Curtis's Dads 23 (11 page)

“You know what?” Sloane asked as he stood from the chair he had been sitting in. “You’re right.”

“Oh hell,” Curtis mumbled as he shook his head.

“What?” Chauncey asked. It sounded like good advice to him.

There would be a door between them. So if D didn’t want to talk, all he had to do was ignore the wolf. Sounded right smart to him. What could go wrong?

“I have to go to work tomorrow. Murphy needs me,” Curtis said as he stabbed at his dinner.

“Hell no!” Chauncey bellowed, slamming the palm of his hand onto the table before he could catch the outburst.

“I’m not a prisoner!” Curtis shot back.

“Calm down, boys,” his pa said as he sat his fork down and steepled his fingers. “I don’t see why your mate can’t go to work.”

Chauncey gaped at his pa as his hands fisted on the table. His pa held his hand up, sitting back in his chair. “He will just have to deal with a few bears hanging around the bookstore.” Curtis opened his mouth and then clamped it shut. Chauncey was really waiting to hear why that wasn’t plausible. He didn’t like his mate out in the public eye, but Curtis would soon rebel if he felt like he was locked away. And then the real fun would begin.

“Okay,” Curtis finally said.

“Good,” Pa said as he nodded. “Chance, Chauncey, and Sloane will be there with you.”

Chance grinned from ear to ear as he sat back. “How many hot college guys are there?” he asked Curtis.

Chauncey growled. “My mate doesn’t know how hot they are. He’s mated. Duh!”

“Mated, not dead.” Chance pointed out to Chauncey before turning back to Curtis. “How many?”

“A lot.” Curtis giggled as he leaned away from Chauncey.

“I want to go,” Alex said from across the table.

“You what!” Gavin shouted and then growled. “Hell, no. No way. Out of the damn question. Unless you want me to kill them all.” 

Alex snorted. “I don’t want to check out the hot college guys. I want a job there.”

Gavin’s jaw dropped. “But your job is to be my mate.” Alex slapped his hands onto his hips, glaring at Gavin. “That’s not a job.
Or is it
?”

Gavin swallowed, shooting Chauncey a menacing glower before turning back to his mate, kissing serious ass. Chauncey chuckled. The small mate may like to prance around his bedroom in pantyhose, but he knew who wore the pants in that relationship. Gavin crumbled every time Alex looked like he was pouting.

“Pussy.” Olsen snickered. The smile fell from his face when his mate, Tater, glared at him. Chauncey knew they could communicate telepathically, and he bet his last dollar Tater was chewing him out.

“Okay, okay,” Olsen said as he held up his hands.

“Now who’s the pussy?” Roman, the youngest brother, laughed.

Steven smacked him on the back of his head as he shook his head.

Chauncey glanced over at his pa to see him smiling. It seemed the mates ran the house here. Chauncey didn’t mind. He’d let Curtis run anything he wanted. It was funny as hell though, seeing the smaller men rule the larger ones.

“You’re all whipped.” Riley growled as he picked up his cup of coffee and took a drink.

“Just wait, son. You’ll find out what it’s like to give your heart to someone,” his pa said.

“Hardly,” Riley scoffed as he pushed his chair back, standing. “My mate will do what I say, and that’s it.”

“I can’t wait to see him fall on his ass,” Roman grumbled.

“Give him a break,” Pa said. “He’s watching all his little brothers mate. It has to be hard on him.”

“What about you, Pa?” Chauncey asked as he pulled Curtis into his lap. “Don’t you want someone to warm your bed?” His pa smiled at Chauncey. There was loneliness in his pa’s eyes that he’d never noticed before. Fuck if Chauncey didn’t feel like shit for asking.

“Dessert?” Steven asked as he jumped up. Roman got to his feet, helping his mate bring the sticky buns and apple pie to the table.

Chauncey’s mouth watered. He reached out to get a sticky bun when Sloane came stomping down the stairs.

“Thanks a lot, Chauncey,” he grumbled as he slammed his palm into the screen door, storming out of the back door of the kitchen.

“What?” Chauncey asked as he took a bite and then fed some to his mate. Curtis opened wide, taking a large bite. “Hey, save some for me,” Chauncey complained.

“There’s plenty to go around,” Steven said and then looked at the men around the table. “On second thought, you better get yours now.”

