The Link That Binds (2 page)

For now, the bar was fairly empty, people just starting to mill in off the streets. Mika walked closely behind Jace, his gun, tucked between the two, pointed directly at the shifter’s spine in warning. Mika directed them to the bar where two guys were serving drinks. “Link!” Mika called out to the guy with his back to them.

And DAMN! When the ponytailed man turned around, Jace almost drooled. That was pure man candy right there. With dirty-blond hair pulled back in a neat and bouncy little ponytail and a deep penetrating gaze of moss green eyes, and the body… fuck, it was equal to that of a goddamned Hercules… but… Link?

Oh, double fucked
!

Jace nearly groaned. Please don’t let the guy be the same drug dealing bastard Leo’d told him about. The same fucker he and Liam were supposed to meet when Mika and his goons had shown up and hijacked their trap with one of their own.

“What do you want, Mika? I thought I told you to stay the hell out of my pub,” the man told him in a cold, icy tone.

Damn, that frost was kinda hot when coming from this guy.
He could totally see what Leo meant with the guy having a few screws loose, but damn, even his leopard reared its head in the man’s direction, practically purring its interest.

“Be nice, Link.” Mika smirked at the man. “Unless you want the cops making an appearance and going through your nifty little hideaway, I’d suggest we take this in the back.”

Clearly aggravated by Mika’s nerve, the man cussed. “Trey, take over,” he ordered the other man behind the bar who simply nodded before serving up a couple of beers to some of the newcomers.

The backroom looked to be part storage, part meth lab and, Jace had to admit, he was mildly jealous of the man’s equipment… and not just the machinery.

“What do you want, Mika?” Link asked again, the tone not even the least bit warmer; disturbingly monotone even.

And damn thrice, the no-bullshit manner of this man sure was something. No way this guy could be human with an attitude like that, and Jace couldn’t help checking the man out, from top to toe.

Yum.

Why did the hot ones always have to be drug dealing vampire cohorts? Or republicans?

“Lose the attitude, Link. I just need you to look over some stuff for me. I got this guy working on something, but he’s headed in a slightly different direction than I’d intended. It’s slowing down the progress and someone is having issues persuading him otherwise.” Mika growled as he snapped his fingers at Shamus who quickly brought forth a briefcase and slammed it onto a desk, opening it for Link to see. From what Jace could see there were a few files and some vials of what looked to be blood as well as a couple of…
floppy discs
? Man, you didn’t see those too often nowadays.

Link went through some of the files. “Mind telling me what I’m looking at?”

“Those vials are the beginnings of a cure for some lame human blood disease. I want you to modify it… make it burn off some things in certain
other
blood types.

What the…?
Jace frowned. Mika couldn’t possibly be thinking of…

“What exactly are you referring to? And who the hell is this guy?” Link asked nodding his head in Jace’s direction. “Another one of your impotent lackeys?”

Lackey?
“Oh fuck you, dick face! If you were paying any damn attention to the situation you’d notice I’m here at fucking gunpoint.” Jace snarled in tune with his leopard, insulted and who the fuck was he calling impotent!?

Link gave him an odd look before catching a glimpse of the gun pressed against Jace’s back. “So what, you brought another donor for me to
test
?” Link asked, checking out Jace’s body and damn if he didn’t feel the gaze burn as it tracked over him.

Mika chuckled, “Oh, I wouldn’t drink this little filth-bag if he was the last blood source on the planet.
His
kind tastes like fucking muck.”

“Oh stuff you, Mika! Like you’re a fucking yummy treat, you inbred dick,” Jace hissed at the vampire, earning himself a smack across the head. “And I am not some damn boy-toy either,” he directed to mister tall, intoxicating and smoldering. “If
you
wanna get with me, you better fucking get down on your knees and beg.”

Shamus let out a laugh.
Great
, not like Jace needed a fucking vampire fan club. “Oh, shut up, Shamus.
You
I wouldn’t touch wearing a damn hazmat suit.”

