Chapter Twelve

When Enrique exited the hangar and took them into the air, Trynche noticed he didn't utilize the call signs he'd told him about, which were used to notify the nearest traffic control of their location and heading. He was pretty damn sure it wasn't because his mate was nervous and forgot. Instead, Trynche believed it was because his mate hoped to give the elders and other associates a heads-up that there was a problem.

After all, they were listening in on their comms now that they had their headsets in place.

However, it's not as if either of us can announce that there are... hmmm... maybe I can.

Trynche peered over his shoulder at the six armed paranormals, the ex-mayor, and a scared, trussed human who must have been Enrique's friend.

"Just focus on flying," Grecian ordered, curling his lip. "That's your damn job, so do it."

Yup. Still an asshole.

While Trynche had never met Grecian, he'd read the ex-chieftain's dossier. The male had oppressed all the smaller gargoyles in his clutch. He'd called them wingless ones and had essentially used them as slaves.

His activities had been drawn to light when one of his enforcers, Kinsey, had found his mate in a human. The man had been challenged by Kinsey, who'd won. There'd been extenuating circumstances. But in the end, Grecian had broken the rules of the challenge and had been taken into custody by Elder Vermidian.

That same elder had ended up finding his mate in a vampire at a nearby coven. He was still there, safe amidst the vampires. So far, as far as Trynche knew, none of the rogues had attempted to infiltrate or even contact Vermidian. The elder had promised to let them know if that changed.

Returning his focus to the problem at hand, Trynche cast a derisive smirk over his shoulder at Grecian... just to irk the asshole. "So, monster hunting, eh?" he repeated his words from the hangar. "Still can't believe you guys believe in that shit." Barking a laugh, Trynche asked, "Just how much did it cost to make those net guns, man? What's the pound test weight?"

"Shut the fuck up," Grecian snarled, scowling at him. "Just fly the damn chopper."

"Sure, man. We're flyin' the chopper." Trynche scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Just can't imagine payin' for shit like that. Must be die-hards." Then he pretended to think of something. "Hey." Trynche even snapped his finger. "Is this a cosplay thing?" Smirking, he eyed Sheldon and pinned a look on the ex-mayor's face that betrayed just what an idiot he thought he was. "Did you decide to dupe the ex-mayor so you can come out here and play in the dark and shoot your guns?"

"My pictures are legitimate," Sheldon declared hotly. "Took'em straight off Enrique's feed." As if he was worried that Grecian suddenly wouldn't believe him, Sheldon focused on the rogue and told him, "Even Enrique didn't know what he had. When I showed him, he was shocked."

"I know they're real, dumbass," Grecian snarled, glaring at Sheldon. Then he focused on Trynche. "If you don't stop talking"—the rogue pulled a gun from inside his jacket and pointed it at Enrique's friend's head—"I'm going to pop him."

Enrique's friend whimpered, fear dilating his eyes widely.

"Hey, Tryn." Enrique reached over and touched Trynche's forearm with the backs of his forefingers, gaining his attention as he spoke. "Stop, please." He glanced over his shoulder before focusing forward again and saying, "There's no need for that, Grecian. Please put the gun away. We're flying you where you need to go."

Focusing forward again, Trynche tried to figure out where they were. He quickly noticed a couple of landmarks and knew they were close. The clearing where the helicopter had taken a hard landing was only a short distance ahead.

Evidently, Enrique knew it, too, and he played his part well. "We'll enter the vicinity in about three minutes," he announced. "The trees on the left are the ones where the wings were." After a second of hesitation, Enrique revealed, "Something hit the back of my bird, causing me to spin out of control and hit my head." He glanced Trynche's way and added, "Stay sharp in case we need to bank."

Trynche nodded as if he was preparing to do just that. As they flew closer, his sharp paranormal hearing allowed him to make out Grecian's softly spoken words.

"As soon as we've caught the first few, I'll force the pilots to land," the ex-chieftain told someone. "Then you do your thing and wipe the humans' minds. I don't want them recalling anything when they wake up except choosing to take a night flight."

"Of course, my beloved," a soft tenor replied, his tone full of adoration. "Leave it to me. I'll take care of them." Then he snorted and asked, "What about the bigot?"

Grecian chuckled nastily. "Make him think our hostage is the hottest thing he's ever seen."

At that, Trynche almost laughed and gave himself away. He'd heard the adage about making the punishment fit the crime, and that might just be a doozy. He thought it would be funny as hell, too.

Oh, well. I hope Spieron and Bodb are coming up with something else equally fitting.

Trynche heard one of the others comment on their nasty pine cologne, and he again almost smiled. Their passengers couldn't tell that he wasn't human. Too bad it affected his own sense of smell, too, but at least his eyes and ears still worked. Trynche feared that if he flicked his tongue out to use the extra sensory receptors on his tongue, they would notice.

