CHAPTER FIVE #2
"I was hot for you from the moment I saw you, Shae.
Even before I realized you were my beloved, I thought you were sexy and gorgeous.
I didn't bond immediately because I thought you'd want a say in the process.
I wanted you to know what was happening, and I needed you to want it.
" That precious, overwhelmed expression was back, and Shae kept blinking his eyes.
"Let's leave it there for now," Torin said and wrapped his arm around Shae's shoulders. "Give it time, you'll understand, and our connection will help you process it's part of the whole bonding thing." Shae nodded but did not comment.
He picked up Shae’s glass. “Let me get you another one of these.” He said and headed to the kitchen.
“Yeah, good idea.”
While in the kitchen, his phone rang, and it was Killian.
He answered, and Killian explained the currently growing situation in Pittsburgh.
The most disturbing was what took place at the Blessed Willow Spa.
He looked over at Shae as Killian described what happened.
Shae stared at him, getting increasingly more concerned as he picked up on the heaviness suddenly filling the room.
Torin finished the call and tucked his phone back into his pocket while never taking his eyes off Shae.
“What is it, Torin?” Shea asked hesitantly but insistently.
Torin handed him the refilled glass of whiskey and sat back down beside him.
Shae set the glass on the table as dread filled his features.
“The spa was hit last night.” He stated, and Shae held his breath. "Your boss, Margaret Dylan, was killed, and the shop was burned to the ground." Shae gasped and then took hold of Torin's hand in a frightened grip.
"Lauren, oh my God, Lauren," Shae shouted and jumped to his feet and made for the door. Torin followed him and caught him before he opened the door. He pulled him into his arms and held him as panic consumed him.
"She's okay, Shae, she's okay." He whispered into his ear. Killian told him that Master Hadden had put the remaining staff under his protection and that Lauren had returned to Michigan, where her family resided.
Massey was eliminating everyone on his estate that day, regardless of whether they were a party to the attack.
Torin had assumed he would be gunning for Shae, but had not taken into consideration the others who had been there.
Massey was a scared little man, and he would kill the world to save himself.
"Poor Margaret." Shae cried softly. "I never liked her, and she was a shit of a boss, but she didn't deserve to die." Torin loved that Shae was heartbroken, yet he remained true to his feelings. Pity her, of course, but also make it clear that she never, not even once, ever lit up a room.
“Is he going to try to kill me?” Shae asked, still holding tight to Torin.
"I will protect you, sweetheart," Torin assured, and just then there came a barrage of gunfire from outside.
"Shit, get down." He pushed Shae to the floor and told him to stay there, and pulled his gun from his waistband before slipping up alongside the front window and sneaking a quick look, which resulted in another volley of gunfire.
Guns were not lethal for him, but they would certainly kill his beloved, so the danger here was very real.
How did Massey find him? That was almost impossible unless he was working with paranormals.
He may have vampires or shifters on his payroll, which changed things slightly.
He glanced back at where Shae lay on the floor, curled behind the couch.
"Stay right there, do not move until I come for you.
Do you hear me?" He said, and Shae nodded, pinning him with those expressive eyes.
Torin moved on the wind and folded into the shadows, coming up behind the big man with the gun. He grabbed at his throat as Torin sliced his dagger through it, a clean sever with blood gushing and soaking into the ground.
He moved from one to the next, clean and efficient, dealing death with a silent precision.
Then he reached the shifter, a jackal, the one who led them all here.
The jackal was fast dodging Torin's first assault and ran toward the thick forest. Torin stopped and listened.
He wasn't running after him; the move was a distraction, and Torin was never distracted.
The cabin was on fire, flames climbed up the back wall.
He moved on the wind and was in the living room within seconds.
Shae had not moved, still on the floor by the couch, but he was watching the smoke coming from under the bathroom door at the back of the cabin.
The trust he so clearly exhibited momentarily humbled Torin as he acknowledged just what this bond meant. The trust was beyond expectations.
***
Shae was not sure how much longer he could remain on the floor waiting for Torin, but the man was a professional, and Shae got the sense that his word was solid, so he watched and waited.
The cabin was on fire, but it was a slow burn so far.
He stayed on the floor and watched the smoke seep from under the bathroom door. Then Torin was suddenly beside him.
He picked him up like he weighed nothing, and abruptly the world seemed to tilt. He buried his face in Torin’s chest as everything moved and changed in a dizzying fashion. His stomach tightened as nausea began to build. When he opened his eyes again, they were in a wooded area far from the cabin.
"What happened?" He asked as Torin set him back onto his feet. "Where are we?" he added while looking around. He couldn't see the smoke or even smell it. The burning cabin was indeed far away, but how did they get here?
"Massey," Torin responded.
"He found us," Shae stated the obvious, and Torin nodded.
“He had help.” He said and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Massey has shifters on his payroll.”
The entire paranormal thing was still in the process stage in Shae’s mind, but he concluded that Massey had tapped into the supernatural world in Pittsburgh that Torin had spoken about.
He sort of understood what it was and that they had enhanced skills.
Getting away from a shifter would be nearly impossible for a human, but not such a big problem, apparently, for a vampire.
He listened as Torin spoke to someone; they discussed this incident, and Torin made suggestions entailing murder, mass murder specifically, but he did it in a way that made it sound like a reasonable and practical solution.
Shae was falling hard for this guy, and the death talk was not affecting him as badly as it should.
Torin was a dark one, no question about it, but he also had a warmth and sincerity that really spoke to Shae.
He trusted him completely, and Shae didn't trust anyone, not even Lauren.
He liked Lauren; she was a good person, and he enjoyed her company, but he would never put his life and limb in her hands.
Like everyone in this world, Lauren would, in the end, take care of herself, as evidenced by her taking off to Michigan and not giving two shits about what happened to him.
He checked his phone, and apart from that one call, Lauren had not tried to contact him again.
She could have texted, but she didn’t; she just disappeared, and that was the case with most of the people who had been in and out of his life.
He didn't feel that way about Torin. He had no reason to believe other than his heart telling him the man was honest, even while spinning stories of wolves and vampires. He watched him, and Torin kept his eyes on him, and his hand never left him.
The touch was important. Shae was getting the message that contact was strengthening the bond.
It cleared his thoughts, eliminating those that scrambled and deceived.
He saw Torin for who and what he was, and although he was scary as fuck, he was also fast becoming the center of Shae's life and love.
Yeah, Shae was falling hard, and it felt right.
This was totally insane, but Shae was pretty good at compartmentalizing, and right now he was keeping his focus on Torin and doing every fucking thing he told him to do.
He was sure that this man would keep him alive.
Torin would not dump him or walk away. He has protected him since the moment they met, and Shae trusted that he would continue to do so.