Grays shadow, p.37
Gray's Shadow, page 37
part #4 of Kings of Hell MC Series
“Will you take this?” Gray asked, quickly unzipping his jacket pocket to indicate what he meant.
Beast frowned, but his gaze met Gray’s in silent understanding. He dove his hand into the pocket and took the ruby, though passing it on to someone else didn’t bring as much relief as Gray hoped it would. “It’s time to relax, brother. You can speak to Magpie tomorrow.”
It was as if a flamethrower had suddenly gone off inside Gray. “No. It needs to be tonight.”
“Everyone’s exhausted now, and there’s still lots of time left until the new moon. But you can call him if you want, sure.”
Gray glanced at Shadow, who appeared perfectly carefree waving at the people inside. The pressure in his throat trickled down his chest and clutched at his heart. Lowering his voice, he met Beast’s eyes again. “Would you wait if this was about Laurent?”
Beast shifted his weight in obvious discomfort, but he nodded and tapped the window to greet his husband, who approached the door with a wide smile. “Just… tell us what we can do. I’ll see you inside.”
“How did it go?” Laurent asked, but then the other bikers poured into the bar, and Gray was left with only Shadow for company.
“What are we doing?” Shadow asked and put his arm around Gray in a gesture so protective it broke Gray’s heart. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
Gray looked up, surprised that with the ruby out of their hands, it was Gray’s wellbeing that Shadow thought about the most. Instinct told Gray to shake off the arm for the sake of appearances, but the weight of Shadow’s flesh and bones felt right against his nape, so he leaned into him instead.
“I’m fine. We followed you in the cart until the guards spotted us. Let’s call Magpie.”
“Can you believe that we’ve done it? We’re one step closer to getting a ruby for me.” Shadow leaned down and kissed Gray to the eruption of whistles and screaming inside the bar.
Everyone was watching.
Of course.
The Kings had always enjoyed shocking civilians with expressions of sexuality and rude behavior, but Gray suspected that they were curious about his new relationship too, since he’d always kept his sex life under wraps. With Shadow, the intimacy felt so natural he didn’t really want to fight it.
“Yes, we’ll find that ruby for you, and you will stay with me,” Gray said, deciding that Shadow’s optimism was much healthier than the worry deep in his heart. He pulled out his phone and chose the right number before impatiently listening to the tune on the other side. Of course Magpie was one of those people who chose to have a song playing while the caller waited for him to pick up.
“I’ve seen the news,” Magpie said as soon as he answered.
Gray sighed. “The thing is damn big. Now your part of the deal. Where do I find one for Shadow?”
Gray hated every second of the silence that followed. A million thoughts rushed through his mind in that span of time, and they ranged from anticipation to fear that maybe Magpie had lied to them about the existence of the hidden ruby.
His feet were growing roots into the asphalt, but Magpie finally spoke.
“It belongs to a ghost.”
Shadow was close enough to Gray to hear what was being said and frowned. “A ghost, Mr. Magpie?”
“Oh, you’re there too. Of course you are. Yes, a ghost. The being is menacing, and a relict of the last ritual Baal had attempted. He is bound to the house he died in, but I believe the gem might be what’s giving him his power. I made numerous attempts to retrieve it, but none of my associates managed. The ruby definitely exists, and it is yours if you can get it. I will send you the address.”
Gray pressed his lips tightly together. Why did they need to know about the previous failures? Was Magpie trying to discourage Gray from the attempt? “I will get it,” he said firmly and rubbed Shadow’s back to give him some hope too.
“I applaud the confidence, Gray. I sincerely hope it all works out for you two. With my prize secured, I can sleep soundly, and I wish the same for you.”
Gray opened his jaw wide to relax its muscles. “Sure. I’ll be waiting for your message,” he said curtly, out of patience for this kind of behavior. He needed a drink.
Once the call was over, Magpie sent the address promptly, and Gray could hardly believe how smoothly that had gone.
