Authors: Lynn Hagen
Which didn’t help considering he had no clue what the human way was. He had grown up relying on fey magic, although his brother Ruttford had constantly told Fire that he needed to learn both human and fey ways of doing things.
Now he
so
wished he had listened.
Walking over to the staircase that led to the second floor of the library, Fire stared at the little boy. Tears were streaming down his face, his little fingers wrapped around the balusters, and his ears were sticking out to the sides, red with irritation. It looked like the boy was trying to pull his head out before Fire showed up.
Fire turned toward the elderly woman. “I’m guessing I’m not allowed to break the baluster?”
Mrs. Crumble’s dark-grey eyebrows pulled down as she frowned.
She waved a frail hand toward the small boy. “Mr. Veneto, the rail is made of iron. How on earth would you break it?”
God, having to hide who he truly was sucked. Although he wasn’t as strong as Rio, Fire was stronger than humans. He just didn’t want to give the sweet old lady a heart attack when he bent the metal. “Just a thought.”
Fire chewed on his bottom lip as he assessed the problem. Too bad he didn’t have any butter…or a crowbar. He highly doubted the little kid would let Fire use saliva either. Knowing he had no other choice, Fire walked over and placed his hands on the bars on either side of the child’s head.
He just had to be very careful and make sure Mrs. Crumble didn’t see what he was doing. “Hey,” he said in a soft, friendly tone.
The boy reached up and wiped at his tears, his face a wet mess.
“Hi,” he answered in a small voice. “Are you going to get me out of here?”
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“Depends,” Fire said as he crossed his arms over his chest, “are you going to do this again?”
“No.”
Fire thought about Jeff and how he constantly ate crayons and knew this little kid was going to do it again. As much as he wanted to teach him a lesson, Fire knew he couldn’t leave the boy stranded. He positioned himself between Mrs. Crumble and the railing, making sure the elderly science teacher couldn’t see what he was doing.
“Okay, I want you to close your eyes and count to ten.”
The little boy’s thick eyelashes lowered until they were touching his cheeks. Fire wrapped his fingers around the iron then began to wiggle around like he was struggling, although it was all just an act for Mrs. Crumble’s benefit.
How the kid managed to get his head stuck in here in the first place, Fire would never know. He pulled slightly, coughing at the same time to cover up the sound of groaning iron. When he was finished, Fire tapped the little boy on his head. “Go play in traffic.”
“Mr. Veneto!” Mrs. Crumble admonished him. “I highly doubt that is the appropriate thing to tell him.”
Fire rolled his eyes. “Fine, go play around some parked cars but keep your head out of banisters.”
“I promise.” The little boy grabbed Mrs. Crumble’s hand as she led him from the library.
“You’re welcome!” Fire said sarcastically to the empty room and then he smiled. “Superhero Fire to the rescue!” He had to concede that it felt good to help out. He begrudgingly admitted that the school was starting to grow on him. He liked Mrs. Crumble even though he heard she was getting a little senile in the science class. But in Fire’s opinion, that only made the class much more interesting.
He even liked Mr. Denzer, the math teacher. Everyone knew it was fake hair on the guy’s head, but Fire agreed with the other staff that it would be rude to point that out. The man had a nervous twitch, but he was pretty damn funny.
Rio’s Fire
95
As Fire glanced around the library, a fuzzy feeling began to settle inside of him. If he was sane, he would think he wanted to stay here and teach. Fire snorted. He was definitely losing his mind.
Fire remembered his meeting with Mr. Fishman and winced. The irritating little bastard was going to be mad—like he wasn’t all the time already. It would be just another little strike on Fire’s scorecard.
Instead of going to see if the principal was still in his office—
which Fire still refused to be trapped in an office with a possible homophobic demon—he headed outside to see if he could spot Rio.
His mate was nowhere in sight, but Rio’s truck was still parked in the parking lot.
Fire climbed in and then remembered the briefcase. Glancing all around him, Fire pulled the black leather case free and set it on the driver’s seat. His fingers slid over the dials for the combination, and he momentarily wondered if he should just put the case back until Rio was here with him.
