Demon Warriors 1: Hondo (13 page)

Hondo pulled his cell phone out as he left the club, inhaling the fresh air. “Kane, Diablo thinks he’s hiding out at Cheveyo’s Dollar Deals.”

“Do you need me to join you?”

Hondo could hear the reluctance in Kane’s tone. “How is Snooke?”

“He’ll live. I got him cleaned up, and he’s still out cold. I don’t want to leave the guy right now.”

Hondo grinned at the protective way Kane was handling Snooke.

“I have this. It should be a piece of cake.”

“Call me if you need me.” Kane hung up. Hondo cut through the city streets until he reached the dollar store. He glanced around the street before entering the store. Hondo hoped to find Cheveyo behind the counter, but it was just one of his employees flipping through a magazine, looking bored as hell.

Walking toward the back, Hondo pretended to stop and look at the imitation colognes. His eyes checked the aisle to make sure no one was looking before he slipped into the back. He found himself in a small hallway. One door was marked RESTROOM. That wouldn’t be it.

Hondo quietly opened another door, peeking in to see an office.

He slipped in and searched around, coming up empty. Hondo did a quick head check out the door before reentering the hallway. There was one more room at the end of the hall. Hondo tried to open it, but the door was locked. Looking over his shoulder, Hondo walked into the restroom and closed the door.

“Just great.” He couldn’t turn off the light to use the shadows because the damn bathroom had one of those sensor lights. He didn’t see a switch, so Hondo slipped out and went across the hall to the office.

Once he doused the lights, he used the dark interior to walk into the back room. He stayed in the shadows, keeping himself concealed as his eyes scanned the back room. There was a small table with takeout sitting on it. It had obviously been eaten. The lids were popped open, and a pair of chopsticks was sticking out of one of the white containers. A few crates sat to one side, and a small cot was against the farthest wall.

A lump moved around on the cot, turning over to reveal it was a vampire fast asleep. His fangs covered the bottom lip. Hondo had never seen a vampire with an overbite before. It was kind of comical.

The reporter was fairly new to the realm, and this was Hondo’s first glance at him.

Hondo’s muscles froze when the vampire’s eyes popped open and stared directly at him. No use hiding now.

“Are you Sexton?” Hondo asked as he stepped forward into the dimly lit room.

“Who wants to know?” the vamp asked gruffly as he sat up. “I’m not telling Marino Malone a damn thing.” Now they were getting somewhere. Hondo decided to play along.

“You know what will happen if you don’t.” Just asking the guy who this Marino character was wouldn’t get him any answers. But if the vamp thought otherwise, who was he to correct him?

“I don’t care if you kill me. I won’t betray the citizens of Serenity City’s trust.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you know, and I may say that I didn’t find you.” Hondo spun one of the seats around and straddled it, putting on his best menacing face. He had no problem looking evil and terrifying, but he didn’t want to overplay the part.

“You tell that no good son of a bitch to figure it out on his own.” Sexton wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, giving Hondo a defiant glare.

Figure out what? Hondo was becoming agitated. There were too many puzzles to solve lately, and he was getting tired of the riddles.

“Why can’t you tell me? I could bargain with Marino if I knew what I was bargaining.”

The vampire’s eyes narrowed as he tossed the blanket aside and stood. “Who the fuck are you?”

Hondo stood and matched his angry growl. “Someone who is trying to get to the bottom of this shit.” With a slow and menacing smile, the vampire crossed his arms over his chest and looked Hondo right in his eyes. “You’re a Demon Warrior.”

Well, the jig was up. No use pretending now. “Who is Marino Malone, and what does he want from you?” Hondo let his hands ignite, tired of playing these games with everyone today.

“I can’t tell you. It’s bad enough he’s looking for me now. But if I tell you, he’ll make sure I die painfully.” The vampire sat back down and grabbed his blanket, once again wrapping it around his shoulders.

Hondo banked the flames, seeing that it wasn’t an effective threat against Sexton. “Panahasi is trying to figure everything out. Why don’t you tell me, and I’ll make sure you’re protected.”

“No way, I don’t think even Panahasi himself can help me.” The vampire rolled over and gave Hondo his back.

