“I think you already did that.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” Rio grinned, “Was tasty too.”
“Brat.” Cade took the hand Rio offered and allowed the other man to pull him to his feet. He needed to pull his pants on, because knowing his freaking luck, his boss would be pissed when he was found to be missing from the medical area. Rock had yet to meet a locked door that could keep him out. Add in the fact that Dreamland was Rock’s house, yeah, pants were definitely a must.
Chapter Ten
“Get your ass out here, stat.”
“Jesus, fuck.” Cade jerked out of his sleep, already reaching for his pillow under which his gun should be, but his hand came up empty.
“Ooof, what the—” Rio wrapped his fist into Cade’s shirt to keep him from rolling off the couch. “Calm, it’s just your boss.”
“Now, Cade, move your fucking ass.”
“Boss, you’re a dick.” Cade winced at the marching band pounding the beat of their drums in his head. He knew his eyes were probably vampire red, they felt as if someone had been pouring salt in them all night. He struggled to sit up without hurting Rio.Wait… Rio?His mind scrambled to piece together how he’d ended up in here… with Rio under him! A rush of memories of yesterday swirled in his mind like a mini tornado. He remembered being hit by the tranq dart. Had a vague recollection of crawling down the hillside to Rio’s house. Then—nothing. “How the hell am I here?”
Rock scrubbed his hand down his face and pointed to Rio, “He brought you back here last night.” His face twisted into a scowl, “You were in medical until at least zero two hundred when G came to bed.” Rock pushed the gun he had in his hand into the holster he had double strapped around his thigh. “You were gone when he went to check on you half an hour ago.”
“What time did I come here?”
“About three.” Rio steadied Cade as he managed to side-step the plates and mugs on the floor next to the couch. “I made you grilled cheese, and we fell asleep.” He shrugged in Rock’s direction, “Sorry.”
“G?” Rock pressed the button on a walkie talkie.
“Have you got him?”
“Yup, he’s in Victor One.”
“Should have guessed that.” Grif muttered. “I’ll be right there.”
“Ugh, he’s going to stab me again.” Cade stumbled toward the coffee machine. He was totally going to need a gallon of joe to deal with Griffin St. Clare. The Ghost Protectors team medic was an asshole when he was pissed.
“Stab you?” Rio put himself between Cade and Rock. “He’ll have to get through me to hurt you.”
“Needles, Felipe,” Rock’s exasperated tone did little more than cause Rio to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. “G’s gonna want to test his blood again.”
“It’s Rio, and what did you find?”
“How did you know we would find something?” Rock’s suspicious nature was obviously kicking in again.
“Because he was drugged off his head when I brought him here,” Rio stated, his tone matter of fact. He stayed where he was, never taking his eyes off Cade’s boss. Oh, he probably wouldn’t be much of a match for him, Cade’s boss was at least a foot taller than him and probably twice as wide. But if he decided he wanted to hurt Cade, he would have to go through Rio first, and that might slow him down enough for Cade to get a drop on him.
“Hey,” Cade’s hand wrapped around Rio’s jaw, tilting his head, to ensure Rio was looking at him and not Rock. “The boss would never hurt me.”
“Bah.”
Cade ignored Rock’s grunt. “He might be pissed as fuck with me, but he will not hurt me.”
“Where I come from, when people look that pissed,” Rio leaned in to speak softly in Cade’s ear, “other people disappear or die.”
“We are not the family you are used to,” Cade kept his voice just as soft as Rio had, “Yeah, we are a family of sorts, but we are chosen family not like the one you have known.”
“It’s debatable if I will hurt you or not.”
Rock’s grumble in the background sent a rod of steel through Rio’s backbone and he stiffened.
“Shh,” Cade really needed that freaking coffee, he could feel his hands shaking. But he refused to allow Rock to goad Rio into doing something they would all regret. “He’s winding you up.”
