Page 5

It was after lunch on the same day. After spending the remainder of the morning in the office, Mitchell and Sarah had gone to the guest bedroom to have a nap, taking a laptop with them. Giorgio had suggested he and Enda watch a movie, sit on the couch, and relax.

Enda agreed, purely and simply because he wasn’t sure what else he could do. He couldn’t think of an excuse he could use – one that wasn’t a lie – that would give him access to a computer or smartphone, and if he did explain the reason why he needed one, that would mean divulging more information than he was ready to.

It wasn’t that Enda didn’t trust Giorgio – he did. Giorgio was his mate and would never hurt him. Enda wasn’t as sure about Mitchell and Sarah, although Sarah seemed nice enough once she’d been hugged. But in Enda’s head, he needed to find proof of any link between the person who had tried to kill him – and he knew who that was – and who was trying to kill Mitchell because that was what Giorgio was focused on. For that he needed access to the internet. He might not know how to track people online, but there was a time when he had friends who could do it.

“I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to talk about our mating,” Giorgio said quietly in Japanese as the movie played in the background. “I know it’s a truly important part of a paranormal’s life, and as I said earlier today, I do believe you when you tell me we’re fated. I feel a strong bond with you already. It’s just…” - he flicked his hand in the direction of the bedrooms - “I never thought I’d have to explain how hellhounds mate with other people in the house. I feel it should be a private matter between you and me.”

Enda agreed, although probably not for the reasons Giorgio was thinking. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about you?” he suggested instead. He even managed a laugh. “When most shifters find their mates, they dash straight to the bedroom side of things and save the talking for after. We’ve got a chance to change things up a bit.”

Giorgio groaned, and Enda realized he probably shouldn’t have alluded to anything sexual. He wasn’t comfortable doing anything like that with someone else in the house. “Tell me something about you,” he said quickly. “Did I hear you mention you have packmates? Do they live near you?”

“No, hellhounds aren’t allowed to live near to each other on Earth.” Giorgio seemed equally glad for the change in topic. “We’re too powerful as paranormals, and a group of us, even living peacefully, could be seen as a threat to other packs, covens, prides, or flocks.”

Twisting around in his seat, Enda rested his arm on the back of the couch as he faced his mate. “But didn’t you grow up together? Wasn’t that really hard, having to be separated after all that time spent living in a pack?”

“More time than you probably realize,” Giorgio said gently. “I come from the first pack. There are twelve of us. We didn’t grow up as such - we were created fully formed by the ancient Greek god Hades to guard the gates of the Underworld. We did that for thousands of years.”

Enda blew out a long breath. “That’s a true example of job dedication.”

“It’s all we knew, and for the longest time, it was enough for us. But the Underworld is filled with demons and spirits, of course, and we used to hear stories about life on Earth. A couple of my pack wanted the chance to experience life outside of the Underworld, so, my Master created the second pack, gave us the ability to shift, and sent us off to Earth. I’ve been living in England since before the Roman roads were the only way to get anywhere.”

“You’ve actually lived history. That’s fascinating, thinking of all the changes you’ve seen through the years.” Enda hesitated and then asked, “How did you and your friend end up in that warehouse last night? I doubt you got a message from the Fates saying, ‘get there quick or you’ll lose your chance for a mate until they get reborn again.’”

“No. Nothing like that.” Giorgio winced, and Enda realized he might have been a touch insensitive with the way he’d phrased the question. “Mitchell and I work for one of those underground agencies that are like an open secret worldwide, but everyone pretends they don’t know we exist. Specifically, I’m trained as a negotiator. It’s my job to negotiate with terrorists and people like that to get them to release hostages.”

“Negotiate?” Enda tilted his head, looking at his mate. “Were you late? Did you get held up somehow? The men who dropped us off had been gone at least an hour before you arrived.”

“Mitchell and I had been outside for twenty minutes waiting for the specific time we’d been told we were allowed to go in.”

“Ooooh.” Enda looked away, his brain was working fast. “So, whoever gave you those orders was giving time for the people responsible to get away. That’s not good.”

“I doubt it was anything like that.” Giorgio chuckled. “It’s normal procedure. We’re usually given specific times so that our support people are in place, ready to render assistance where necessary.”

“Oh, no.” Enda looked up in alarm. “There were support people there with you? More than Mitchell? Did they die, too?”

“No. They were a couple of miles away at the edge of the farm the building was on. They were fine.” Giorgio’s hand was hot on Enda’s shoulder. “I promise, they were fine.”

A couple of miles away? “Why were they so far away if they’re meant to be supporting you and Mitchell?” That didn’t make sense. “Is that normal?”

“Nooo, but different situations are organized in different ways.”

“But…but…” Enda gripped Giorgio’s arm. “Someone in your secret agency knew we were being taken there, otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten the job. Someone knew what time those poor people were dropped off, otherwise you wouldn’t have been given the time you had been given. You’d have gone in there earlier and not waited twenty minutes. We have to go.” He looked around wildly. “We have to go now.”

“Enda. Little bird. No one knows where we are. You’re safe here.”

“No one was supposed to know that me and those other poor people from the plane were meant to be in that warehouse, either. You can’t tell me that one of your secret people just stumbled across the building and knew it was going to be used as a mass graveyard on a specific date and time. No, no, no. That means that someone who knows your people is connected to someone who knows my people…” Enda was ready to cry. His heart was beating so fast that he was getting black spots in front of his eyes. “We have to go.”

“Go where?”

Enda could see Giorgio’s confusion, but in his head he had every reason to panic. “Anywhere but here. Giorgio…”

“G! G!” Mitchell came running into the living room, Sarah close behind him. “Fraser sent a message through our chat. The agency knows we’re alive. He wants to know what the fuck is going on and where we are.”