Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

DAMARI

“It will only take me a few minutes. I promise to go there and straight back.” I stuck my lip out in the way I knew would guarantee Ronan would agree to my request. My boyfriend was rather predictable sometimes.

He grumbled for a minute, then tugged me close. “There and back. No wandering, you hear me?”

“I promise,” I said with my pinky extended his way. With a roll of his eyes, he latched his beefy digit around my much smaller one to secure the vow.

Godric huffed a laugh as Cohen opened his mouth, no doubt to tease my partner. Ronan cut him a look that demanded he not. I watched his jaw slam shut. Memphis took that chance to dive into the rest of his spiel about the bad guys they were chasing.

Normally, I’d be intrigued to know what was coming next. At least, I’d try to be.

Lately, my sleep schedule had been in shambles. Sleeping without Ronan around was always hard. With all the work hours he put in, I found myself curled up in the office more than a few times a week just needing to know he was close.

I knew the guys thought it hilarious how I could sleep anywhere. They had no clue it was a survival instinct built on years of sleepless nights and the need to power nap my way through life.

Not wanting to miss my window, I took off down the hall to leave the NightShade offices. Jared waved as I passed, a phone to his ear as his other hand banged violently on the keyboard.

“I’m sure Tank wasn’t trying to slight you. We’ve been very busy at this time and— ” His frown turned down even more.

The elevator came before I could hear the end of the conversation. Whoever it was would get an earful from my friend if they didn’t stop being so rude. His temper wasn’t the worst, but he didn’t have the best patience during stressful times.

And yeah, we were definitely in a stressful time.

Jared might not know all the details of the Gilded Ones, but he knew enough to know the team was working on some heavy shit. Between the long hours, the lack of new clients, and Tank’s general weariness, it was obvious something more had to be going down.

I shook away the negative thoughts as I exited on the main floor and took off towards Sinclair’s coffee shop. He had planned to come in later, but one of his workers called in sick so he was filling in. All would have been fine and dandy if he hadn’t promised to bring some important drive to Memphis at the office.

That and the general need for another round of caffeine meant it was time for someone to take on the role of errand runner. I volunteered since I was bored out of my mind and Archie wasn’t around to hang with yet. He said he’d be coming by later too, though with how the day had gone that could change.

Sinclair’s shop was busy when I got there a few minutes later. I watched as he rushed around making orders and ringing things up. When he saw me, his eyes widened.

“Oh shit! I’ve got it. Just a sec.” He motioned to the customers in front of him to wait a moment as he switched positions with the girl he had working with him. As he slipped toward the office door, he waved me over.

I followed closely, nervous that all the people waiting would be angry at my interruption. Granted, I didn’t plan to stay long. I would be in and out before it could throw things into disarray.

“Thanks for coming down to get this. Memphis said it was fine if he waited until later to get it, but I didn’t think he’d want to wait even longer given I need to stay,” Sinclair said as he reached into to grab his coat from a hook in the office. He pulled out a thumb drive, then extended it my way.

“This is it?”

He nodded. “Yep. Tiny little thing full of secrets. Just like me, according to Memphis.”

We laughed at the joke. We only recently found humor in everything that’s come to pass. They say time heals all wounds. I think it can also bring humor to a situation as well.

Not always, but in our case it has.

“Well, I should get back out there. I’m sure the guys want something too, huh?”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “You know it. I can wait until the line dies down though. You look packed.”

“No need to wait. I’ll work them in. Besides, it’s been like this for hours. It’s why I decided to stay. The only other coffee house that’s close had a fire last night. It made people have to head this way for their fix.”

“A fire? That’s odd.”

For some reason, the idea niggled at me. I couldn’t say why though. It was as if my brain knew, yet I didn’t have the conscious thoughts.

Sinclair led me back out to the main area, motioning for me to stand near the edge of the counter as he dove back in. He spoke up over the noise of the machines, explaining the situation.

“Yeah, man. It was really strange to hear about. The place had been closed and then ‘boom’ there was a fire. The owners are torn up about it. I saw them on the news talking about the freak accident. They think it might be arson.”

“Arson!? Who would want to set fire to a coffee shop?”

He smirked, shaking his head. “Some would say me. Business has never been better thanks to this. Not that I did anything. I was tucked beneath a heavy, dead-to-the-world Memphis last night.”

The visual he gave made me snort. “That sounds about right. Still, it’s weird.”

Our conversation died off after that. I fiddled with the drive in my pocket as I watched him whip up drink after drink. It only took him a few minutes to have a tray of coffees ready for me to take back to the office. He knew everyone’s orders by heart, and he even included a bag of snacks since Cohen would likely wonder why I hadn’t grabbed any.

