Chapter 40
Strange voices filled his ears as Slate groggily opened his eyes—then promptly closed them as sleep tugged at him.
His brain was foggy; he felt exhausted, like he’d been swimming through miles of mud.
Fighting the dream world calling to him, Slate forced his eyes open again, trying to focus on who was speaking, but it was too dark.
Only sporadic flashes of light illuminated the owners of the voices.
“He’s waking up! Give him another shot!”
“It’ll kill him! We need him!”
“Then give him a smaller dose! Just don’t let him wake up!”
“Fine, but if he croaks, you still owe me the money.”
Slate felt a prick in his arm and his world went dark again.
~/~/~/~/~
Dakota’s eyes popped open and stared at the slice of sunshine coming through the opening in the curtains.
As he relived the horror of last night, tears filled his eyes, Slate was gone, taken by someone who wants Fionn’s hoard.
Whether Slate knew where it was or not, his gut told him Slate would never be released, so unless he could find his mate himself, he would lose the mate who was his world.
He promised Maximus he would always protect his son and now he was helpless—knowing Slate was going to die, never to see his pup.
His failure to keep that promise now darkened his soul as a new panic attack began; Dakota squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to block out the pain.
Kieran had sat next to Dakota’s bed all night, keeping his hand on him so he could rest. When Dakota arrived, he looked lost as he walked in, holding Slate’s phone to his heart and, other than pleading with Logan to save Slate, he didn’t react to anything said to him.
Kieran saw Dakota shut down as he sat on the edge of the bed after letting Ian examine him, followed by a shot to help him sleep.
Returning to the bedroom after using the bathroom, Kieran was greeted by a sour smell signaling Dakota’s panic attack was in full bloom.
Rushing to the bed, Kieran placed his hands on Dakota’s chest, drawing out the fear and hopelessness causing the distress.
He could see Dakota’s breathing even out, hear his heart slow down and feel hope return.
When the transfer was complete, Kieran removed his hands, sitting down on the bed beside Dakota.
As his panic attack faded, Dakota opened his eyes and found himself staring into the vivid blue eyes of Kieran. “What did you do?”
“I stopped your panic attack,” Kieran said.
“But how? I tried, but it was too powerful for me. I couldn’t do it.”
“Love,” Kieran smiled. “I do it by love. How are you feeling this morning?”
“Okay, no…not really,” Dakota said, “but I have to get up and save my mate. He needs me.”
“Good, but how about some breakfast first. By then, Cody and Dylon will be here to help find Slate,” Kieran said, rubbing Dakota’s arm.
“What? Cody’s coming? Who’s watching his pups?” asked Dakota, slightly confused.
“Yes, they are, and the pups will be okay. We need their skills to find Slate. They left yesterday and landed in Scotland this morning so they should be here shortly,” Kieran said, “and I know they will want to talk to you right away so this is the best time to eat.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dakota said. “I’m going to use the bathroom in the meantime.”
“Anything in particular for breakfast or just the usual?” asked Kieran.
“I don’t care, order what you want and I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Dakota said.
“I’ll be right back,” said Kieran.
Dakota struggled out of bed, checked his mate’s phone, then headed for the bathroom.
~/~/~/~/~
His groans echoed off of the cold, damp stone walls.
Every part of his body hurt as Slate regained consciousness.
His head felt heavy as he turned his neck, trying to see where he was but his eyes were still blurry.
Letting his head fall forward, Slate closed his eyes, waiting until he had more strength to move it again.
Time passed. Then the fog in his mind lifted just enough for him to remember what happened at the pub.
When the cop showed up at his table with that bullshit story about their driver, he should have recognized him from the picture Zane sent him, but he was fantasizing about spreading the Bear Bug Ice cream over his mate before licking it off.
With his guard down, it was easy for the other asshole waiting in the parking lot to give him a shot that caused his legs to crumble and, as he pitched forward, was then caught by the ‘cop’ who easily slipped silver handcuffs on him so he couldn’t shift.
The last thing he remembered was another voice telling the ‘cop’ not to kill him—then his world went dark.
