Hagen, Lynn - Snooke [Demon Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (7 page)

Dillon was sitting on the couch, his feet tossed up on the coffee table. “Put your feet down,” he snapped.

“Wow. You’re a surly mountain, aren’t you?”

Kane tilted his head, studying the bizarre human. “Are you Snooke’s boyfriend?” Kane got straight to the point. He wanted to know if the human needed relocating, to Alaska.

Dillon began to laugh as he shook his head. “I wish. We’re just neighbors and friends.”

Kane wasn’t sure if he should be relieved by this or not. Dillon definitely was interested in Snooke, but it seemed the demon wasn’t interested in Dillon, not in a sexual way at least. “So who the hell are you?” Kane took a seat on the end of the sectional.

“Uh, Dillon. I think we covered that.”

Kane liked him, even though he wanted to toss him out of the window for wanting Snooke. “I meant, who are you? You know, what are your hobbies, what do you for a living, what the fuck do you want with Snooke?”

“He’s my neighbor and friend,” Snooke stated as he joined them.

Dillon whistled low. “Always looking good, Snooke. Hell, you even smell good.”

Kane growled.

“One of these days you’re going to find that buffer of yours and use it.” Snooke laughed as he took a seat next to Kane.

Kane had an overwhelming urge to pull Snooke into his arms and blow a raspberry at Dillon. Instead, he placed his hand on the small of Snooke’s back, needing the contact.

“What are you over here for? Besides to harass Kane.”

“I brought you those flowers to woo your man, but I see it’s unnecessary.” Dillon kicked his feet back up onto the coffee table, again.

“Thanks, but I think I can handle it.” Snooke shot a glare at Dillon.

So now we were getting somewhere.
Kane sat forward, looking over at the human. “Why does he need flowers?”

“You better not,” Snooke threatened Dillon.

“He said he met the perfect guy and screwed it up by rolling away right before he got fucked. I still think he needs a psychiatrist ’cause, damn, you’re hot.”

Kane didn’t know what the hell to say.

“I change my mind. He’s hot.” Dillon pointed over to Snooke’s bedroom door.

Kane’s head snapped around to see Rainerio emerging from the shadowed hallway. He looked back over to see Dillon’s mouth hanging open and little pinpoints of wonderment decorating his eyes. Kane wasn’t sure if it was because the human thought Rainerio was hot or because he saw the warrior emerging through the portal.

“You have got to teach me that trick.” Dillon jumped up, running behind Rainerio, and stretched his hands out, feeling his way down the hallway.

“How did he do that?” Dillon shouted from Snooke’s bedroom.

“Uh, I think I came at a bad time.” Rainerio looked from Kane and Snooke to the bedroom.

“Cat’s out of the bag now.” Snooke stood and went to his bedroom. Dillon came back, walking up to Rainerio, and began poking at him. “You’re real, so how did you do that?”

“I came to tell you—”

“Run,” Kane shouted when he heard guns cocking from the direction of Snooke's bedroom.

Rainerio grabbed Dillon as Kane grabbed Snooke and opened the apartment door. They shot out of the apartment then kicked the door across the hall open.

“Shit, that’s what I came to tell you.” Rainerio growled. “I heard some men at Diablo’s talking about coming after Snooke.”

“Freeze them, damn it,” Snooke shouted.

“That was my door,” Dillon complained.

Kane was hesitant to use his powers in front of the human, but he had no choice when the two men came barreling out of Snooke’s and headed straight for them.

Kane watched the human’s eyes grow wide when the two men froze right inside the door. “We’ll have to take him with us. It’s too dangerous to leave him behind.”

“Wait.” Dillon threw his hands out. Rainerio held the human under his arm like a football. “Tulip, I have to get Tulip.”

“Who the hell is Tulip?” Rainerio asked as he set Dillon down.

“He’s my Australian Terrier.” Dillon ran into a room at the end of the hall. Kane could hear yapping and rolled his eyes when Dillon brought out a small brown and black dog. A damn dog.

“Where are we going?” Dillon asked as he stared at the two frozen men. He clutched the yapping dog to his chest as he stared up at Rainerio.

“Away from them.” Rainerio nodded toward the invading men and then picked Dillon up as the four ran into one of Dillon’s closets.

“I’m going to be sick,” Dillon warned as they emerged in Kane’s apartment. He held his hand over his mouth as he sat Tulip down. Dillon began to run around in circles.

“Crap, go in there.” Kane pointed to the bathroom. Snooke grabbed Dillon’s arm and led him away.

Rainerio stood in the kitchen doorway as he held the top of the doorframe with his hands and stared at Kane. “Wuss.” He chuckled.

Kane soured his face as he looked away from the running pair and over at the warrior standing beside him. “Listen, while I’m thinking about it. I didn’t mean to snap at you last night. You just caught me off guard.”

Rainerio’s eyebrows drew together in a deep frown. “What are you talking about? I didn’t see you last night.” Rainerio’s arms lowered.

Now shit was getting really strange. “You were in Chris’s backyard. I saw you there. Hell, I spoke with you.”