“Thanks for this,” I told him.

He waved his hand. “Least I can do is keep those guys caffeinated. You’re the one stuck there alone with them while they’re in business mode. Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize. Archie should be arriving in a bit. Besides, you have to take care of your shop.”

"That I do,” he declared as he twirled away to make another coffee for a waiting costumer.

I slipped through the door and headed back to the main office. It wasn’t a long walk, but I was much more careful on the way back given the precious cargo I had.

“Damari? Is that you?”

At hearing my name, I turned to see Archie headed my way. I smiled widely at his appearance. What good timing he had!

“Hey! You’re early.”

He shrugged on shoulder. “Takeshi wanted to give me time to rest at home, but I didn’t really feel right about not being at the office. I’ve already grown used to the place.”

“I know the feeling. The guys tend to hook you in without you even realizing. One day you’re a normal, unsuspecting citizen. The next you’re ready to hunt down the bad guys like some superhero.”

Archie laughed as he moved to walk beside me. The streets were a bit less crowded now, which gave us enough space to talk as we trekked it to the NightShade building.

“Superhero feels a bit too surreal a term. Vigilante, maybe? Or something similar. Either way, yeah, it’s like I can’t stand not being in the loop. I want to know as much as I can, without going too deep into the horror sides of it.”

I agreed with him completely. There was plenty to discuss without knowing all the horrific details of these men’s actions.

Memphis had to sort through so much of it as part of his job. I saw the toll it took on him. Taking on that burden was nowhere near my to-do list.

As we approached the building, Archie’s phone rang. “It’s Ronan,” he said slowly. “That’s strange.”

We paused outside the front doors as he answered the call. I guess we both figured if they needed something else, it would be best to head out instead of going in and out of the building multiple times. The front desk staff knew who we were so there was no hassle there. It was more the long elevator ride and the fact that we were both more than ready to curl up next to our men and listen to their theories of how to prevail against evil.

“Ronan? What’s wrong?”

His eyes widened, then he was pulling the phone back to press speaker.

“Archie! I need you to get to Sinclair’s coffee shop. Damari went to get something, and he’s alone. You two stick together. I’ve already sent someone to the shop to help guide you both back. There’ll be another guard positioned with Sinclair as well.”

“What’s going on? I’m already with Damari. I ran into him on my way to the office.”

Ronan let out a harsh breath, almost as if he were relieved. “That’s good. There have been some… developments. The person we were tracking isn’t who we needed to be worried about. It was a mix up.”

Before he could finish, the sound of tires screeching stole our attention. We turned to see a van jerking to a stop beside the building.

My body was moving before I could think of what to do. “Run, Archie!”

I could hear Ronan yelling on the phone and through the glass doors, there were people rushing to our aid. But even I could sense they wouldn’t be fast enough.

Unfortunately, Archie didn’t have the same reaction time I did. I was already taking off for the doors when I realized he hadn’t moved. Then it was like he couldn’t.

At the van, I noticed a man in full tactical gear and a black face mask holding up a gun. I feared for a minute that Archie had been shot. It was only as he crumpled to the ground, and I saw the dart that it hit me.

Tranquilizer.

Why would they attack Archie? What could he have that they want?

I remembered the drive in my pocket and wondered if maybe that had something to do with it. Or could it be linked to Ronan’s call? There were too many factors, and I didn’t have enough time to weigh them all out.

As I turned to dive back in Archie’s direction, I felt arms wrap around me from behind. “Can’t let you do that, Mr. Blackthorne,” Jim said while tugging me inside.

Through the glass, I watched as my friend was snatched up and thrown in the back of the van. They sped away in a blur of motion, leaving me to wonder what the hell would happen next.

“Damari!” Ronan’s voice echoed through the building, a roar of anger and fear all rolled into one.

I fled from Jim’s arms, running straight to the man I knew would always keep me safe.

“They took him! They’ve got Archie!” My cries were met with shocked faces. It was only then that I realized my boyfriend wasn’t alone. He’d brought the entire team down with him.

Which meant I got a front row view to one very pissed off Takeshi as he stared at the spot on the sidewalk where the coffee and snacks laid abandoned.

“Oh, fuck. Takeshi is about to go nuclear,” Cohen whisper shouted.

And yeah — nuclear was an apt description for the look on the other man’s face. I’d never seen anything like it before. I wondered just how serious things were between the two for him to have such a reaction.

Maybe things weren’t as casual as we all thought.