What kind of shit was the vamp into that he didn’t even think the leader of the warriors could help? It was true that no one knew the extent of the Egyptian warrior’s powers, but it was widely known that no one wanted to piss the demon off.

Hondo faded from the back room.

* * * *

Chris waved goodbye to Trenton as he clocked out and headed for the back door. He lifted the lid and tossed some boxes in the dumpster. He and Hondo were hosting a backyard barbeque tonight.

All the warriors were bringing something with them as a side dish.

It was something they did once a month. He thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent together as friends. Chris was feeling excited. This time he wanted to find Snooke to invite him.

This would be the perfect opportunity for him and Kane to talk and see if they could hit it off. They would make such a nice couple.

Kane with his ruggedly handsome good looks and Snooke with his small bones and medium height, they complemented each other. It surprised Chris that Snooke had felt like a brick wall when he collided with him on their first meeting. The man didn’t look that solid.

One thing he could say about his friend, Snooke always looked pristine and nicely groomed whenever Chris saw him.

“So you’re his little boy toy?”

Chris swung around to see the waiter from the Pancake House.

What was he doing back here? “What are you talking about?” He could tell the man was a shifter from the canines emerging from his gums.

“I’m talking about Hondo. I’m not going to beat around the bush, I want him.” The waiter moved closer, his eyes shifting to his wolf as the shifter circled around Chris.

“He’s my mate,” Chris informed the man. He knew this jerk was trouble from the start. And now he tracked Chris down to confront him? That was ballsy.

“Liar. There is no way fate mated the two of you. You’re not good enough to lick his balls.”

Chris squared his shoulders. He could take on this man. After all, he helped take Gammy down. If he could beat Gammy and apprehend him, then this shifter was a joke. There was no way this shifter could beat him if he caught and arrested Gammy all on his own. “Bring it on, dog.”

The shifter growled and swiped his hand at Chris’s face, his large claws extended. Chris used his speed to dodge the sharp claws. This was too easy. He jumped around, boxing the air in front of him.

“You little shit.” The waiter caught Chris off guard, punching the side of his head and making Chris see stars. He tried to shake it off, but the were-creature was an excellent fighter.

Chris realized too late that he was in over his head.

Hondo fired up the grill, sipping a cold beer as he watched the charcoals burn. He loved that he could use his hand to ignite the flame.

“I love these get-togethers.” Rainerio slapped Hondo on his shoulder. “The smell of mesquite always makes me hungry.” Kane set up the stereo and tossed a CD in, adding to the ambiance.

Wayland brought the plate of meat out and sat it on the table.

“Where’s Chris?” Snooke asked as he brought a big bowl of potato salad out and sat it on the checkered cloth. Hondo saw that Snooke’s bruises were healing nicely. He told them that the punks at the courts were trying to rob him. Thank goodness he and Kane had come out in time.

“He should be on his way home.” Hondo checked his watch and wondered where his mate was. It wasn’t like Chris to be late, especially for their monthly barbeque. Maybe Jake was teaching him something about a new machine again?

Hondo pulled his phone out and tried to dial Chris’s cell phone.

When it went to voice mail, he hung up and tried the coffeehouse.

“Jake’s Java.”

“Hey, Jake, it’s Hondo. Is Chris still there?” Hondo bit his bottom lip as he stared around the backyard at all his friends laughing and having a good time. He was really beginning to worry.

“He left a while ago. Going on and on about the barbeque.” Hondo’s heart began to race out of control.

He frowned at Jake’s news. Where could his mate have gone?

Chris would have called if he were stopping off anywhere between work and home. Hondo walked away from the grill as he hung up the phone. His steps quickened as he reached the house. “Kane, I need your help.”

“Sure. What’s up?” Kane asked as he dipped a large spoon into the bowl of pudding and opened his mouth wide. Usually Hondo would have had something to say about that, but right now he had more pressing matters.

“Chris left work a while ago, and he isn’t home yet.” When Kane dropped the spoon into the sink and started following Hondo, he knew his friend picked up on the significance of the situation.

“I’ll gather everyone.” Kane jogged to the back door and was out of the house in seconds. Hondo paced the kitchen, trying his best to think of where his mate could be. Maybe he stopped at the grocery store to pick up some last minute items he thought they would need.

But he still would have called.

Chris rarely had his phone off.