“Can we join the others?” Shadow asked and gestured to the people inside. He was such a sociable creature that it broke Gray’s heart to think that if something went wrong, he would be stripped of his personality and memories, and pulled back into a mindless swarm of black goo in a world beyond time.
Lost forever.
Gray would never again feel complete.
He took a deep breath and made himself smile for Shadow’s benefit. “Sure, let’s celebrate,” he said, grabbing Shadow’s hand and leading him into the bar that smelled of beer and cigarettes. Not so bad after all.
It wasn’t the first time the Kings had partied here, and the sight of the logo spray-painted on the wall behind the billiard table made him smile. This was the kind of stuff that had excited him since he was a kid. A place where he belonged. With men who accepted him.
For once he didn’t even feel empty without Mike around. He would always miss his brother, but with Shadow at his side, Gray was whole again in ways he’d never imagined he could be. Not just because Shadow loved and cherished him, but because Shadow wanted to be a part of the Kings of Hell family as well.
With time, Shadow would fit in, regardless of where he’d come from.
During their brief phone call, their friends had dispersed somewhat, and Gray was glad Rev wasn’t waiting for him with another passive-aggressive tirade. He and Fox were busy playing pool, Laurent attempted to work out how the jukebox worked, and Joker went off to chat up the pretty bartender. But the others waited, in the large booth, and as soon as Gray sat down, Beast demanded to know what the progress was with Magpie
Gray summarized the conversation in very few words, but he didn’t expect anyone to react with enthusiasm.
“We can do that,” Elliot said, leaning forward so abruptly he almost knocked over his glass of vodka and soda.
Knight, who had him in his lap, brightened up. “Oh, yeah, let’s just go there tomorrow. Me and Elliot are good with ghosts. It should be a non-issue.”
Beast frowned. “Magpie said it’s a difficult job. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.”
“And what, wait?” Gray said, leaning against the backrest.
Knight nodded. “Yeah, no point in that. We will be cautious. No one wants to get sucked into some paranormal black hole, but let’s face it, Beast, that ghost won’t even know what hit him.” He clasped his hands together, and Gray spotted the glow of the sigils on Knight’s skin at the fringe of the fingerless gloves.
A Beatles song started playing in the background, and Laurent came back with a smile, carrying two beers. “I’m so happy it’s all going so well.”
Shadow jumped to his feet when Laurent put one bottle in front of Beast. “I’ll get you beer too. I’ve got money.” He reached into his pockets and pulled out a whole bunch of crumpled bills.
Beast gave Gray a sceptical glare.
“Don’t even ask,” Gray said once Shadow was off to join Joker at the bar.
Knight leaned over the table, cradling Elliot with one arm. The expression on his face didn’t predict anything good. “Soo, things going well, I see.”
Gray shrugged, not really wanting to discuss his relationship. Knight might think having sex with his man in public was the thing to do, but Gray would rather not answer any questions. Everything between him and Shadow was still fresh, and he couldn’t explain why their closeness worked so well without divulging into matters he didn’t want other people to know about.
“It’s still early stages.”
“Sure, sure. But you seem very set on him if you want to go on that mission. Wasn’t it only a few weeks ago that you let him out of the cell?”
Gray shifted in the seat, instantly uncomfortable, because Knight was right. He had treated Shadow like shit, and yet there they were, in love and perfectly happy. Minus the fact that Shadow could die in under a month.
A female scream saved him from answering any further questions, and instantly drew all eyes to the bar. Knight was the first to get to his feet and rush over, but Gray followed, just to make sure Shadow was fine.
The girl had tears in her eyes, and whatever Joker did, the last thing they needed tonight were cops.
“Everything okay?” Knight asked.
The bartender shook her head. “No! Oh, my God!”
Shadow was chewing something with a smug expression, and Joker laughed so hard he ended up bent in two and wheezing.
The latter caught his breath enough to speak and looked up with tears streaming down his cheeks. “She agreed to… give me her number… if Shadow ate the cockroach that ran along the counter.”