He strummed his fingers for a moment…until the need to know if Mr. Fishman was a demon or not overtook him. Fire grabbed the latches that kept the briefcase locked and yanked…then yanked again.
He became confused when the latches wouldn’t release. It was just an ordinary leather briefcase. The thing shouldn’t be giving him so much trouble, but no matter how hard he tugged, the latches were unyielding.
What the devil?
Fire jumped and threw the briefcase to the floor when someone tapped on the window next to him. He was scared out of his mind until he saw that it was Tank. Fire opened the door and slid out of the truck. “Are you trying to give me a damn heart attack?”
Tank glanced past Fire, trying to see inside the truck. “You’re up to no good if you’re that jumpy,” he stated with a smirk. “Being naughty again?”
“What are you doing here anyway? You know Rio is giving me a ride home.” Fire scratched at his neck and prayed that Tank minded
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his own business. He was trying desperately to hide what was going on from the alpha. If the humongous warrior found out that Fire had broken into a car—even if his reason was plausible—Tank would definitely tell Maverick. It was only his gut instinct that he was going on, but Maverick would still chew him a new ass for not telling him Fire’s suspicions.
“Where is your mate?” Tank asked as his eyes swept the parking lot. “Why are you still here?”
“Playing superhero. Why are you here?”
Tank rested his big beefy arm on the bed of Rio’s truck. It didn’t have a standard bed like most trucks had. This one was smaller, and it protested under Tank’s weight. “Maverick wants us sentries to keep an eye on the residents not only for their safety, but to see if we can find the demon. Have you seen anyone acting suspicious?”
“I’ve seen a few people acting suspicious.”
Tank straightened, easing his weight off of the truck. The small truck groaned once again. If Tank kept this up, Rio’s shocks were going to be destroyed. “Oh yeah, who?”
“Everyone who lives in the Den.”
“Smartass. Just keep your eyes open.”
Fire glanced at Tank. “I’ve been meaning to ask. What in the hell does the demon do with the old body once he takes a new one?”
“From what I understand, the body starts to decay so the demon has to find a new host. It begins to turn grey and starts looking like it’s sort of melting.”
Well damn, that was just nasty. “How are we supposed to find this demon?”
“Panahasi says we have to wait for him to kill again in order to find out who he is. Maverick is trying to avoid that scenario. Just watch your back, and let me know if you see anything that feels off.”
“Yeah, okay.” He kind of felt guilty for not telling Tank about his suspicions, but if he was wrong, shit would hit the fan.
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97
Fire was relieved when he saw Rio crossing the parking lot. He wanted to get the hell out of here. Not only had Tank spooked him, but he was still nervous as hell about the briefcase in the truck.
Fire did not want to be around when Mr. Fishman discovered it gone. “I’ll let Rio know about the whole melting thing.”
Tank nodded and walked away, waving toward Rio before he got into his truck. Fire jumped back into the passenger seat, wishing they were gone already. He quickly grabbed the briefcase and shoved it back under the seat.
“How did your meeting go?” Rio asked after getting into the truck and starting it. “What did he want?”
“Hell if I know.” Fire tossed his hands into the air. “I never made it.”
Rio glanced his way as he pulled from the parking lot. “Why?”
“Mrs. Crumble grabbed me from the hallway to help with some kid who got his head stuck in the banister in the library.” Fire turned and pointed a finger at Rio. “I think the staff should take a vote about duct taping the little hellions to their chair all day. How could beings so little cause so much trouble?”
Rio chuckled as he drove through town. “They’re exploring their world, still learning what’s right and wrong. At that age, common sense hasn’t kicked in. You’ve only been here close to a week. Stick around, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
Fire could hear the pride in his mate’s voice. Rio really did love those little hellions. Fire didn’t understand it, but his panther was acting as if his students were his actual kids. His stomach clenched at the thought of thirty kids running around his house. Fire would be off in some corner, rocking back and forth, balled up in the fetal position, if there were that many kids in the Den.
The twins, along with Nevada and Skyler, were already a handful.
