7. Cal
CHAPTER 7
CAL
Steve had plans with his husband for later in the morning, so my proposed Sunday brunch had turned into a 9am breakfast.
“Babe” by Styx kept me company as I made the short trip to the diner. I was hoping it would calm my scattered thoughts, but even Dennis DeYoung’s satiny tones couldn’t achieve that feat.
I found a decent parking spot on one side of the diner between two sedans. Felix had requested we eat here because he loved their chilaquiles, which he always ordered with a side of French toast.
I’d be lucky if I could eat plain toast today.
I shut the truck off and picked up my phone from beside me on the bench seat. I wrinkled my nose at the coffee cup and bakery bag still on the passenger side floor. Not to mention the trash debris from the park cleanup was still in the truck bed. The car wash was a must after breakfast.
I was early, and the parking lot didn’t look very full, so maybe I could grab us a table. I got out and locked the truck, but before I could head for the diner, an SUV pulled up behind me.
A thin man with short dark hair jumped out of the passenger side. “Cal!” he said. “Wait!” He held up a hand as if to get me to stop.
I stepped back against the truck. The driver of the SUV got out as well and started to jog around the car next to mine. He was stockier, with glasses and a mane of frizzy coils framing a broad, grinning face.
The first man came toward me, hand outstretched, walking along the narrow gap between my truck and the sedan parked beside it. He said, “We just need to talk to you for a minute. That’s all, I promise.”
I tracked the other man, who was obviously planning to cut me off on the sidewalk at the front of my truck. Whatever this was, I didn’t want any part of it.
I lunged toward the sidewalk, trying to get out of the gap between the cars before the second guy could box me in.
I almost made it, but as I reached the curb, Guy #2 stepped in my path. I wasn’t a fighter, but I’d run into my share of bullies during my school years. This asshole was smaller than me, so I barreled into him, slightly off-center, which knocked him to the ground.
I kept moving, but my tackle of Guy #2 slowed me enough that Guy #1 was able to grab my arm. I spun around, jerking my arm out of his grasp before dancing back to make sure I was out of reach. I had a clear path to the front door of the diner, so I could run for witnesses if I needed them.
“Who the fuck are you?” I shouted.
Guy #1 glanced at Guy #2, who was picking himself up off the sidewalk. He said, “I’m Shane, and this is Ellis. We didn’t mean to come off like creepers. We only need a minute of your time.”
Ellis dusted off the seat of his jeans. He nodded. “I’m sorry we scared you. That wasn’t our intention.” He gestured at the diner. “Can we buy you a cup of coffee?”
I scowled at them. “No. What do you want?” Adrenaline was coursing through my body, and I was having a hard time not bouncing on my toes like a boxer waiting to start a fight.
Shane and Ellis exchanged another glance, then looked at me, then looked at each other again.
I said, “Well?” Maybe I should go inside the diner.
Ellis cleared his throat. “Sorry, uh, we really don’t have a manual for this.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “Is this about the fucking game?”
They both stilled. “The game?” Shane asked.
“Yes or no?” I snarled. Neither of them had a second self, but apparently it wasn’t a requirement to play.
Shane rubbed the side of his jaw. “Um, we just need to hold your hand for, like, fifteen seconds.”
I stared at him. Something tickled the back of my mind, but I shook it off. Ellis was nodding.
“Why?” I asked them.
They glanced at each other again. Ellis shrugged. “To see if we resonate with you.”
What the ever-loving fuck?
“And what will happen if you resonate with me? ”
Another exchanged glance. Shit, couldn’t these guys talk without consulting each other?
Shane said slowly, “We would want to connect with you, then ultimately bond permanently, which would enhance both of our abilities.”
I took a step back. I’d read some of those bear shifter books. “And exactly how does this connecting and bonding happen?”
Shane flushed. Ellis’ complexion wasn’t as revealing, but he seemed damn uncomfortable.
“Right. No. No way, no how. And whatever this fucking game is, you can count me out. I’m an NPC, or whatever makes me not a player. I do not consent.” I pointed a finger at them. “Tell the DM to leave me the hell alone!”
I kept glancing over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t followed until I made it around the corner to the front door of the diner. I was sweating, and my hand shook as I grasped the door handle.
“Hey, Cal!”
My brain recognized Felix’s voice, but not until after I spun around and raised my fists.
“Whoa!” He stopped in his tracks and put his hands up in surrender.
