Love's Baggage (5 page)

A knock on the door startled them, and they stared at it for a moment. Another knock got them moving. Bandit gestured for Allen and Roman to move into the corner of the room, while Gianni went to answer the door.

"Who is it?" he said in a low voice.

"Max sent me."

Even though Allen was supposed to be in charge of their little coup, it was Bandit who Gianni looked at for permission to open the door. Allen didn't mind abdicating leadership to Bandit. He wasn't really meant to be a leader, and Allen knew it. Bandit wasn't an alpha, but he did have the personality to keep people in line, which Allen didn't.

Bandit nodded, after making sure he stood between Allen and whoever was on the other side of the door. Gianni opened it and their jaws dropped. Standing in the doorway was the biggest creature they'd ever seen. He stood at least six-seven and he had to duck to get into the room. He turned sideways to fit through the door, and Gianni took a step back.

"Holy fuck! What the hell are you?" Bandit looked the man up and down.

Allen knew the stranger in front of them wasn't human. He breathed deeply and the faint scent of sulfur hit his nose. He snarled, baring his teeth at the creature.

"He's a demon," he blurted out.

Bandit stiffened, but didn't back down. Allen rested his hand between Bandit's shoulder blades, letting him know he was there, watching his back. Roman's growl mingled with Gianni's and they all tensed for an attack.

The demon held up his enormous hands in a harmless gesture. "I'm not here to hurt you. Max really did send me. He thought you could use some help. He said you were going up against some bad dudes without any backup."

His grin revealed pointed eyeteeth and a forked tongue. Shuddering, Allen took a step closer to Bandit, who reached around and patted Allen's hip.

"What's your name?"

Narrowed red eyes studied Bandit, making Allen think the demon wouldn't answer Bandit. Everyone in the preternatural world knew a demon's name held power beyond measure, and knowing the demon's true name gave a person great power over him.

"His name is Ba'el, and mine is Raze. We really are here to help you. This non-preter, Grime, is a danger to all of us, not just lycans and vampires."

A slender purple-haired man stepped from behind the demon with a smile. Allen inhaled and a subtle scent of frankincense filled his nose.

"You're an angel?" Shock rocketed through Allen. He'd never thought he'd see an angel and demon together.

Raze grinned with a slight wry tip to his lips. "Well, I guess technically now that Ba'el and I are together, I'm one of the fallen."

"You don't look like a fallen angel," Allen pointed out.

"I know. Thank God for that, right? I mean those guys look nasty. I'm hoping I'll keep my youthful figure for several centuries at least," Raze joked before looking back at Gianni. "You might want to shut the door. Ba'el does make an impression and we want to keep a low profile at the moment."

Gianni did as the angel said, but Bandit still didn't move from in front of Allen.

"How do we know for sure Max sent you?"

"First of all, do you really think Grime would use preternaturals to do his dirty work?" Ba'el sneered.

Allen tipped his head. The demon had a point there.

"Second of all, he told us to give you this."

Raze held out a small, circular object, and Bandit took it from him. Allen looked over Bandit's shoulder at the peculiar coin. Imprinted on one side was a wolf's head and, when Bandit flipped it over, Allen saw the impression of a five-pointed star. Bandit stared down at it for a moment before nodding.

"All right. Thanks for coming, guys. I guess Max had a vision or something."

"Nah. He told us to go to Canis pack territory and wait for you all to head out on your little adventure. We were to follow you and make contact with you when we thought it right." Ba'el nudged Raze with his shoulder. "I was all for not making our presence known until necessary, but the dude here decided we all needed to talk, so we can make some plans."

Allen stepped out from behind Bandit and looked up at the lycan, who nodded. Turning back to the newcomers, he held out his hand.

"I'm Allen, and this is Roman, my twin brother. We're on our way to take over our home pack."

Ba'el chuckled, but stayed silent. Allen got the impression the big guy didn't say much.

"Well, nothing like dreaming big, I say." Raze blinked. "Max didn't say we'd be taking part in a coup. Awesome. I always wanted to be part of a rebellion."

"Come and sit down. You're more than welcome to join our merry band of rabble-rousers." Allen pointed toward one of the beds. "I don't think the chair will stand up under your weight."

