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There were times in their partnership when Giorgio wanted to throttle Mitchell, and this was one of those times. Enda had mentioned “his people,” and Giorgio needed to know what he was talking about. Mitchell’s timing couldn’t have been worse.

“Our team chat?” He scowled at Mitchell. “What the hell were you doing on there? I told you to stay off that.”

“I wanted to see, didn’t I?” Mitchell looked at Sarah and took her hand. “I mean, face it. How many chances does a person get to know what their friends and colleagues think about them after they’ve died? I just wanted to see what they were saying.”

Enda was fluttering – that was the only way Giorgio could describe it. It was as if he could feel his mate’s inner bird’s agitation and while he could understand the feeling, he desperately needed to know what shit Mitchell had thrown at them as well.

“You said Fraser sent you a message through our chat. Didn’t you even disguise the fact you were on there?”

“I made out I was Sarah. I mean, what grieving partner wouldn’t go through their dead man’s laptop? It made sense at the time.”

Giorgio held his temper with difficulty. “So, Sarah responded to Fraser, I assume. What did she say?”

“Nothing.” Mitchell’s face was bright red. “We left the message unread and got out of there. But the message was clear – the agency knows we’re alive.”

“No, they don’t. They have no way of knowing that. With the explosion, they wouldn’t have found enough of us to identify. They’re fishing, didn’t you get that?”

“Of course, they’d know,” Sarah yelled. “You’re still wearing your trackers. If the trackers aren’t at the scene, then they know you’re not, either.”

“Trackers? You’re wearing trackers, and you didn’t tell me?” Now Enda looked terrified, and Giorgio put his hand on his mate’s shoulder, stroking it gently.

“What trackers?” Giorgio focused his gaze on Mitchell. “This is the first I’ve heard about trackers. I know I’m not wearing one. Are you?”

“Don’t go holding back secrets now, Giorgio.” Sarah was still yelling. “This is a matter of life and death. At least if Mitchell is known as dead, I’d stand to gain a pension for the rest of my days, but if they find out he’s still alive, after being presumed dead, then all he’ll get is jail time and me, too, most likely, for being an accessory.”

“I don’t see what any of that has got to do with trackers.” Giorgio focused on Sarah.

“Mitchell told me about them. When we first got together and I told him how scared I was about you guys going to remote and dangerous locations, he said that all of you guys have trackers implanted under your skin, so you can never be lost. He even showed me the damn lump on his arm. Show him, Mitchell. Show him your tracker – the one you showed me. That will be why your agency knows you’re still alive.”

“They’d also know where we were, despite this address being completely off grid.” Patting Enda’s arm, Giorgio got up from the couch. “Show me, Mitchell. Show me the tracker that’s just put us all in danger.”

“There isn’t one,” Mitchell mumbled. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but honestly, you were going on and on about it, so I was just trying to make you feel better and it worked.”

“But…but…the lump?” All the color drained from Sarah’s flushed face. “You promised me you were tracked all the time.”

“I’ve always had that lump. My brother Brian hit me with a spade when we were kids. The lump never went away.” Mitchell shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn’t know we were going to be going through all this bullshit.”

“The message from Fraser is true? He left you a private message saying the agency knows we’re both alive?” Giorgio wasn’t sure which way was up, he was so turned around.

Mitchell nodded.

“Okay, well, I still stand by what I said. He was fishing and waiting to see what or who he could flush out. Regardless, that certainly fucks things up, doesn’t it?” Giorgio gestured to his mate, who had wrapped his arms around himself, still looking terrified. “My little bird was right to want to fly. The only four people in existence who know for a fact we’re still alive are in this room. I know I didn’t tell the agency. Enda doesn’t even know anyone in the agency and hasn’t had access to a computer or smartphone since we arrived here, so, that only leaves one of you two. Which one of you betrayed us to the point you believe Fraser’s words are true?”

“How could you say that?” Mitchell’s face crumpled in disbelief. “I owe you my fucking life man, not just for what happened the other night, but at least four other times I can think of just off the top of my head. I would never…on my life, I would never betray you, especially now. You’re right. I just got caught up in the freaking drama of everything.”

His laughter carried an embarrassed tinge. “You’ve got to admit, it’s not every day you learn paranormals are real, and damn, am I thankful for that. But I’d never betray you – not after all we’ve been through together. I feel like a dick for even going on that chat now. That was a stupid thing to do.”

“What about you, Sarah?”

The woman was silent, her arms folded across her chest, and she wasn’t looking at any of them. Oh, shit no.

“One of the interesting facts about most paranormals is that they can always tell when someone is lying to them. Shifters can smell a lie, so can a vampire. Magic users can see a lie in how it impacts a person’s aura. Hellhounds can see into a person’s soul. It stems from us having to deal with some of the worst dregs that society comes up with. So, are you going to tell us what you did, Sarah?”