Gray knew he should’ve been revolted, because he’d kissed Shadow’s full lips just minutes ago, but instead he felt pride. Shadow was making friends so fast. He would fit right in with all the unusual people that hung around the club. “I need shots,” he said, resting his hand on Shadow’s hip.
The bartender dried a tear that escaped her eye, but she quickly offered him a choice of liquor, eventually pouring a couple of green-hued shots when he claimed he needed the strongest shit she had. Shadow made a point of paying, and left a too-generous tip. Oh well, they needed to make sure no one called the cops on them, anyway.
The first shot made Gray’s face twist involuntarily as soon as the sharp and bitter liquid scratched at the back of his tongue, but once it went down, he was left with a herby aftertaste and a pleasant burn leading all the way to his stomach. He laughed when Shadow barely dipped his tongue in the shot glass before recoiling so rapidly most of the green liquid spilled down his fingers. Gray mercifully finished the shot and took the two other ones to the booth, already feeling the liquor taking hold of him. Perhaps that was why entwining his fingers with Shadow in public came to him so easily. His mind was quickly becoming numb to worrying about stares and whispered comments, as if openly expressing his feelings for another man was the most natural thing in the world.
It was now.
When they sat down, everyone else was already settled with their drinks and food. There was a pile of snacks in the middle, and an ashen-faced Jake was stuffing his face with Cheetos. Vars, who was next to him, caught Gray’s gaze and laughed, patting Jake’s shoulder. “Azog got shot in the wing. He needs the energy to regenerate.”
Shadow nudged a stray peanut toward Jake. “And you eat human things for him?”
Jake looked up, eyes wide as if he’d been caught stealing club property, but must have finally understood what the question was about. “Ah, yeah. No bats with dust. But whenever I let him come out I get so hungry I could eat a truckload of sugar. It gets even worse when he’s injured.”
Vars shook his head and tapped his finger to the rhythm of the jukebox song. “Last time we practiced him breathing fire, he ate all of Nao’s birthday chocolates. He was manic with hunger. Nao’s no proper lady, but I’ve never seen her swear so much before.”
Gray snorted. “Well, they were her favorite European ones, and you can’t just buy them at the nearest store.” He glanced at Shadow, feeling warmer with each passing second. “What about you? Would you have lost your shit if someone ate all your worms?”
The mortified look on Shadow’s face was priceless. “But… All of them? A world without worms?”
Laurent started laughing. “Now I know what to get Shadow for his birthday.”
Jake frowned and swallowed a huge gulp of food before speaking. “Will he be… one year old then?”
Gray’s happiness, induced by the smiling faces of his friends and the burn of the alcohol down his throat, went a bit dim when Jake’s question once again reminded him of Shadow’s uncertain future, but then he pulled his lover close and downed another shot. “Of course. I wonder if he is gonna get old or not.”
Shadow smiled. “We still don’t know. How exciting is that?”
“Not exciting at all,” Rev said, approaching the table like a dark cloud, and Gray already hated the rain it would bring. “Have I heard this correctly? You’re going off on some risky venture tomorrow just so this greedy thing can get a ruby?”
Gray exhaled and looked at his father, who was still holding the pool cue. “Yes. Why?” he asked, choosing to just be honestly confrontational. If he wanted to take risks for Shadow, it was only his choice to make.
“Because he isn’t meant to be here. Are we still having this conversation? He is a creature from some hellscape.”
Laurent sat up straight. “Should we not judge a being by their merit?”
Rev scowled and tried to poke Shadow with the stick, but Gray grabbed the tip before it could reach his lover. Anger simmered just beneath the surface of his skin, and the others could feel its heat too, judging by the sudden tension around the table.
“Thank you, Laurent. I agree with you. A hundred percent. You’re welcome to get to know Shadow,” he told Rev, barely managing to keep his voice level.
Rev tipped forward, and when he shouted, the scent of his breath made Gray realize that he must have been drinking long before they’d arrived. “I forbid it! Shadow can go and fight on his own! Why are you needed for that?”
Vars stood up. “You might have had too much to drink, brother…”
Rev growled and tossed the cue to the floor. “Don’t stand between me and my blood!”