"You two are faggots?" Sheldon suddenly screeched, damn near making Trynche's ears bleed.

Unable to help himself, Trynche snapped his attention behind him. Grecian was just pulling away from a kiss he'd been giving to the slender male sitting to his left. The guy he'd been kissing smirked at Sheldon, giving him a smug look as his eyes bled to red.

Yup. Vampire.

"Yeah, we're faggots, you worthless excuse for a human," Grecian's mate purred, his voice taking on a hypnotic quality that Trynche recognized from when Spieron used mind control on someone. Trynche quickly whipped around to face forward as he heard the guy continue, "And you're so jealous that we're free and open about our affections. You want to be just like us... because you think your friend here is the most handsome man you've ever laid eyes on."

"Parish," Sheldon crooned huskily. "You're so handsome. Let me help you with that gag."

Trynche heard a surprised squeak, and he assumed it came from Parish.

"I want to kiss you so badly," Sheldon continued. "I—"

The snickers of those in the back as they watched Sheldon's antics were suddenly cut off by the screech of metal. The helicopter jolted harshly, and alarms began to blare. Hearing Enrique curse, Trynche glanced from his panicked-looking mate to his controls.

Except, Trynche couldn't remember a damn thing Enrique had taught him.

"Grab the sticks, Trynche," Enrique ordered loudly over the noise of the alarms.

Trynche did as he was told, doing his best to hold them steady while Enrique began pushing buttons and flipping switches.

"What the hell have you done?" Grecian roared right before another screech echoed through the cab. A whoosh of wind followed, buffeting them, and Trynche felt damn grateful for his seatbelt.

"Land the bird, guys," Lludd's deep voice called. "You're with me, rogue."

A second later, a myriad of deep roars and bellows rang in Trynche's ears. He felt a wing smack the back of his neck, but he easily shook it off. A glance behind him told him that the cabin was empty save for the two humans.

Sheldon seemed oblivious to the danger, still trying to fawn over Parish. Parish, on the other hand, appeared appalled by Sheldon's advances. Fortunately, both were still strapped in their seats, and Parish used his bound hands to keep distance between himself and the entranced ex-mayor.

"Comin' in hot," Enrique hollered through gritted teeth.

Trynche focused once more on his mate and the controls, doing whatever he could think of to help his mate land the machine.

I definitely prefer my own wings.

Just as another alarm blared, Enrique actually let out a sigh of relief. "There we go." He flashed a grin Trynche's way. "Love your paranormal strength, big guy. You holding the stick steady totally helped."

"Oh, good." Trynche smiled uncertainly at Enrique. "Because I had no idea what I was doing."

Enrique chuckled. At the same time, the helicopter landed with a slight bump. Trynche looked out the window, surprised to see that they were safely on the ground.

"Damn," Trynche muttered. "You're good."

With a wink, Enrique commented, "Not my first rough landing."

"Well, I damn sure hope it's your last," Trynche declared. He began to lean over to kiss his mate, but the belt held him in place. Growling, he quickly released it, removing his helmet right after. "Need your lips, to taste you." Trynche shoved out of the bird and hurried around it, being careful to duck below the slowing rotors. By the time he reached Enrique's side, his mate had already opened the door and slid out, so Trynche wasted no time in grabbing his human. "Your scent is driving me nuts," he admitted right before sealing his lips over Enrique's. To his pleasure, as he delved his tongue into his mate's mouth, the man's familiar delicious flavor burst across his taste buds. Trynche broke the kiss just long enough to mutter, "So much better," before diving back in.

When Trynche felt someone tapping his shoulder, once, twice, three times, he finally came up for air. His lungs were burning anyway. Panting harshly, he took in Enrique's dazed expression and smiled.

"Yeah, that's about the perfect look right there," Trynche crooned before pecking a kiss to Enrique's nose, which caused his human to snort and focus on him, blushing a little. Chuckling, Trynche told his mate, "You're amazing, you know."

"Soooo, you gonna stand around kissing and whispering sweet nothings to your mate all night?" Lludd's deep voice teased from Trynche's left, drawing his attention. The purple gargoyle smirked at him. "Or do you want to hear that all the rogues were taken care of?"

"All of them?" Trynche confirmed, looking around the area.

"Yup." Lludd punched Trynche on his upper arm as he continued, "Good work with giving us a heads-up. A little change of plans, and we avoided their net guns." The gargoyle enforcer turned and rested his hands on his hips. "The nets are gargoyle grade and would've dropped us out of the sky in seconds."

"What the fuck did you do to my bird!" Enrique cried. His dismay was clear in his voice as he lifted a hand to his head and squeaked, "Shit!"

