CHAPTER 8 ARCH
ARCH
I pulled up in front of Manny’s house and parked.
I hadn’t been here since last summer, when this was Shane’s house, and Randolph Chamberlain and Hugo Blackbourne had tried to kidnap Pia.
Manny hadn’t been present for that, thank fuck.
It’d been bad enough waiting to find out if Ellis had been hurt.
The other day when I’d asked Ellis how Manny was doing, he’d blinked at me like I’d grown a second head. Which, fair. I hadn’t handled meeting Manny and having to face my sexuality well. At all. I’d been a jerk to him. And only to him.
So the first thing I’d do, if he was home today, was apologize.
I’d have to see where things went from there.
I’d had the oddest urge to bring my bread maker with me, though I wasn’t sure how I’d have explained that to Manny.
Hi, you haven’t seen me in almost a year, and I was a complete ass back then, but I thought I’d make some bread for you. It’ll only take a couple of hours.
Even I knew that wasn’t something people did. The bread maker had stayed home.
Cursing myself for delaying, I got out of the SUV.
A Subaru Forester that had seen better days sat under the carport, so Manny was home from work.
Good. But a six-foot-high chain-link fence surrounded the entire property.
It hadn’t been here last year. Was Manny worried about human crime, or was it fear of vampires, some leftover trauma from his injury?
I glanced up and down the street. Sure, it was a little run-down, but none of the neighbors had a fence like this.
Or the two security cameras aimed at me from under the covered front porch.
I walked up to the gate, which had a keypad lock. I tried the handle, but it didn’t turn. Okay. I searched for an intercom button. Nothing. So you had to know Manny’s phone number to visit?
I didn’t have Manny’s number. I could text Ellis to get it, but I hadn’t wanted my brother or his partners to know I was stopping by in case it went badly. Fuck it all to hell. Sighing, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but I was saved from humiliating myself when the front door opened.
“Arch?” The sight of Manny had me sucking in a breath.
He was wearing soft navy blue knit shorts and a white tank top.
My Hunter vision was strong enough to make out the creases on his face from his pillow, which contrasted oddly with his hair, which appeared freshly styled.
But his magic. His magic was still present.
It hadn’t faded away like everyone had expected it to.
Sure, it wasn’t strong by any means, but it was there. And he had connections.
Shit, I needed to stop staring and start acting like, well, someone who wasn’t a jerk. “Um, hey. I, uh, was hoping to talk to you for a few minutes.”
“It’s fucking 7:00 a.m.!” He was practically growling.
Shit. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I was trying to catch you when you got home from work.” Hell, I’d already fucked this up.
“It’s my day off. But sure. Whatever. Come on in.” He held up his phone and tapped the screen, and the gate made a clicking sound. Manny vanished inside the house, but he left the front door open. Apparently that was as good as it was going to get.
I made certain the gate latched behind me, then I jogged up the walkway and jumped over the short flight of steps to the porch. As I entered the house, I registered the scent of someone else. Someone who wasn’t Manny. A shifter.
I closed the door behind me, but softly.
I didn’t necessarily think the shifter was a threat, but he was an unknown.
Manny was in the kitchen—I could hear him doing something near the sink.
Down the hall on the left, a door opened, and bare feet thudded on the hardwood floor. “Dammit, Manny, I told you to wait!”
Manny was still shouting, “I told you, it’s just Arch!” when the shifter rounded the corner of the hallway leading from the bedrooms, pulling his shirt down like he was still getting dressed. And that quickly, my hopes of having something with Manny were gone. The shifter had spent the night.
But then I got a good look at him. He was easily as tall and broad as I was, but with pale skin and thick black hair.
And I knew him. “You!” Holy shit, I’d lost track of him after I’d taken him for medical evaluation.
I’d tried to find him later, but the crowd was too big, and I hadn’t seen him again until now.
Something about him had called to me, and despite being sad I’d missed out on dating Manny, I was inordinately glad to see this shifter.
He skidded to a stop next to the couch. His eyes went wide, and his mouth opened but no sound came out. He took a big step backward, his gaze darting everywhere as if searching for something. His breathing got faster, and his heart started racing. Shit, panic attack.
“Manny, help!” I walked forward, slowly, holding my arms out to the side, and lowering my voice. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re good. You’re out of there. You’re free now, remember?”
