Chapter Eleven
Chester sat in the kitchen reading the news on his tablet. He heard the sound of heavy footsteps and then the distinctive sound of Tank throwing up.
"Lovely," Silas muttered. "Just what I want to be listening to when I'm eating my breakfast."
Troy snorted. "At least you didn't hear him during the night. It got so bad his damn dog ended up in my room." As he spoke, his hand drifted below the table.
"Don't think I haven't noticed you feeding the 'damn dog,' Troy."
"Pops. Dodge is hungry. Whatshisface didn't bring any food for him. What, I'm gonna let him starve?"
Chester chuckled. "Give it up, Silas."
"I don't need your help," Troy muttered darkly.
"Troy. Apologize to Chester."
"Fuck, no! Just cause you're fucking him doesn't mean I have to play nice with the bloodsucker."
Silas sighed. "Is that how you see yourself, son? A bloodsucker."
Troy glared at Silas, pushed his chair back, and stormed from the kitchen.
Silas groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "What am I going to do with him?"
"Make sure he keeps seeing Gloria for a start. Has he always been like this?"
Silas winced, shaking his head. "No."
Chester nodded. "Me."
"I don't think us being mates helps things."
"Should I stay away for a while?"
Smiling, Silas leaned back in his chair. "Think you can?"
Chester grinned, eyeing Silas. Licking his lips, he said, "Nope, but I'll try."
"What? Meet up in some seedy motel for an hour to fuck our brains out?"
"As long as you-"
"God, coffee," Tank croaked behind them. He staggered over to the machine, stared at the knobs and dials, and groaned. "I have a coffee pot at home. Why do you need one of these?"
Standing, Chester walked over to him. "Here, I'll make you one. Go and sit down. You look like shit, and have you had a shower?"
"Fuck off, Chester. I've showered. Fuck, I'm never drinking again." He slumped in the chair and put his head on the table. "Oh my god, that feels good." He rolled his head slowly from side to side.
Silas stared at Tank then slowly raised his eyes to Chester. Chester shook his head, sighing deeply.
"Hungry?"
"God no. Just coffee, that's all I need." He lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes scanning the room. "Where's Dodge?"
"Probably with Troy," Silas muttered. When Tank looked blankly at him, Silas narrowed his eyes. "My son. Troy."
"Oh right. Yeah, I don't remember him. Sorry."
Chester placed the coffee in front of him. "Here, Tank. Drink your coffee."
"Oh, thank fuck."
He lifted the cup and sniffed loudly then drank it all. Chester shook his head, got up again and grabbing Tank's now empty cup, walked back over to the machine to make him another one.
"So, Kylie," Chester asked, waiting for the machine to finish.
"Don't wanna talk about it," Tank muttered, then said, "She dumped me."
"Why? I thought you two were good?"
"We were."
Chester leaned back on the counter, folding his arms over his chest. "And?"
"I'd had a drink with friends, and when I got home, she started asking me about some guy."
Chester raised an eyebrow. "Some guy?" he prompted.
"Yeah. When we were on the last search and rescue, I met some guy. Seemed nice." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see what the deal is? So I've been messaging with him."
"Who is he?" Silas asked, leaning his elbows on the table.
"Just some vamp. Like I said, he's a nice guy. We got talking and swapped numbers. He knows about Kylie. We're just friends."
"He's a vamp who happens to make friends with you. Why?" Chester asked. He had a suspicion he knew why this vampire had made friends with Tank.
"I don't know. Met him at the hospital where he's a doctor. We got talking. I don't know what the fucking problem is?"
"Was he involved in the treatment of the people we rescued?"
Tank frowned. "Er, don't think so. I think he was walking past us in the hallway and stopped to talk to me."
Chester and Silas shared a look. "He just stopped to talk to you?" Chester raised his eyebrows at Silas, who shrugged in return.
"Yeah. He's a nice guy. We have fun."
"So, you've met him since then?" Chester's mouthed 'mates' to Silas, who gave him a slow nod.
