17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Enzo was sitting on the side of the couch he considered his. There was space for each of them. Ven sat on the other side of the couch, and Deja sat in the middle. She was the glue that held them together, and she was missing. It was after eight am and as far as he was concerned, she was late.

The door opened, and Ven walked in. He shook his head no while his shoulders slumped. Ven had gone to look for her while Enzo waited at home; they didn't want the apartment to be empty if she showed up.

"I went up to the dog park where she threatened to move. There was no sign of her. I combed the neighborhood, went to the all-night spots she showed me on our walks, nothing. It's like she never existed." Ven walked into the room and slumped onto his side of the couch.

"Maybe she went to her friend's house," Ven ventured.

Enzo nodded his head, but he didn't believe that for a minute. She would have told them, called them on the phones she insisted they get so they could stay in touch. He had balked but gave in eventually. Even Declyn and Cole had a phone now. Soon they all would have one because of Deja and her mission to make their lives better.

His smile slid away. She was missing, and he was worried. They hadn't been together long, but he knew Deja wouldn't leave without telling them. Something had happened to her; that's the only thing that would keep her from coming home.

"Did you call her?"

"I called several times then I stopped." He had a weird feeling that if he kept calling her, he would put her life in danger. It didn't make any sense. As far as he knew, the ability to sense your mate was all fiction, something they held onto because it legitimized who they were. But some swore to it. Whether it was true or not, Enzo wasn't sure, but he wouldn't risk Deja's life because he was having trouble accepting how he felt.

The phone rang, and two pairs of eyes focused on it like it was the enemy. The second ring had Enzo diving over the side of the couch to answer it.

"Hello?" Please be Deja.

"Enzo, it's Cole." He looked at Ven and shook his head; it wasn't Deja.

"What's happening, Cole?" There was no reason for him to be up this early or calling.

"There's a female outside of The Wolves' Den. She's banging on the door and demanding to be let in. I think she knows Deja since she said her name at least ten times. I thought you might want to know. I've kept her off the relays, so no one knows, but I'm sure Declyn has seen her. The fact that he's not here tells me he is going to let you handle the situation, but I think you need to hurry."

Cole hung up without saying goodbye. Enzo stood up, the long gashes in his side opening to allow blood to flow. Ven looked at him but didn't say anything as Enzo wrapped it tight and headed for the door. Neither of them had come out of last night's fight unscathed, but until they found Deja, they wouldn't be trying to rest or heal.

"She must be Deja's friend," Ven said as he followed Enzo out the door.

"I agree, so we need to be careful. We also need to remember that the shield let Safire in."

Ven stopped before his long legs caught up to Enzo again. "Do you think she's like Deja?"

"I do, but we don't have time for that now."

Ven agreed; all that mattered was Deja.

They stopped when The Wolves' Den came into view. Standing on the porch banging on the door was a female that had glorious curves that reminded him of Deja, but she wasn't Deja.

"Enzo, Ven, come out! I need to talk to you." She yelled loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.

Everyone knew she was here, but no one came out, and that was a testament to what Deja meant to them. They wouldn't risk scaring her friend.

They walked to the bottom of the steps.

"Safire?" Enzo called out.

She stopped beating on the door and turned around. There were two males standing at the bottom of the steps. Two very handsome males. One was too young; she dismissed him and turned to the other. Now this one could start her engine revving, but for some reason, her body said meh when she looked at him. He must be Enzo, and the other one would be Ven.

"Enzo?" She walked to the edge of the porch and looked down.

"I'm Enzo. How can I help you? Deja's not here right now."

A look of panic came over her face as she descended the stairs.

"I know. I wasn't sure who to go to after I got her message from last night. It was you or the police, but she trusted the two of you more than she trusted the authorities. I'd blame it on the current political climate, but in this case, it has more to do with the police turning a blind eye to Matt."

They both looked at her, not understanding what she was saying.

"That doesn't matter. Listen to this; I got it when I woke up. I went to bed early last night, and my phone was in the kitchen. Something I never do."

She opened the phone and played a voicemail back. Deja could be heard clearly as well as a second voice that demanded she get into the car.

"He's the one who was in the car the night I brought Deja here," Enzo said, his voice low and deadly.

"He's the one that said he only wanted to talk to her that first night I followed her home," Ven added.

"Where is she?" Enzo turned to look at her, his eyes glowing. The green of them was eerie looking.

