Joe paced looking down in disgust at his now chewed fingernails, making a concerted effort he pushed his hands into his pockets, hoping they’d stay out of temptations way. The question again popped into his head, driving him nuts. How long does it take to operate on a cat?
“How the hell would I know that?”
Joe’s startled gaze turned to Aaden’s gravelly voice, pulling him out of his thoughts, making him realise he’d spoken out loud. Joe gave Aaden a sheepish smile, shrugging off the harsh response he’d gotten for his trouble. “Sorry, I didn’t realise I’d spoken out loud.” Joe felt his shoulders hunching under Aaden’s angry glare. Okay, so he may have been asking a lot questions over the past several hours, but who could blame him? He was worried out of his mind for both Princess and Stuart, for God sake, can’t a man talk out loud?
Joe huffed, rolling his eyes at Aaden. He went back to pacing, his body unable to keep still for a second. The urge to speak was like an itch between his shoulders, nigh on impossible to ignore, Joe gave up trying. “It’s been several hours. It can’t be much longer, can it? You would think someone would come and tell us what was happening back there.”
Joe’s cheeks billowed in frustration, he could feel his limbs jerking with the effort to stay still and not back down from Aaden’s angry stare off. Joe could feel himself flinching at Aaden’s furiousness.
“I told you the last nine times you asked, I DO NOT KNOW!”
Aaden felt his patience wearing thin, so he attempted to rein it back in like a temperamental horse. A horse had a habit of picking up on the owner’s feelings so he figured his own anger was only contributing to Joe’s escalating anxiety. Making a concerted effort, Aaden shrugged off Joe’s incessant questions which were driving him batty. He heaved a sigh working his hands through his dishevelled hair, letting his tension ease from his tired muscles as he took several deep breaths. He pled it would last more than a few seconds, along with Joe’s silence.
Inching his numb ass to the left, he perched on one ass cheek trying to get comfortable in a chair clearly not built for someone of his size, and more like the size of a Lilliputian. His random thought had his lips tugging up as a smile tried to take hold before Joe’s pacing had it sliding away.
What a right bloody mess this whole situation was, why had he ever listened to Joe? He blamed himself fully for showing leniency when he knew damn well he should have known better. Self-recriminations had Aaden grinding his teeth with the effort from voicing them. Joe definitely didn’t need to hear that shit right now, not when it wouldn’t change a baldy thing for anyone. Then he asked himself why were the constrictor knots his stomach were actively creating, wouldn’t stop. He was convinced even the most proficient sailor would struggle to undo those bastards, at this rate he’d never be able to eat again.
Shaking off his sullen mood and what ifs, knowing nothing was going to change what was happening right now. Aaden’s tired eyes watched Joe jerkily pace, his movements showing how frayed his nerves were becoming.
Aaden pulled Max into him, needing some comfort from his long-time companion. He let his mind centre on their bond, struggling to contain the hurt that stabbed at him when he failed to link with Max. Aaden couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t felt it, shifting closer to Max, icy fear spiked his heart rate, adding to the ache in his chest. Concentrating harder, sweat beaded on his brow, straining under the effort, he bit his lip to stop the cry of defeat when he couldn’t connect.
Oh my God no, he couldn’t lose their connection, he just couldn’t. How would he stay sane with the past that required redemption when he didn’t have Max? Aaden twitched, his body thrumming with anxiety, paying no attention to Joe’s concerned looks. He concentrated on the panic choking him, taking several small gulps of air, hoping they would dislodge the ball in his throat. Distracted, he trailed his large hands over Max’s soft warm fur, his mind reminding him it wasn’t the same without the comfort of Max’s link.
The sound of feet shuffling across the floor had Aaden twisting to look, cursing under his breath at the tiny plastic torture chamber. He was convinced his back was creaking in protest at every movement. Aaden met the weary pale eyed face that peered out from under a theatre cap. Aaden waited for the vet to speak, holding his breath he hoped it was good news for all their sakes. Instead a bony hand beckoned them forward first before speaking.
“Come on, you’ll want to see her I’m sure. I think everything went okay. Well, as good as can be expected after Princess’s little escapade with a bullet.”
The vet’s voice trailed off as he stepped back to let them pass.