"I just said so, didn't I. Jeez. What's with all the questions? You sound just like Kylie! I met a guy, and we're friends. That's it, but Kylie accused me of cheating on her. Me!" Tank pointed to his chest. "After what I went through with Simone, I'm the last person who is gonna cheat, and Kylie knows this. She's just being a bitch."
Chester shook his head at Silas. No, she'd just figured out something that Tank hadn't, and Chester wasn't about to tell him. Let Tank discover it on his own.
Dodge padded into the kitchen and Tank grinned. "There's my boy." He bent down and rubbed Dodge's head then groaned and sat back up, leaning on the table. Breathing deeply, he muttered, "Fuck. Never drinking again."
Chester chuckled. "Until next time."
"Nope, never. It really doesn't taste as good coming up as it did going down."
Silas grimaced. "Thanks for that." Standing, he walked over to Chester and kissed him. "I'm off now. See you later?"
"Sure you will." Chester stood and pulled Silas in hugging him. "Catch some bad guys for me."
Kissing him again, Silas muttered, "Or not. Handcuffs." He waggled his eyebrows, and Chester grinned.
Walking away, Silas shouted over his shoulder, "And make sure my bathroom is clean."
Tank grunted. "It is."
Chester watched Silas leave, or rather, his ass. The uniform might be a horrendous brown color, but the pants fit Silas' ass like a second skin.
"Stop staring at him. You can fuck him later." Tank groaned and put his head on the table again but dropped his hand to stroke Dodge, who was nudging it. "I'm still here, boy."
Sitting at the table, Chester asked, "So, he's a friend?"
"What do you want me to say, Chester? That I like the guy and it freaks me the fuck out? I've never looked at a man and thought about fucking him."
"Never?" Chester stared at Tank, seeing the blush develop on his neck and cheeks.
"Okay, maybe once or twice at school. But I didn't do anything about it. I didn't have to. I had plenty of pussy to fuck."
Chester winced. "Thanks for that."
"What do you want me to say, Chester? I'm struggling enough as it is! I want to fuck him, and I'm..." Tank trailed off, then added in a much quieter voice, "Scared. I'm scared, Chester."
Chester leaned forward, putting his hand on Tank's arm. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Tank."
"That's easy for you to say. You've been gay your whole life."
"So you're bisexual. I don't see what the issue is here."
Sighing, Tank shook his head. "My parents are the problem."
Grimacing, Chester leaned back in his chair. "Still that bad?"
"You've met them. They're racist, homophobic, vampish... vampophobic… is that the right word for it?" Shaking his head, Tank continued, "If you aren't white, middle class, churchgoing, straight, and human, and there's probably more I can add to that list, then they don't want to know."
"So, if you continue getting to know-"
"I lose my family, Chester. Yeah, that bad."
"Shit, Tank. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. I'll figure something out."
"Do you want to be with him?"
"I know where you're going with this, Chester." Tank stared at him. "You're thinking we're mates, aren't you? I asked him, and he didn't answer, so yeah, there's a good chance we are mates."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing and he knows this."
"Tank-"
"Stop, Chester, okay. I know. Just... stop, please."
Chester nodded, and they sat in silence, Chester wondering how on Earth Tank was going to ignore his mate.
❊❊❊
Sitting in his office, Silas glared at the mound of paperwork he still had to get through. Had it bred overnight? The fucking pile was huge now. Maybe he could stare it into submission.
There was a knock on his door and Silas looked over at it as Officer Clarence poked her head through. "Silas, Graham's here."
He raised his eyebrows. "Graham, as in Tina's father, Graham?"
"Yeah." She bit her lip.
"Shit," Silas muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. "Best send him in."
The door closed and Silas inhaled sharply. Shit, Graham was the last person Silas wanted to see. He hadn't been anywhere near them after the whole situation with Tina had ended. What did he want now? Why come here after all these years?
There was no knock on the door. Graham walked in like he owned the place and closed it quietly behind him. He surveyed the room, curling his lip up in disgust, and walked over to sit opposite Silas.
"Graham."
"Silas."
"What can I do for you?"