“Well, he’s probably right about that one,” Mika smirked again, “but he is here for a testing of sorts. You see, Link, Jace here isn’t what you’d call human and I want you to isolate his shifter DNA and use the drug to make something that will destroy it and you have ‘til Saturday to do so.”

Jace did not like a sound of that. It wasn’t exactly a secret Mika happened to be one sick puppy, something he’d proved on several occasions, but seriously? Could the bastard even
spell
overkill?

Jace could only hope he would be returning home alive and not in a goddamned body bag. And just as soon as he had the thought, he felt a sting at the side of his neck and went down hard.

Ah fuck! Shamus had nailed him with another one of those damn shots when he wasn’t paying attention. Jace woke up in a damn cage with the mother of all headaches to boot. This wasn’t what he had in mind when Mika dragged him along… not that it really surprised him either.

“Fuck!” Jace groaned as he sat up and the whole world threatened to come crashing down on him… man, he hated drugs… how Leo had ever managed, he’d never know. Sitting up felt really awkward, especially when Jace could feel his cat still struggling to wake properly.

“Here.” Link walked over to him, handing him a couple of pills and a bottle of water. “They’ll help with the nausea.”

Jace took the pills and sniffed at them. “You wanna tell me your ingredients for these wonderpills?” He queried the handsome devil, not trusting him one bit.

“They’re aspirins.” Link frowned; seeming somewhat insulted that Jace appeared to think they were laced with rat poison or something.

“Dude,” Jace hesitated, “you do know I’m a shifter right? Aspirins won’t do shit except to give me a bigger meal than I’ve had for about four days.”

“Right, forgot about that… I’ll have Trey make you a club sandwich,” Link told him, apparently thinking it would be better to keep the cat fed for the duration of his stay. Jace was relieved Link had no intentions of starving him. So was the leopard.

“Or… you could just let me out of this damn cage and I can go make
myself
a damn sandwich… or a steak… or both,” Jace grumbled.

Link seemed to actually consider his suggestion for a while. “Sorry, no can do. Mika has some pretty specific orders.”

The way he spoke made Jace think Mika had made it pretty clear to Link not to let him get away, not without some serious consequences.

“What the hell does Mika got on you anyway? Can’t
just
be the psycho drugs you’re distributing to the bastard.”

Link ignored the question, very obviously thinking it was none of the cat’s business what Mika had on him.

“Those drugs are for vampires only,” Link stated.

“Vampires only, huh?” Jace snorted. “Tell that to Leo, you know, the human who got kidnapped and made into a blood slave and then made into a damn junky so that vampires could get high through his blood with
your
vampire party shots. I can guarantee you those vamp-only drugs of yours are being administered straight into donor veins the second they get hold of them. Leo is still having some nasty side effects to the ordeal. Fuck, not even
my
detox meds could burn through the shit fast enough and those meds are some potent shit!”

Link’s attention snapped to Jace and he flinched. He knew Link had seen it himself, a month ago when Mika had brought Leo to the BDSM club and injected the little human, only to have Leo manage to escape.

The drugs might have been made specifically for supernaturals and never intended for human use, and the fact that Leo wasn’t dead couldn’t be considered anything short of a bloody miracle, but the dangers of the drug, even with Link’s warning, would mean absolutely shit to a guy like Mika. No fucking way Link hadn’t picked up on that from his meetings with the vamp.

“That was never the intention of the drugs,” he stated before walking over to his computer again, looking through the floppy discs he’d been given.

“Well, as long as you didn’t
intend
…” Jace sneered. “Are you a fucking idiot? You’re dealing with vampires, you moron! Do you think they fucking care about your
intentions
?”

Link appeared to be ignoring the talkative cat, but Jace sure knew he’d pushed his buttons.

“You can’t ignore me forever, lover boy! You’re trying to have me exterminated remember… I think that calls for a little attention.” Jace snorted and, noticing the look the man gave him, he continued. “Would you stop fantasizing about me naked and get me the fuck out of this cage already!?”