Aaden couldn’t help his lips curling up when Joe tripped over his feet in his rush to get to the door first, only to be pushed aside by Max’s large bulk and rumbling warning. Aaden followed behind the clearly bemused vet, who watched Max’s progress with avid interest.
“Princess is a fighter that’s for sure. We nearly lost her there, but she managed to pull through the operation. I’m sure you don’t want or need the details.” His weary eyes arched up, waiting a second then continuing when no one spoke.
“She will need to stay here for a few days to recover. I should think Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. I’ll send the bill out, so don’t worry about that.”
Aaden watched Joe’s hand that had gone to his pocket still, before pushing his wallet back in. Not paying Max any mind, he missed him using his bulk to get to the cage first, making Joe teeter for a second before he managed to right himself, giving Aaden his first genuine smile of the evening.
Max stalked past Joe, squeezing through the gap in the doorway into the quiet room, bounding up to the cage that housed Princess. He rumbled, his growls long and low when he got no response. Poking his paw inside the cage when the urge to affirm she was still alive overcame common sense.
Max calmed himself as he felt her life force waning, pulling from his centre, the part of his soul he had never offered another in over a thousand years, he gave it a bleat unwillingly, knowing there would be no going back once her tiny frail body took his offer.
He let their paws connect, not religious he still prayed it would work when he struggled to feel her spirit so deeply hidden under the layers of drugs. Could she accept this bond that would link them forever and imbue Princess with some of his life force? He hoped so, because the cost to Aaden had been deep. Max could feel his anger and confusion at being shut out, but Max could only deal with one lot of pain and Princess had had to take priority. He wasn’t going to think about the why, but he would need to make it up to Aaden when Princess was healed.
Max slumped to the floor outside the cage, resigned to his fate. He ignored the silent encouragement from those who had no right to interfere with his life, he really was too old for his family’s shit, but somehow he still found himself right where they wanted him. Making a decision that now made, could never be undone.
Joe watched Max while listening to the vet ramble on with Aaden, feeling a sliver of hope return at having fixed Princess. Aaden’s conversation caught his attention, his lips tugged up in a smile when Aaden advised the vet Max would be staying for the duration of Princess’s stay. Remembering their first encounter Joe went to speak, worried that maybe it was not such a great idea. Joe snapped his mouth shut at Aaden’s warning look, convinced he should have been in a melted heap on the floor from the heat. Nervously plucking at the hem of his jumper, Joe wandered away, not wanting to get in any more hot water.
His mind whirled thinking about the information he had found while waiting for the vet to finish. Aaden had been spot on with his prediction about the police. Joe didn’t feel any consolation when advised they would check out Joe’s story about Joel. Why would they be any different, no one else had believed me before?
Joe knew only too well the army weren’t always very sharing with their information. He struggled to see what the police would achieve besides delaying searching for Stuart. A scowl creased his forehead before he could stop it, Aaden’s punishing grip pulled him to the door. Not paying attention to Aaden’s growled goodbye to the vet, Joe rubbed at his tender wrist.
“There was no need to yank on me like that, man. You can use your words, they work equally as well, you big bloody brute.” The harshness of his tone barely seemed to register with Aaden as he stalked away to the van.
Joe jiggled his keys, grumbling as he followed behind. Not sure what the next plan was, but he knew he couldn’t put off speaking to Martin and Brad about what had gone down. Exhaling, he pulled out his phone out of his hoodie, stealing himself he hit dial. Dread had his stomach dropping at the sound of Brad’s sing song voice sounded in his ear.
Joe cringed at how squeaky his voice sounded. “Hey, Brad, is Martin there?” Joe felt the tension stretch inside him when Brad shouted for Martin. Joe could hear the worry in Brad’s voice, which ratcheted up his own, making the words stick in his throat.
Martin’s concerned tone only was making matters worse as he struggled to speak. “Hey, what on earth are you still doing up at two in the morning?” Joe bit back the moan, chastising himself for not checking the time first and thinking he should have given this a bit more thought before he’d dialed. He took a deep breath, clutching the phone like a lifeline, he braced himself before answering.
“Err, please don’t panic but we have a bit of a situation here.” Joe gulped quickly before rushing on and explaining in as much detail as he could, hoping to get it all out without interruption. Barely holding on to his sanity by a thread, he waited for the fallout.