Curtis swung his hips from side to side as the music played in the background at the bookstore. It was a catchy tune that made him want to dance. He laughed when Chauncey growled at a few guys that were checking out his dancing moves.

For the second time today, Murphy walked over and glared at Chauncey. “Stop scaring my customers. As much as I love my soaps, I don’t want to sit home and watch them.” Curtis grinned when Chauncey growled. His mate was impossible.

He reached across the counter, laying his hand over Chauncey’s massive one. “Calm down, big guy. Your honey bunny isn’t going home with any of them.” His mate grunted, glowering at the college men.

“Where do you want to bury them?” Chance asked as he took a seat next to Chauncey. “’Cause you know I’ll help.”

“I’m in,” Sloane added.

“I don’t think you should be suggesting that to him,” Curtis said to Chance and Sloane as he walked back down the counter to take another order. He liked the attention Chauncey was giving him. He even liked that his mate was showing off his possessive side. What he didn’t like was how many men were flirting with him. Curtis didn’t think himself hunchbacked, but he wasn’t all that.

“Hey, sexy. Can I get a tall latte?” Curtis yelped when Chauncey grabbed the guy by the scruff of his neck. “He’s mine!”

“Yeah, asshole,” Chance chimed in. “What’s the deal with all of you?”

The guy’s eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of his head any moment from shock. “Honestly, I was just trying to make a quick buck.”

Chauncey growled, shaking the man around. “Wrong answer.”

“No. Not like that,” the man squeaked. “Some guy paid us to flirt with Curtis. I would have done it for free, because he’s cute, but—”

“I’d stop while I was ahead if I were you,” Chance warned as he tsked. “My brother has a very nasty temper. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.”

“Yeah, he turns green, and his clothes shred.” Sloane lowered his hand, secretly tapping knuckles with Chance. Curtis rolled his eyes.

The college kid cocked his head as he stared up at Chauncey.

“Honest. I didn’t know he was taken, or I would have
never
done that.”

“Who paid you?” Chauncey asked as he set the guy on his feet. “I want details.”

“He has red hair. His name is Billy. I went to school with him.” Curtis felt his body shake as he glanced from the flirtatious man to his mate. What was so special about him that Billy was stalking him?

Paying guys to flirt with him right in front of his mate? Billy couldn’t possibly know Chauncey was his mate, boyfriend maybe, but not mate. What the fuck was going on? He wasn’t so sure his theory of Billy coming back to finish what he started was even the case, but he was really starting to believe it now. The guy was truly screwed in the head.

“Spread the word. Curtis is taken, and I don’t share.” Chauncey growled as he sat back down.

“You got it,” the guy said as he ran across the coffee shop. He bent low, whispering to all his friends and then pointed to Chauncey.

The group turned, their eyes widening when Chauncey flexed. Curtis stood there witnessing it all. He wasn’t sure what to think. His head was spinning from the news of what was going on. None of it seemed real to him. If the situation weren’t so serious, he would laugh at his mate’s display of barbaric ownership.

The guy walked back over, making Curtis tense as he followed his progress back over to the counter. “Look. I want to apologize. I had no idea. I really don’t care for Billy. He’s always been strange, as far back as I can remember, but I needed the cash. I truly am sorry.”

“If you see him again, will you call this number?” Murphy asked as he pulled out one of Detective Lewis Keating’s business cards.

Curtis could hear the low growls coming from the twins and Sloane.

He knew they wanted to handle this with their own brand of justice, but Curtis was glad Murphy had given the guy the card. He didn’t want Billy’s blood on the Lakelands’ hands or Sloane’s. He didn’t want it on his mate’s hands. As badly as he wanted Billy to pay for what he had done, Curtis didn’t want the guilt on his conscience.

The guy’s eyes widened as he stared at the card and then looked back up at Murphy. “I knew he was no good. I’ll call.” Curtis tried his best to push aside the terrified feeling inside of him as he went back to work. He really hoped they caught Billy soon.

* * * *

Maverick leaned onto the handlebars of his motorcycle as he talked into his Bluetooth. He was parked on the side of the road, his eyes scanning the fields. He had gotten a phone call from one of the farmers. He told Maverick that some strangers had been seen riding up and down the back road.