Now he was hanging spread-eagled in a cell, silver cuffs around his wrists and ankles, swaying ever so slowly contributing to the intense pain he was feeling.
His thoughts went back to what happened, trying to remember if they’d taken his mate also, but those memories were still elusive.
Dakota! Do they have Dakota too? Raising his head again, relieved that it was easier than before, Slate turned his head from side to side but could see nothing more than stone walls, giving him no information about his mate.
His head fell forward again as exhaustion consumed his body and sleep reclaimed him.
~/~/~/~/~
Cody and Dylon were sitting in Logan’s suite, listening to Groose’s report about what happened since Fionn was attacked. When he finished, Dylon grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and wrote: This room is bugged.
After reading it, Logan said, “How do…” stopping when Dylon held up his hand. Then giving each a pad of paper and pen, he indicated to Groose and Logan they should write instead of talking.
How do you know? Logan wrote.
Too many coincidences. Groose, do you have a detector with you?
Yes, it’s in my room with the rest of my equipment but I swept the room before everyone checked in. It was clear.
Go get it. Someone has placed a bug after that, then.
After Groose left, Logan wrote, How bad was the vision?
Dylon looked at Cody, who nodded. If we don’t get to him quickly, Slate will die. If we can find out who placed the bug, he might also know where they are holding him.
Logan knew Dylon was telling the truth because it was exactly what Kieran and their spirit told him. Do you know Dakota is pregnant with Slate’s pup?
Dylon glanced at Cody then wrote, No but we suspected it. Has Ian seen him?
Yes, and Kieran is staying with Dakota.
Good, he is Dakota’s best chance of surviving if we fail.
We must not fail!
Nodding, Dylon wrote, Who’s been in here other than the group and the enforcers?
Logan thought for a minute, then wrote, Housekeeping and room service staff until Fionn was attacked. After that only room service staff.
Dylon nodded, realizing the whole suite had to be swept for bugs but considering that everyone usually gathered in the living room it made sense to sweep there first. Then he had another thought. Did Dakota and Slate use room service?
I’m not sure. Ask Dakota.
Dylon turned his head as he heard the door open and saw Groose come in with a large black bag which he placed at Dylon’s feet.
Zipping it open, he pulled out a number of devices and cables, setting them on the coffee table.
Dylon picked up the detector and started his search with Groose following him.
Logan watched as Dylon slowly and methodically searched the living room and then pointed at the coffee table, nodding to Groose before going into the dining room.
When the entire suite had been scanned, Dylon’s suspicions were confirmed; two bugs were found in the rooms used by everyone the most. Returning to the living room, Dylon sat down on the couch once again to write. I’m leaving the bugs in place for now so be careful what you say.
Why are you doing that? wrote Logan.
I don’t want whoever is listening to know the bugs have been found. Then Dylon wrote another note, Groose, take the detector and search Dakota and Slate’s suite and then the others.
After receiving a nod, Dylon said, “Where’s the room service menu? I’m starving. What about you babe? Want to order lunch?”
“Great idea. Go ahead and order for me, I’m going in to see Dakota,” said Cody, walking out of the living room and down the short hall until he heard Kieran’s voice.
Giving a quick rap on the door before opening it, Cody stuck his head in and, spying Dakota sitting up in bed, asked softly, “Can I come in?”
Hearing his brother’s voice brought a smile to Dakota’s face. “Absolutely!”
Snagging a chair, Cody brought it over to the bed and sat down after giving his brother a hug. “So…how are you and your pup doing?” he asked.
“Okay, I guess. I’m trying to keep my spirits up because Ian told me it would be good for my pup,” replied Dakota. “Kieran told me you and Dylon are here to help find Slate.”
“Yeah, I owe him because he helped me when Colton was kidnapped in Mexico,” Cody said. “By the way, where’s Colton?”
Kieran answered. “He and Ian are with Miss L and Ian’s parents. But Ian said he’d be back to check on Dakota sometime this morning.”
“How’s Theo and Norm?” asked Cody.
“They’re with Fionn right now in their suite either watching a movie or having a gayfest,” Kieran said smiling.
“You mean a gabfest?” asked Dakota.