“I don’t know where you come up with this paranormal garbage. I think you hit your head in the explosion. I’m not going to say anything to you if you keep being ridiculous.” Sarah had completely turned her back on him as if it would make a difference.

“What I think happened,” Giorgio said gently, “is that when Mitchell texted you and said he was still alive, despite knowing you’d get a call telling you he was dead, you were worried the agency would go after you if you didn’t tell them everything you knew. It wasn’t a lot at the time, thank goodness – just that we were still alive.

“You couldn’t tell the agency how that happened, but they likely left you a number to call when you’ve got five minutes to yourself. I imagine if I go through your purse, I’ll find it. You thought we wouldn’t know it was you because Mitchell lied to you about us being fitted with trackers.

“In fact, you might’ve told the truth to the agency when they called you, because you were scared they would know we weren’t dead, because our trackers weren’t at the bomb site. In your head, you probably imagined that the agency would turn up here at any minute, to take Mitchell and me into custody, all because of those trackers you got told we were wearing. The trackers that never existed.”

“Sarah!” Mitchell reached for his longtime partner, but she whirled around, slapping his hand away.

“You lied to me. All this time, you lied to me about those trackers. You had no right.”

“You’ve not only put my life in jeopardy but Giorgio and Enda’s as well. Don’t you understand, you stupid woman? If the agency finds out Enda’s alive, someone who could possibly identify the people behind all those murders, then he’ll be running for the rest of his life. We were sent there to be killed. That means the agency will be after us, too, and why? All because you didn’t want to lose the pension you get when I die? I looked after you, I love you, and this is how you repay me? Fuck. For all I know, you knew about the plot to kill us, and you’re pissed off that Giorgio saved my life – again.”

Sarah clearly didn’t expect Mitchell to yell at her. She moved up behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “It’ll be all right,” she murmured, probably not realizing shifters had excellent hearing as well. “Once we tell them about Giorgio and the bird, they will be so distracted, they’ll just let us go. Our lives can go back to normal…”

“We have to go.” Enda got off the couch. “People are coming.”

Giorgio’s hound let him know his mate was right. “Take my hand and hold on tight.”

“What about them?” Enda pointed to Mitchell and Sarah.

“Don’t worry, they’re coming with us, and where we’re going, no one will find us,” Giorgio said grimly. He had a feeling he was going to get in the shit with his boss, but he really didn’t have any other options left.

“We’re not going anywhere with you!” Sarah planted her feet firmly on the floor, gripping Mitchell like a life preserver. “You can discuss your paranormal shit with the agency and see if they believe you.”

“And that would be a no.” Pulling on his powers, Giorgio translocated his precious mate and the two mortals to Hades’ waiting room. “I’ve got a situation. Is the master free?” he asked Folsom, who was waiting by the door with a clipboard.

“The mate I can understand, but mortals? Live ones?” The purple and green demon shook his head. “You’re just lucky the master is in a good mood. You’re just in time. He’s just about finished his last batch of sentences for the day.”

“Oh, my gods, what the hell is that?” Sarah shrieked, collapsing in Mitchell’s arms as she pointed in Folsom’s direction.

“Meet Folsom, Lord Hades’ personal assistant. And please, this isn’t hell, although you might wish it was,” Giorgio said with a grin. “Welcome to the Underworld.”

“Am I dead?” Enda whispered.

“No, precious. You’re allowed here as my mate and will always be perfectly safe here. These two, however – well, that’s up to Lord Hades. He’s not going to be happy with me sharing the paranormal secret with people who can’t be trusted, but the one good thing about dealing with an ancient god is that there’s likely nothing that happens in life that they haven’t seen before. Did you fancy a coffee?”

“Hot chocolate might be nice.” Enda clung to his arm, taking in the black walls and Folsom who was listening against the throne room door. “The décor makes a simplistic but very powerful statement, doesn’t it?”

“Lord Hades likes to keep things simple.” Giorgio clicked himself up a chair and sat down, encouraging Enda onto his lap. “Try this and let me know if you need more sugar.” He handed a large travel mug filled with hot chocolate to his mate. “So, Sarah. How are you handling the paranormal rubbish so far?”

“My phone won’t work.” Sarah was stabbing frantically at her screen. “Mitchell, try yours. I can’t get mine to work. Call the agency. Call the damn agency.”

“Good luck with that.” Giorgio smiled at his mate. “How’s the chocolate?”

“Not bad for all the paranormal rubbish that went into making it.” Enda’s smile was ringed with chocolate froth, and Giorgio had a sudden urge to lick it off. Like everything else related to his mating, that was going to have to wait.