Chapter Five #3
He’d be able to shimmer them around, maybe not in and around town since the shield prevented that, but within the town if they stayed inside the shield, and back home once they were out of it. He’d also be able to heal anyone who got hurt, although Tex wasn’t planning on allowing that to happen.
He wanted out of this place. It was Nymon’s home, but even though it was a gorgeous place, Tex didn’t like it.
It felt like a prison that his mate had been stuck in for too long.
Keeping everyone in and the world out wasn’t fair, and eventually, the demons would realize that.
If Tex had to guess, they’d find out when demons started leaving.
Several had already, and he was sure more would leave after Nymon.
“Give us ten minutes,” Orlando said. “From what Gregory said, we should be able to shimmer to the shield, then to you once we’re inside.”
“I didn’t talk to the demons he talked to, but I’m sure that he got his information from them, and they should know.”
“Stay where you are, and don’t get into trouble.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Tex said with a smile. “I’m at my mate’s house. I’m trying to keep him out of this, so I’d be grateful if you could hurry. I don’t want him to notice I’m gone.”
“Oh, you’re going to be in trouble if you sneak out right after bonding with him. I’m so glad I’ll be there to see it happen.”
Tex huffed. “Just hurry.”
He could still hear Nymon and Kael talking upstairs when he hung up.
He quietly slipped out the back door and onto the porch.
He was too exposed there, so he walked down the steps and went to sit in the greenhouse.
He’d have to get one built for Nymon once they found a home.
He didn’t have a lot of space in his apartment, and he wanted Nymon to have a yard.
But first, they had to get out of here.
Luckily, Orlando hadn’t been lying. He got there just ten minutes later, along with Seymour and Ridge. They all looked a little green, especially Ridge, but he perked up as he looked around.
“Man, I was curious about this town, and I’m not disappointed,” he said.
“You’re not going to be disappointed when you meet demons, either. We need to finish this first, though,” Tex said.
“Gregory said that you were taking the lead,” Orlando said. “He also said that since we’re a team, it’s official. He’s sanctioning us to do this for the council.”
Tex was surprised. He’d thought the council would want to wait for more proof.
At the same time, it made sense that they didn’t want this to continue any longer.
People were getting hurt. The council’s job was to protect supernatural beings, but it also protected humans when they had to.
The demons here had hurt both humans and supernatural beings, and they needed to pay.
Clearly, the council had decided to do that without bringing in any other authorities.
As little as Tex liked it, he understood why.
He doubted that the demons in charge of the village would have given the council any help even if they’d asked.
They were supposed to, but there was a very big difference between what they were supposed to do and what they would actually be willing to do.
The council wouldn’t want to start a war with demons.
They were doing this the sneaky way because of that.
“What do we do, then?” Ridge said as he clapped his hands together.
“I got some information from Gregory,” Tex said. “Even though I gave his analysts just a few details, she was somehow able to find an address. Apparently, the operation is based out of this place. We need to find the people who own the place and neutralize them.”
Seymour blinked. “What does neutralizing them mean? Because there’s a reason I didn’t become a council assassin.”
“Gregory said to tie everyone up and shimmer them to the shield, then drag them out.”
Ridge groaned. “That’s going to be a lot of work. How many people are we talking about here?”
“And isn’t that kidnapping? This is these people’s home. We’re going to take them without warning anyone?” Seymour asked.
“It’s either that or kill them,” Tex said plainly. “Which isn’t something I want to do. Besides, Gregory wants to interrogate these people. The network might be wider than we think, and it might extend to other towns. We need to know for sure.”
“Are we waiting for someone else?” Ridge asked. “Or is your mate going to help us?”
“My mate doesn’t need to know about any of this. He’s staying out of it.” Tex looked at his three friends, making sure they understood what he was saying. Seymour and Orlando looked amused, while Ridge looked confused.
“But he could help,” Ridge said.
“He’s not going anywhere near those people. I don’t want him to get hurt.”
“So what do we do, then? Are you just going to sneak away?”
“I am, which is why we need to leave now.”
“Or it’s why you need to stop and tell me what the fuck you’re doing,” a voice said from inside the kitchen.
Tex groaned. It was too late for him to sneak out. “I thought your chat with Kael would take longer,” he said as he turned.
The kitchen door opened, and Nymon stepped out. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “Yes, I noticed. Did you really think you were going to be able to sneak away without me noticing you were gone?”
“I was hoping I could.”
“Well, you hoped wrong.” And from Nymon’s tone, he wasn’t happy about that.
* * * *
NYMON WAS PISSED. HE understood why Tex had been trying to sneak out. That didn’t mean he had to like it. In fact, he very much disliked it.
Tex had been about to put himself in danger without letting Nymon know what was going on. Nymon understood that he wasn’t a fighter and didn’t know much about Tex and what he could do, but they were mates. They were supposed to do these things together, weren’t they? Or had he misunderstood?
He swallowed and looked at Tex and the people gathered around him, who were looking back at him with curiosity. The blond Nix looked apologetic, while one of the other guys appeared so interested that Nymon was surprised he hadn’t whipped out some popcorn.
Nymon wanted to know who these people were.
He wanted to know how they’d gotten to Starhaven and why his mate had called them.
He’d known that he barely knew Tex, and they had time to get to know each other, but this was reinforcing that knowledge.
How was he supposed to get to know his mate if said mate was hiding things from him?
Tex had been doing that since the beginning, and while it was understandable, Nymon had hoped he wouldn’t continue.