Link flinched and Jace knew he’d been straight on the mark. Link probably thought he could read minds, judging by the look he gave him.

Who could blame him? Jace wasn’t exactly a poster boy for innocence with his ice-blond hair and steely eyes, hell, nobody could resist his charms forever. If Link wanted to entertain indecent thoughts of him, then by all means… Best thing would be to just ignore him and focus on how the hell he’d get out of this stitch, but something told him Link was a guy to keep his eye on. And even
if
the man tried to ignore him, Jace wouldn’t make that an easy endeavor.

“Just let me draw some fresh blood,” Link sighed as he came over with a sterile syringe.

“Are you nuts?!” Jace sneered at him. “You’re trying to find a way to kill me and you want me to fucking help you? You are definitely short a few marbles, you know that?”

“Do you
want
to get drugged again?” Link snapped back at him, getting impatient when Jace wouldn’t cooperate.

“Dude… fuck you!”

“Fine!” Link sneered. “I’ll go get the tranquilizer gun.”

Jace wouldn’t let up, but Link seemed adamant on taking those fresh samples.

Getting the gun, Link filled the chambers with what looked to be a double dose of the tranquilizers they’d used on him before and Jace cringed.

Again with the damn drugs
…

Sending daggers at Link with his glare, Jace had no doubt that Link knew exactly how pissed off he was at the moment. Momentarily baffled when he saw something remarkably similar to lust pass through Link’s eyes, rage started to fill Jace. He could feel it coloring his face. The fucker kept him in a damn cage and then started with the googly eyes?

Oh hell no!

Jace sent him another look, one that if he had his head on straight would have easily been interpreted as a threat to be chopped up into tiny, kibble-sized pieces.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jace practically growled at him. “Your mom didn’t give you enough hugs when you were are child so you decided to join up with a bunch of vampires? Oh, and by the way, do you mind getting your fucking mind
out
of my boxers?”

“You don’t know shit about me, kitten.” Link stared down at him as if he was some sub-human mutant with that icy glare of his, his jaw tight, all traces of lust wiped away.

“I know you’ve joined up with the forces of darkness.” Jace hissed again.

Link looked to be fighting a quirk of his lips, even despite his irritation. “Forces of darkness? What are you, a Dungeons & Dragons master?”

“I don’t think this is the time for jokes, you jackass!” Jace said, daring him to make another one when he was trying to find a way to eradicate his entire fucking species.

A moment of strangled amusement seemed to pass through Link before he raised the gun at him. Jace felt something ache inside of him as the man took aim and he panicked.

“Wait wait wait!” Jace shrunk back in his cage before Link could pull the trigger. “Don’t shoot, okay? I really don’t want to get drugged again,” he pleaded and he really, really didn’t. Those drugs were far too
festive
for Jace’s liking.

Link sighed as he lowered the gun, obviously tired of Jace’s hot and cold attitude of cooperation. Not that Jace was the only one playing the hot and cold game, because Link definitely didn’t play on the straight and narrow on that one.

Jace watched, relieved as Link put the tranquilizer gun on the table and pulled out the syringe again.

“Reach your left hand through the bars, please,” Link instructed before warning him, “and don’t even think about trying anything.”

Grinding his teeth together, Jace did as Link told him, letting his left arm through the bars. He let Link tie a rubber band around his arm and hold him steady as he aimed the needle at a prominent vein. Just when the tip went in, Jace grabbed hold of Link’s shirt and slammed him into the bars, head first. Link fell to the ground with a groan and Jace had his hands in his pockets seconds later, fishing out the keys. Jace let out a slight victory yowl as he got the door open and took off through the pub. Being early in the day the place wasn’t open yet and therefore empty, but before he could reach the exit he got tackled from behind and slammed into the bar. Link had him turned around in a fraction of a second and before he could fight back, slammed his lips to Jace’s.

* * * *

Jace was taken off guard when Link thrust his tongue in his mouth and pinned him to the bar… but holy fuck if the man wasn’t a killer kisser. Even to the extent of his cat purring.