There was no way he could multiply them by eight. And Melonee was about to add another one to the litter? Maybe Fire needed to work a deal out so he could move into the apartments by the police station
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where he could be alone as he basked in his insanity of being around so many troublemakers.
“Did you find the bookie?”
“Damnedest thing,” Rio muttered. “Lost his trail when we got into the heart of town. I’ve never lost a scent before.”
“Once we get some clothes for me, we can go back to your place and see if there’s anything in the briefcase.”
Rio nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Oh by the way…" Fire sat there and explained to Rio the message Tank had given him. Rio looked like he was deep in thought, concentrating on Fire’s every word. “I hope we’re wrong about the principal. I like my skin exactly where it’s at.”
“I still wholeheartedly believe that Mr. Fishman could be the demon.”
“And I’m wholeheartedly praying that you are wrong.”
Now more than ever, Fire wanted to see what was in that briefcase.
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99
“This is beautiful,” Fire said as Rio pulled his truck to the back of the house and parked it by a worn-down barn.
“Thanks. It isn’t much, but I love all of the privacy that it affords me.” Rio glanced at his wood cabin style home, trying to see it through Fire’s eyes. It was small and set back far into the woods, but as he had stated to Fire, he didn’t need much.
Fire got out of the truck and closed the door, his hands on his hips as he glanced around at Rio’s property. “You may think it isn’t much, but from someone who has lived with too many people under one roof, this is fabulous.”
Rio opened the back door and let Fire in. He set the briefcase on the kitchen table and then went to the fridge to grab two bottles of peach Snapple. Rio handed one off to Fire. “So you think that something otherworldly is in that case?”
Fire took a long swig of his drink before answering. Rio knew what the fey was going to say before the words left his lips. He had guilt written all over his face. “Okay, I confess. I tried to open it while I was waiting on you after work.”
“And?”
“The dang thing won’t open. I tried using my fey strength, but…nada.”
Rio knew that his mate’s brand of fey was Christmas elf.
Although shifters were stronger, Fire should have been able to open the case.
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“Let me try.” Rio set his bottle down on the counter and wiped his hands on a towel. Tossing it aside, he ran his hand over the smooth leather. The case looked expensive.
“You think you can do any better?” Fire asked indignantly as he crossed his slim arms over his chest, the bottle still in one hand.
Yeah, he did.
“Wait.” Fire threw a hand out. “What if it’s booby-trapped?”
“This isn’t
The Mummy
, Fire. Do you think I’ll open the case and a curse will come upon the land?” He was having way too much fun with his mate. He couldn’t help it. Fire was leaving himself open for Rio to come right in and make his little barbs. He wasn’t being vicious about it, just having a bit of fun.
“No, but what if you wake the dead by opening it?”
Rio’s right brow arched. “Are you serious?”
Fire’s lips twisted up into a smile, making Rio’s cock begin to grow. “No, now open it.” He took another swig of his drink as he watched Rio with intense brown eyes.
Rio decided to have mercy on Fire’s ego. Instead of ripping the latches off, he went for a butter knife. He twirled it in his hand as he walked back toward the table. “Stand back now. You just might get sand all over you.”
“Ha-ha, very funny. Just open the damn thing.” Fire set his bottle down and placed both of his hands, palms down, on the table. He gave Rio a piqued look when he slid the butter knife between the first latch and the case, snapping the thing free.
He would’ve given his mate a playful wink, but Rio was a little disturbed that he had to use strength to get the latch open. This should have been nothing for him. He was a shifter, ten times stronger than a human. Yet he had to give a good tug to get the latch to release.
He had to do the same with the second one. Setting the knife on the table, Rio rolled his shoulders. He cracked his knuckles and wondered if maybe he should make Fire leave the room.
Just in case.
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He really didn’t know what was in the briefcase. What if their joking hadn’t been too far-fetched? Not about
The Mummy
, or even waking the dead. But it could be cursed, or worse.
Fire waved a hand toward the briefcase. “Stop stalling, chickenshit.”
“I’m not stalling. I’m just cautious.” Before Rio could think of how to approach the briefcase, Fire reached out and flipped it open.