Chance moved into the small bedroom. The air immediately was sucked from the room, leaving no oxygen for Seth to breathe. The guy was an impressive size already, but this close he seemed enormous standing next to Seth.
“There’s a new movie theater in town. It’s small, but we could go there.”
Seth had seen the new building on his side of town. The manager of his apartment building had told him that Maverick Brac was the mayor and was expanding the village. The red brick structure wasn’t as big as the ones in the city, but it was large enough to house four large screens to watch the movies. One of those screens even played 3-D movies. At least that was what the sign outside the movie theater boasted.
Maybe a day out with Oscar and Chance was what Seth needed. He nodded, gazing up into Chance’s eyes. “We can go. You’ll have to check what’s playing and the time.” Seth didn’t own a computer or one of those fancy cell phones that had Internet. Hell, he could barely afford the house phone.
The insurance money from the fire that claimed Oscar’s parents paid Oscar’s medical bills and his physical therapy, and that was about it. The policy hadn’t been much, but Seth hadn’t come here looking to get rich off of his nephew or his deceased sister.
Seth was pulled from thought when Chance lifted his heavy hand, scars littering his thick knuckles, proving that he worked hard. He brushed the side of Seth’s face, a flourishing smile playing across his lips. “You’ll let me know when we can take this a step further, right?”
Seth blinked a few times, trying to clear his head of the magic Chance seemed to be spinning around him. He felt himself nodding as he swallowed around the heartbeat in his throat.
“Good.” Chance ran the tips of his fingers over Seth’s lips, a deep longing in his eyes. Seth glanced away and took a step back.
“Check the movies while I get Oscar ready.” Because if he stayed in this room any longer, Seth wasn’t sure his plan of just staying friends was going to hold firm.
Chance walked out onto the porch, inhaling the fresh morning air. He stretched, his arms arching back as his chest pushed out. His joints made a popping sound as Chance finally exhaled. He took a sip of his coffee as he watched Abe following behind Riley.
Chance’s father ran a ranch, but his pa decided to open their home up to the less fortunate people needing help getting back on their feet or running from an abuser.
Abe was fey. The guy was nice, polite, and a bit strange in Chance’s opinion.
Abe had helped Chance’s other pa, Luke, find Cole when the little tyke had been kidnapped by the fey leader. Cole was Luke’s son, Chance’s brother. The kid was adorable and had wrapped all the Lakeland men around his tiny little finger. There wasn’t anything Chance wouldn’t do for either Cole or Luke.
They were a great addition to his family.
Shanta, the leader of the fey, was one evil bastard. He had tried to profit from Cole’s blood when he had discovered that Cole’s blood was the cure to the lethal paranormal drug Liquid Wrath.
It still set Chance’s teeth on edge to think of how Shanta had wanted to set Cole up like a blood factory and use the babe’s blood to sell to the highest bidder.
But Abe had helped them find not only Cole, but Shanta had taken Curtis as well, Chauncey’s mate.
That had been the wrong move.
Chauncey was Chance’s twin, and his best friend. Not because they were twins, but because they loved getting into trouble together. But since Chauncey had mated, he had his damn balls snipped. The man never really got into trouble anymore. Chance knew his days of getting into trouble were over as well. He had a mate and a son…nephew to look after now. Responsibility made the biggest kid grow up in a heartbeat.
And Chance had been the biggest kid around here, aside from Chauncey. His twin beat him hands down. He was going to miss their hell-raising days, but Chance was looking forward to stepping into his mate and father role. That was if Seth ever let Chance make it to first base.
What exactly was first base anyway?
“You gonna work sometime today or gaze off into la-la land all day?” his pa asked as he walked out onto the porch.
Malcolm Lakeland was the largest man Chance had ever seen. And that was a lot coming from him. But his pa’s sheer size wasn’t what made the man. It was his kindness, his acceptance. His pa had the biggest heart of any man Chance knew, and Chance had nothing but respect and admiration for him—although the guy really did scare the shit out of Chance when he screwed up.
“Just enjoying my coffee before I start,” Chance said as he took another sip of the black brew.
“There’s something different about you, son.” His pa stood there, examining Chance with his eyes, making him feel as though he were being put under a microscope. Chance shifted, leaning to his right, away from his pa.
“You look like you’re gonna kiss me.”
Pa chuckled. “You are maturing.”
