Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
JAMIE
W hat the hell was happening?
“What?” Sigurd moved to keep pace with him, but Jamie couldn’t stop.
He stormed over to the two men on the ground, searching their slack faces for anything he recognized. “They’re not Marcus. I don’t know who they are. I’ve never seen them before in my life.”
“You’re sure?”
Before Jamie could answer, four motorcycles raced into the parking lot, engines roaring. The first slammed to a stop, and its black-haired rider jumped off and ran straight for Hollis.
Hollis was already moving to meet him. “I’m okay, Derek. I wasn’t even out here when it happened.” He lifted his arms and went into the other’s embrace easily. Jamie thought he saw actual smoke come out of Derek’s nostrils when he breathed out over Hollis’s shoulder.
Sigurd, who hadn’t moved more than a foot away from him, stepped closer. “That’s Derek. He’s Hollis’s mate and leader of the Hellhounds. They work as Council Enforcers.”
Ah . In Chicago, their Enforcers were a mix of all kinds of paranormals. It had been a witch Enforcer who’d recommended he bring his case to the Council when the human police hadn’t been able to help him. He’d known her for years from working at the grocery store.
Derek stepped back from Hollis, cupping his face briefly before his gaze moved to them. He walked toward the group of them standing around the downed men. The closer he got, the more Jamie’s hair stood on end. “Are these the only two?”
“They’re the only ones we saw.” Sigurd pointed at the first one. “That tried to tase me. The other grabbed Jamie.”
Jamie closed the last bit of distance between him and Sigurd. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Derek, exactly, but he’d never met a demon, and Derek’s mere presence had his fight or flight response shouting at him to run.
Sigurd didn’t miss a beat when Jamie nudged against him. He wrapped a steadying arm around Jamie’s shoulders. Grateful, Jamie leaned into the solid warmth of him.
Across from them, Derek shot an apologetic smile his way and took a small step back.
Sigurd pulled him closer. “As you know, there’s a vampire after him. Marcus.” He pointed to the men at their feet. “He’s not here. Jamie doesn’t recognize them.”
Derek frowned, looking down at the men. He took an audible breath in through his nose. “They’re human.” Looking over at one of the other Hellhounds, he said, “Call a wagon. They’ll have to go to the police.” He looked back at Sigurd. “How long until they’re awake?”
“I hit pretty hard.” Sigurd scratched at his beard with the hand not holding Jamie close. “An hour at least.”
Derek looked back over to the others. “Tell the captain I’ll be there within the hour to interrogate them.”
“You got it, boss,” the Hellhound replied and pulled out his phone.
“Thank you.” Sigurd stuck out his hand.
Derek shook it, nodding toward Jamie. “Are you taking him home?”
“Yes.”
Jamie might’ve protested them talking about him when he was standing right there, but his thoughts had narrowed to one relentless litany… How had Marcus found him? He’d barely been there a day.
“Good.” Derek nodded his head back toward the other Hellhounds. “Rook will escort you and sit on your house.”
Sigurd started to say something, but Derke held up his hand.
“Sig, I know your wards will protect him. That you’ll protect him, but I’d like another set of eyes watching for anything suspicious or anyone lurking.”
Sigurd nodded. “Fair enough. I just want to know how that bastard found him or if?—”
“If what?” Jamie found his voice.
Derek narrowed his eyes, tilting his head as he watched Sigurd. “What are you thinking?”
Sigurd seemed to choose his words. “We’ve had a considerable amount of human-on-paranormal violence in the city over the last few months. Do you think this could be unrelated to Jamie?”
Derek took another one of those slow breaths, and Jamie wouldn’t have noticed how Sigurd tensed if he wasn’t pressed against him. He chose to stay silent for the moment, but it felt like Sigurd was hiding something. From Derek’s reaction, Jamie didn’t think he was the only one who thought so.
Derek sighed. “It’s always possible, but HAP has been fairly quiet since we put Riven away. It would be a hell of a coincidence if it was them.”
Alarm bells started ringing in Jamie’s head.
Just like that night in Chicago when he’d known he couldn’t stay in his apartment—that he had to get out right now!
—he knew something was wrong. Which was the strangest feeling because he’d never felt safer than he did in that moment, tucked against Sigurd’s side.
But he had questions. He wouldn’t ask them in front of Derek, but he already knew in his bones that if Sigurd didn’t have answers, he was going to have to run again.
SIGURD
Sigurd was going to need help. He was already planning the phone calls in his head as he ushered Jamie back into the gym.
He needed to grab some things from the office.
Especially if they needed to be locked down at home for the next few days.
If the attack was Marcus, he was confident the Hellhounds would catch him.
In his long years, he’d rarely met someone as tenacious as Derek. If it wasn’t Marcus, though…
He would need to keep two people safe without alerting the second one. It sounded like a nightmare in his head and would be even harder in reality.
So, phone calls. One in particular. He hoped Silva wasn’t on the other side of the planet because he’d like help sooner rather than later.
He’d just shut the door to the office behind them when Jamie whirled on him.
“Look, I know that I don’t know you that well, but you’re gonna tell me what’s going on.”
Stunned, Sigurd stared at him only to deflate a second later with a fond chuckle. Because honestly? There was nothing he wanted more.
Jamie opened his mouth again, probably taking Sigurd’s laugh as patronizing or a refusal, and looked ready to tear into him, but Sigurd cut him off.
“Of course. I’ll tell you everything.“ Sigurd held Jamie‘s gaze. “And I’ll start with the most significant piece. You’re my mate, Jamie.”
For a heartbeat, Jamie only stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open. The first real emotion that settled on his face was disbelief, followed by a scrunched-up forehead, and quickly chased by timid wonder.
“You’re sure?” The words were quiet, barely a whisper.
“Yes.”
“Is that why I feel so safe with you?”
Sigurd couldn’t take the distance between them anymore.
It only took two steps to reach Jamie, who willingly let Sigurd clasp their hands together.
“You’ re safe with me.“ He lifted Jamie’s hands, kissing the back of each.
“And you’re right, too. There is something going on.
Secrets I’ve happily kept for thirty years.
I’ve never wanted to share them as much as I do now. ”
“Because I’m your mate?”
“Because you’re you.”
“How did this even happen?” Confusion painted Jamie’s face again. He let his hands slip from Sigurd’s and took a step back to drop into one of the chairs in front of Sigurd’s desk. “Wait, do you normally even protect people for the council, or did?—”“
“Lenette is how this happened. Now, why Chicago reached out to her for help for you? I can’t say.
But Lenette’s talent is seeing a mate connection between people.
She called me because she saw that we’re mates and knows I’m capable of protecting you.
If we weren’t mates, she probably would’ve put you in one of the Hellhounds’ safe houses. ”
“Huh.” Jamie didn’t say anything else for a moment.
Giving him a chance to process, Sigurd turned the other desk chair to face him and sat down.
Finally, Jamie looked at him again. “What secrets?“