Frey (26 page)

“
Is this going to be a new
build, or a remodel?” Rafael was the best architect around.
Whatever Frey wanted, he’d get. Rafael would do all the research
needed to build Abbi the perfect studio, equipped with mirrors,
bars, sound equipment, the works.

“
I thought about
transforming the gym downstairs, but I want this to be all hers. I
want a new room built on the west side of the house adjacent to the
gym.”

“
All I need are the
dimensions, and I’ll get started tomorrow.” Rafael loved the
process from design to construction, even though he hired out Clan
members for the actual build out.

“
Thank you, Brother. Now,
are you ready to fly?”

“
Of course. Where’s
Urijah?”

“
At the lake, where else?
Urijah, let’s hit it.” Frey didn’t have to yell. Urijah’s shifter
hearing picked up the command.

Frey and Rafael phased and launched
themselves into the hazy sky. The moon was no longer completely
full, but the bright orb cast a beautiful glow through the clouds.
Uri met them in the air, and the three of them angled their wings
toward the city.

Once they reached downtown, they split off,
taking different quadrants. Their teams met them at predesignated
locations. Rafael’s team was the largest. Even though he was the
oldest of their Clan, he was also the most important. His team
would protect him above all else.

Frey’s team was the smallest, but that was
all right with him. More Unholy for him to battle. He adjusted his
in-ear transmitter and got busy. Julian had taken Jonas’ technology
and tweaked it, making the communicators even better for the
Goyles. The teams could talk to each other from longer distances.
Frey was scanning the busy streets below when he found what he was
looking for: a group of monsters just waiting for an ass whipping.
“There they are boys; let’s have some fun.”

Frey and his team landed, making a tight
formation around the Unholy. The hybrids stopped fighting among
themselves and turned to their new opponents. Frey stood still,
allowing the stupid creatures to come to him. He toyed with them,
allowing them a few punches to get their egos going. As soon as
they started running their mouths, he went in for the kill. After a
couple of hours, he called for Sixx on the comm to come bag the
bodies.

When Urijah offered to wait on the clean-up
crew, Frey told him to head on home. He’d had a long day at the
hospital, and Frey wanted to show his appreciation somehow. When
Sixx and his team arrived, Frey and Rafael headed home. As they
flew, Rafael asked, “How are things with Abbi? Kaya said she was
pretty skittish when she took her statement.”

“
Kaya’s right. Abbi’s been
through hell for a long time. Sixx uncovered a bunch of shit
leading back to her husband that she’s not going to want to hear.”
Frey explained what they suspected. “I want Kaya to be safe at the
precinct, Rafe. This fucker is a loose cannon.”

“
She won’t be chief much
longer. Dane’s nomination has been approved by the City Council.
I’m ready for her to be home full time, getting the nursery ready.
I still can’t believe we can finally have kids.”

“
About that. It might not
be my place to say anything, but if Sixx is right in something else
he found today, he might have a kid out there who is in his early
twenties.”

“
No shit?”

“
No shit. He said he bit
his girl in the throes of passion, thinking it was safe. We now
know it wasn’t.”

“
Huh. How does he feel
about that?”

“
He’s a little pissed that
she kept the truth from him. If he confronts her now, it’s going to
be a shock that he hasn’t aged. But then again, since she’s had a
kid, she hasn’t either. I don’t envy him.”

“
No, I wouldn’t either,
especially knowing I’d lost that much time with my child. Damn. How
are you going to deal with not being able to have kids?”

“
What are you talking
about?” Frey didn’t like where the conversation had
gone.

“
I mean, Abbi’s had a few
miscarriages already, and those are human babies. Do you really
think she can carry a Goyle fetus to term?”

Frey hadn’t thought of it that way.
“Honestly? I think it’s been an internal defense mechanism. I might
be wrong, but I don’t think Abbi wanted to bring a baby into the
world knowing Quinn would be the father.” He didn’t tell Rafael
that there was a possibility she might be pregnant now.

“
That makes sense. I hope
for your sake that’s the case.” When they neared the point they
would go separate directions, Rafael said, “I’ll pray to the gods
on your behalf. Be well, my brother.”

“
And you, my King.” Frey
landed on the ground beside the back deck. He was too keyed up to
stay home alone, so he showered the Unholy blood off his body,
changed clothes, and headed to the gym to relieve Mason. The young
Goyle had spent all day manning the gym alone. Even though Frey had
decimated some Unholy, he still had nervous energy to burn. He
needed to hit something else. The punching bag would have to do. He
needed to wear himself out so he got a good night’s sleep. He
wanted to be well-rested when he brought his mate back home
tomorrow.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Craig grabbed the burner phone and excitedly
called the only preassigned number in it. He had done his job and
done it well. Jasper was rattled, and his boyfriend had left town.
He was ready to collect his payment. After four rings, the phone
was answered, “Well?”

“
It’s done. The kid left
town. I followed him for a couple of hours just to be
sure.”

“
Excellent. You have
served me well. I will meet you at your hotel in ten minutes.” The
phone disconnected. Ten minutes? He was close by. Craig’s dick
began getting hard the instant the man’s voice sounded in his ear.
That accent alone drove Craig wild. Now that he knew he was so
close, his cock was painful against the zipper of his jeans, but he
didn’t dare touch it. Ten minutes away meant in twenty minutes,
Craig would be tied up in those beautiful knots. The large man
would not be gentle.

