Only Skin Deep: Paranormal MMM Romance, page 21
And he did. He felt it.
Soul deep.
Colby wanted them with a depth he didn't recall wanting anything else. The night before, spent between them, being the focus of their attention—it had been, for lack of a better word—magical. He could still feel them on his body, their touch seared into his flesh. It would be easy to give in and surrender to that desire again and again.
Nothing in this world is easy.
Nothing.
When Colby didn’t respond, he choked on their disappointment. He followed them out. Ash started the car and pulled away, silent.
Even with discontent filling the car, the trip home was more relaxed than the mad dash across town, although Daniel was quite upset that Ash wouldn’t use his siren again. As they neared the house, Colby spied a column of black smoke in the distance. It grew as they neared home. Pulling onto their street, Colby saw multiple fire trucks and police cars filling the road.
Ash flipped on his flashing lights and got as close as possible, still a good half block from the house. Colby gasped when he realized it was their home aflame. He exited the car and stood in shock at the fully engulfed inferno. Tears stung the backs of his eyes.
Family photos. Family heirlooms. Everything they owned.
All the memories of his parents going up in smoke.
Daniel came to his side, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Where will we live, Coby?”
Colby dragged his brother into his arms. “We’ll be okay. Don’t you worry.”
Ash ran a hand over Daniel’s shoulder. “We’ve got you, okay?”
Luca sidled up on Colby’s other side. “You can both come stay with us.” Daniel moved into the crook of Luca’s arm.
“I’m going to go talk to the cops, let them know you’re the owner and to contact me with any news,” Ash murmured before crossing to the two uniformed police officers nearby.
Colby nodded. He barely heard anything else from that point forward. All he imagined were the memories forged in that house. Family Christmases. Birthdays. Weekly pizza and game night where they’d all wear pjs and attempt to be the Uno King of the night. The laughter. My god, he missed the laughter. He heard echoes of it as he watched the one place he’d ever called home disappear in a column of fire and smoke.
“Bad men, Luca,” Daniel said. “There are bad men over there.”
Colby heard that through the fog. His gaze traveled in the direction Daniel pointed and noted a cluster of men off to the distance—on the other side of the firetrucks—grinning with malice in their expressions.
They looked like regular men, as far as he could tell. “The ones smiling?”
“Yeah,” Luca murmured.
“How can he see them, and I don’t?” Colby asked. “How did I not recognize who they were when I went in there? If I had, we wouldn’t be in this situation. This fucking curse keeps destroying everything in my life!”
“We will fix this,” Luca said.
“Like you fixed me?!”
He instantly noticed the pain he’d inflicted and felt terrible for saying those words. How dare he?
Luca’s frown broke his heart. He opened his mouth to apologize, but his brother hugged him. “Coby, it’ll be okay. I’ll take care of you.”
Tears sprang to his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his brother and sobbed. He was utterly exhausted. He’d dealt with the loss of his parents the best way he could. He’d learned to be Daniel’s caregiver. He’d forged a new business to support them. He’d even semi-accepted that the scars might last forever.
Losing their home? It was his breaking point.
He lifted his gaze toward the snickering demons, and he tasted bile on his tongue. Moving away from Daniel, he stalked closer to the men—the beasts—to do just what, he didn’t know. All he saw was red. He wanted to rip them apart with his bare hands for what they’d done.
Before he got there, Ash moved in front of him, blocking his path.
“I want nothing more than to destroy every one of those demons for what they’ve done to you,” Ash said, voice low and filled with danger. “But there are too many humans here and we don’t want to imagine what might happen to them if a fight was to break out.” He paused, eyeing the beasts over one shoulder before returning to gaze at Colby. “Also, there are five of them, and Luca isn’t fully charged. I can’t take them all on by myself.”
“And who asked you to take them on?” Colby asked, pushing past Ash.
Ash grabbed him and yanked him closer. “Just what do you think a human can do against five demons?”