“Where do you want to start looking?” Takeo asked as he entered the kitchen.

Hondo shook his head as he looked up at the warrior. “I haven’t a clue.” He thought of the elf’s advice and wondered if someone Chris knew had harmed him. Hondo began to ignite at the thought of his mate out there somewhere hurt…or worse. “I want him found.”

“Let’s go.” The warriors along with Snooke went back into the backyard. All but Hondo and Kane disappeared into the shadows. He knew Kane didn’t want to leave Snooke behind at a time like this.

“Why don’t you and Snooke stay here just in case Chris comes back?” Hondo suggested when he saw the torn look on Kane’s face.

He knew the warrior wanted to be out there helping, for Chris was his friend as well, but Kane wanted to protect Snooke. He could see it in his eyes. Giving him a way out helped to ease his friend’s strained face.

“Thanks.”

Hondo shut the front door behind him and stood on Chris’s porch, wondering where to begin looking.

From the beginning.

Hondo walked to the back of the house and into a shadow, emerging on the side of Jake’s Java. He walked into the coffee shop and looked around.

“Hey, Hondo. What are you doing here?” Trenton asked as he handed a customer a cup of coffee and a snack.

“Have you seen Chris?”

“I thought he went home for the barbeque he couldn’t stop talking all day about.” Trenton looked at Hondo with concern.

“He never made it. Did he say anything to you? Think carefully.

Anything about stopping somewhere on his way home?” Trenton shook his head. “No. He clocked out and grabbed some boxes to take them out to the dumpster. That’s the last time I saw him.”

Hondo shot out of the back door, scanning the area for his mate.

An animalistic cry left his lips when he saw his mate crumpled on the ground, barely recognizable. Hondo ran to him, dropping to his knees as he turned Chris to his back.

He had four long gash marks across his face along with a large bruise on the side of his head. His shirt was torn with the same markings as well as his thigh.

A fucking shifter.

With unsteady hands, Hondo pulled his cell phone out and called Phoenyx. “Chris has been hurt. I need you behind Jake’s Java.” Hondo laid his phone down as he picked Chris up and cradled him.

Hondo had to concentrate not to ignite with the rage that filled him. He wanted to know who had done this to Chris. The shifter was going to pay for this.

“Lay him down,” Phoenyx softly commanded.

He laid Chris down gently, his eyes going to the large gash on Chris’s beautiful face. “Make him better.” Hondo’s voice broke as he moved aside. Phoenyx knelt over Chris and let a tear slid down his face. Hondo watched as the tear dangled from the warrior’s chin for a moment and then dropped onto Chris’s open wound gashed across his face.

Hondo waited impatiently as the healing began. The wound slowly began to close, the sides mending together and then puckering up into an angry scar. Hondo wanted to turn his mate over to check his back and upper thigh, but was too frightened to move Chris. “He’s healing all over, right?”

Phoenyx glanced over at Hondo and nodded. “You’ve seen me do this a hundred times. I guess, with it being Chris, you’re worried.” Of course he was. He knew Phoenyx could heal someone even if they were on their death bed. As long as the person had one last breath in them, Phoenyx could bring them back. But the warrior was correct. This was Chris they were dealing with.

Hondo watched as Chris’s eyes began to flutter and then open.

They were unfocused as a slow buildup from a whimper to an all-out hysterical scream exploded from his slim chest. Chris began to flail around, fighting Hondo’s hold as he screamed.

“Chris, it’s me, Hondo. I have you, baby.” Hondo pulled Chris from the ground and pulled him into his arms. He rocked his mate back and forth as Chris’s screams began to die down.

“Do you remember who did this?” Phoenyx asked from beside Hondo.

“He tried to kill me,” Chris wailed. “He tried to kill me,” he repeated, his hands fisting at his chest.

“Who, baby?” Hondo asked as he tucked a piece of hair behind Chris’s ear.

“The waiter from the Pancake House.” Chris closed his eyes and turned into Hondo’s chest, burying his face as his body shook.

“The one you said was flirting with me?” Hondo asked incredulously.

Chris nodded his head. Hondo let his head fall back, allowing the fire to escape his mouth as a way of releasing the pure hate flowing through his veins. Hondo stood, carrying Chris around the side of the building and into the shadow, coming out in Chris’s backyard.