Manny stuck his head around the corner. “Shit!” He ran for the shifter then slowed as he got near.
“Okay, gordito. You’re fine.” Carefully he wrapped his arms around the guy and hugged him.
“Breathe with me.” The shifter squeezed his eyes shut and matched his breathing to Manny’s.
He brought his arms up to embrace the smaller man, and his heart rate fell.
I felt a strange yearning to be part of that hug, but the two of them fit together like they’d been made for each other. I didn’t belong there.
The connection between them said they’d been together for a while, but we’d only rescued this shifter and the group of trafficked Wonders with him about a month ago. When exactly had they met? And how?
Not that it was any of my business.
When the shifter had calmed enough, Manny shot me another glare. “What did you say to him?”
I raised my hands, about to protest, but the shifter put his hand on Manny’s jaw and turned his head so they were facing each other. He shook his head while staring intently at Manny.
Manny blinked and raised his eyebrows. “He didn’t say anything to you?” The shifter shook his head again. In a calmer tone, Manny asked, “So what triggered your panic attack?”
The shifter gestured toward me, then, as Manny scowled again, pulled his phone out of his pocket and started to type.
I frowned. He’d shouted at Manny a moment ago, when he’d wanted him to wait, but he couldn’t speak now?
Though he hadn’t said anything during the rescue, when I’d let him out of the cage he’d been held in.
Some sort of intermittent PTSD-like symptom?
“Um, I can tell him, if that’s okay with you? ”
Relaxing, the shifter nodded, then waved behind him at the couch and chairs.
“Yeah, good idea.” I waited until he sat down on the sofa, Manny clutching his hand and taking the seat next to him. I sat in the armchair closest to the shifter. “Uh, I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name, and I don’t remember if I introduced myself.” He shook his head then turned to Manny.
In a snappish tone, Manny did the honors. “This is Oz Schmidt. Oz, this is Arch Jones.”
“Nice to meet you, Oz.” I looked at Manny.
“I led the team who rescued the Wonders from the trafficking ring about a month ago. Oz was part of that. I freed him from, uh, where he was being held.” I wasn’t sure how much detail Oz wanted me to go into.
He nodded, so I guessed I’d done okay. I faced him.
“I couldn’t find you after I dropped you off to be seen by the doctors.
I wanted to check on you, but there were so many Wonders I lost you. I’m sorry.”
Oz ducked his head, his cheeks reddening. Had he avoided me? I wouldn’t blame him. Being held captive made people feel particularly vulnerable, even after they were rescued. I wouldn’t press him. I gestured between them. “How did you two meet?”
Manny finally smiled. “Oz is staying at Wonderhaven, and I help out the pack occasionally with nursing stuff.”
I cocked my head. “I see.” Sort of. Most shifters never needed nursing stuff. But that pack did have some magic carriers in it. Shane had probably introduced Manny to them.
Manny’s stomach growled, and Oz jumped up like he’d received an electrical shock. He pointed at Manny and mimed eating. Manny sighed. “Fine.” Oz turned to me with raised eyebrows.
I glanced between him and Manny. “Um, I don’t want to put you out.”
Oz made a dismissive gesture and waved us toward the kitchen.
I followed and he pointed at the table, so I sat down facing the kitchen.
Oz began pulling out ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry, and Manny asked me what I wanted to drink.
These two had a routine down. Had they met immediately after Oz’s rescue?
Instead of bringing me pain like I expected, the thought was...
comforting. I was glad they’d had each other.
I had a fleeting image of the two of them, well, doing stuff. Together.
Something to think about later.
Manny set my glass of orange juice on the table in front of me, then he took the seat on my right. “So, Arch, what brings you to my house so early in the morning?” There was a hint of aggression in his tone.
My face heated. “Yeah, sorry again about that, to both of you.”
Oz waved this away, but Manny’s face was impassive. Shit, I couldn’t see a way to justify asking to speak to Manny alone. Hopefully Oz felt kindly enough toward me that he wouldn’t get mad at how I’d behaved toward his boyfriend.
I gripped my knees under the table, the feel of my tactical pants familiar and reassuring.
“I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you when we met last year. I was... struggling with some personal stuff and meeting you kind of brought it all to the forefront. I behaved like a complete jerk, and I’m sorry. ”