“Fuck, sorry.” I rubbed my face. I scanned the parking lot. “Let’s go inside.” I opened the door, the rush of warm air and the smell of syrup and pancakes relaxing me slightly. I felt immeasurably better after the door shut behind us. Shane and Ellis couldn’t sneak up on me now.
Felix side-eyed me. “You okay?”
I made a little choking laugh. “No, not really. ”
Cautiously he put his hand on my back. “Let’s get some carbs in you, then you can tell me and Steve all about it.”
A server breezed by and said, “Sit anywhere you like, I’ll bring you some menus!”
Felix pressed his hand against my spine and urged me forward. I’d barely taken a step when the diner’s front door opened again.
I turned quickly, elbowing Felix to get him behind me.
But it was just Steve.
“Okay,” Felix said, sticking his head around my arm. “We’re sitting down, and you’re going to tell us what’s going on.” He shook his head at Steve’s confused face, then he grabbed my left bicep, turned me in a half-circle, and pushed me toward an open booth in the back.
I told them—in a very low voice—everything that had happened since Felix had given me Delphia’s phone number, interrupted every so often by the server bringing us food and coffee. I ended by describing how Shane and Ellis had accosted me outside the diner.
When I was done I sipped my water—I did not need caffeine after what had happened outside—and waited for their reactions. Felix had his elbows on the table, his face cupped in his hands, and slowly blinked at me. “Wow.”
Steve, wide-eyed, laced his fingers on top of his head. “Holy Mj?lnir!”
Both Felix and Steve were longtime readers of science fiction and fantasy, not to mention gay erotica, so they didn’t ask me if I had possibly ingested or smoked any hallucinogens.
“I don’t understand this game,” Steve said, dropping his hands to the table. “The shifters have obviously been keeping themselves secret all along, so what’s with making a game out of it? And these other guys, who aren’t shifters, they want you to sleep with them to give them power? Do you think that’ll turn them into shifters?”
Felix sucked in a breath. “Greg has to know about this. Right? Because everything started when you talked to his mom.”
I nodded. “The bird-women knew who I was, and I’m pretty sure the bear shifter did too. Delphia had to have told them.” I ran my thumb over my water glass and looked up. “I’m going to call the pet resort to see when Greg is working next. Then I’ll confront him.”
Steve scrunched up his forehead. “Do you think that’s safe? What if he tries to grab you like those other guys?”
Felix made a whining noise. “I hate worrying about that. I like Greg. He and Malcolm have been friends forever, and he’s been nothing but friendly since Malcolm and I started dating.” His eyes went wide, and he sat up in his seat. “Oh, crap! Greg is one of Malcolm’s groomsmen! And you two are mine!”
I grimaced. “Even more reason for me to hash this out with him now.”
Felix put his hands on his cheeks again. “How will I keep this from Malcolm? I can’t tell him; he had a hard enough time accepting your visions were real, Cal. This would be way too much for him.”
Steve made a face. “Yeah, I’m not telling Baz any of this either. But he’ll know something’s up with me.”
I blew out a breath. “Tell them you’re worried because I’ve been having some disturbing visions. It’s the truth.”
My vision of the man vanishing had happened before I’d talked to Delphia, so I’d forgotten to include it in my story earlier. Quickly I recounted the awful vision I’d had and how Ranger Ramirez had said they’d found a duffel bag right where I’d told them it would be.
Steve shivered. “That’s scary. Yeah, I won’t have any trouble blaming my distraction on that vision.”
I grimaced. “Sorry.”
He waved this away. “We’re here for you, whether you’re having visions or talking to bird shifters.” He glanced at his phone. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go pick Baz up.” He hesitated. “Cal, do you want us to follow you back to your apartment in case those guys are there?”
Crap, I hadn’t thought of that. “Nah, there are usually other tenants around. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. But take the day off work tomorrow, okay? Kurt can handle things.” He grinned. “It’ll be good practice for him.”
“Okay.” I was still rattled from my altercation with Shane and Ellis, so I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go confront Greg Shaw until the next day.
We stood up. I left some cash for the tip and grabbed the check to take to the checkout counter.
“Thanks, guys,” I said. “I feel a lot better just having you listen and not tell me I’m imagining it all.”
They hugged me.
Felix said, “You were there for us when we had our crazy times. It’s only fair we do the same for you.”
Steve grinned. “But you owe us big, because your crazy time is exponentially crazier than ours ever were.”