“Kane, I was at Diablo’s last night.” They stared at each other for a moment before Rainerio spoke. “Hondo said that the Pancake House owner pretended not to know about the conversation he had with Hondo the night Snooke was attacked and that shifter was killed.”

“What shifter was killed?” Snooke asked as he came out of the bathroom, a pale Dillon following. The human looked as though he was going to vomit again.

Kane felt just as queasy as Snooke glared at him. “You didn’t tell me there was a dead shifter.”

“You want to see what Kane has to settle your stomach?” Rainerio grabbed Dillon and ran into the kitchen.

Snooke crossed his arms over his chest as a finely arched eyebrow raised. “Well?”

Crap, how was he going to get out of this one? A thousand different scenarios ran through Kane’s mind before he settled on the truth. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to upset you. No big deal.”
Downplay it. Good one.
Kane gave himself a mental high five.

“No big deal? What happened?”

“We found you lying unconscious, as I told you.” Kane put his hands behind his back as he paced back and forth. “The thing I didn’t tell you was the fact that a dead shifter lay inches from you. A waiter from the Pancake House.”

“But how? Why?” Snooke looked on the verge of tears.

“I haven’t a clue, and you don’t remember. We’ve been trying to put the pieces together, but things keep getting weird every time we dig deeper.”

Now Snooke looked ill. Kane stepped in front of the short demon, his knuckles lifting Snooke’s head. “Talk to me, shorty.”

Snooke pulled away, shaking his head as he stared out of Kane’s living room window. “I can’t. I don’t remember what happened.”

“But you do know more than you’re letting on.” Kane would stake his life on that fact. When Snooke didn’t answer, he pressed another issue. “At least tell me who keeps harming you.”

“I’ve grown up in a very different way than most.” Snooke walked over to the window and stared out into the night. Although the street lights reflected through the window, Kane knew Snooke couldn’t see past them as he spoke. “My family just moved back here after living in the human realm for so long.”

“How could they? It’s very difficult for us to live there with the sunlight.”

Snooke shrugged. “We’ve managed.”

Kane walked over to the window and placed his hands on Snooke’s shoulders, seeing the demon’s reflection in the glass. Snooke’s eyes were saddened as he blinked a few times. “I’ve done things I’m not proud of.”

Kane wanted to know what those things were but didn’t probe. “Living as long as we do, being immortal, it’s bound to happen.”

“Maybe.” Snooke’s voice was haunted, as if he were talking to the glass instead of Kane. “I went over to see my uncle yesterday.” When Snooke didn’t say anything else, Kane gave a light squeeze to his shoulders.

Snooke brushed the tears from his eyes and then began to speak again. “Someone had taken pictures of us from this window. The pictures showed what had happened the first time we were together.”

Kane thought about that night. How badly he had handled the situation. His nerves started to coil tight as Snooke’s words began to form. He had a feeling he could see where this was going, and it was sending a chill down his spine.

“My uncle tossed the pictures onto the table and said he wasn’t going to have a faggot nephew.” Snooke’s Adam’s apple bobbed a few times.

“He’s the one who put those bruises on you?” Kane asked as he stared at Snooke’s reflection and then down at the street, wondering if someone was at this very moment watching them.

“Yes, it was my uncle who beat me.”

* * * *

Snooke gasped when Kane lifted him off his feet and hauled him to the bedroom. This was it. Kane was going to say his family was too screwed up to deal with Snooke. He felt the loss before Kane ever spoke a word.

When Kane slammed the bedroom door and locked it, Snooke braced himself for the blows. Kane looked like he was ready to chew nails. Why in the hell had he confessed that?
Way to keep the guy out of your business, jackass.

“I don’t want you around your uncle again,” Kane stated angrily as he slowly walked over to Snooke.

Snooke could feel himself shaking from nervousness. He wasn’t sure how to interpret Kane’s mood. Was it directed at him?

“That’s impossible,” Snooke said as Kane stopped right in front of him.

“Why? Your fucking uncle beats on you. I have a feeling it wasn’t the first time either.”

No, it wasn’t. His uncle had a very bad temper, and when Snooke didn’t do as he was told, he paid the price.

“I can’t explain it, okay? I don’t want you involved in this, Kane.”

Kane grabbed his arm before Snooke could make his getaway. “Shorty, I’m already involved,” Kane said softly. “My heart’s involved now. I won’t see you hurt again.”

Snooke’s heart was thumping so strongly in his chest that he thought it was going to burst. What did Kane mean his heart was involved now? Snooke didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Fuck, this was getting extremely complicated. Snooke hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions.

“I can help you.”

Snooke closed his eyes. How he wanted Kane to help him, but the thought of his uncle getting his hands on the handsome warriors was too much.

He opened his eyes and glared at Kane. “I said I don’t want you involved.”

“And I said I already was.” Kane smirked at him. “Too bad, so sad. I’m going to help whether you like it or not.”

How old was Kane? “You sound like a juvenile.”

“And you’re acting like a stubborn mule.” Kane stuck his tongue out at Snooke. The warrior looked ridiculous doing it but managed to make it sexy at the same time. Man, Snooke had it bad for this guy.