Colby beat his fist against Ash’s chest. “They’ve taken everything from me. They need to pay.”
“And they will,” Ash murmured. “But we need to do this right.”
Rage flowed through him. “I want them destroyed.”
“We’ll find a way,” Ash said, pulling Colby into his arms. “For now, we need to get you and Daniel back to Enchanted Ink where you’ll be safe.”
Colby nodded. He never should’ve left. Maybe his house would still be intact if he’d remained there. He glanced at the demons and gave them a double bird salute.
Chapter
Fifteen
Ash glared at the demons over Colby’s shoulder, memorizing their faces for later. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t get new faces, but body swapping took it out of a demon. They typically held on to the human they were possessing as long as possible—until they had no other choice. So, he etched their faces into his memory. Every one of them would find vengeance at his hands if he had anything to say about it.
They mocked him, chortling at his rage, which only made it grow hotter. Retribution would come. He guaranteed it.
“I'm sure it was the demons,” Colby murmured, his voice low. He turned to focus his attention on Ash. “But you turned the stove off, right? I mean, I think I saw you turn it off, but I can’t remember.”
Ash’s head whipped to fully face Colby. “Yes, I made sure the stove was off and the food moved away, just to be sure.” He had, right? Of course I did. I made sure of it.
The question had his brain firing, making him second-guess himself. Had he caused the fire? Had he taken away everything the pair had left in this world?
No. Absolutely not. He’d turned everything off. He was sure of it… yet there was a lingering doubt that caused his stomach to clench.
He held Colby’s gaze. “It wasn’t me.”
Colby nodded, turned to give another middle-finger salute to the demons—who only howled with laughter.
Ash drew in a calming breath. He’d have felt calmer if he’d pulled out his sidearm and shot holes through every single last one of them, but there was a growing circle of onlookers, not to mention firefighters and officers he recognized nearby.
Plus, the gunplay would only kill the human host, not the demon. As Cassius had made abundantly clear, they’d get a one-way trip to hell before being sent back up to fight another day. Worse than cockroaches, scurrying in the darkness, spreading their evil spite along every inch they traveled. “Ignore them. They find joy in others’ pain.” He gently grasped Colby’s upper arm and led their mate away.
He urged everyone into his cruiser and climbed behind the wheel.
Suddenly, a thought occurred. “Colby? What happened to Mrs. Martinez? I haven’t seen her.”
Colby met his gaze, wide-eyed, before looking through the window at the crowd. “She’d be outside, worried about us, I’m sure.”
Ash hadn’t told Colby what Gideon had done to Mrs. Martinez. He wasn’t even sure what Gideon had done, but he had faith it had been gentle. He opened the driver-side door and slipped out before crossing the street. He turned and noticed Colby right behind him. He marched up to Mrs. Martinez’s door and knocked. Eyeing Colby, anxiety mounting, he waited for an answer.
He knocked again.
Nothing.
“She rarely goes anywhere,” Colby said. “Her husband is bedridden.” He turned to scan the onlookers. “And I don’t see her out there.”
Ash drew out his keys—where he kept a couple of lock-picking tools. After glancing over one shoulder, he quickly jimmied the lock, and they entered.
“Mrs. Martinez?” Colby called.
Silence.
Ash didn’t like it.
He kept one hand hovering over his sidearm.
A noise behind him caused him to reach for it and train it on whoever was behind them.
It was Luca.
“Fuck, Ash.”
“You should stay with Daniel,” Ash snapped, lowering his weapon. He turned back to check the other rooms. A scream tore through from deeper in the house. He spun and ran toward the sound and found Colby in the Martinez’s bedroom doorway, white as a sheet. He shoved himself past and observed a deceased Mrs. Martinez strung over a hospital bed that clearly held her departed husband.
Both corpses had demonic symbols carved into their flesh—yet he saw no blood. What made it ghastlier was the fact neither had eyes in their sockets, either. They stared back with empty holes, their mouths stretched as if screaming.
