Authors: Gabrielle Evans
“What about the others? We’re just going to leave them? What if there’s trouble?”
“We’ll figure it out.” Eyce threw a jacket at Echo. “Put that on.”
“You all just told me the same thing in varying ways. This is crap!” Echo stamped his foot like a child and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know they’re just going to follow us, right? Do you really want to face The Collector on foreign ground?” Uncrossing his arms he walked over to Eyce and placed a hand on his elbow. “You can protect me better if we stay. Home field advantage, big guy.”
This finally gave them all pause. Eyce, Syx, and Vapre stopped what they were doing and looked at each other before their eyes fell on Echo in surprise. “Your shock is unflattering,” he grumbled. “It just makes sense.”
“It does.” Vapre sounded so dumbfounded, Echo wanted to smack him.
“Look, I don’t know why you’re so amazed. I may not know battle tactics or whatever, but it just seems like common sense that you’d want to face your enemy on your own turf. I guess neutral ground would be the second best option, but just barely.” The answer seemed so obvious, Echo had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
Eyce nodded once, his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. “Okay. We’ll stay, but we do things my way. From now on, consider yourself under house arrest.”
Echo did roll his eyes then. “Like I ever go anywhere,” he mumbled.
“I mean it, Echo. You’re not to leave the house for any reason without one of us with you. I don’t even think you should wander around inside by yourself.” Eyce’s fingers skimmed along Echo’s cheek. “You can call it overprotective or whatever, but your safety is the only thing I care about right now.”
Though not exactly thrilled about the idea of them shadowing his every step, Echo smiled his understanding. They were only trying to protect him. The least he could do was make their jobs easier. “I promise. I won’t even go tinkle unless you’re there to shake it for me.”
“Mouthy little shit,” Syx said from behind him. “It’s a long shot that someone will make it into the house undetected, but it’s best to be prepared for the worst.”
Looking over his shoulder, Echo graced Syx with his smile. “Relax. I get it. I’m not going to argue.”
“That’ll be a first.”
Echo stuck his tongue out at Vapre, earning him a bright smile and a small chuckle. “I want to know what happened to the others.” Echo returned his eyes to Eyce. “I know something happened, and I’m guessing one or more of them are hurt. Judging by the fact that you wanted to whisk me off to Canada, I’ll bet it also involves the lab.”
Eyce opened his mouth to speak, but Echo cut him off. “I don’t need all the gory details. I just want to know if everyone is okay and where they are now.”
“Myst and Gage were hurt, but they’re okay now.” Echo appreciated Eyce giving it to him straight. “They were headed toward Heavens Peak when I talked to Fiero. That’s really all I know.”
“Thank you.” Echo spoke calmly, but inside he felt the panic bubbling in his chest. “I’m kind of tired after the hike to the lake and back. I’m going to take a nap.”
“I’ll come with you,” Eyce said immediately.
Echo started to argue. He really just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while, but he remembered his promise of just moments before. So, he sighed and dipped his head, holding out a hand for his lover to take. “Fine, but if you snore, I’m kicking your ass to the floor.”
“I don’t snore,” Eyce said indignantly. Then he wrinkled his nose and lifted his eyebrows. “Do I?”
“Like a freakin’ buzz saw,” Syx said without missing a beat. “I honestly don’t know how anyone in the house can sleep through it.”
“Oh, shut up and go make sure everything is locked up tight. Stick together and wake me if you spot anything suspicious. If a freaking squirrel wanders within fifty feet of the house, I want to know about it.”
The mood in the room took a drastic turn from light and playful, to somber and businesslike. “We’re on it.” Echo half-expected Vapre to snap to attention and salute Eyce. He didn’t though, which was kind of disappointing.
“So, are you in charge here since Hex is gone?” Echo asked his lover as they climbed the staircase.
“Yeah. It’s a shit job sometimes, especially with this lot. They all like to pretend that I’m just blowing smoke up their asses. They listen when it’s important, so I guess I can’t ask for more than that.”
“You don’t like being in charge.” It wasn’t a question. He could tell from Eyce’s tone and the tense set of his shoulders that the man hoped Hex returned soon to take over the job.
“No, I really don’t. I’d rather leave that to Hex. Tell me what to do and when to do it, and I’m all over that shit. It leaves little room for mistakes.”
“You big sub, you,” Echo said around a chuckle.
Eyce snorted and shook his head. “Not hardly, but mistakes get people killed. I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”
Biting his lip, Echo remained silent, mulling over his lover’s words as another piece of the puzzle that was Eyce fell into place.
* * * *
“Do we risk calling them? You know Echo has to be going out of his mind.” Fiero spoke quietly to Hex as they pushed through the trees. “It’s been almost two days since we left.”
“You know we can’t risk it.” Hex shook his head then glanced over his shoulder at the men following behind them. “I don’t know if they’d be able to track the GPS signal or not, but I’m not discounting anything. You saw the size of that place.”
Fiero grunted his agreement, but he didn’t have to like it. While part of him just wanted to let his lovers know they were safe and making their way home, another part of him longed to hear Echo’s voice. Even if he could talk to the little man for just a moment, he’d feel better about this entire fucked up situation.