“Not the
M
word, Pa,” Chance warned as he walked down the steps to the porch. He’d go gaze off into nothingness somewhere else. His pa really did look all goofy-eyed, and Chance wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
“It looks good on you,” his pa called out as Chance headed toward the barn. If the man wasn’t his pa, and Chance wasn’t afraid he’d be skinned alive, he’d flip the guy off. But Chance wasn’t totally crazy…yet.
He walked into the barn to see Abe hovering around Riley, and a petulant look on Riley’s face. When Abe first came here, he was terrified of the animals on the ranch. He was still terrified of them, but he was also following around the Lakeland men like a lost puppy. Chance didn’t think it was a sexual attraction, but he didn’t know the man too well.
It could be.
Which would suck for Abe because almost all of Chance’s brothers were mated. All accept the oldest, Riley, and one of the triplets, Bryce. Chance kind of felt sorry for the fey as he pushed closer in as Riley showed him how to shoe a horse. Abe was wasting his time on Riley. His brother was aloof, moody, and quiet as hell. A chatterbox like Abe didn’t stand a chance.
No chatterbox stood a chance.
“How’s it going?” Chance asked as he walked further into the barn, finishing off his coffee. Abe looked up, beaming at Chance with straight, white, brilliant teeth.
If Chance hadn’t found his mate…
“Riley is a great teacher,” Abe said as he stared at Riley’s face as if it were the only thing left in the world.
Poor guy.
When reality set in that Riley wasn’t going to give Abe the time of day, the man was going to crash hard. Some people just set themselves up that way, and no amount of arguing from Chance would change Abe’s mind.
“I need help out by the corral, Abe.”
Abe waved Chance off as he once again smiled up at Riley. God, the man had it bad. Last week Abe followed Roman around as if Roman had roped the moon and handed it to him. The only thing that almost got handed to Abe was his ass when Roman’s mate, Steven, had noticed the way Abe was fussing over Roman.
Chance saw the man for what he was, attention denied. Abe acted as if no one had ever paid him any attention in his life and he was desperate for some. Chance just hoped Abe didn’t go after the wrong brother in his quest to get some attention.
That would be bad.
As Chance walked out of the barn, he spotted his pa heading his way.
Damn it.
Guess his morning of doing nothing was over. He paused when he saw the grim look on the man’s face. His pa was good-natured and easygoing. He hardly wore a frown. Malcolm Lakeland could be caught any time of the day with a broad smile on his face.
The scowl was a bit scary. “What’s wrong?”
His pa shook his head. “Sloane’s in jail.”
To say Chance was shocked would be an understatement. He didn’t know Sloane that well, but he knew the man wasn’t a criminal. Hell, he was settled in a new home with his vampire mate, D. What the hell was going on?
“For?”
“Hit-and-run,” Pa said as he closed the distance. “Some witness said he saw Sloane’s truck leaving the scene of the crime. The witness even supplied his license plate number. Maverick is working on freeing Sloane, but we need to go check on D.”
“What do you mean Maverick is working to free Sloane? The police know Maverick. He should have some pull to get Sloane out.”
Pa shook his head, sighing as he turned and headed toward his truck. Chance followed. “Sloane isn’t in jail in Brac Village. He had gone to the city early this morning while D slept to get some things for the house. That’s all I know right now.”
“I know he didn’t do it. Sloane may have his flaws, but running from the scene of an accident isn’t his style,” Chance said as he slid inside the truck. “Maverick would skin him alive if Sloane did something like that.”
Maverick was the alpha of Brac Village. No shifter lived in his territory without getting his permission first. Sloane was the alpha’s cousin. Maverick had wanted Sloane dead when he first showed up here, but things got settled between them, and Sloane was a happy wolf now living with his vampire.
It just didn’t make sense.
“Did Maverick say who the witness was?” Chance asked as they drove over to Sloane and D’s house.
“No. Sloane is yelling for a lawyer and has clamped his lips. Maverick doesn’t know too much, but he told me what was relayed to him,” his pa said.
Chance shook his head. Sloane was getting the shitty end of the stick. The city wasn’t someplace to have your balls hanging out, and Sloane’s were being pulled from his groin.
“Has anyone called Christian? It’s his territory.” Christian was the prince of vampires, and his coven resided in the city. As far as Chance knew, not much went on that Christian didn’t know about. Besides, the man was a vampire. He could charm and dazzle with his eyes, making anyone do anything he wanted them to do.
“Yeah,” Pa answered. “But it’s daytime, and there isn’t a whole lot he can do right now. He called in a lawyer after talking with Maverick, but the cops are giving Christian and the alpha a hard time.”
