Chapter Six
Grisham did his best to ignore the pressure Cuzco was placing on his arm, but the slender male was deceptively strong. As he’d researched these men’s backgrounds during the course of the day, he’d known something was hinky about them. The idea of them kidnapping Solomon’s attackers had been a long shot... and they’d just confirmed it without batting an eyelash.
Damn. What are these people involved in?
“And what other option would that be?” Grisham asked.
“We detained Jim and Thanos because they were working under Armando Whitney’s orders,” Kaiser told him. “He ordered them to kill Solomon because he helped Armando’s son, Braylon, escape his estate.”
“Escape his estate?” Grisham scowled. “What the hell are you talking about?”
What bullshit is this?
Sighing, Kaiser turned his attention to Cuzco. “This Chinese food smells wonderful. How about we sit and eat, and I will explain just how Armando Whitney is actually making his money.”
Grisham began shaking his head but stopped when Cuzco squeezed his wrist. “Please, listen, Grisham. Things aren’t what they appear.”
Something within Grisham, a sixth sense he always trusted—what he considered his gut—told him Cuzco was telling the truth. There was something weird going on with this group. Slowly, Grisham lowered his Glock.
“I’m keeping this close in case you try something,” Grisham growled. “Now explain why the fuck you think Armando is dirty.”
That certainly wasn’t a rumor going around as far as Grisham could tell, and he’d heard some doozies in his time.
“Where are the plates?” William asked, bouncing up. “Is there enough here for all of us? Or should I order more?”
“I think you should order more,” Cuzco stated. Nudging Grisham, he offered a smile. “I’m sorry we’re bombarding you, but this is really important.”
“I ordered enough with the plan that I’d have leftovers for a few days,” Grisham began slowly, glancing around at everyone. “There should be enough.”
“Not the way these guys eat,” Cuzco murmured, glancing around at everyone. “Beta William will take care of it.”
“Beta William?” Grisham slid his Glock into the waistband at the back of his jeans as he wrapped his other arm tighter around Cuzco’s waist. “Is that some kind of title?”
“It is,” Kaiser stated. “It means he’s the second-in-command of our merry pod of aquatic shifters.” He smiled, clearly comfortable with the odd shit he was spouting. Kaiser waved toward himself. “And I am the alpha. The leader.” Kaiser pointed at Eban. “This is Head Enforcer Eban. He makes certain all my people stay in line, following both human law and shifter law, so no one finds out about us. If there’s a problem he or one of the other enforcers can’t handle, he lets me know about it.”
“Uhhhhh...” What the hell? “What did you just call yourselves?”
Eban sat there smirking. William was grinning as he made himself completely at home, checking out the cupboards as well as grabbing the coffee. Kaiser, on the other hand, looked like he’d just stepped out of a business fashion magazine.
William laughed as he set a trio of mugs on the table with one hand before filling them from the coffee carafe he held in the other. Glancing over his shoulder, he stated, “Wow, my brother’s trying to make a joke.” He snorted, flashing a grin Kaiser’s way. “Not a good joke, Kai. Merry pod of aquatic shifters? What are we? Whales?”
“A few of us,” Kaiser replied, grinning widely. “Besides, what else would you call our group?”
Straightening, William tilted his head. “Huh.” He shrugged. “Okay. Ya got me there.” William headed back into the kitchen and returned the coffee pot to its place. “So, yeah. We’re paranormals. Shifters to be precise. Most of the people at our resort share our spirit with some kind of aquatic or semi-aquatic animal.” He began ticking off his fingers. “Whales, sharks, octopuses”—he pointed at Cuzco, then continued—”squid, sea turtles, and a number of others.” Still talking, he headed out of the kitchen while pulling his phone from his pocket. “And shifters eat a lot, so I’m gonna order a shit-ton more food.”
Grisham gaped. He just didn’t know how to respond. What the hell were these people talking about? Paranormals? Shifters? What did any of that have to do with Armando?
“Y-You’re not criminals,” Grisham mumbled, trying to process what he’d heard. “You’re crazy.” He turned his focus on Cuzco. “Your bosses are bat-shit crazy.”
Cuzco sighed. “They’re really not. Have a seat.”
When Cuzco urged Grisham toward the dining room table, he was too shocked to resist. He found himself being pushed into a chair by his lover. Glancing between the two men still sitting at the table, he wondered if he should pull out his phone and call a mental hospital.
Except, Grisham didn’t know the number to a mental hospital. Not off-hand, anyway. If he did, what would he say? Grisham had a funny idea that these guys would deny it, leaving him looking like the crazy one.