Ash spun and forced Colby’s face against his chest. He’d been through enough already. “Let’s get you out of here.”
As soon as they were out the door, he stood on the porch, eyeing the scene. Had the demons set the fire to rattle them—or draw witches away from the coven building. Their home was warded, but those protections were fueled from the witches within. Fewer witches meant less protection.
“Get in the car with Luca and stay quiet. I’ll handle this.”
Colby stared, his face a mask of concern.
Ash waved over a couple of uniforms, showing them his badge since they were outside the Salem city limits and didn’t recognize them as the officer he’d already spoken with. “Mr. Kennedy was worried about his neighbor and her disabled husband next door, being so close to the fire. I checked in on them and found them deceased in the bedroom.”
A Boston P.D. detective sidled up—a gray-haired man whose face hinted he’d seen a lot in his day. He turned to the two uniforms. “Cordon off the crime scene and make sure no one else enters.”
“Yessir,” the pair said before moving into action.
The detective glared at Ash. “Why’d you go in?”
“To check on them.”
“You’re out of your jurisdiction, Detective,” the man said. “You should’ve notified us, and we could’ve done a welfare check.”
“Mr. Kennedy is close with his neighbors. I’ve met Mrs. Martinez before. It made sense for me to check in.”
The guy narrowed his eyes. “Stay here.”
Ash crossed his arms over his chest, inwardly rolling his eyes at the power-play. A few minutes passed. Luca watched him from the backseat of his car, and he signaled for his mate to hold.
The detective ambled out, a hint of a smile on his lips. A fucking smile. “That’s a great big mess back there.”
“It is.”
“Interesting how there’s no blood,” the detective said. “All those cuts and no blood.”
Ash nodded.
The detective pointed to the fire. “Wonder if that’s the true crime scene in there.”
“Quite possibly,” Ash murmured. “Given that Mr. Martinez was bedridden, I doubt he was mov—” Shit. Don’t give him anything more to question. “—ed. But then, what do I know? I’m not a homicide detective.”
“Mind telling me where you were today? Prior to being here?”
“We just returned from picking Daniel Kennedy up from work. When we left, the house was fine. When we returned, it was an inferno.”
The detective scribbled some notes in his pad. “Where’s he work?”
“Friends of Boston Bakery.”
“The place for cripples, right?”
Ash clenched his jaw, glaring at the man. “People with disabilities? Yes.”
“Yeah, yeah…” He continued scribbling before looking up with a smile.
“What did you say your name was again?” Ash asked.
“I didn’t… but it’s Savant. Gus Savant.” He pulled a card from his shirt pocket and showed it to Ash. “This is you, right, Detective Montgomery?”
Ash scanned the business card—the one he’d given another officer moments ago to get updates on the fire. “Yep. That’s me.”
“Why don’t you walk me through what happened here?”
“Not much else to tell you. Mr. Kennedy didn’t see his neighbors and he was worried. I checked in and found them this way. I called you guys over. That’s it.”
“How’d you get in?”
Ash bit his tongue. He hated lying, but the guy was being a prick. No way was he fessing up to breaking in. “A key. Under the planter.”
“And you knew about this how?”
“Mr. Kennedy was close with his neighbors. He’d been made aware of it.”
“You touch anything while inside?”
“Besides the door, I don’t think so.”
Savant scribbled something else. “I suppose that’s it for now. I’ll likely be calling you to follow up in the near future.”
Ash narrowed his eyes, rage rolling in his veins. “Sure thing.”
When Ash returned to the car, everyone looked hot, pissed, and ready to spit nails. “What did they say?” Colby asked.
“Just needed to know why we’d gone in and how we’d found them,” Ash murmured. Colby didn’t need to know the detective had been a prick, so he kept mum.
As did everyone else, it seemed.
The trip back to Enchanted Ink was quiet. Too quiet. Yet he didn’t know what to say to make things any better.
