Chapter Thirty-One
As soon as Michael was gone, three huge hounds appeared in the room. They just appeared out of thin air, standing right before me.
I yipped and lurched back. But then I caught my breath and jumped to my feet. “You're here!” I threw my arms around the neck of the closest hound.
The other two canines shifted into Gage and Gideon. I glanced at them, grinning, and even spared a second for a quick ogle at their glorious nudity. Then I let Garret go so he could shift, and I went into Gage's arms. From Gage, I went to Gideon, then back to Garret in his man form.
“We've been here the whole time,” Gideon said.
“Watching over you,” Gage added.
“Waiting for that motherfucker to leave you alone long enough for us to get you out of here,” Garret finished. Then he grinned. “They always forget that we can go invisible.”
“I did too!” I cupped his cheek. “You've been here the whole time?”
“Yup.” He grinned at me. “We came back immediately. There was no way we’d leave you here alone. So we've been sleeping here in shifts. We even steal their food and use their bathrooms, but no one notices.”
I laughed and pulled the other two into our hug. “I'm so sorry for ever doubting you.”
“You don't apologize to us,” Gage said sternly. “We're the ones who got enchanted.” He shook his head. “I can't believe a spell like that worked on us. We're supposed to be immune to that kind of shit. It had to be an Olympian's spell. I suspect Apollo convinced Aphrodite to cast it.”
“Whoever created the spell, it didn't last long,” Gideon said. “An hour maybe. And then we realized that we'd been victims of a magical attack. That waitress was one of Silas's slaves. He chose her because of her coloring.”
“She kind of looked like me,” I said.
“Not even close,” Gage growled. “She's nothing compared to you.”
“Correct response,” I said primly, then chuckled. “Now, how do we get out of here?”
“Well, you can't go spectral like us,” Gage said. “But we can guide you out.” He shifted back into his hound body, then went transparent.
“We'll be beside you the whole way,” Garret said.
“Okay,” I said. “Let's go.”
Gideon grinned. “No hesitation. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said immediately and looked at the other two to add, “I love you all. And, just so you know, Jake and I didn't have sex. Michael just said that to hurt you.”
Garret pulled me into his arms. “We wouldn't have held it against you if something had happened.”
“It would have been Michael's fault, not yours,” Gideon added and hugged me from behind.
Gage leaned in against me, then shifted back to get in on the hug. “I love you, Indigo.”
“I love you too, Gage,” I said, knowing that's what he needed to hear. “And I trust you implicitly.”
“We are completing this bond as soon as we get home,” Garret declared.
“Yeah. So, let's fucking get our mate out of this hell hole before that ghost dickhead gets back.” Gage stepped back and shifted again.
Gideon shifted too, but Garret stayed in his man form. When I lifted a brow at him, he said, “I can relay their instructions.”
“Um.” I looked down at his nudity.
“If all goes well, no one will see us.”
“I'll see you. It's a bit distracting.”
Garret grinned. “Good.” Then his eyes twitched. “We've got to move. Gage says the path is clear.” He grabbed my hand and drew me to the door.
A quick peek out, and then Garret was leading me down the hallway, his footsteps silent. He paused halfway to the stairs, then ducked into a room with me. Leaning against the shut door, he winked at me. Footsteps went past. Garret's stare went distant. Then he nodded and led me back into the hallway.
We continued through the house in the same careful manner, but things got dicey on the first floor. There were simply too many people around. The hounds had to take a few down for us to get past. They didn't kill the minions, just rendered them unconscious and then they tossed them in an empty room—the room Garret and I waited in.
Quite a pile of unconscious Host members had formed before we received the all-clear. Then Garret and I sped to the back of the house and out through the kitchen. We didn't stop there but raced across the yard and to the cover of some trees. Two hounds appeared beside us, flanking us as we reached a tall brick wall. The hounds disappeared as Garret picked me up.
“You said that you trust me,” he said.
“Absolutely,” I said.
“Then don't scream, Indie.” With that, he tossed me over the wall.
I bit my lip to keep from shrieking as I sailed over the wall and down the other side. I landed in a pair of brawny arms. Gage. He grinned at me as he set me on my feet. Two hounds appeared. One of them became visible as he ran through the wall. They shifted into Gideon and Garret.
“Move!” Gideon hissed.
We started running for the road. And then we raced up it—three naked men and me. Thank goodness it was a wealthy neighborhood without a lot of traffic. We made it to the truck without being seen. And then I was in the passenger seat, and we were driving hell-bent down the road, the men still naked.
I looked over at Gage and asked, “Erect-gun?”
Gage grinned. “Yup. It will fuck you up.”
It took a minute to sink in, and then I started laughing. I was safe, in love, loved in return, and driving away from a house of horrors with three hot, naked men. The naked men grinned at me, then quickly joined in on the laughter.