The demon shrugged. "Not much in this world does."

"Ba'el is considered small for a demon. Can you imagine what the others of his family look like? Totally scary, I bet. I wouldn't really know. We're kind of outcasts, you know. Not many angels and demons like each other." Raze flopped onto the bed, babbling as he went.

Allen and Roman sat on the other bed, while Bandit leaned against the dresser and Gianni took the only chair in the room.

"So what's the game plan?" Raze looked at each of them, his violet eyes gleaming with interest.

"We don't have one. We were still discussing things when you knocked." Allen folded his hands in his lap.

"How far are we from your pack's territory?" Bandit asked.

Allen shook his head. "I'm not sure. It's been over ten years since I've been there."

Roman scratched his chin. "We were drugged when we left the pack. We have no idea really. Just that we need to go north."

Bandit looked at Gianni. "You know. How far away are we?"

"Another four hours due north. We'll hit the city first, then after driving through, we'll run into pack land."

Bandit thought for a few minutes, and everyone kept as quiet as possible, which was a big feat for Raze. Allen saw him start to fidget and Ba'el reaching out to take his hand in his. What an odd pairing, but Allen guessed everyone had a person out there who was a perfect match. He peered at Bandit through his eyelashes. Could Bandit be his match? The piece to complete his puzzle?

Ever since Allen first laid eyes on the lycan, he'd known they were connected in some way. The white blond hair, so much like Allen's, except with the odd splash of brown on one side. Bright brown eyes gleamed with intelligence, and if anyone could think up a plan to keep them safe, Bandit would be the right one for the job.

Bandit clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "All right. Here's the first thing we're going to do. Is the city large enough for us to slip in unnoticed?"

Gianni nodded. "All of us except Gigantor here. At least Raze will blend in with the club crowd with his purple hair."

Ba'el rolled his eyes. "I can make myself appear smaller than I really am. It just takes a lot of energy, so I only do it in emergencies."

"Then use it to get into the city. Once there, I'm sure there'll be places you can stay where you won't be noticed at all. Demons always have hiding spots in non-preter places."

"True. I have a friend who'll hide me if it comes to that." Ba'el grimaced. "Though I don't want to owe him anything."

"We'll see what we can do." Bandit flipped the coin in his hand. "This might get us some help once we're there. I want you all to hide out while I do some reconnaissance."

"No. You can't risk it, Bandit. What if you get caught by Grime or by the pack to fight in their circle?" Allen shook his head. "I can't let you take the biggest risk like that."

Bandit crouched in front of him and cupped his face with his hand. "Honey, I'm the only one who
can
do it. Everyone knows you, Roman, and Gianni. It might have been ten years since they last saw you, but I'm pretty sure you haven't changed that much."

He wanted to protest and try to convince Bandit he shouldn't do that.

"He's right, Allen. Bandit might be the only one who could get close enough to find out information we'll need to take the pack." Roman squeezed Allen's shoulder. "I mean not even Raze would be able to do it. With those eyes and that hair, he'd stand out in a normal crowd."

Bandit leaned forward and pressed his lips to Allen's. Allen closed his eyes, absorbing every sensation, texture, and taste of Bandit's mouth. The kiss was over much too soon. Bandit eased back, and Allen touched his fingers to his lips.

"I have to do this, and I know you'll come to save me if I get in trouble. All of you will be there for me. This is the only way we can have a fair warning of what's going on. Even in the short time Gianni's been away, things could've changed."

Bandit was right, though Allen didn't want to admit it. He sighed. "Fine. I guess I don't have a choice."

"That's where you're wrong, Allen." Bandit lifted his chin so their eyes met. "You always have a choice. You can choose to turn around and go back. You can let your old pack rot in a hell of their own making."

"I can't do that."

"I know, and that's what makes you who you are." Bandit grinned before standing and turning to look at the others. "That's the first step of our plan. Once I know more, we can formulate a better idea of how Allen can go about challenging the alpha for position of pack leader."

Allen shuddered. "I don't want to do that."