Knight gave a theatrical gasp. “Girls, that’s enough,” he said dismissively, but his tone seemed to only aggravate Rev further.
“None of you know what I’m going through. I lost Mike, and now Gray is fucking this… thing. It’s not normal and it’s not safe!”
Gray spilled another shot down his throat, hoping the pleasant dizziness would help him block out his father’s bullshit, but Beast didn’t want to just let it slide.
He glared at Rev. “We all lost Mike.”
Fox approached the table and patted Rev’s back. “Let it go. I get it, my son barely listens to me as well, but you’ve gotta let him make his own way.”
Shadow took a deep breath and stared back at Rev. “I’m not a thing, and I deserve to live.”
Gray’s thoughts twisted in his head as the pile of colorful snacks became increasingly blurry in front of him. “I’ve failed, and he died. I’m not letting this happen ever again. I am not letting Shadow disappear even if it kills me,” he said in a hard voice, even though his tongue was getting too thick to pronounce the words quite right. What the hell was this green spirit?
His throat became so tight even breathing was hard, and when he looked up into the faces of his friends, who for once stopped talking, nausea joined his general disorientation. Shadow’s kiss on the side of Gray’s head was incredibly gentle, and nothing could make Gray reject it, even his father pretending to throw up.
Vars leaned against the table with his arms crossed on his chest. “You know you can count on me and Jake for anything.”
Gray’s lungs constricted, and he grabbed the back of the seat, helping himself stand on it. Otherwise, he’d have to go through Laurent and Beast to get out of the booth, and that was the last thing he wanted. “I’ve had too much too fast. You guys relax while I get some air,” he said, stepping over the backrest and into the next booth with an odd sense of weightlessness in his head.
He scrambled over the table, to the floor, and walked with a purpose, all the way to the door. When had he become such an emotional mess? He’d worked so hard to keep it all in, and day by day, new cracks still appeared in his surface.
He took a deep breath of fresh air, but wouldn’t be given a rest. Half-expecting Rev when he heard someone approach him, he turned around with a scowl. “Oh, fuck o—”
Shadow took half a step back.
Gray froze but eventually let his hands drop, staring at his lover in the yellow light coming from the bar. He didn’t need to look inside to know they were being watched, and the sudden sense of helplessness clutched at his throat. “I need to… go somewhere,” he said, all but running from the unwanted stares.
He turned into the narrow alley between the bar and the closed liquor store, and Shadow quickly caught up with him, though he dutifully stayed half a step behind.
“I don’t want you to die for me,” he said in the deep voice Gray loved. He still had the dead footman’s British accent, and Gray had grown to love that too. Every single aspect of Shadow’s presence made him happy.
Gray leaned on the wall in the narrow space between the two buildings. His head was floating, his body burned with unwanted heat, and he was no longer able to think straight. “Me neither. I want to stay alive. With you,” he uttered and kicked an empty can that ended up next to his boot. He could barely see it, since there were no light sources in the alleyway, but the sound was unmistakable.
“We will make it happen.”
Shadow approached Gray, and after a moment of hesitation, enclosed him in his arms. Nothing could have possibly felt more soothing, and Gray leaned into the embrace without thinking.
The warmth of Shadow’s chest was pleasant against his overheating body, and Gray rested his arms on his hips too, breathing in the familiar scent of flesh, dubbin, and musk.
“We have to. And then I’ll make Rev understand you’re here to stay,” he said with a slur.
He hated himself for thinking it, because Mike was irreplaceable, but Shadow became his rock in the same way his brother had been. Without Mike, Gray had grown apart from the other patches, but now thanks to Shadow’s easy-going nature, he was spending more time with his friends. Around Shadow, it wasn’t hard to speak, and he always felt included.
Shadow kissed the side of Gray’s face and pressed him to the wall covered by metal sheets. “The way you fight for me makes me feel so wanted.”
Pride swelled in Gray’s heart, and he smiled, rubbing Shadow’s chest in circles that made his own head spin too. “Because you’re mine. I won’t let you down.”
