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One day morphed into the next and then into the next. By the third day Giorgio was starting to feel more comfortable with the routine, although what they were doing and why was still troubling. Enda had his nightmare – the details of which he still wouldn’t share – the previous two nights and his lack of sleep was starting to show.

In accordance with Coda’s wishes, they were seen out having lunch at open-air cafes and having supposedly romantic dinners at various restaurants. In between meals, they visited more museums, art galleries, markets, and historic places. In other words, for all intents and purposes, they were seen to be enjoying a honeymoon experience all the while shadowed by two large bodyguards.

Lamont and Damon were learning to cope with the crowds of youngsters that clamored to take their pictures. Giorgio could see how plastic Enda’s smile was getting, and it broke Giorgio’s heart. But despite the circles getting blacker and darker under Enda’s eyes, he kept going, and Giorgio had to respect that.

It still wasn’t easy, constantly being recognized, constantly being photographed, and the constant questions were hugely frustrating. Enda coped with it as best he could, and Giorgio was glad of the crowds in a way because it meant that anyone’s more persistent forms of questioning could be ignored in the noise made by everyone else.

There was one disconcerting incident, but that involved Giorgio rather than Enda. They had just taken a load of selfies on the second day, and then Lamont and Damon asked the crowd to please give them time to eat. Some of the more curious ones were across the road, probably videoing Giorgio’s and Enda’s interactions, but at least they weren’t crowding the table.

Lunch was almost finished when Damon growled. It was a low sound that only Giorgio and Lamont could hear. Two men, human, dressed in black suits that looked as out of place as Lamont’s and Damon’s did, blocked the sun, casting a long shadow over the table. Enda immediately froze, putting down his knife and fork, and Giorgio bristled.

“George Canin?” One of the men flipped up a badge and then just as quickly pocketed it before Giorgio could even see what agency it related to. “We’d like you to come with us.”

Enda whimpered, the tiniest of sounds that the two men likely didn’t hear, but Giorgio did, and it infuriated him. “I have no reason to go with you,” he said firmly. “Me, my partner, and friends are enjoying lunch, if you don’t mind.”

“We’re trying to do this without incident.” The second man glanced around, likely noticing the number of phones pointed in their direction. “You’re being arrested for going AWOL. I’m afraid we have to insist.”

Giorgio deliberately laughed – which wasn’t easy when Enda’s hand was digging into his leg as if he was petrified the men would take him. “I’m not in the military, so, I can hardly be AWOL. And in fact, given I was left to die during my last job with my previous employer, I have more than enough reasons to have quit without notice, don’t you agree? Which again is not going AWOL and is not illegal. I suggest you leave before my partner finishes his coffee.”

“His coffee? What the hell? What happens then?” the first man asked.

“There’re at least twenty social media influencers over by the fountain,” Lamont drawled, his accent completely fake as he leaned back in his chair and lifted his sunglasses to rest on his head, showing his teeth. “They’re just waiting for their chance to take a selfie with the man who escaped death and is even now being hounded by the men in black.” His look up and down at the men’s suits was deliberate. “Those who seek to spirit him away for some random conspiracy reason.”

“We’re here for George Canin,” the second man protested, his cheeks flushed. Lamont was a good looking guy, and it was unlikely the man had been so openly ogled before. “That has nothing to do with anyone else at this table.”

Giorgio stood up, keeping hold of Enda’s hand as he stood up, too. He noticed the sudden Adam’s apple bobs as the two men realized how big he was. Their anxiety increased as Lamont and Damon stood up, too.

“Check your records,” Giorgio said with a growl. “The last time George Canin was seen by anyone connected to the agency he worked for, he was heading into an abandoned warehouse. Two minutes after entering, the warehouse exploded. George Canin died that day. The last time I checked employment law, dying was a perfectly valid reason for quitting a job without notice. It’s not like I’m suing them for my last month’s salary and holiday pay. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

“But you’re not dead, and people in high places have got questions for you. For fuck’s sake, you’re standing right here, and your face has been plastered all over social media. Those are not the actions of a dead man.” The first man’s face had gone bright red.

“You must be thinking of someone else.” Moving Enda around so Giorgio was between him and the agents, he grinned. “I suggest you move out of the way.”

