Chapter Twelve
Niles hefted the bag of blood in his hand and glanced at the note he'd pinned to the board. A note from Targon. A box had arrived a week after their night together with several pints of blood in it. Targon's blood. Enough to last him a month. Niles knew bagged blood lasted around forty-two days and it looked like Targon had found this out too.
The note told Niles he'd receive fresh blood on the first of every month and nothing more. So, he'd made his decision. His family over his mate. Niles had lost his mate, not like he’d expected any other result.
Niles collapsed on the chair, his legs giving way, still holding the bagged blood. He ran his fingers over the plastic surface. "Targon," he whispered, closing his eyes as tears spilled down his face.
There were no words to describe the pain he felt. His chest constricted, his stomach dropped, and he squeezed the bag in his hand, the cold seeping through his skin and chilling him to the bone.
Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and stood. His mate didn't want him, but someone would. Yes, it would be difficult to move on with the connection they shared, but he'd been successful in muting it and he would continue to do so. He wasn't living half a life, and he certainly wasn't going to remain celibate.
Fuck Targon.
So, now he was getting ready for his night out. He had a date and after the arrival of Targon's gift, he was making sure he went to it. A new doctor had started, Brody Hopkins, and Niles had hesitated to accept when he'd asked him out, but after three weeks of nothing from Targon, Niles had accepted.
Max had also told him it was time to move on. After listening to him over the past several days, he'd said enough was enough. Tank had made his choice and Niles shouldn't be alone for the rest of his life.
Bella Donna was the restaurant he was going to meet Brody. Brody had made reservations for eight, so Niles had plenty of time to get ready. He'd eaten there a number of times and loved the food. Even if the date tanked, no pun intended, at least he knew he'd have some decent food.
The knock on the door surprised him, and when he opened it, he stopped and stared at the last man he expected to see.
"Had an interesting conversation today. Who is Brody?"
Targon stood there, arms folded across his chest, glaring at him.
"None of your business, Targon. I told you I wasn't going to sit around waiting for you. I also told you I wouldn't remain celibate. As you can see, I'm getting ready to go out, so please leave."
Niles tried to shut the door, but Tank had wedged his foot in between the door and the frame stopping Niles from closing it.
"Now wait just a fucking minute. I never said I didn't want—"
"Yes, you did. You didn't want a man, a mate, or sex with said mate because he was a male. I heard it all for months. You've had numerous chances, Targon. You virtually lived with me, and you left when the going got tough. I'm done waiting."
"Niles—"
"You practically lived with me at one point, Tank." Niles practically shouted the words at Tank. "Your damn dog had its spot picked out, but as soon as your family turned up, I was pushed aside." Niles took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I know you have a tough decision to make, but I can't waste my life waiting for you to choose."
"Niles—"
"Please go, Targon. Just... go."
Niles pushed the door and this time it closed. He stood with his hands on it and bowed his head, closing his eyes. He could hear Targon outside and then his footsteps recede as he moved away.
Pushing away from the door, Niles walked over to the sofa and sat on it, dropping his head in his hands. The last thing he wanted to do now was go out for dinner, but Targon had come and left. He hadn't stayed or fought for him, not really. He only turned up because he was jealous, an emotion he had no right to feel when he'd walked away and not come back.
He rubbed his chest, sitting upright, and stared out of the window, watching the sun sink low in the sky. Targon, his mate, dominated his thoughts. He loved him. He had for months now, but what did he have to show for it? Nothing. A mate who walked away when the going got tough.
Well, enough was enough. He was young and healthy, and he wasn't going to remain celibate for the rest of his life. Fuck the mate bond. Oh, he'd struggle at first, but once he got over the initial discomfort of being with a man who wasn’t his mate, Niles knew he'd make it.
He'd never be able to forget about his mate, he'd always feel his emotions, muted, but still there, and he would need his blood. But, he had a life too, and he was going to live it. Fuck Targon. He could go back to screwing the women he preferred.
Standing, Niles breathed deeply for a minute then went upstairs. He had a date to get ready for.
❊❊❊
"So, you're being blocked, Hunter?"
Hunter leaned back in his chair, his fingers scratching his stubble. A frown covered his face, and he shrugged slightly. "I'm not sure if I am, Chester. Whoever is playing cat and mouse with me definitely knows I’m trying to access their systems. He or she lets me in a little then blocks me again. It's almost like a game, but I think whoever it is, is trying to help us."
"Why do you think that?" Jared asked.
Hunter grabbed his bag from the floor, and after searching inside it, pulled some paper out. Placing it on the table he said, "Details of where the blood slaves from Graham's mansion are being held."
"What?" Chester picked up the papers and passed them around the table where the team were gathered.
"He or she led me to this. I was trying to hack the wrong system. I would never have found that information. It could be a trap. We won't know until we've scoped the area."
"What does your gut say?"
"It says to trust this. If you look at the rest of the pages, you'll see that they don't know where Jacques is or where this Elizabeth Selby could be. I thought you'd want to know that, Miguel."
"I do, thanks, Hunter. One question, though, is how did Etienne find him?"
"I think they had the information at some point and my, let's call him inside man, erased it. Didn't Alessio say he knew someone who worked with the council? Could it be the same person?"
"Sacha's going to call him now," Jared murmured as he read the papers in front of him. "He'll let me know what Alessio says."