“Cuzco, have a seat here,” Eban urged, rising from his chair to Grisham’s left. “Touch helps soothe, so I’ve been told.”
Cuzco nodded as he took Eban’s chair, sliding it closer to Grisham in the process. His lover settled a hand on his back, rubbing up and down his spine. Oddly enough, even under the strange circumstances, Grisham felt his pulse slow, then heat for a new reason.
Grisham’s blood began flowing south as tingles erupted over his skin. He gaped at Cuzco, disbelieving his body’s response. Peering into his lover’s eyes, he barely resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him. He did, however, place his left hand on the slenderer man’s thigh and squeeze, so he could enjoy the feel of his muscle through his jeans.
“See, that is one of the side effects of mating with a paranormal,” Kaiser said, cutting into the moment. “You have a heightened sex drive and a need to please your mate... as well as complete your bond.” His smile turned fond, and he waved a hand at Grisham. “Even the human in the pairing is greatly affected.”
Frowning, Grisham turned to stare at the man. “Mating? What the hell is that?”
“Okay, let’s start at the top,” Eban cut in, setting plates, silverware, and napkins on the table. “We are paranormals. We live a long damn time, so Fate grants each of us a mate. A person who can be our perfect complement. The other half of our soul.”
As he talked, Eban began opening containers while Kaiser took the opened ones and began spooning contents onto plates.
“When a shifter meets their mate, they recognize them by scent.” Eban slid one of the loaded plates in front of Grisham. His hard features softened as he explained, “Cuzco didn’t scent you, but Fate has a funny way of dealing with hiccups like that. She obviously made it so your body recognized him, forcing you to eventually seek him out.”
“This isn’t something you can just walk away from,” Kaiser stated, picking up the commentary. He pointed at the way they were touching each other. “You will always crave each other’s touch. Even if you moved three states away, it would probably drive you nuts enough to bring you right back.”
Grisham bowed his head and stared at his plate of food. He picked up his fork. Stabbing it into a piece of sweet and sour chicken, he idly waved it in the air.
“You know you sound nuts, right?”
No way could any of that shit be true he decided as he popped the food into his mouth. His stomach rumbled appreciatively as he chewed the tasty morsel.
“Need proof?”
Grisham nearly choked on his food when William spoke from directly behind him, announcing that he’d returned. Turning in his seat, he glared at the man as he caught his breath. When he could finally speak, he snarled, “Proof? Proof of what?”
William grinned, clearly unrepentant. “That we’re shifters.” Shrugging negligently, he added, “Humans always need proof. It seems to be you all’s thing. Where do you think seeing is believing came from?”
“What? You gonna turn into a shark in my living room or something?”
“I could,” Eban commented. “But shifting while out of water hurts like hell.”
“I was thinking more like this,” William replied, shrugging out of his sports coat to reveal a high end, short-sleeved, button-down shirt. After handing the coat off to Eban, who slung it over the back of a chair, he held out his arm, wiggling his fingers, as he winked. “Don’t freak out now.”
After rolling his eyes, Grisham focused on William’s arm. Shock slammed through him. Right before his eyes, William’s arm turned a brownish-green while it stretched and split, creating two, long, slender appendages.
Grisham’s jaw sagged open as he lunged to his feet. It felt as if wind was roaring between his ears. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath.
“Whoa! Whoa, breathe!”
Grisham heard Eban’s shouted order right as he felt the big man’s arms wrap around him and one of his hands slapped over his mouth. Struggling in the guy’s hold, he tried to tear out of his grip. Cuzco appeared in his line of sight, placing his hands on Grisham’s chest, rubbing up and down.
The scrape of Cuzco’s nails caused tingles to shoot through Grisham, and his focus snapped to his lover.
“Please calm down, Grisham,” Cuzco urged softly. “We told you it was real. We still have so much to tell you.” His expression appeared pained, his features full of concern. “You’re my lover. My mate. And everything will be okay.”
Grisham stilled in Eban’s grip. For a long few seconds, he just stared. Swallowing hard, he nodded.
Surprised to find his throat hurt, Grisham realized it had been him creating the noise. He’d been screaming.
Damn. That’s embarrassing.
* * * *
“That’s the way,” Cuzco murmured, feeling Grisham relax beneath his fingertips. “You’re okay.” He glanced beyond Grisham to Eban and asked, “Can you let him go now?”
Eban nodded and removed his hand from over Grisham’s mouth. He rested that hand on Grisham’s shoulder for a moment, waiting. When Grisham did little but stare at Cuzco while panting and swallowing hard, Eban finally released him altogether.