“If you touch us, we have reason to take you in.” The second man might have thought he was being clever.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” It was time to put those crowds who kept wanting their social media content to good use. Putting his thumb and forefinger against his lips, Giorgio blew a loud whistle. “Enda’s just finished lunch, and we’re leaving shortly,” he called out as people all around the area looked up. “If anyone else wanted selfies, you’d better get them now.”

“Yes!” Screams and excited yells filled the air as people started running in their direction. Within twenty seconds, Giorgio and his friends were completely surrounded. The two men hovered, trying to stay close, until one of the influencers shoved a camera in the first man’s face and asked, “Are you trying to save Enda, too? Isn’t it exciting? Can I get your picture?”

“You’ll have to answer questions sooner or later,” the first man yelled at Giorgio as he and his companion quickly backed away. “No pictures. I didn’t agree to any pictures. Put those damn phones away.” Within a minute, they were in a black town car and were driven away at speed.

“I’m sorry,” Giorgio whispered to his mate, as their friendly crowd jostled each other trying to get the best shot.

Enda looked up and smiled, relief flowing through their bond. And more than one person went, “Aww, so cute together.” So, Giorgio smiled, too.

/~/~/~/~/

Coda was in raptures over the data that he was getting. Enda’s and Giorgio’s images – mostly Enda’s –were being spread far and wide at an extremely rapid pace. By the end of day three there was no way anyone who had access to social media or news outlets in any way, shape, or form, was going to miss the tragic story of Enda and how somebody was trying to kill him and how the agency man who saved him was now in danger of losing his freedom, all because he was trying to save an innocent victim. Giorgio knew how much Enda hated that word, but when it came to news outlets, apparently that was a word that sold.

He tried to protect Enda from it all as best he could. He and the other two hellhounds both agreed not to have the television on anywhere they were staying, and Giorgio refused to look at social media at all. His only focus was his mate’s safety, and that included his mental health. Enda’s nightmares were signal enough that his mate was struggling.

Lamont was getting updates from Coda every day. The man was positively bubbling with excitement. He couldn’t believe how fast information was spreading. But when Lamont asked him, as he did every day, if there’d been any news about the people who were trying to track them down, Coda would start talking about social media statistics instead of the actual crux of why they were doing what they were doing.

Which was why, when they were having lunch on the fourth day, Giorgio said to Lamont and Damon, “I think we’ll make this the last stop, eh? It’s time to head home.”

Lamont pulled out his list. The piece of paper was now looking decidedly ragged and torn from all the folding and stuffing in pockets it had gone through. “We’ve still got two more events this afternoon, and then you’ve got another three tomorrow,” he said. “Are you sure you want to knock this on the head now?”

Giorgio looked at Enda, who was picking at his food, not even paying attention to the conversation. His shoulders were slumped, the area under his eyes looked as though he’d been punched, and even his bright blue highlights looked limp and sad. “Yep, yes, I do.”

Giorgio leaned his elbows on the table, keeping his voice low. “In all of this, all Coda had to do was give us the information on Enda’s father, everything that the Zeus network had. Then we could have tracked him, we could have found him ourselves, and we could have dealt with this privately.”

“But Coda…” Damon started to say.

Giorgio cut him off. “I understand what Coda’s doing, I understand why Lord Zeus is on board with this, and I understand why Lord Hades suggested it. But they are thinking about all paranormals. My only focus is my mate’s safety. This isn’t doing any of us any good, and all we are doing is wasting time and giving that man more time to cook up whatever scheme he’s got planned next.”

“Have you thought about trying to get information about this from the other direction?” Lamont asked. “Surely if you can find out who in that shadow agency of yours approved you going into that job in the first place…”

“That was my handler, Duncan Rodin.” Giorgio frowned. “I got the impression from Lord Hades that he wasn’t responsible. He was just bad at his job because he couldn’t keep his pants zipped up.”

“That could be a ruse,” Damon pointed out. “We know someone there must be connected in some way to Enda’s father. Is there anyone in the agency you can trust? Perhaps get them to do some digging for us?”

“Not really – just the nature of the job meant we didn’t have contact with each other very often. It wouldn’t be easy anyway, given that my face is plastered all over the internet showing I’m in Italy. It’s not like I can translocate back and have a quick chat with anybody. That would just raise more questions.”

