Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
F inn
Finn was jerked from sleep, and it took him a moment to figure out the reason why. Whoever it was, they weren’t in the house. He climbed out of bed and stood in the dark room, focusing on where the disturbance had come from.
“What’s wrong?” Ajax asked, voice slurred with sleep as he sat up and flipped on the lamp.
“Someone’s scaled the fence again. Stay here.”
He closed his eyes and let his body fade into vapor, hearing Ajax’s gasp of shock. He looked at the man sitting wide-eyed in the bed as his gaze started darting around since he could no longer see Finn. He probably should have done this in the other room, but he’d grown comfortable with Ajax.
When he spoke, Ajax jumped, gaze still roving the space. “I’ll be right back.”
He zoomed out of the room and flowed under the door. He loved being in this form, which gave him a feeling of being a part of nature. He could solidify enough to knock holes in things, or keep himself nothing more than smoke, which enabled him to get inside any room or thing he wanted. He’d once gone through keyholes in trunks to see if there was anything inside worth stealing. Though that had been in his early years after escaping the worst orphanage. Life on the streets made a person do whatever it took to survive.
The first time he’d felt the change coming over him, he’d been utterly terrified. It had hurt, burning, and his blood rushing fast through his veins. And he’d had no control over it, parts of his body fading in and out. Unfortunately, in front of people.
He’d later had plenty of time to master it once they’d started locking him into rooms.
He rode the air outside, expecting more fans. Some were still gathered outside the gate, their voices carrying on the breeze. Did these people ever sleep? He moved along the fence line slowly, not seeing anyone but his senses on high alert, so he knew someone was there. A dry leaf crunched, and he flowed that direction, spotting a large man crouched behind a tree and peeking around it at the house.
Moonlight shimmered off the surface of metal, and Finn realized he carried a gun.
What the fuck?
Instant fury almost sent him barreling toward the guy to slam through him, but he needed to know what this was about. So he slowed right behind the crouching man, knocked the gun out of his hand, then solidified with his arm wrapping the guy’s throat. He stiffened immediately on a loud gasp.
“What do you plan to do with that gun?” Finn asked, keeping his chokehold on the guy but giving him enough air to speak.
Only he said nothing.
Finn quickly removed his arm, grabbed the man’s biceps and lifted him, slamming him face first into the tree. “I asked what you planned to do with that gun?”
“What do you think, fucker?”
Finn bent his arm up high, making the guy whimper as he pressed him harder against the rough bark. “You planning to hurt whoever is living here?”
“Somebody wants him hurt.” The words were muffled so Finn easily flipped him around, holding him off the ground. He tried to get a punch in, but Finn grabbed his hand and broke two of his fingers.
The man’s yell was so loud, the crowd outside the gate grew quieter.
“Are you saying you were hired to come here?”
“Yes, fuck. My fucking hand!”
“Who?” He tightened his hand on the perp’s throat.
“I don’t know, I swear. It was all done online. Was offered three hundred thousand to kill Ajax Craig, and they gave me this address. I wasn’t told he had protection. What the fuck are you? How are you holding me up like this?”
Someone had paid to have Ajax killed.
This job had just turned more serious. He needed to inform Xavier, but he had to figure out what to do with this guy first. He was human, so he’d best call the cops. He hauled his fist back and let it fly into the man’s face hard enough to knock him out. The body slumped, and Finn let it fall to the ground. He picked up the gun, then slung the guy over his shoulder to carry him to the house.
Ajax was awake and standing in the front room when he walked inside the house. He’d thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a white T-shirt, his hair still mussed from sleeping.
“What happened?”
“You got any enemies?” Finn asked him as he dropped the hired gun onto the floor.
“No.” Ajax’s face paled. “Did he have that gun?”
“Yeah, said he was paid to take you out, so you need to think hard about this. Do you think it could be your ex? He have three hundred thousand lying around?”