“Well. Maybe we could get more answers from Etienne when the police question him again. I’m certain he won’t be enjoying the human prison they have for vampires, “Hunter mused. “Hopefully the solitary confinement will cause him to answer this time in the hopes of alleviating his discomfort.”
Chester nodded. "We can hope, although maybe one of us should pay a visit.” Chester shook the papers in his hands. “This sheet has food items listed."
"Well, if you're preparing to cut the power, you need to have plenty of food to see you through. They're prepping.” Miguel stared at the papers.“Jacques thought this would happen after he saw the details of a solar company they had bought shares in."
"Thinking it and seeing it are two different things, M,” Donnie muttered, running a hand over his face.
"I agree. When Jacques and Sacha first came up with the idea, we all followed through, but even I hoped they'd got it wrong. It’s clear they were right.” Ale sighed. “We need to find out when they are hoping to implement their plan."
"I'll dig further, Ale, but it's gonna take some time."
"At least we know where the blood slaves are. I think our first priority is to break in and get them out. God knows what's happening to them," Miguel muttered. "It's something Jacques is heavily invested in."
"Understandable and let him know it's the first thing we're going to do. We need to scope the place out and look for any weaknesses, then we can plan.” Ale spread the papers out across the table.“I know Troy wants the same thing as Jacques."
Miguel nodded. "He saw it."
Ale gave Miguel a nod. "And Jacques experienced it. We won't let him down."
"Was anything left at the hospital? Maybe Dodge could pick up a scent around this building," Tank muttered. "I can't do much until my leg has fully healed, but you know his commands and he knows all of you, so he could help."
"I'll be back up anyway, so you can stay with me, while the team are out with Dodge."
"We need to get in and place some surveillance equipment." Hunter stared at the map. "Me and Donnie could do it. We have the most experience in this type of operation."
Donnie nodded. "Been a while but I haven't forgotten what I was taught."
"This map accurate?" Chester asked. "The last thing I want is for you two to go in and things get fucked up because the Intel is out of date."
"We could go in and have a look around," Jensen said, looking at everyone around the table. "Mich could do the whole damsel in distress thing. They haven't seen you recently."
Michaela flipped him off but nodded. "I'll do the car thing and then take some photos of the area."
"I know we're the new guys, but Euan and I can help," Dean added.
"Yeah, just catch us up to date with all the Intel you have, and we'll dive in," Euan agreed.
"Shit, I'm sorry," Ale said. "I keep forgetting you're new. You've fit straight in."
"Could have done with you a couple of weeks ago," Tank added, a small smile on his face.
"Alessio's man didn't give us the information about the mansions. The overall plans only," Jared said, glancing at everyone at the table.
"Could we have two people working inside," Ale mused, rubbing his chin.
"Or more?" Chester said. "There's Romeo, who we know Alessio has been talking to, the IT man who has let you have the information, but could there be someone Romeo knows?"
"Ask him, Chester." Leaning on the table, Ale said, "In the meantime, let's plan."
Tank let the others plan and sat back thinking about his situation. Niles or his family. He'd sent Niles his blood because he knew he would need it. He had a demanding job saving lives and Tank didn't want to be the one responsible if something happened to him.
He rubbed a hand over his face, ignoring the look Ale and Chester threw him. Niles might need his blood, but he didn't need him. He was out with Brody. Even thinking the name had Tank clenching his fists. Not like he had any rights to Niles now. He well and truly fucked things up and Niles was right when he'd said he'd given Tank enough chances.
It didn't matter now. Niles was moving on and so should Tank. Easy to think but hard to do. Still, he was young enough to go out and pick some woman up and spend the night with her. Once this meeting was finished, that was what he'd do.
It was time to move on.
❊❊❊
He wasn't feeling it. Brody was great, a wonderful man who was funny and charming, but Niles couldn't get his mind or body to move past his mate. Maybe it was too soon. They'd broken up a couple of weeks ago, so maybe he needed more time to adjust and move on.
He laughed at the right times and said all the right things. but his reluctance must have shown.
"I like you, Niles, but I don't think you like me as much."
"I'm sorry, Brody. I think it's too soon."
"Have you recently broken up with someone?"
"Yeah. I thought I was ready to move on, but I guess I'm not."
Brody winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry. I broke up with someone before I moved out here. We can still be friends and who knows what the future will bring."
"Brody, I'm sure there's a wonderful man out there for you."
Brody winced again. "Ouch."
Niles reached across the table, holding his hand. “I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I just meant, you're a genuinely nice person and deserve to find happiness too."
"Thanks. So, want to tell me about him?"
Niles sipped his wine, looking around the restaurant. With a sigh, he said, "He doesn't want me. There's not much more to add."
"I see. He cheated on me, so I left and moved here. It wouldn't have been so bad if the man he cheated with didn't work on the same team I did."
Wincing, Niles said, "Shit, Brody."
"Yeah. Lucky for me, this opening came up at the same time and I was able to transfer here. Good riddance. I've heard that things aren't going well for them. Karma."
"Damn straight. What's that saying? You don't shit where you eat."
Brody laughed, nodding his head. "Well, I hope they'll be very unhappy together."
They clinked their glasses together and Niles took a sip. Niles sat back in his chair, smiling. Brody might have arrived too soon, but at least he was sure he had a friend.
Picking up the menu, Brody asked, "Dessert?"
Smiling, Niles said, "Absolutely."