I don’t want you talking unless you’re answering those. Understand?” I picked up the pliers for good measure, and his eyes followed my hand as he nodded frantically. “Good,” I said. “Why did you drug Q?”

He licked his lips, and I could see the hesitation that meant he was probably going to lie.

I sighed. “James, if you lie, I’ll know it, and I’ll rip out your teeth one by one until you tell me the truth. Let’s not waste that time, ok? You like your teeth, don’t you?”

He nodded, looking at my hand with the pliers. I snapped my fingers in front of his face, dragging his attention back to my eyes.

I heard footsteps on the stairs coming down into the basement, but I ignored them. “Why did you drug Q?” I asked again.

“M-M-Marcus,” he mumbled.

“Marcus is dead,” I said.

James seemed to gain some confidence from that. “Q… Q was with him. When he died. He’s gotta be responsible somehow. I just wanted to find out what he knew.”

“Oh James, that’s not really the truth, is it?” I asked, tossing the pliers from hand to hand, his eyes following as his whimpers got louder.

Dex spoke up from behind me. “I think that deserves punishment. Lies by omissions should still count.”

James whimpered and babbled unintelligibly until I shushed him again, and I sighed as I turned to see Dex sitting on the basement steps.

“What do you want?” I asked, walking over toward him.

Dex shrugged. “Cassius wants to know what’s going on with Q and Aiden. He’s pissed. He did adopt them, and then you stole and rehomed them.”

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Dex, they aren’t stray pets.”

Dex looked offended. “I know that! They’re stray humans. Obviously. I still don’t think you can just steal and rehome them.”

I just shook my head. Dex was… well, he was Dex. Not the most human-savvy hellhound of the group.

“I didn’t steal them. I saved Q from this one,” I gestured with the pliers toward James, who whimpered again until I shot him a look. “Besides, they’ll be much safer here than an apartment downtown. We’re all here to protect them.”

Dex nodded his head at that, because it did make logical sense. “I don’t usually keep my strays,” he added thoughtfully.

Shit. I didn’t need Dex getting any ideas. “Listen, you aren’t keeping them. They’re just staying someplace safe. They’re not strays anymore anyways. They’re friends now. Friends can stay over. Strays need homes. Ok?” I clarified.

I really didn’t need Dexter to start bringing home every mortal he happened upon that was in trouble. We weren’t starting a compound here, for fuck’s sake.

Dex nodded, then asked, “You want help with this one? He stinks of rot.”

I turned back and looked at James. He looked so unassuming. Quinton had thought he was a friend. I’d watched him cheerily serve drinks, flirt and smile, all the while sensing a soul that was blacker than tar. I wondered how many people he had hurt to deserve such darkness.

I was betting he was involved with Marcus and the human trafficking ring. It made perfect sense. A bartender would know regulars. People would naturally talk to him. He’d know who would be vulnerable, who wouldn’t be missed.

“I got it,” I replied, even though I wasn’t looking forward to using the pliers. It was just so… messy. I did hate making a mess. But still… “He drugged Quinton, and I’ll be getting my answers, one way or another.”

The man started shaking again, and that suited me fine. I stalked back over to James, pliers at the ready as he began whimpering. Yes, I thought lying by omission probably did deserve a little punishment.

I heard Dex laugh behind me as James started screaming.

I finished drying off, throwing on clean dress pants and a clean shirt. My computer was sitting on the bathroom counter, and Quinton was still sleeping. I wondered if that was healthy. He had gotten up briefly to go to the bathroom, and Aiden had given him some orange juice and a muffin, but he was back asleep.

Perhaps I should ask Cassius about it. Or maybe Toby. He was a human, after all. He should know about normal human stuff.

I buttoned up my shirt, grabbed the laptop off the counter, and made my way into the kitchen. We were in the house that Corbin and Jude had claimed since Dexter had moved in with Toby, but everyone was gathered in the kitchen. Jude was sitting at the kitchen island to eat, scrolling through his phone. The rest of the crew was at the table, with Corbin feeding a crow bits of his sandwich, and Toby sitting in Dexter’s lap while they fed each other bites of food. It made me think of Toby as Dexter’s version of a crow. Somehow I didn’t think Toby would be offended if I said that. He was quirky like that.

I placed my laptop on the table and grabbed a plate and sandwich from the counter. When I sat down, I looked over at Toby, asking, “How long do humans usually sleep for?”

“Well, I suppose that depends. I think seven to nine hours is pretty normal, but some people sleep less. Some people take naps, too,” Toby said, directing his attention to me.

“What about if they’ve been drugged?” I asked.

“Did you drug someone?” Toby asked curiously. “Is he down in the torture basement now?”