"I've come for my grandson. He needs to learn our ways." Graham stressed the word 'our' and Silas stiffened.
"You mean vampire ways, Graham."
"Yes, I do. Troy needs to immerse himself in his true heritage, and you are unable to provide it. You're merely human."
"You're right, I am merely human, but my mate isn't."
Graham blinked, but his face remained blank. "You've mated? I don't think so."
"I have, and my mate is showing Troy what he needs to know about being a vampire."
Graham scoffed. "Silly boy. What could a female show a male vampire?"
Silas grinned. Oh, Graham was going to love this. "Who said anything about my mate being female, Graham?"
That got a reaction. Graham's eyes widened and his skin flushed. "A man? You've mated to a male vampire? Ridiculous."
"No, it isn't. Chester's a fantastic mate, and I'm proud to have him as mine. He'll teach Troy everything he needs to know."
Graham slammed his hand on the desk, his eyes flashing red. "I won't have it. No grandson of mine will be exposed to this. I want him, and I'll have him."
"Isn't that Troy's decision? He's eighteen, so I'll tell him you came over. What he does with that is up to him."
"He is still a minor until he is twenty-one under vampire law."
"Luckily, we follow human laws, so as I said, I'll tell him you came over and let him decide."
Graham surged up, knocking the chair over. Leaning on the desk, he closed the distance between them. "Listen to me, human. I will have my grandson back. Pack his belongings. I'll pick him up tomorrow."
Silas. What's wrong?
Not now, Chester.
The door opened, and Chester walked in. "Hi, Silas."
Graham turned and hissed at Chester. "Get out. You have no right to be in here."
Chester grinned, showing off his fangs. "Hi, I'm Chester. You are?"
"Chester," Silas intervened. "This is Graham. Troy's grandfather." He gave Chester a look, and Chester grinned at Graham.
Holding his hand out, he said, "Hi, Graham. I'm Silas' mate and Troy's other dad."
Graham knocked the hand away. Glaring at Silas, he said, "Make sure Troy is ready. I'll pick him up tonight."
"As I've said, Graham. It will be Troy's decision, not yours."
"You will do as I have told you to or suffer the consequences."
Chester rolled his eyes. "Please. Just get out of here, or I'll report you to the council for harassing humans."
"You'll do what? You're nothing but a pathetic excuse for a vampire. We are the dominant race here, not them." He pointed at Silas who shrugged. "I will have my grandson."
Graham stormed from the room and Silas shouted, "Lovely to see you again after all these years, Graham."
"Wow, I forgot those kinds of vampires still exist."
"Chester-"
"Don't, Silas. I'm pissed you didn't tell me what was going on, but I wasn't going to sit out there and let you deal with him alone. We're mates now, so we face these situations together."
"Chester-"
"Don't." Chester rubbed his fingers over his bald head. "What a shit. Seriously, he thinks he can use the old laws to get at Troy? Man, we got rid of them decades ago."
"Are there still some used today?"
"Well, sure. No hunting humans, no preying on humans. The ones that protect you from us." Chester shrugged. "We are stronger and faster. We could do a lot of damage if we wanted to."
Silas slumped in his chair. "Can he take Troy?"
Chester snorted. "Course he can't. He's bullshitting you."
"No, Chester that's not what I asked."
"You mean, take him?"
Silas nodded. "Why now after all these years?"
"How long has it been?" Chester came around the desk and sat on the edge, taking Silas' hand in his own.
"God, before shit happened with Tina. He wasn't impressed that she'd demeaned herself with a lowly human. He came over once after Troy was born and that's it."
"Do you think he talked with Tina?"
Silas shrugged. "I would say no, but now, who knows."
"I say, tell Troy and let him decide. He's old enough, and then you're not hiding anything from him."
"I don't know, Chester. What if he decides to go?"
"Then arrange a meeting between them. Tell them both you're not going to send your son off to someone he doesn't know."
"Chester-"
"Trust me, Silas. I've done this before."
Silas stared into Chester's eyes then slowly nodded. "Okay. I'll give it a try."