Grisham sagged forward, and Cuzco wrapped him tightly in his arms. The scream of terror his mate had made had caused Cuzco’s heart to thud wildly in his chest. The acrid scent of Grisham’s fear had been even worse.
As Cuzco rubbed up and down Grisham’s back, half supporting his lover’s weight, he noted the slow changes in Grisham’s scent. His mate was calming, and relief filled Cuzco. Nuzzling his temple against the other man’s, he sighed softly.
Finally, Grisham whispered, “Did I really just see that?” His voice sounded hoarse, probably from the hollering he’d been doing. His gaze darted warily toward William before returning to Cuzco.
Some humans just didn’t take learning about paranormals well. It was why most never shared their existence with any but their mate. The pull to bond normally overrode a human’s freak-out.
Like now, thank the gods.
“Yeah,” Cuzco murmured. “Yeah, you saw that.”
“William’s arm.” Grisham shuddered in Cuzco’s hold, tucking his face against Cuzco’s neck. “It was tentacles.”
“Yeah,” Cuzco repeated. “Yeah, it was. He’s a kind of squid.”
“A squid?” Something must have clicked in Grisham’s brain, for his head jerked up. He peered wide-eyed down at Cuzco. “And Eban claimed to be a shark and pointed at you when he said octopus.”
Cuzco nodded. “Eban’s a great white shark shifter, and I share my spirit with a coconut octopus.”
“Coconut octopus?” Grisham cocked his head. “What the hell is that?”
“Cuzco is a small, real pretty cephalopod,” Kaiser stated, reminding the pair of his presence. “Do you enjoy swimming? Snorkeling or scuba diving? He’ll show you some amazing places if you let him.”
Grisham furrowed his brows as he turned his attention to Kaiser. “If I let him? What’s that mean?”
“While we are in our animal form, we are completely cognizant,” Kaiser explained, his deep voice smooth and reassuring. “Cuzco in octopus form will know you are important to him. Special. He’ll even protect you from larger predators, should the situation ever come up.” Frowning, he gave Cuzco a stern look. “Even though the smarter play would be to get one of us larger pod-mates.”
Cuzco snorted softly. “As if I’d ever walk away from my mate if he were in danger.”
“I can take care of myself.” Grisham actually sounded a little offended. “I’ve had plenty of training. I’m a detective.”
“Which we appreciate,” William cut in. Swinging one chair around, he straddled it backward and rested his forearms on the back. Grinning up at them, he added, “It’s a position we have every intention of taking advantage of.”
“Uh... how exactly?” Grisham scowled. “I’m not doing a damn thing illegal for you.”
“No, not illegal. And we figured you could take care of yourself with other humans. It was with shifters we were referring to,” Kaiser countered, using his fingers to pull apart a crab rangoon. “Paranormals are physically stronger than humans. Faster. Quicker. With heightened senses. Although as your pod-mates, there’s no way we’d allow you to face off against a paranormal.”
Leaning his elbows on the table, Kaiser used the torn food to point at Grisham. “Which brings us to your other point. While we do occasionally skirt the edges of legality, we only do it to keep our people safe from criminals like Armando, and now that you are one of us, or will be once you complete your bond with Cuzco, I’m hoping you will feel the same. After all, keeping your lover safe, which means no one can know his secret, is part of taking care of him. Isn’t it?”
Kaiser popped the bite of food into his mouth as he arched his left brow in silent question.
Grisham’s chest expanded, pressing against Cuzco, as he inhaled deeply. His arms tightened around him, clutching him close. He glared as he glanced around at everyone.
A few seconds later, Grisham’s expression eased, turning troubled. “Sit with me,” he muttered, tugging Cuzco to the last chair at the small table.
While Cuzco had never been a lap-sitter in his life, he didn’t complain when Grisham settled on the chair, then tugged him down onto his thighs. Wrapping his arms around his lover’s shoulders, he cuddled in. Cuzco didn’t even comment when Grisham grabbed a piece of sweet and sour chicken and held it to his lips. He bit the large morsel in half and watched as Grisham popped the rest into his own mouth.
Once Cuzco had chewed and swallowed, Grisham offered him another bite. Cuzco figured his mate didn’t even realize the instinct he was giving in to—the one to care for his lover. It felt good and just reaffirmed Cuzco’s idea that Grisham was the more dominant in the relationship.
I’m totally okay with that.
Snuggling into Grisham’s hold, welcoming the food, Cuzco listened as Kaiser, William, and Eban explained all the problems they’d been having with Armando. As it turned out, some of them even Cuzco hadn’t heard.
Cuzco cuddled close and waited, hoping his leaders would be able to convince Grisham to aid them in bringing down the rich and powerful human.