“Hell no. He doesn’t have that kind of money, and even as upset as he is, I don’t think he’d do something like this.”
Finn eyed the guy on the floor. “I’ve got zip ties in my bag. I don’t want to let this one out of my sight, so will you go grab them?”
Ajax hurried out of the room and came back with the ties.
Finn trussed the hitman up, leaving him on the floor. “We need to call the cops.”
“Of course.” Ajax was still pale as he fumbled for his phone. “I can’t believe this. And I can’t think of who would hire him, who has that kind of cash.”
“Well, someone does. Call the police and tell them your bodyguard caught an armed intruder. I’m going to call my boss and fill him in. Get another guard out here. With that kind of money, whoever this is will try again.”
Ajax nodded as he put his phone to his ear.
Knowing the guy on the floor couldn’t move now, Finn jogged down the hall to grab his phone and called Xavier. He answered on the second ring as Finn went back to the front room.
“Xavier, I just captured a hired gun. We’re going to need more eyes on this client.”
“That does change things. I’ve got Dax free. I’ll send him out. Human?”
“Yes. Said someone paid him three hundred K to kill Ajax. It was done online, so we’ll need Daniel to start digging around the boards to see if he can find anything.”
“Pretty risky hiring someone online.”
“Pretty stupid.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Ajax is doing that now. When can Dax get here?”
“I’ll call him now.”
“Good. Xavier…” Finn paused and walked out of the room, making sure he was out of Ajax’s earshot. “Just so you know, I’m breaking the rules on this job.”
“I had a feeling you would. Your interest was plain when you watched the videos.”
“This goes beyond interest. I think… I think this man could be special to me. I’ve never broken the rules before—never was even tempted to. But this is something different. Something bigger.”
“I know.”
“You do?” he asked, even though he’d already figured out Xavier pretty much knew already.
“I knew before I sent you. Just as I did with the others.”
Just as he’d thought. Still, shock punched him in the gut. He’d hoped that Ajax was his soulmate, but this pretty much confirmed it. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
A soft laugh came over the line. “Finn, your life is about to change. Embrace it.”
When he got off the phone, Finn walked toward Ajax, who stood dejectedly in the middle of the living room not far from the man on the floor. He stared at him, hands in fists at his sides. Knowing what this man was to him made Finn keep going until he could pull him into his arms. He held him tight, and Ajax wrapped his arms around Finn’s waist. He kept holding him until the cops arrived.
Two policemen came into the house, and Finn identified himself, then told them everything the guy had told him. He gave them the gun, informed them that there would now be two bodyguards on Ajax. There were a lot of questions, but he insisted it was all he knew. The hitman awakened while the cops were there, and he stayed tight-lipped. They finally handcuffed him and led him out to their vehicle. The whole process took over an hour, and by the time they left, Ajax was just kind of standing wide-eyed, obviously in shock.
Finn locked up and led Ajax to his room. “It’s going to be okay. You heard me tell the cops another bodyguard is coming. Between the two of us, nobody will get close to you.”
“I trust you. You caught this guy after all. I’m just… Hell, I don’t know what I’m feeling. Scared. And really fucking angry. For the life of me, I can’t think of who would have done this.”
“Well, someone did. And their intentions failed, so they’ll probably try again.”
Ajax nodded and briefly closed his eyes before he opened them and looked at Finn. “Pretty sure sleep is out for tonight for me.”
“I won’t be going back to bed myself. Got to wait up for Dax.”
“I’ll wait with you. Meet him.” Ajax stepped close and slumped against Finn, who wrapped arms around him tight.
Xavier had just confirmed what Finn had already known in his heart. This rock star, this man someone had just tried to kill, was his soulmate. After being alone for so many years, here was someone to share his life with. Someone more special than anyone Finn could have imagined. He held him close, inhaled that ever-present vanilla scent, and a ferocious rage filled him as he made a solemn vow.
Nothing, no one, was going to hurt his mate.