Page 41 of Mated to the Human: Volume One

He rested his hand on the back of Cane’s neck after he stood up from dragging the last man to the bar. “You okay?”

Cane turned into him, pressing his hands to Jake’s chest and running them down his sides like he was checking to make sure Jake was whole. “I’m good. You?”

“Good.” They leaned in at the same time, lips hot and firm as they melted together. Jake pulled back after only a moment, resting his head against Cane’s for one more breath. “I need to call Calliope and probably the police.”

Cane nodded but didn’t make any move to release Jake. Which was perfectly fine with him.

10

Cane moved down the line of tied-up men, removing masks while they waited for Calliope and the police. He pulled the mask off the last one—the one he’d stopped from shooting Jake in the back—and stared down at the man who’d been following him the other day. “Shit.”

Jake was in his space a second later. “What’s wrong?”

Indicating the man on the floor, Cane looked at Jake. “This guy was following me the other day. I saw him across the street when I came out of Merrick’s bookstore.”

Looking down at the still-unconscious man, Jake furrowed his brow. “They were after you.”

“What?”

Jake turned to him, dark brown eyes furious. “They were after you. It can’t be a coincidence that you got jumped at an underground fight, followed, and then attacked again here.”

“It’s definitely not,” Calliope said, coming through the hole that used to be their front door with two men flanking her. “And this isn’t the only attack. Someone went after Hollis, too. Tried to kidnap him.”

“Tried?” Cane said, moving toward Calliope. “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he is. Derek flattened them. He, uh, shifted.”

“Shit,” Jake said, moving closer to them. “Seriously? I didn’t think demons could shift here.”

One of the men with Calliope spoke up, “It takes an enormous amount of power and energy. Most of us probably couldn’t manage it. Or couldn’t hold it for any length of time.”

Calliope glanced back at the men with her. “Sorry, this is Bacchus and Rook.” She looked at Cane. “They’re both hellhound enforcers. They’ll be taking the attackers off our hands.”

“Great.” Cane held out his hand. “Cane Harding.”

Both the hounds shook his hand.

As soon as he stepped back, a thought occurred to Cane. “What about Merrick? Was he attacked, too?”

Calliope shook her head. “No. We’ve spoken with him and Leander. Both confirm there’s been no attack and that they’ll be on high alert.”

Rook said, “There’s a team of hounds on their location. We’ll keep them safe.”

With a breath of relief, Cane nodded. Jake stepped into his space, sliding an arm around his shoulders. Cane leaned into the warmth of him. The strength of him. It’d been a long time since he’d had someone to lean on. Turning his head, he pressed a quick kiss to Jake’s jaw. In turn, Jake leaned his forehead against Cane’s temple for a moment, just breathing.

The hellhounds walked over to the men lined up on the floor in front of the bar. Calliope moved with them, stopping beside Jake and Cane. “Why don’t you two go ahead up to the apartment. Bell and the others can tell us what happened.”

Jake nodded and stepped away from Cane to hug his sister. “You’ll call if you need us? Or anything else happens?”

“Of course,” Calliope said, hugging Jake and then stepping over to Cane.

He stood there for a moment, a little stunned that she seemed to want to hug him, too. She lifted her arms and moved in. He hugged her back as the reality of his new situation settled into his bones. This was Jake’s sister. Cane’s sister-in-law. Family. He had an actual family now. Looking up, he met Jake’s gaze. A little smile lingered at the corners of his mouth as he watched Cane.

Calliope stepped back and patted Cane on the chest. “Don’t let him worry all night,” she said, tilting her head toward Jake. “He hides it well, but he’s been known to fret like an old mother hen.”

Cane shot a wicked smile Jake’s way. “I think I can keep him occupied.”

With a snort, Calliope turned toward the hounds and their prisoners. “I have no doubt.”

---