“I miss them, too,” Hex whispered. “I don’t like to make them worry, but we should be home by tomorrow afternoon. Eyce will keep everyone calm until we get there.”
“Do you think they left?” What if they’d done as Fiero had ordered, taken Echo, and fled? He wanted them to be safe, but he also wanted them to be waiting at home when he arrived.
“I think Eyce will do whatever he thinks is best.”
Fiero looked back when he heard a soft grunt. One of Gage’s mates was kneeling on the ground, his face flushed and his eyelids drooping as he panted for breath. “We’re going to have to stop soon. We can’t keep pushing them like this.”
“Do you think we did the right thing?” Myst stepped up beside them as they paused to wait for Gage to attend to his mates. “Maybe we should have tried to rescue all of them.”
“There’s no way we could have pulled it off without getting someone killed.” Fiero chuckled and shook his head. “And I’m pretty sure that would get our little mate’s nose all bent out of shape.”
Onyx laughed along with him. “If these two are half the trouble Echo is, Gage is going to have his hands full. I mean, there are seven of us, and we can barely keep up with one of Echo.”
“Make no mistake of who’s in charge,” Hex mumbled.
“Echo,” they all answered together then burst into quiet laughter.
“How much farther until we make camp for the night?” Gage asked as he trotted over to them. “I’m sorry, I know they’re slowing us down, but Mac says they haven’t eaten in two days.”
Fiero’s chest constricted, and he rubbed a hand over his heart. Just a few short weeks ago that had been Echo. How the man made it all that way, cold, naked, and hungry was beyond him.
“Don’t apologize,” Hex told the guard as he clapped him on the shoulder. “We understand. There’s a stream a few miles west of here. We’ll stop there.”
“Thank you,” Gage mumbled. “I can carry one of them, but even though they’re small, I doubt I can make it that far with both.”
“I’ll carry one.” Fiero didn’t exactly want the burden of more weight, but the quicker they moved, the faster they would make it home. Besides, the little guys looked dead on their feet, and he’d never ask so much from his own mate.
“Thank you,” Gage repeated quietly.
“No worries.” Myst smiled and bumped the man with his shoulder. “We blew up a helicopter for you. That makes us practically family.”
Onyx snorted and reached out to cuff Myst in the back of the head. “You are such an idiot.”
“Whatever, man.” Myst rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. “He’d do the same for our mate.”
“I would.” Gage bobbed his head in agreement. “I don’t know Echo that well, but I did my best to keep all the residents safe. He’s a good kid. I hated the way the other guards treated him.”
“Did any of them ever…” Fiero trailed off, unable to ask the question he desperately needed the answer to.
“Not on my watch.” Gage growled vehemently. “Some of them tried with Sony once. They’ll be sipping their meals through straws for the next six months.” Raking a hand through his hair, he huffed in frustration. “I can’t say for when I was off duty, but he never mentioned anything more than they had tied him up because they thought if they touched him they could gain some of his powers.”
Fiero sighed in relief, but the demon in him still wanted to find these men and rip them to shreds. “That’s what Echo told us as well.”
“Okay, well, I want to get home to a hot meal, a hotter shower, and some good welcome-home lovin’ from my men.” Myst rubbed his hands together greedily then pointed toward the west. “Move out!”
* * * *
The third morning after Fiero’s phone call found Eyce pacing the kitchen, mumbling angrily to himself. He hadn’t heard a word from his lovers since. He didn’t know where they were, what they were doing, if they’d been captured, or if they were even still alive.
No one had come looking for them or Echo. Eyce figured he should be grateful for the fact, but it only served to gnaw at his already frayed nerves. He couldn’t help but feel like they were playing a game, and for some reason, he had the distinct impression they were losing.
To add to his already heavy burden, he still didn’t have a damn clue what to do about the lakes and ponds. Things were only getting worse, too. New reports cropped up left and right about the numerous small lakes and ponds in and around Eureka. They’d sent everyone from scientists to waste management. Several different tests had been conducted, and still, no one could pinpoint a cause.
The entire city was in an uproar, people panicking about the safety of their drinking water. Eyce didn’t blame them. He just wished he knew how to help.
Every night, he’d snuck out after Echo had fallen asleep and made his way through the woods to the little pond just west of their house. He’d sit in the grass near the edge of the pond and stare into the foul water, wracking his brain for some way to fix this.
He’d even been desperate enough to beg for the Oracle’s help. Of course, she only ignored him, leaving him to sit alone and angry in the moonlight night after night.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you don’t stop that.” Echo yawned as he plodded into the kitchen in nothing but a pair of low-slung jeans.
The gods bless him, Echo had held up remarkably well under the strain. Warmth seeped into his heart, spreading out to his limbs and thawing the cold his thoughts had left him with. “Morning, baby.”
“Mmm, if you say so.” Echo rubbed against Eyce, nuzzling his face over his chest. “Have you heard anything?”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Eyce held Echo close and rested his chin on the top of the man’s head. “No,” he whispered. He felt Echo tremble in his arms, and hated that he couldn’t give his mate better news.
“And we can’t call because we might give away their location, right?”