“Why?” Chance asked.
“Son, some people just don’t like gay men. Sloane may not walk around with pink shirts on or skintight leather pants, but a duck is a duck.”
“Or a wolf,” Chance muttered.
“Or a wolf,” his pa agreed.
They arrived at Sloane’s, and Chance jumped from the truck. He had to make sure D wasn’t going out of his mind. Just because he was a vampire, that didn’t mean he slept when the sun was high in the sky. Hollywood had that all wrong. D could walk around just like anyone else, just not in direct sunlight.
“Knock and then enter. Announce yourself, son, so you don’t scare the hell out of D.”
Chance nodded and did what his pa said. He rapped on the door loudly and then hollered when he entered the house. “D, it’s me, Chance. I’m coming up.”
Chance climbed the steps, his pa close behind. Opening the bedroom door, Chance saw that D was sitting up in bed, yawning. He was naked from the waist up, a black sheet pooling in his lap. Damn, the man had been asleep. Maybe they hadn’t needed to come over here. D could have slept the day away.
D brushed the black hair from his eyes and smiled at Chance. “What brings you here?”
Chance hated to be the one to erase that gorgeous little smile from D’s face. D had lived with them for some time before moving in with his mate. Chance had gotten to know the guy pretty damn well. D was like a little brother to him. A sexy little brother. Just because D was mated and Chance had found his mate, didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the vampire’s beauty.
D was slim, fine-boned, and had a boyish look about him. Innocence came to mind whenever Chance looked at D. The man always tried too hard to please other people, and it usually ended up with D breaking something or pissing someone off.
Not Chance. Chance thought D was comical, especially when the vamp drank coffee. Oh yeah, D could drink the stuff, but the caffeine affected him, turning the vampire into the Energizer Bunny on speed.
“Um…” Chance looked around the room. How was he going to tell D that Sloane was in jail without the little man freaking out?
“Son,” his pa started, “your mate has gotten himself into a pickle.”
Confuse the poor man.
“Pickle?”
“He’s in jail, D,” Chance blurted out.
The smile remained on D’s face, as if he was waiting for the punch line. Chance honestly wished there was one. The smile wavered and then slid from D’s face like a drop of rain sliding down a leaf.
Plunk.
“Please tell me what’s going on with my wolf,” D said as he got to his knees. The sheet fell to the bed, and Chance had to turn his head.
“Get some clothes on, son,” Pa said as he walked over to the dresser. “You’ll feel just a tad better if you’re dressed right now.”
Chance wasn’t too sure about that. D wouldn’t feel better until Sloane was home. He wouldn’t be if he were in D’s shoes.
“You can turn around,” D said.
Chance did.
“Now tell me what’s going on with my mate.”
Chance shifted his weight to his other foot, glancing over at his pa. It wasn’t that Chance was afraid of the vampire, although vampires tended to be strong as hell. Chance had no doubt D could probably lift the bed he was lying in, and it was solid cherrywood. He didn’t want to see D fall apart. Chance didn’t do well around crying. He never knew what to say.
“Someone is accusing your mate of hit-and-run,” Pa said as he moved closer to the bed, sitting down next to D. “But Maverick is calling the prince, arranging a lawyer. I have a feeling he’ll be home before you miss him.”
“I miss him now,” D said as he curled his legs to his body and wrapped his arms around them. “Can you take me to him?”
Pa shook his head. “It’s daylight out. And by nightfall, they won’t let you in to see him. Just hold tight. His lawyer will have him out soon.”
The only thing D was going to hold tight was his legs. Chance could see in the vampire’s dark eyes that he was about to fall apart.
Shit.
“I want my mate,” D said with a steadier voice, his chin held high. “I want to go see Sloane.”
“Now, D. Calm down,” Pa said.
D unfolded his body, shaking his head as he stood. “If you don’t take me, I’ll walk to the city.”
“Why are you being so unreasonable?” Pa asked as he stood, towering over D, his jaw clenched. Chance took a step back. He’d seen that look on his pa’s face before. It never led to anything good.
“What would you do if it was Luke who was sitting in jail? Would you wait for a lawyer to handle things, or would you rush to his rescue?”
“Point taken.” Pa sighed. “But you can’t go until dark. I’m not bending on that rule, D. I won’t risk your safety.”
“Agreed,” D said. His vampire features smoothed, and he sat down, his face unreadable. Chance had never seen D act this way before. Being mated had changed the vampire. It made him stronger, more mature.