Trynche kept his arms around Enrique's torso as he eyed the damage, too. Wincing, he took in the exposed net guns because the doors had been yanked off. He figured that had to have been at least one of the jolts they'd suffered while in the air. Smoke billowed from under a panel near the rear of the bird, and Trynche decided it was a good thing the engine was already shut off.

Returning his focus to Enrique, Trynche watched his mate rove his gaze over his helicopter. His mouth opened and closed as he slowly shook his head. Trynche's stomach flip-flopped upon seeing the aggrieved expression on his mate's face.

"We'll fix it," Trynche assured, rubbing up and down Enrique's back. "I promise, my mate. We'll make this right."

"Hell, yeah," Lludd cut in, reminding them both that they weren't alone. "You allowed us to capture three rogues. You're part of the family." Crossing his arms over his broad chest, Lludd vowed, "Hell, we'll make it better than new."

Enrique looked unconvinced, but he still nodded. "Thanks," he muttered.

"Wait. Three?" Trynche focused back on Lludd. "There were six rogues in the back."

Lludd's grin turned feral. "Grecian decided to go down fighting, which made the vampire with them freak the fuck out. Biscane killed him in self-defense." With a negligent shrug, Lludd finished, "One was a lion shifter and shifted in Sindrid's arms while in the air. With the way the lion was trying to bite him, Sindrid couldn't hold onto him, and the drop killed him. Stupid fucker." Lludd rolled his eyes, obviously not at all sympathetic. "We have a gargoyle and two shifters in custody."

"Wonder what Laagstine is promising the shifters to gain their cooperation," Trynche mused.

"Oh, I imagine the usual. A place near the top of the hierarchy of the new regime he sets up," Enrique stated with a shrug. Lludd arched a brow in silent question, so his mate added dryly, "Isn't that what self-aggrandized assholes always promise people to get them to do their dirty work?"

"True enough," Lludd responded with a nod. Then he tipped his chin toward the chopper again. "That's Sheldon. What the hell is the ex-mayor doing?"

Trynche refocused on the damaged bird... or rather, the remaining two occupants. Parish was holding up his bound hands while Sheldon was cutting through the rope with a broken piece of glass. He still eyed Sheldon warily, who was crooning ridiculous reassurances to him.

"Uh, the vampire that went crazy was Grecian's mate," Trynche explained. "He tranced Sheldon. Made the guy think he thought Parish there was the greatest thing since sliced bread."

"Ah geez." Lludd shook his head, grimacing. "Poor Parish."

"Poor Parish?" Enrique gaped at him. "What about Sheldon?"

Lludd snickered. "He's a homophobe, so it's funny." When Enrique stared askance at the big enforcer, the male rolled his eyes and muttered, "We won't leave him like that. We'll have Spieron or Darian straighten him out, well, sort of."

Enrique nodded. "Fair enough." Then he sighed as he looked over his helicopter again. "Well, guess this can wait until tomorrow."

Trynche leaned down and pecked a kiss to Enrique's lips. "Don't worry about your bird, my mate. We'll help fix it soon enough." Then he wrinkled his nose at the heavy pine scent emanating from his lover. "What we need to fix right now is our scents."

"That's a damn good idea," Lludd agreed, smirking. "You two stink." As he spoke, a couple of other gargoyles landed, and he turned to face them. "Let's get these guys to the ranch," Lludd ordered with a clap of his hands. "They need to see our vampires. Sheldon especially."

"You're not going to hurt Parish, are you?" Enrique asked worriedly, grabbing Lludd's forearm.

Trynche noticed Enrique's friend had passed out at the sight of the newly arrived gargoyles approaching the bird. It was probably a combination of shock and stress, too. Sheldon was whimpering in fear, holding the broken glass before him as if to protect himself. He was quickly disarmed, and both men were carried away.

Lludd smiled down at Enrique. "Naw. We'll take good care of your friend." He patted Enrique's hand before pulling away. "Don't you worry."

Enrique nodded, relaxing in Trynche's hold.

"Time to go," Trynche declared.

Stripping out of his jacket and shirt, Trynche kicked off his shoes. He then unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned the top button of his jeans. Finally, Trynche released his human form, allowing his wings to grow as his body grew larger, thicker. Stretching his wings wide behind him, he swept Enrique into his arms.

"Where are we going?" Enrique asked, wrapping his arms around Trynche's neck.

Grinning, Trynche bent his knees and jumped. He flapped his wings and took to the air. "We have a hot tub calling our names... and a scrub brush and plenty of soap."

Laughing, Enrique grinned at him. "Sounds like a plan, big guy. Sounds like a damn good plan."

Trynche had to agree. Heading back to the ranch, he ignored the activity below him—gargoyles securing the rogues and cleaning up remains. His duty right then was to his mate, and nothing could please him more.