“Hi,” the third man said, stepping closer. “My name’s Orlando. I’m a friend of Tex’s.”
Which meant that he would be in Nymon’s life. Nymon was curious, but right now, he wanted an explanation from Tex. He really hoped Orlando wouldn’t get offended. “Hi,” he said curtly before turning back to his mate. “Were you really going to sneak out?”
Tex sighed. “I was,” he confirmed. “I didn’t want to lie to you, but this could be dangerous. I don’t want to put you in danger, and something tells me that now that you know, you’re going to insist on coming along.”
“I know the town. I know the people who live here. I could help.”
Nymon didn’t want to fight, so when Tex reached for him, he went easily. Tex kissed his forehead. He didn’t seem to care that he was doing so in front of his friends. Nymon certainly didn’t, even though he could feel Kael watching him from inside the house.
That was another mess. Kael had promised he wouldn’t tell anyone about what had happened today, and Nymon was sure that he wouldn’t do so on purpose, but he was worried.
He also didn’t like asking his best friend to lie to people.
Even more than that, he didn’t like the thought of leaving his best friend behind.
Kael had been in his life since they were children.
They’d seen each other every day for years.
As much as Nymon wanted to leave, he wished he could take Kael with him.
Tex took a step back, but he didn’t go far, and he didn’t let go of Nymon.
“I told you that I work for the council,” he said.
“I was trained to be part of a special team. That means extra training and everything. I eventually decided that it wouldn’t be the right fit, and I found another job within the council, but I only stopped training like that a few months ago.
I know how to defend myself. I know how to protect people. ”
Nymon sighed. “And you were trying to protect me.”
“I always will.”
“Because I’m your mate.”
“Mostly, yes, but I would protect anyone who needed it. I understand wanting to be part of this. You might even be right that having you with us would help. I don’t want to risk you, though. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
“Something doesn’t have to happen to me.
I’m not saying I’m going to run into danger or anything like that.
Since you’ve been trained, you can order me around, and I’ll do what you want.
I just don’t like the thought of sending you on your own when you don’t know what you’re going to walk into. At least talk to me.”
Tex glanced at Orlando, who shrugged. Nymon had no idea what that meant or what his mate was looking for.
“It feels like you don’t trust me,” he said.
“I trust you with my life,” Tex answered right away, and it sounded like a promise.
“But I don’t want to risk you. I don’t have much information.
I was given an address, and I don’t know where it is in town or what we’re going to find there.
I don’t know who lives there, if anyone lives there at all, or if it’s a store or something like that.
The entire network of people I told you about might be there, and what will I do then? How am I supposed to protect you?”
“Well, for a start, I could tell you where this place is and what it is,” Nymon pointed out.
“I probably know since I’ve lived here all my life, and Starhaven isn’t that big.
If it’s somewhere I recognize, I might also know some of the people you could find there.
Besides, I’m also not completely useless.
I might not be any good in a fight, but I can use my magic. ”
“How? Your magic has to do with plants, doesn’t it?”
Nymon arched a brow. “After last night, you can’t tell me you think I wouldn’t be able to use plants to protect you.”
Tex’s cheeks flushed slightly. He was cute like this, especially when he glanced at his friends, who were all grinning at him like idiots. Something told Nymon that he was going to like these people once he got over the situation in which they’d met.
“I never said that,” Tex said. “But all four of us have trained in the same program. As helpful as you might be, I don’t want you to get hurt, and you know half of the people in this town.
What if someone you know is involved? I don’t want you to have to go through that.
I don’t want you to possibly have to defend yourself from them. ”
Nymon’s mind flashed back to the conversation he and Kael had heard the other day.
Had those two demons been part of that network?
It sounded like they were, and Nymon was sure he didn’t know them.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t know anyone in the network, and he understood where Tex was coming from, but this was non-negotiable.
“Your normal job isn’t this dangerous, is it?
Or are you being sent out on missions regularly? ”
“I wasn’t even supposed to be sent on this mission. The only reason I was is that it needs to be kept quiet.”
Nymon gave the other three a pointed look. “I see.”
Orlando chuckled. “I like you,” he told Nymon. “And that you don’t hesitate to call out Tex’s bullshit.”
“It’s not my bullshit,” Tex argued. “I was sent here because Gregory needed someone who wasn’t an enforcer or one of us to do this. I agreed because I like him and he’s my boss.”
“I think I’ll want to talk to this Gregory eventually,” Nymon said.
“But first, you need to know that I’m not letting you go anywhere on your own.
I understand what you’re saying, and I agree that it’s probably not a good idea to have me enter whatever place you’re going into, but I can wait outside. I will wait outside.”
Tex hesitated. “I was trained to be a professional killer,” Tex murmured.
Nymon blinked, then blinked again because he still couldn’t make sense of the words. “A professional what?”
“You heard me. I was going to tell you as soon as this mess was over.”
Nymon could tell that the reason Tex had told him was that he expected him to get scared and decide to stay behind. Maybe it would’ve worked with someone else, but not with Nymon.
“We’ll talk about that once this is over. I’m still not going to stay behind.”
Tex groaned. “Nothing I can say will change your mind?”
“No. As long as we’re in Starhaven, where you go, I go. I’ll stay outside, and I promise I’ll stay safe and won’t distract you, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Tex looked at his friends. They all looked amused now, and one of them—not Orlando or the Nix—looked like he was about to burst. Nymon wondered what was wrong with him, but right now, that didn’t matter. What did matter was that Tex finally nodded, looking unhappy.
“Fine. You can come with us.”