Chance was impressed as hell. He thought D would fold and cry. The man was growing some serious gonads to stand up to Malcolm Lakeland. His pa wasn’t anything to sneeze at. But then again, that was what mating did to people. They’d rather die than let anything happen to their mate.
It made Chance think of Seth. Seth and his playful green eyes, silky black hair, and a smile that lit up Chance’s heart. His Seth. What would he do if Seth was in jail? Chance already knew the answer before the question finished forming in his head.
Whatever it took to free the man.
So did he blame D for demanding to be taken to his mate? No. But was it wise to take him? Hell no. Sloane was probably going to be very angry about this. Chance smiled. All the more reason to take D.
“We’ll be back for you at nightfall,” Pa said as they left D to worry the rest of the day away. Maybe the lawyer who was sent in could get Sloane out before D hit the city and did something very stupid to free his mate. Magnum Constantinople, D’s father, lived in the city, and going there wasn’t a wise thing.
Magnum had come after Sloane, wanting him dead for mating his son. Not that the man had cared about D. It had all been about the vampire’s pride and saving face among his people. He not only disowned D, but D’s three brothers as well—who were currently residing at the Lakeland ranch.
Chance knew it was tempting fate for D to get that close to his father. But he also knew that D wouldn’t listen to reason. Even if Chance pointed out that D would be too close to Magnum, and that could have dire consequences.
When scared, in love, and clueless to what was going on, bad things tended to happen. Going in headfirst when riding the waves of emotion would get a person killed. “I’m going with him.”
“I knew you would,” Pa said as he drove them home. “But take someone along. Magnum isn’t someone to take lightly. He may have backed down because the prince ordered him to, but things can be done in the dark, unbeknownst to Christian. Watch your back, son.”
Chance thought of taking Chauncey with him, but his twin didn’t always think clearly in stressful situations. When a person from Curtis’s past reared his ugly head to hurt Chauncey’s mate, his twin was ready to go in for the kill, damn the consequences. It was Chance who killed the man so Chauncey wouldn’t go home to Curtis with blood on his hands.
There was a side to Chance that—although they were twins and shared a lot of things in common—Chauncey didn’t have. Chance didn’t have a problem dealing with killing the man who threatened his twin’s mate. He knew Chauncey would have had a problem with the act. Chauncey may have been bent on revenge at the time, but once the adrenaline rush subsided, Chauncey wouldn’t have had the ability to cope with taking a life. Not in such a cold-blooded way.
After working the ranch for the rest of the day, Chance drove over to Maverick’s house. It was already sundown, the sky turning magenta as he pulled onto the gravel driveway. He had called Maverick and the alpha had agreed to send someone with Chance. But the alpha of the timber wolf pack hadn’t said who he would send, so Chance sat out there waiting for someone to come outside.
After five minutes of waiting, Chance was getting bored. Just as his hand reached the door handle, the front door of the Den swung open. He groaned when he saw the three Santiago brothers stroll outside. Chance would rather take his chances on his own. The Santiago brothers weren’t known for their tact or civility. They would rather torch a place, watching it burn to the ground, than reason.
But going into the city alone to deal with human cops, Magnum, and anything else that went wrong, would be foolish.
They didn’t join Chance in his truck. The brothers straddled their motorcycles, placed their helmets on their heads, and then Tryck, the oldest brother, gave a slight nod.
Chance turned his truck around and headed from the driveway, wondering if this was going to be a quick in and out, or if he was going to be sitting in jail right along with Sloane.
Driving toward D’s, Chance wondered if all of this was worth the price he just might have to pay. He pulled into D’s and Sloane’s driveway, cut the motor, and walked to the front door. Chance knocked and waited. The last of the fading sun burned low in the sky and then disappeared, leaving Chance standing on the front doorstep with nothing but the moon for light.
He knocked again when D didn’t come to the door. Glancing behind him, the Santiago brothers just sat astride their bikes, helmets resting on their thighs, and waited.
Chance checked the door. It was unlocked. He walked inside and hollered. “D, it’s me, Chance. I’ve come to take you to Sloane.”
The silence felt heavy around Chance. He walked up the stairs to the second floor, straight to the vampire’s bedroom. He tried knocking again, but there was no sound, no footsteps, nothing.
Maybe D had fallen back to sleep. Chance cracked the door open. “I’m coming in.”
He pushed the door fully open, staring at an empty bed. Chance grabbed the note on D’s pillow as a growl rumbled in his chest.
D had taken off after Sloane without him.