Safire swallowed hard as she turned to look at Ven's eyes. They were almost the same, both glowing, but Ven's eyes were blue. For a minute, the creepy twins from horror movies scratched at the back of her mind. Then she remembered Deja's voice saying her guys would never hurt her, and Safire was under their protection.

"Matt lives in Mount Lebanon. I know where his house is, although I've never been in it." She thrust any lingering fear to the side. Matt was crazy and getting progressively worse. She wasn't sure he wouldn't hurt Deja.

"I can take you there." She watched as they both shook their heads. They looked like twins. "How are you going to find it without me?"

"You're going to give us directions and the address, and we are going to use these phones that Deja made us buy to get more directions."

"I have to go with you." She raised her voice, needing them to hear her.

Enzo reached out and placed his hands on her arms. A loud growl made him take his hands off fast. Someone was claiming her, but he didn't have time to find out who.

"Listen to me, Safire. Matt and his men have guns. It won't matter to them if you get hurt in the crossfire. What they want, who they want, is Deja, and they'll kill to get her."

"Matt is crazy, but..."

"They abducted her at gunpoint. This was their third attempt, not the first. I know men of war, and that's what he is. He won't care if you live or die, but Deja will. I can't take you into that situation. I promise I'll have her call you when she's free."

"All right, please be careful. Deja won't be happy if anything happens to either of you."

"How'd you get here?"

A frown crossed her face, wrinkling her nose. "I drove, but about two blocks away, the darn thing stopped working, so I walked the rest of the way."

"Ven," Enzo turned to look at him.

"I'll walk Safire to her car and make sure that next time it doesn't stall out at the barrier."

"We'll get her back," Enzo said he watch Ven escorted Safire out. Once she was out of earshot, he let out a low grumble that moved through the neighborhood, touching everyone, sending a warning. "She's under my protection. Don't forget that."

There was no reply as he made his way back to the garage.

The car was out and ready to go by the time Ven got back. He slid into the front seat, buckling his seatbelt. Enzo had to smile because his seat belt was also on. The possibility of them getting hurt in a car crash was so slim they didn't even take the time to calculate it.

"We got company," Ven said.

A charger was coming to a stop behind them. It was a reverse of Enzo's. Declyn's was red with black accents. When you see the two cars together, they could take your breath away.

Declyn was in the driver's seat, and Cole was riding shotgun. In the back were Caden and Xander. Both were customers at The Wolves' Den. Xander was the male that challenged Deja. Now he was her strongest supporter.

Enzo put the car in gear, following the directions Ven was reading off the phone.

"Do you think he hurt her?" Ven asked. They had been driving in silence for close to thirty minutes, and according to the navigation on the phone, they would be there in roughly five minutes.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter." Enzo said.

"It doesn't?" Ven said.

"Deja belongs with me." Enzo glanced at Ven quickly. "She belongs with us, and for that, he'll pay."

"He'll just keep coming after her if we let him go," Ven said, understanding the nature of males like Matt.

"I know." Nothing was going to stop Matt now that he was focused on Deja, so Enzo would have to stop him.

They drove casually by the house Safire said belonged to Matt. There were two cars parked in front of it and one in the driveway.

"Don's car is there," Ven said as he turned his attention to the house.

It was one less person that Enzo would have to track down and one less threat to Deja. He circled the block three times while they got a good look at the house and the surrounding areas. Finally, they parked down the block, deciding to walk in.

They climbed out of the cars silently. Declyn let off a small sound, and they disappeared into their surroundings. Each one of them naturally adapted to battle mode. Four hundred years wasn't enough to take a lifetime of training away.

Enzo and Ven took the front door. Declyn and Cole headed towards the back door while Caden and Xander stood guard around the perimeter. Enzo rang the bell and stood back, hoping the smile on his face was not threatening, unlike Ven, whose smile promised death.

Don opened the door and smiled when he saw Enzo and Ven. "Perfect timing. Now I don't have to go hunt the two of you down. Come in. I wouldn't want to shoot you on the front porch."

Enzo ignored Don and the threat as he entered, followed by Ven.

"Where's Deja?"

"That desperate to die? Don't worry. I'm taking you to her now. She's with Matt." Don snickered and motioned them up the stairs in front of him.

Enzo could hear Deja. Her breathing was faster, and little sounds were coming out of her. Then he heard Matt.

"You like that, don't you? Want me to do it again?"

Again, he could hear her breath pick up as if she was panting, and little mewling sounds came from her mouth. Pain or pleasure, he couldn't be sure because something sounded off with her voice.

The last sound she made sounded like a muffled high-pitched scream. He kicked the door down.