“No,” I answered, looking at the computer screen.

Toby leaned over curiously, looking at my computer screen and then gasping. I turned it away from him.

“You shouldn’t invade someone’s privacy like that, Toby,” I chastised.

“Are you freaking serious, Liam?” Toby pulled the computer towards him again and gasped. “OMG, did you drug Q?”

“Of course not,” I answered. “The person who drugged him is taken care of, but he’s been sleeping all night and most of the day, and I wondered if that was healthy.”

Toby blinked at that a few times, just staring at me. Then he turned to Dexter. “Dex, he’s got a camera or something on Q.”

Dex looked up at Toby, puzzled. “Yeah?”

Toby huffed impatiently, looking at Corbin, who was still feeding his crow, and then Jude, who was still scrolling on his phone. “No one is concerned that Liam has a camera in Q’s room? His bedroom ?” Toby demanded.

“Liam probably has cameras all over each of the three houses, the properties, and perhaps even half the town by now,” Corbin said, scratching his crow on the head.

Toby gasped again, and Dex looked up, the first stirrings of concern on his face. He glanced at me curiously and I shrugged. I wasn’t exactly sure what the problem was, either, but I guessed Toby was worried about his own privacy.

“I don’t have cameras in your home, Toby. There’s no need. Dex is always with you,” I said, trying to set his mind at ease.

“Well, I installed cameras outside your house,” Dex clarified.

“Yes, but that’s different!” Toby insisted. “You were protecting me!”

We all stared at Toby in confusion now. How was that different? I was just protecting Quinton and Aiden, although I did have to admit I gave Aiden far more privacy than I gave Quinton. That’s only because Quinton was mine, even if he didn’t know it yet.

Toby looked around at all of us and huffed before turning to me. “Liam, you cannot install cameras and watch people.”

“Why not?” I asked.

Toby shook his head, muttering, “I thought you were the most sensible one.”

“Hey! What about me?” Jude demanded. “I’m totally the most sensible one. I grew up with humans!”

“Yeah, but if you don’t have a problem with Liam spying on people, then apparently not.” Toby turned back toward me then. “Listen, you can’t watch Q in his bedroom . He probably does private stuff in there, and people shouldn’t have their privacy invaded. I get why you watch over them, and maybe I could see cameras in the living room or something, but cameras in the bedroom is a no-no. It’s like installing cameras in the bathroom.”

I stared at Toby, and he closed his eyes in exasperation. “Liam, please tell me you don’t have cameras installed in his bathroom , for Christ’s sake.”

I just shrugged. It wasn’t like I watched him while he was dealing with his bodily functions. Anyway, the bathroom camera was new. If it was that big of a deal to humans, I supposed I could take it out. Although… what if he fell while in the shower? I thought I’d read somewhere that humans often had accidents and deaths in bathrooms.

Probably best to just leave the bathroom camera there.

“How did you even get cameras into his apartment? I can’t believe Cass agreed to that,” Toby said.

“They’re not in their apartment. They’re in the pool house,” Dex told him.

Dex got the death stare then, and I was just glad to be out of the line of fire. I took a bite of my sandwich and looked back at the computer screen while Dex and Toby “discussed” the fact that Dex hadn’t filled him in. Jude chimed in to defend Dex, since the pool house thing had only happened last night.

I mostly tuned them out and watched Quinton, who was starting to stir in bed. Good. I was beginning to get worried with all that sleeping.

“Well, at least when they go back to their apartment later they won’t be spied on anymore,” I heard Toby say.

I looked up, and everyone was looking away from Toby, including Dexter. I huffed. We were a pack of hellhounds, yet no one wanted to contradict one little human. Toby was pack now, but he was still just a human.

“Did you just growl at me?” Toby asked, looking at me. Rather than looking even the least bit frightened, he just looked curious.

“They aren’t going back to their apartment, even though I could still watch him there through his laptop camera. They’re staying here where they’re safe. Quinton was drugged last night, and people know he isn’t dead now,” I said.

I expected an argument, but Toby just stared at me curiously. I breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled out a notebook and pen, but Dexter shot me a disgruntled glare.

“Now he’ll be plotting all afternoon,” Dex grumbled, pulling Toby onto his lap. “I had plans for us.”

Toby smiled at Dex and then looked over at me. “You know you have to take the cameras out. You can’t watch someone without their consent.”

He stared at me until I just shrugged again, and then he was back to his notebook. I continued eating my sandwich, watching Quinton sit up in bed. He was disheveled and looked only half awake, but I could sense his fiery nature even through the screen. I hated seeing his claws sheathed last night because of the drug—I had no doubt he would have ripped James apart himself if given half the opportunity.

Luckily he had me to watch out for him.