Page 13 of Maker

He’d forgotten the pack master didn’t exactly respond positively to threats. Henry lunged for him. Will laughed as he tried to dash away, but there was no chance of escaping Henry. In short order, the pack master had wrestled Will to the ground, pinning him in place. They were both panting from exertion, Will more than Henry. He wasn’t fit enough for this fight.

“Why are you being such a little shit? You’ve always been one, but not like this…”

“I think Maddox is going to leave me. I think he’s sent me here to be your problem. And I think I’m not going to let you put a fucking finger on me, Henry.”

Henry laughed.

“Maddox is not going to leave you. I have never seen anybody more attached to anybody the way he is to you.”

“Yeah, and Gideon saw that too. And I saw what he’s like around Gideon. He’s not the same Maddox. He’s weaker and crueler. I don’t recognize him. I don’t think he’s going to come back for me. Ever.”

Henry squeezed his shoulder. “I’ve got you for now, Will. Don’t worry. Maddox is coming for you. I promise.”

That was a big fucking promise.

6

Maddox missed his boy.

It had been a single day, and already being separated from Will felt like missing a limb. He was worried that Will might not be behaving himself, and that he might perhaps get the better of Henry. He was worried that this was the longest separation they had ever endured in their relationship, and something might befall Will in the meantime, some cruel twist of fate that might mean their separation was eternal. In short, he was worried, and nothing about Gideon’s presence made him any less worried.

“Sulking, brother?”

Raymond intruded on Maddox’s thoughts with his presence. It was an instant irritation, and would be no matter who had interrupted him, but there was some particular smugness in Ray’s expression which made his presence all the more galling.

Maddox loathed Raymond the way only a younger sibling can loathe an older one.

“Not sulking. Thinking.”

“Thinking of excuses, no doubt. Gideon is resting for now. Soon he will regain his strength completely, and then you will be due a reckoning, little brother.”

“Is there really nothing you have better to do?”

“No. I attend Gideon. This is, quite literally, my job.”

A knock at the door gave Maddox excuse to rise. “Probably one of my human contacts,” he said. “I will send them away.”

“Yes. Do,” Raymond said. “Lest they be given the honor of restoring Gideon’s power.”

Maddox cursed under his breath as he went to the door. He had hoped none of the humans he knew would attempt to make contact before he made contact with them. His meetings with his human law enforcement associates had been on hold since he went on vacation, so there should have been nobody to come over. And yet, there the door was, being rapped upon.

He opened it to find the stern, concerned features of his favorite middle-aged detective. Candy’s hair was pulled back in a professional blonde ponytail, her lips marked with a hint of pink gloss. She was a handsome woman, and probably his closest actual human ally. Strange to come to that conclusion now.

“Candy. I can’t talk now,” he said, suddenly worrying for her wellbeing. He hadn’t even thought of her. He should have thought of her. She would be just as worried about Will as he was.

“I saw lights on,” she explained.

“Uh huh. Lorien and Henry have been living here for a long time. Didn’t you think it was them?”

“No. They never turned the lights on. I mean, at least, not that I noticed. When I came past. On patrol. You know. We still had SUCU business, even if our key liaison was out of town.”

Candy was a terrible liar, and an even worse benign obfuscator of the truth. She had been keeping an eye on the place, that much was obvious. Telling her to stay away wasn’t going to work. Her guilt about the past kept her tied to Will, and by default, Maddox, in the present.

Maddox stepped outside and shut the door behind him. Taking her by the elbow, he walked her several blocks away into a crowd of people. It felt so much better to be thronged by strangers. It almost erased the feeling of Gideon’s influence. Almost.

“I need you to do something for me,” he said.

“Sure, boss,” Candy agreed. “What’s wrong? Where’s Will?”

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