“I got a lead on Balstic. One of his goons gave him up,” he said to Zeus, the leader of the Eastern pack, as he continued to survey the land. He wasn’t sure who the strangers were, but with everything going on lately, the alpha wasn’t chancing anything.

“Are you sure it’s reliable? The guy could have been blowing smoke up your ass.”

Maverick sighed as he leaned back. “Yeah. There is that possibility. But I don’t want to take a chance and walk away. The guy could have been telling the truth.”

“Then I’m in,” Zeus replied. “Tell me where you want to meet.” Maverick chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “No need. Panahasi will be providing the ride. Balstic is in the demon realm.”

“I really hate using the shadows. Do you ever feel like throwing up when he takes you through?” Zeus asked.

“Every time, but don’t tell him that. The fucker already thinks demons are the superior beings.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Well, I’ll get my oh-so-humble ass ready. Jasper and Toby need to know I’ll be gone for a while.” 

Maverick grinned as he thought about his old pack mate. The redhead had been a blast, and a headache to live with, but there were times when Maverick truly missed Jasper. “How is Red?” Zeus chuckled into the phone. “Don’t let him hear you call him that. You know better than anyone how nasty his temper can be. He’s fine.”

“Tell him any day, me and him,” Maverick teased before disconnecting the call. He glanced around the back roads before starting his bike, heading toward home. Panahasi was going to be there in a few hours. Maverick needed to let his warriors know he would be heading to the demon realm, and he prayed Cecil didn’t find out. His mate loved going there for some strange reason.

* * * *

Chance and Bryce walked through the woods in their bear form.

Chance didn’t care what anyone thought. Billy wasn’t going to live through this. Chauncey was his twin. When one hurt, the other hurt, and when one was happy, so was the other. And when one was pissed, the other one was as well. And Chauncey was downright enraged right now.

Neither of them had Billy’s scent, but they were hoping to luck out and catch the bastard. The two bears walked to the edge of the woods by Billy’s ma’s house. They watched for a while, taking in the place. It looked like a dilapidated house that needed to be bulldozed.

The house was in very poor shape.

Chance and Bryce backed farther into the woods, watching as a car drove down the driveway. Chance wasn’t sure what was going on.

He could have sworn that he had heard that Billy’s ma lived alone, and there was already a beat-up green truck parked in the drive on the side of the house.

Bryce bumped his head into Chance’s flank when he saw the redhead step out of the car. Bryce ran in front of Chance, shaking his head back and forth. Chance couldn’t understand why his brother was stopping him until he saw Billy yank a young man from the passenger side of the car.

“Please, why are you doing this?” the young man cried as Billy yanked him up the front porch steps. Billy’s ma stepped outside, her eyes widening as she took in the scene.

“Billy, no. Not again,” Billy’s ma protested.

Her son ignored her as Billy shoved the guy past the front door.

Chance waited until the mother was inside before bolting for the house, Bryce right behind him. Just then two wolves came barreling out of the woods.

All four shifted.

“What are you doing here?” Hawk, the commander for the timber-wolf warriors asked. Chance knew who the guy was. Hawk had a presence about him that was unmistakable.

“Saving a life,” Chance said as the four walked closer to the house. Hawk reached down, grabbing a small pack from his leg.

Chance stared at the small travel pack. He had never thought of carrying one of those while in his bear form. Of course, his leg was much larger than a wolf’s.

Hawk pulled a cell phone out and hit a few buttons. “He’s at his mother’s home. And he brought another man here against his will.” Hawk hung the phone up and stored the small pack by the back door.

“We wait.”

“Are you fucking insane? He’s in there right now, probably raping that guy!” Chance knew he needed to lower his voice, but the audacity Hawk was presenting was making him grind his teeth.

Hawk glared at him for a moment and then nodded. “But I take down Billy. You save the other man.” Whatever. Chance was going after Billy. There was no doubt about that. The man had shown just how much of a monster he truly was. There was no way Chance was going to let him breathe another intake of air.

Hawk and Kota walked in first. Chance and Bryce followed.

Chance’s chest tightened when he heard the horrific screaming. He spotted Billy’s ma sitting at the table with her hands over her ears.

She didn’t deserve any kindness. Even though she was against what was going on, what her son was doing, she hadn’t tried to stop it. She could have told someone.

“Please, stop him,” she cried as she looked at them. She didn’t even say anything about four strangers, four naked strangers, walking into her home.