Brad’s loud inconsolable sobs in the background broke his heart. All he could think was Martin was never going to forgive him for this, realising too late he had been on speaker phone.
“Are you saying Princess is okay now, Joe, having had the surgery?”
The urgency in Martin’s tone had him nodding, realising that he was acting dumb, he responded swiftly. “Yeah, the vet says she will be able to come home Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. He said he’s patched her up as good as new, I promise.”
Brad’s hiccupping sigh had him feeling awful knowing it was his entire fault, guilt dragged his shoulders down as it teemed with worry for his friends. How had I not seen that this would happen? Joel was never gonna leave me or my friends alone.
His eyes filled with unushered tears that balled at the back of his throat making his nose drip. Sniffing hard he inhaled, working hard to regain his composure, seesawing emotions rocked as much as the Ben-my-Chree had when he’d first arrived, making him feel even sicker if it was at all possible.
Distracted when he inhaled Aaden’s musky scent not realising he stepped so close until he felt the phone tugged out of his trembling fingers. He felt relieved when Aaden took over shouldering some of his responsibility.
“Princess will be fine and Max is going to stay with her. Our priority now is finding Stuart.” Aaden explained what his plans were.
Joe could see by Aaden’s scowl Martin wasn’t happy to be told to stay away, even for a few days. They weren’t planning to return for several days, but Brad would surely want to come back now to check on Princess. His fears confirmed when he could hear Martin through the phone arguing against staying away.
“Listen to me, until we find Joel no one is safe. Princess is in the safest place. Joel will believe he killed her, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I need to be working on finding Stuart, not arguing with you and Brad about who should be where.” Joe had the inane urge to laugh at Aaden as he tried to use a cajoling tone with Martin.
Joe knew it went against Martin’s very nature to take orders from anyone else, but Joe really wanted Martin to listen. They were all in danger. The threat was real. Joel was a loose cannon and God only knows where he would aim next. Feeling a little reassured when Martin agreed not to come back until after Friday when Aaden assured him Joe would keep him updated, they ended the call.
Joe couldn’t hide his tearful expression when Aaden’s gruffness reeked of sympathy cutting him to the bone.
“Come on, we need to use your hacking skills and find what Joel has been up to. Did you pull up those two buildings that ticked all the boxes and store the information we’ll need?”
Joe felt a little calmer with a task to do, even if it took his mind off what could possibly be happening to Stuart right now. Joe felt the shudder rock through him as he attempted to pull his mind away from the mental pictures his mind threw at him. The little bombs exploding, making everything stand out in macabre detail as he followed behind Aaden.
He clutched his phone in desperation, pulling up the information Aaden wanted. Joe had developed an app that linked to his main frame, he could do more with his phone than most high tech computers could do, but he still needed the van’s complex system to complete his work.
Letting Aaden drive home, Joe never wavered from his task, he all but sprinted from the van as they arrived home. He ignored the dark empty house, stalking to his van and clicking the fob to open it.
Joe seethed. “What the fuck, man?” He rubbed at his now aching arm where Aaden had wrenched his hand away from his van door. What the hell is his problem with the yanking? I’m going to be a battered and bruised mess at this rate!
He barely comprehended Aaden’s warning look when his words penetrated through his anger, cutting him down to size. “Have you forgotten all your bloody training? Well, have you?”
Joe frowned, realising his fatal error as he looked at the van through the eyes of his current situation. Joe gave an apologetic shrug, letting Aaden check it over, he sighed in self-disgust, his mind in complete turmoil. It just showed how fucked up this situation was that he would forget the basics.
Hesitating for a moment, Joe watched Aaden stride away after checking the van over. His confidence had Joe praying Aaden would be able to fix this. Rubbing his freezing hands together he shut and locked the door before firing up his computers.
Bleary eyed he looked up from the computer to the side panel. The quick and impatient knock had him realising that was what had roused him in the first place. Checking out the window to make sure it was Aaden, not needing another dressing down on how to stay safe, Joe opened the door. The van shifted under Aaden’s weight as he jumped inside, letting the cold air blast through. Shivering, Joe grabbed his forgotten jacket hanging on his seat, watching Aaden wearily as he put it on. His granite hard expression had Joe’s anxiety levels shooting into the stratosphere. He fidgeting in his seat, silently waiting for what Aaden had to say.