"No one really does. Well, any sane person doesn't want to do it because it usually means killing someone." Raze pursed his lips. "It's one of the reasons why Ba'el is an outcast."

The demon nodded. "I wouldn't fight my older brother for his position in the Horde."

All the stories Allen heard of demon hordes were they were far more violent than lycan packs. They were constantly fighting amongst themselves to establish a hierarchy, and usually it meant the weaker ones had to die. Allen didn't like the idea of living like that. He studied the large demon, and Ba'el smiled at him. Even with jagged shark teeth, Ba'el gave off a gentle aura. It was probably a good thing he'd found Raze because something told Allen the angel could handle his own in a fight and wouldn't be afraid to hurt people.

"I need to call my mother and update her on what's happened so far. Also, I need to let her know we think Grime is hunting Allen's pack." Bandit held up his cell phone before leaving the room.

Allen looked at Raze and Ba'el. "What do you help Max do exactly?"

Ba'el's eyes widened, and Raze whistled loudly.

"You do know the whistling isn't going to make me forget the question? Max seems to be pretty connected, and the coin you gave Bandit was enough to make him trust you." Allen pointed toward the door. "Has Bandit helped Max out before?"

Raze dropped his gaze to the floor. "I can't say what the lycan might have done with Max. We just met the old wolf a few months ago and we've helped him a time or two when he needed our special talents."

"Help him with what? I've thought Max was more than just a random lycan who decided to save us as he passed us by. I never understood why he didn't just walk away from us," Roman commented from where he sat on the bed.

Ba'el zipped his lips and mimed throwing away the key. Raze licked his lips and hemmed and hawed for a few minutes before clicking his tongue against his teeth.

"We can't tell you about any of it. We promised not to say anything. You'll have to ask Bandit how he knows Max." Raze stood and gestured for Ba'el to follow him. "We're going back to our room and we'll see you all at breakfast."

Allen stared at the far wall, thinking about everything and ignoring the whispered conversation between Roman and Gianni. He shook off his meditation only when Roman grabbed his duffle bag.

"Where are you going?"

"Change of sleeping arrangements, brother." Roman grinned at him.

"What? What do you mean?" Allen clenched his hands.

Roman sat next to him on the bed, resting his hand on Allen's leg. "Listen, I haven't been the best brother I could've been for you. I know you're really attracted to Bandit and I've stood in the way because I didn't want to see you get hurt."

Allen wanted to protest and point out Bandit would never hurt him, but he realized he couldn't say it. No one could really promise not to hurt another person. They could do it unintentionally. He settled for nodding his understanding.

"But I got to thinking, we're heading into a situation that's gotten far more dangerous than we originally thought it would. I mean, hell, when we left the Canis territory, we just thought we were going to take over our old pack, and while it would have been difficult, we'd have the support of most of the rest of the pack." Roman shook his head. "Now it looks like we're going to have to deal with Grime and his crazy non-preters, too, and unlike lycans, we have no way of knowing how they're going to react, besides fighting us."

Eying Roman, Allen said, "Are you saying I should sleep with Bandit because I don't know what's going to happen and we could all die, so I should enjoy the time I have?"

"Right." Gianni spoke up from where he stood next to the door.

"And what will you two be doing?" He peered at his brother with a sly smile.

Roman blushed, and Gianni chuckled.

"I don't think it's any of your business what we'll be doing. Just like it's none of ours what you and Bandit do. We were just trying to help." Roman looked flustered.

Allen bumped his shoulder against Roman's. "I was teasing. Thanks. I appreciate the thoughtfulness, even though it helps you both out as well. We should probably see how Bandit feels about it before we make the final decision."

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door, and Gianni opened it to find Bandit on the other side. The lycan glanced around the room and his gaze landed on Roman holding his duffle bag.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yeah. You and I are switching rooms." Roman patted Allen's leg and stood.

Bandit's eyebrows shot up. "We are?"

"Yep. If you're okay with it." Roman headed for the hallway.

Bandit looked at Allen. "Are you okay with it?"

Allen's face burned, and he couldn't believe he was blushing.
Christ!
While he might be a little inexperienced, he'd had sex before. It wasn't like he was a virgin or anything.