Page 21 of How to Hack a Hellhound
He opened the front door, and I came up to stand next to him. He was shorter than me, and I had the desire to dip my head down and kiss his pretty lips. I wondered if he would kiss me back or if he would claw out my eyes.
He looked too tired for either a make out session or an explosion of temper, though, so I leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his forehead before I quickly walked out the door. I couldn’t help myself, but I also didn’t want to tempt fate.
“Creepy stalker,” I heard him mumble behind me.
“Little hellcat,” I called back over my shoulder. I heard him chuckle, and then the door shut, and I heard the lock engage.
Good. I’d go back and watch to make sure he relaxed, and I’d start digging into James. I usually worked alone, but the idea of Quinton sitting next to me as I researched, adding in his snarky commentary, was oddly attractive.
I didn’t want Quinton in danger, but he would charge headfirst into whatever he wanted either way. All I could do was hang on for the ride and watch over him. Whatever he wanted, I would provide. If he needed to wreak havoc and stand in the line of fire of the human traffickers, then I’d be the shield that protected him from them.
I had a feeling that he would even be interested in interrogating them. I was a little sad that I’d already dispatched James. It would have been fun to see Quinton have a go at him.
Ah, well, next time. With that cheery thought, I walked into the main house. I opened my laptop to see Quinton resting on the couch with a second cup of coffee, and I brought the laptop into my office. I set it down next to my main computers so I could glance over to check on him while I worked.
The sooner I tracked down another person responsible, the sooner I’d get to see my little hellcat unsheathe his claws.
Chapter 9
Quinton
Hellhounds were fucking weird. I mean, I knew that Dexter and Toby were batshit, even though I still wasn’t sure what Toby was. The way that Liam had mentioned that he, Corbin, Jude, and Dexter would watch over us made me think they were all hellhounds. I hadn’t really met Jude or Corbin, but if Liam and Dexter were any indication, hellhounds were not the best at people skills.
It made me wonder if all the awkward people I’d met over the years were actually supernatural beings. It made so much sense, when you thought about it. I mean, if I could burn shit down with my mind and see evil people and do who knew what else, I’d probably be pretty unique. Plus, I guessed they might not have had conventional upbringings.
After Liam left, I relaxed on the couch, watching random shit on tv and waiting for Aiden to get home. I must have dozed off, because next thing I knew, the door opened and the daylight coming in the windows had faded quite a bit.
“It’s just me,” Aiden called out, even though he was probably five feet away. I sat up on the couch as he shut and locked the door. “Jude told me you were still here and brought me over. Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m ok. A little groggy, but the headache is better,” I answered.
Aiden came and sat next to me. I put my arm around him, and he snuggled into me. I figured it was best to just spit it out, so I got right to the point. “I did something stupid yesterday, and I’ll explain everything, but the guys want us to move in here.”
Rather than being shocked, Aiden just nodded his head. When I looked at him, he said, “Yeah, Jude was sort of hinting at how nice it would be for us to live here and how they had all this space and everything. He also talked about how it’s got alarms and is safer than the apartment. I kind of figured we were gonna be relocated.”
“Listen, we aren’t being relocated. We can do whatever the fuck we want to, ok? No one has a say in what happens to us butus, alright?” I insisted.
I didn’t want Aiden to think someone was controlling him. He’d had enough of that shit with his captor. He had choices, and I’d make sure he knew it.
“It’s ok, Q. I’m not upset. Jude and Corbin… they’re safe. They rescued me. I know they wouldn’t force me to do something I didn’t want to.”
We just sat for a minute, Aiden warm against my side. I was usually prickly and never hugged people, but with Aiden, I didn’t mind him in my personal space. He was like a kid brother, although he might have been older than me. Still, I felt protective of him, and I hated the fact that I’d unwittingly put him in danger. I sighed.
“What is it?” he asked. “Do you not want to stay here? I’ll do whatever you want, Q.”
“It isn’t that. It’s just… complicated. I made a mistake by going out last night, and now people may be looking for me. I hate that I may have compromised your safety.”
“You were drugged. Someone tried to kidnap you. Thank goodness Dexter was there to save you. If staying here is safer, then we should stay. I don’t want anything happening to you. These people wouldn’t be looking for me. They’d be looking for you. They already tried to hurt you once,” Aiden said, and I could hear the concern in his voice.
“It wasn’t Dexter who saved me, which brings me to the complicated part,” I said.
I wasn’t sure how Aiden was going to take being watched. He’d been held captive for a year, and I had no idea if he’d had cameras on him during that time. I didn’t want to inadvertently trigger some kind of trauma. Fuck.
I gave him a squeeze with the arm that was around him. “So, it’s actually a guy named Liam who rescued me. He’s… friends, I guess, with Dexter, Jude, and Corbin.” I paused there, unsure how to go on. Did Aiden know that they weren’t quite human? He’d never talked about his rescue, and I’d never really talked about mine.
“Is he… the same as them?” Aiden asked.
“I don’t know how your rescue went, but Dexter set the mansion that I was held captive in on fire. Only he didn’t have matches,” I said, watching for a reaction.