“Have you found anything?”
Joe shot his gaze to Aaden, focusing on him rather than his own anxiety. Which as far as he was concerned, could take a long walk of a short pier.
“Yep, though I’m not sure it’s going to help us, Aaden. Joel got here around five weeks ago. The fucker came straight after I’d notified the army I’d moved here.” Joe barely held back the stream of profanity wanting to fly at the frustration stacking on top of his anger. The fact someone had yet again shared his information with Joel after he’d reported him, was beyond galling.
Joe chewed on his lip, the metallic taste making him released it, rubbing at the stinging pain. He had no one to blame but himself, it wasn’t their fault he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Joe circled back to the issue at hand, trying not to let his negative thoughts persist and take over. Joel was here and he had the love of his life trapped somewhere, doing God knows what, and no amount of wool gathering was going to change that. Instead he listened to Aaden work through their possibilities.
“From what I’ve gleaned over the last few hours, those buildings you found in your search are the only ones that offer the privacy Joel would need. I have eliminated everything else you had as a possibility, leaving just those two. You have good instincts, someone taught you well.” Aaden’s smug look at Joe had him rolling his eyes as he continued.
“Glen Helen has an old tea shop that’s been empty for several years. There is no caretaker and though it sits on a main road, it offers hidden parking round the back. There would be no real reason for anyone to stop there in the winter. Well, none that I can see. There are limited windows that overlook the road. Add in the hidden main car park and it makes it an excellent place to hide out.”
Joe waited for Aaden to gather his thoughts, he could but see his mind working behind those intelligent eyes.
“The bike museum up on the mountain would be my first choice. Sat off the road, only one route for cars to take, it has a panoramic view. You could easily set up an alert system for intruders, allowing easy escape over the hills on a trail’s bike or quad. It has a large door at the side to allow a small vehicle entry, making it perfect for hiding out. It also does not have a caretaker that I can find. What are your thoughts?”
Joe watched Aaden thumb through his notes, checking he’d missed nothing. His senses thrummed with electricity telling Joe he agreed fully with Aaden, the museum was where Stuart and Joel would be. His intuition fully on board, unable to explain it, Joe shrugged it off making a concerted effort to work through both options before agreeing.
Chewing on his thumb, double checking all the information, both had their merits, but what Aaden said jibbed with him. The second option definitely had more merit, again his intuition was on board.
“The mountain, it would be my pick. You could, as you said, easily set it up to make it impregnable. Let’s hope we’re not wrong and that Joel is still as shity as ever with electronics.”
Aaden’s nod and grim smile had him moving to pack up his stuff, feeling the urge to get moving. The light breaking through the front window said it would soon be morning, meaning Joel had had Stuart for more than twelve hours by his calculation. His hands wanted to tremble at what damage Joel could inflict in that time span, if Stuart was still alive. His breath hitched when the thought scrambled past his defences. His quick moan had Aaden wrapping his large arms around him. Resting his head on his broad shoulder, Joe let Aaden’s strength fortify him before he stepped back.
“Let’s get this show on the road. Do you have everything we need?”
Aaden’s scowl at odds with gleam of lust in his eyes when he spoke, “Martin’s Audi R8 is the only car that Joel won’t have seen you driving, so, though it’s far from conspicuous, we’ll have to take that.”
Joe felt a stupid grin cross his face at the excitement Aaden expressed when he talked about the car. He’d never get why guys got a hard on for super cars. Shaking off his thoughts, they hurried to leave. The urgency to get moving nagged like a toothache, it just wouldn’t stop.
Aaden spoke, intruding past Joe’s worrying. “My only concern is the car’s size, two seats will be a squeeze and we don’t know what state Stuart will be in. We will just need to improvise as we go, but I don’t think we have any other option right now.”
Joe felt his confidence dip when Aaden dragged his hands repeatedly through his dishevelled hair, as if he was trying to figure something out. He could hear the concern behind Aaden’s words. He wasn’t a fool, but he was going to focus on finding a living breathing Stuart and not the alternative. The urge to cross his fingers and hope they weren’t too late, or that this wasn’t wild goose chase had him crossing them anyway. What could it hurt?