Giggling, Kieran said, “Sorta. A gayfest is the gay version of a gabfest, and it’s a lot of fun until you’re mated like Theo and Norm, well, then only one part of a gayfest is off limits, but Fionn doesn’t have a mate so he can talk about sexy men even though Theo and Norm won’t, but they can all talk about sex, food and clothes so Fionn will have to make do with that. ”
Chuckling, Cody said, “I love your explanation; I just didn’t know the discussions I had with Colton and Carson when we were teenagers were called gayfests.”
“Zane and I used to do that also,” Dakota said. “We would each pick five guys we wanted and then list the reasons why each was chosen. Then Zane would enter the information into his computer program and it would spit out a list rating the ten guys in order of sexiness.”
“That’s so cool,” Kieran said. “He should sell the program. I bet he’d make a ton of money on it. I can see it now, Friday night party, guys sitting around talking and then, as it always happens, an argument over who’s the sexiest guy.”
“Babe,” Logan said to Kieran as he walked in to the bedroom. “Ian’s here to check on Dakota.”
“Is there anything new about Slate?” Dakota asked.
“No,” Logan answered, “Groose just finished telling Dylon what happened last night. How are you holding up?”
“Antsy. I feel like I should be out there looking for my mate,” answered Dakota.
Logan sat on the foot of the bed, and said, “I understand how you feel and, after Dylon works up a plan, we’ll have a better idea on how to proceed.”
“Okay, you might as well send Ian in,” said Dakota.
Cody said, “Bro, I’ll come back later.” Giving a kiss and another hug to Dakota, he left.
“Do you want me to stay?” Kieran asked Dakota.
“Please, if you don’t mind.”
“No problemo,” Kieran replied.
“I’ll send Ian in,” Logan said before leaving the bedroom.
Kieran placed his hands on Dakota’s leg and, as they heated up, he drew out the worry and fear he found in him and replaced it with love. When he was finished, Kieran’s hands cooled and he removed them from Dakota.
“Thank you, Kieran,” Dakota whispered.
~/~/~/~/~
When the room service staff arrived with lunch, Dylon sat at the end of the table in the dining room, surreptitiously taking pictures of each person who brought up the food—and one, in particular.
After they left, he sent the photos off to Zane along with a request to compare them to the unknown third man.
He had a strong hunch, but needed to confirm he was correct.
Within ten minutes he knew they had found their man—and the person responsible for the bugs.
Looking at the information Zane sent him, Dylon began planning how they’d take the man down. The last thing he wanted to do was to tip off the men holding Slate that their partner had been captured.
~/~/~/~/~
Slate woke up when the cold water hit his face.
Shaking his head, trying to get wet hair out of his eyes, he could sense there was more than one person in his cell and since neither spoke, he concentrated on footsteps, hoping those would give him an exact number.
He guessed two, probably the two who kidnapped him.
Saying nothing, he waited to find out what they wanted from him.
Suddenly, he heard the crack of a whip followed by searing pain that spread across his back.
Before he could catch his breath, another crack, and then another and another until Slate’s back was covered with razor thin cuts dripping blood.
Unable to stop himself, he cried out at each whiplash, as his tears fell.
The pain was so intense, he was sure he’d pass out if the torture didn’t stop soon.
“Enough!” Approaching Slate, someone grabbed his hair and used it to lift his head. “Where is Fionn’s hoard?”
Fionn’s hoard? Slate couldn’t think past the pain to form an answer.
“Do you need more to loosen your tongue?”
“No more,” Slate whispered. “No more, please.”
“Then tell me where is Fionn’s hoard?”
“I don’t know,” Slate mumbled his back now on fire.
“Give him ten more.”
Frantic at the thought of more pain, Slate cried out, “I’m telling you the truth…I don’t know…I don’t know…I don’t know.”
“He’s telling the truth.”
“Yeah, I know. Let’s go, I gotta call the boss.”
When the man let go of his hair, Slate’s head fell back down; he was too weak to hold it upright. Gasping from his ordeal, he never heard the cell door slam shut, but the air currents it created triggered a fresh wave of pain as they flowed across the bloody cuts on his back.