“Email. Message apps?” Lamont suggested.

Giorgio shook his head. “If I open up any form of communication, they are going to be trying to track me through them. If they try that and fail thanks to our network provider, then that raises more red flags.”

“Oh, yeah, that could be awkward.” Lamont nodded. “I’ve done a lot of investigative stories over the years, and I’ll tell you, man, when agencies and people in power don’t know what’s going on, or they think there’s something the slightest bit hinky about whatever’s going on, they’ll just bury you in a cell so deep and they’ll keep you there until the world makes sense to them again. At the moment none of this and what we’re doing is making sense. Agreed?”

“That’s one thing I can agree with you on,” Giorgio said. “In the meantime, we’re all running ourselves ragged. We’re all tired. We’ve all had enough. I’m sure you have, haven’t you, Enda?”

Enda looked up. His face was pale. Damon had actually suggested he wear makeup that morning, and Enda refused. “I’m sure the tragic look will suit the photos,” he’d said at the time, but there was no spark there. There was no life. While Giorgio knew that Enda knew why they were all doing what they were doing, he also knew it was Enda who was suffering the most.

“Everything in my body is telling me we need to get back home,” he said, catching Enda’s eyes. “What do you think?”

“What about finding my father?” Enda’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“If he’s that damn clever,” Giorgio said firmly, “then he’ll find us. That’s the whole point of this freaking shit show. If he can’t track us down now, after three days of you being paraded around like an offering, then he’s hardly the criminal mastermind we’re making him out to be.”

Enda nodded just the once, but that was enough for Giorgio to pull out his phone.

“Text me Coda’s number will you? I’m letting him know that the afternoon is canceled,” he said to Lamont.

“Better you than me,” Lamont said. “Any time I try to talk to him, I can barely get a word in edgeways.” Seconds later, Giorgio heard the ping on his phone letting him know he had received the number from Lamont. “As I said, Coda is really invested in this social media experiment.”

“It could be a good time to remind him that there’s something a bit more important at play here, and maybe it was about time he started helping us with that instead. It’s not like I’m asking for much, maybe just some basic information on who the hell Enda’s father is – paranormal type, age, where he typically lives, and what he does. The sort of information that Coda probably has at his fingertips.”

Just thinking about the hoops they’d been jumping through over the past few days was infuriating when Giorgio realized how simple Coda could’ve made things for them. “This whole thing could’ve been over and sorted by now.”

“You did agree to do all this,” Damon pointed out. “When Lord Hades suggested it, you agreed.”

Giorgio looked over at his pack mate. “When was the last time you told our Lord and Master no?” He shook his head. “I agreed to this because Coda was meant to be back-tracing people who were trying to track us.”

“And the only information we get instead is how many likes various influencers got and clothing suggestions for Enda so he could fit the image Coda is trying to project.” Lamont let out a long huff. “It’s definitely a shit show.”

“Yep, and one thing I have learned since working among humans is…”

Giorgio heard a high pitched whine just before he felt the impact. His eyes widened as his shirt sleeve had a rip in it, and blood was seeping from the long scratch left on his arm. All around him people were screaming, and diving for cover, having heard the shot.

“Holy shit.” Damon grabbed Giorgio and pulled him under the table while Lamont did the same to Enda. “Where the hell did that come from?”

But it was Enda’s face that held Giorgio’s attention. It was as if he could see the flames of Enda’s phoenix. “Call Coda immediately,” he snapped at Lamont. “Now. Tell him we need a containment ward so we can translocate.”

“It’s barely a scratch,” Lamont grumbled as he pulled out the phone he had just put away.

“It’s not my arm I’m worried about.” Giorgio could see the tension in his mate reach a nuclear level. “My mate’s about to shift and I don’t think there’s a damn thing I can do to stop it. Enda, you need to calm down, you need to keep control.”

Flinging his head back, Enda screamed. To the uninitiated, someone would imagine it was a very human Enda wailing with grief over their mate being shot. But Giorgio knew better, and so did his packmates. The phoenix was pissed off.

“Go,” Lamont said. “You’re cleared to go now.”

“See what you can find. I’ll catch up with you in the wastelands.” Giorgio could feel the phoenix’s flames as he translocated them both back to the Underworld.