Dragging his weary ass to Martin’s car, he settled his pack in the boot. Watching the deserted roads pass in a blur, Aaden cut off to the left at the top of Barragrow heading up towards the mountain. Joe knew this was the quickest route and would take them nearly straight to their destination. He watched the sun rise, daylight creeping through the greyness, low lying clouds coated the hills hiding the deep purple heather that normally was vividly displayed the higher the road twisted up. The hills looked eerie with only the tops peeking through, making them appear to be floating in air.
The sound of gravel crunching under the tyres had Joe focusing back on Aaden, watching him park behind the small substation. The Manx electric trams used it as a stopping point before continuing on to the summit of the mountain, for them, it would work to shield the car. Joe felt a little unnerved to see another vehicle in the tiny car park at six thirty am. There was nothing around, so why would anyone park there? Is it Joel’s?
He looked at Aaden to see if he was thinking the same thing, but the rigid lines etched into his face masked his thoughts. His gaze drifted up to the building in front of him. Plucking at his sleeves, he tried to ignore the solid ball of lead now settling in his gut. His weary eyes wanted to drill holes through the brick making him wish he had Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility so he could just waltz right in undetected. Joe felt the rising hysteria bubble within his chest trying to escape at his random thoughts.
He shook them off, turning as Aaden pulled out the map of the area and the building schematics, laying them across the steering wheel. Joe grabbed the cold metal of the door handle, needing something solid to hold on to, to ground him and keep him from flying into a million different pieces. He ignored Aaden’s pointed look at his hand and he nodded at him to encourage him to continue. He didn’t need Aaden to know he was a total mess, he could probably guess but still he had to keep some semblance of being in control. If not for Aaden, but for himself.
He went over what Aaden was showing him. The road that led up was deserted, disuse evident by the amount of grass growing through the cracks in the tar. The weather having taken its toll on the exterior building, the large painted bike on the side showed evidence of flaking. Colourless bits of concrete showing through, making them look like gaping mouths. The remaining greying paint hadn’t fared much better. The building looked uncared for with boarded up windows and doors. Joe noted everything, finding nothing different from the plans they had found.
He jumped out of the car, feeling as ready as he could be, snubbing the swamping emotions dragging at him. The need for urgency seemed to increase, pushing for action, his body in full agreement. Joe grabbed his handheld jammer, unable to resist a smirk at Aaden’s raised eyebrows.
“It’s just a little something I’ve been working on. As yet, I haven’t found anything it can’t jam. Joel may be clever, but he has nothing on me when it comes to electronics.” Joe let his confidence jeer at his negative thoughts, praying he wasn’t going to land on his bragging ass.
Aaden’s rumbling laughter easing some of Joe’s tension as they headed on foot to the rear of the building.
The silence descended between them, the seriousness of the situation weighted heavily with each step they took closer to the building. The dull grey motionless sky worked in their favour. The lack of breeze offered stillness, not even the long grass moved, making it disconcertingly quiet, as if the air was holding its breath, waiting.
Joe’s steps faulted at the sudden sound of a motor engine, dropping like stones to the ground in unison. Joe watched silently as the trail’s bike headed across the undulating field towards the building. It didn’t appear out of place, until he looked at the size of the owner.
Joe gripped onto Aaden sucking in a breath rooted to the spot, he let the immense relief fill him. Stuart has to be in that building. His fingers dug into Aaden’s arm when the bike headed to the rear of the building out of sight. Oh fuck, they needed to think fast on how to get Stuart out of that building, like now.
On silent agreement they crept low to the ground towards the museum as fast as they could, without drawing attention. The long weathered grass helped to some degree to camouflage them, but Aaden’s size was nigh on impossible to hide in anything. Joe prayed their dark clothing did its job helping them blend.
Joe felt a strange prickling at the back of his neck a second before he heard a solid thud. Joe whispered directly into Aaden’s ear. “Did you hear that?”
Joe felt the hair on his body rise as the engine died. Alarmed at the sudden silence, terror skittered around his brain while it shouted the obvious, they were out of time. Shooting his eyes towards the building he was unable to stop his body tremor in fear. His need to protect overtook all sensibility as his legs powered forward before he could fully form a plan of action. Aaden’s muttered curse behind him had Joe sending up a prayer of thanks when heavy thudded footfall followed him.
Heart pounding, Joe raced towards the building.