Craig thought back to his time with Jasper.
Making his fellow fireman fall for him had been easy. Craig almost
developed feelings for the redhead, but the man had sensed it and
demanded he end the charade. Craig had no idea why the man hated
Jasper so much, but with all the money he received for seducing
him, he really didn’t care.

Now the man was going to pay him in a much
better way. The first time he’d tied Craig up had been scary. Now
just the thought of the ropes binding him, holding him hostage, had
his dick weeping in anticipation. How long would the man make him
wait to come? Half an hour? Two hours? Since he had done a good job
in getting the kid to leave town, maybe the man would get him off
quickly.

Sundays were family day at the manor. What
started off as a once in a while breakfast had morphed into an
all-day gathering. It wasn’t mandatory, but if the Clan members
could be there, they usually were. Priscilla, Rafael’s housekeeper,
was like a mother to all the Goyles and loved to spoil them by
cooking huge spreads.

With so many of the immediate family out of
the country, the house was fairly quiet. Kaya wrapped her arms
around Rafael and said, “I’ve never seen them all this subdued.
What’s going on?”

Rafael placed a kiss on her forehead and
protectively placed a hand on her stomach. “Mates, that’s what’s
going on. It seems the fates have been conniving for a lot longer
than we realized.”

Kaya frowned, but let it go. Rafael would
explain everything in due time, and Kaya was learning to be patient
with him. When Priscilla announced breakfast was ready, they all
headed into the dining room. Kaya was first in line, followed by
Rafe, and the rest of the Clan lined up behind them. Once they were
all seated, Rafael tapped his coffee mug with his fork. Everyone
quieted and gave the King their full attention.

“
I wanted to wait until we
were all together to make this announcement, but seeing it may take
a while for that to happen, I have decided to do this today. It is
with great pleasure I tell you I am going to be a father.” Rafael
waited while the room erupted with shouts of joy, everyone standing
and coming around to shake his hand and bow to Kaya. When the room
settled back down, Rafael continued, “Since Kaya is going to be a
mother, she has agreed to retire from the force. Dane will be
stepping into the role of Chief.” Dane received congratulations
from all around the table.

“
I’m not sure what is
going on with the fates, but they have decided we should all find
our mates immediately. While this is a positive thing for our
future, for some reason they have decided to make it difficult for
some of us. Just this week, three of you have figured out who your
mates are.”

Dane spoke up, “Four.”

Sixx answered next, “Five.”

Mason slid down in his chair and quietly
said, “Six.”

If Dane and Sixx had been a surprise,
neither was more so than Mason. Rafael looked at their young cousin
and asked, “You’re too young. Are you sure?”

“
If my reaction to her
here lately is any indication, then yeah, I’m pretty darn sure,”
Mason replied, blushing.

Based on the young Goyle’s embarrassment,
Rafael had a good idea what reaction he was referring to. “Would
you care to enlighten us as to who she is?”

Mason looked at the ceiling. “Not really,
but you’ll find out eventually. It’s Willow.”

Rafael was delighted. “That’s great!”

“
How is it great? I’m too
young and she’s, she’s…”

“
She’s perfect for you.
And she’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. Since she’s your mate,
that means she’ll be around a long time.” Rafael clapped his hands
together.

“
She has a boyfriend,”
Mason reminded him.

“
No, she doesn’t. They
broke up last weekend.”

“
They did?” Mason was
surprised.

Rafael grinned. “Yes, they did. Now, no more
excuses. When you’re ready, we’ll discuss this further.” Mason
rolled his eyes, Kaya laughed, and everyone else got busy
eating.

Rafael took a look around the table. Julian
had informed him of the Katherine Fox challenge before he left for
Egypt. “Dane, I thought you and Julian figured out that Katherine
is his mate.”

“
Oh, we did. As soon as
Katherine was out the door, my mate brought my food to me. The
waitress at the coffee shop, Marley? I’m pretty sure she’s the
one.”

“
Let us pray to the gods
that she is a very boring girl leading a very boring life,” Deacon
said.

“
Here, here,” several of
the Goyles raised their coffee mugs in agreement.

“
That brings us to another
topic of discussion. Since so many of us are finding our mates, my
plan to visit the other Clans is back on. I cannot put it off any
longer. With Julian out of the country, Sixx has agreed to be our
information back-up. Dante is home safely with his new family. Frey
is meeting with Malakai, another transfer from the west coast. With
everything that’s going on at the moment, Frey needs another body
at the gym, and we need another body in the sky.”

“
Speaking of bodies,
where’s Jasper?” Priscilla asked as she brought in another basket
of biscuits.

“
He had a late night on a
stake-out,” Dane answered before anyone else could. The rest of
them would eventually find out Trevor was gone, but for now, it
wasn’t anyone’s business.

When breakfast was finished, most of the
Clan spread out around the manor, either playing video games or
shooting pool. Sixx excused himself to head over to the lab. Dane
pulled Kaya to the side. “We need to talk about Troy Quinn.”

“
Let’s go to Rafael’s
office,” Kaya replied. Rafael knew this was police business, but
Kaya was his business. Now that she was pregnant, he wasn’t letting
her out of his sight too often.