Ash unlocked their apartment door and swung it open, walking a few steps inside before turning around to eye the bedraggled pair. Colby and Daniel had been through enough hell, but the hits kept coming.
Colby glanced around as they trickled in. “This isn’t where we stayed before.”
“That was the lounge space we use during downtime between tattoos in the shop,” Luca said. “It was more convenient to be near my studio while inking your tattoo. That’s where all my gear is. This,” he said, waving an arm around. “Is our home. Your home.” Luca sighed at Colby’s scowl. “For as long as you want it to be.”
“Ahh,” Colby murmured.
“I sent some texts to the coven on the way here,” Luca announced as he closed the door behind them. “They’re gathering. They’ll be coming to supply you two with clothing and other necessities.”
Daniel perked up. “A PlayStation?”
“You spend too much time on those games,” Colby muttered.
“He’s been through hell,” Ash whispered. “If those games comfort him, so be it. He needs that right now.”
Colby scrubbed his face with both hands. “You’re right.”
Ash caressed Colby’s cheek. “You could use some comfort, too.”
Colby held his gaze, a shine in his eyes.
“My mugs!” Daniel cried, rushing over to the kitchen. He hoisted one mug over his head, a broad smile on his face. “This is one of my mugs.”
Colby walked closer, taking the wonky, brightly painted chaos of a mug from Daniel.
“Another one!” Daniel yelled excitedly, pointing. “And another!”
Colby eyed them. “You bought his mugs?” He frowned, clearly noticing they’d bought all of Daniel’s mugs from the auction. “I packed these. There were different addresses.”
“Magic,” Luca said, taking the mug from Colby’s hand. “We were the highest bidder on them all. We now have a complete set of Daniel originals.”
“This one is my favorite,” Daniel said, raising another.
Ash smiled. “Then that one’s yours again. You can use it to your heart’s content. How’s that sound?”
Daniel beamed. “Okay.” He walked to the fridge and got a bit of water from the dispenser before drinking from his mug. “Tastes better from my mug.” He took another sip. “Oh no. Now I have to pee.”
Ash chuckled and pointed the way to the bathroom. “First door on the left.”
Daniel left to take care of his needs.
Colby lifted another mug and turned to them. “Why?”
“Why not?” Luca asked in response.
“You didn’t have to buy them all.”
Luca shrugged. “Yeah, we did.”
“Why?” Colby asked.
Ash closed the gap and collected one mug in his palm. “There was this stupid movie we saw a few years ago—but there was one part that I absolutely loved. A man was interested in a woman, a woman who refused to pay much attention to him. She made and sold homemade chairs to help support her kids. He bought all her chairs.”
“Filled his house with them,” Luca said, grinning. “But don’t let Ash tell you it was stupid. He loved that movie.”
“Whatever,” Ash said.
Colby frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“Everyone has their chairs, that something they pour themselves into. If you care about someone, you find out what that something is, and you support it. Wholeheartedly. You buy her chairs. For Luca, it’s his tattoos. Me? It’s serving and protecting this coven.” Ash tucked a knuckle under Colby’s chin for a few seconds, drawing their mate’s gaze. “You pour your heart into your pottery… and your brother.” He glanced down at the mug in his grip. “I realize he made these." Ash lifted his gaze. "But it was with your help and guidance. You shared your love with him, and together you did something for a good cause. So… we bought your chairs.”
Tears shone in Colby’s eyes. “I don’t know what to say. Other than the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress made a pretty penny off you two.” He chuckled, a lone tear streaming down his face. He wiped it away and placed the mug on the counter. “Thank you.”
“It was for a good cause,” Ash murmured.
“Not just for that,” Colby said, turning to eye Luca, too. “For all of it. For trying to save me, even save me from myself. Helping Daniel. Taking care of us when we needed it. I appreciate you both, even though I haven’t done a wonderful job of telling you so.”
