13. Tormenting A New Friend With Terrible Songs

13

The man was scrawny and pale, with dirt in his hair and blood smeared across his face.

The moment he saw Griff, he froze.

Someone shouted behind him. The man glanced over his shoulder, and paled further.

"Get in," Griff growled.

Quinlan poked his head between the front seats. "Now!"

The stranger scrambled in. Griff was already stepping on the gas before the man could shut the door.

The wheels screeched as Griff accelerated. Bullets hit the car.

The man struggled with the door; it half-latched, and the car chimed at them to close the door properly.

"Who're you?" the man asked, looking as though he might jump out of the car anyway.

"I'm Quinlan, and this is Griff." Quinlan clutched the front seats tightly because he didn't have a seatbelt on right now. "Is that your baby?"

The man clutched his bundle against his chest. "Yes."

"They wanted to steal your baby, didn't they?" Quinlan asked.

The stranger grimaced, and his anxiety grew. "How did you know?"

Quinlan and Griff exchanged a look through the rearview mirror.

"We were targeted, too." Quinlan checked on Annie, who was content to gnaw on her octopus stuffie. "Guess we're driving like hell now."

Griff sighed. "I was hoping for a calm drive home."

"Sorry!" the man said.

The car kept chiming. The wind whistled through the gap in the door. The man's captors were growing smaller in the distance, but Quinlan didn't want to believe they'd lost the bad guys so easily. "Did they put a tracking device on you?"

The man froze. "I... I don't know."

He began patting himself down. Quinlan remembered being at Blade's mansion, Blade's friend Mav unearthing a tracking device in Joey's bag. "We'll stop as soon as we can, see if we can find a device on you."

"In half an hour," Griff said. "I want to be far away from that place first."

"Okay," Quinlan said. To the stranger, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Pinks," the man said.

"Pinks?" Quinlan said, surprised. "I've never heard a name like that before."

The man shrugged. "Better than my given name. Much better."

The way he said it... it was better not to ask why.

"Pinks," Griff said. "Open the door and yank it shut. The chiming is driving me insane."

Pinks looked anxiously at the bundle in his arms. "Um."

Quinlan sighed. "I'll do it."

He clambered halfway over the center console, leaned over Pinks, and unlatched the door. The wind buffeted the door; Quinlan's thighs strained against the backs of the seats as he shoved the door open further.

With a hard yank, he shut the door properly, and the car's chiming finally stopped.

"Thank you, fireheart. You're amazing."

Quinlan snorted. "I'm just saving our sanity."

"Still amazing." Griff grinned, but his eyes were fixed on the road as he wove between cars, putting as many vehicles as he could between them and the explosion.

Fortunately, they blended in with the other black cars on the road.

As Quinlan retreated to the backseat, he pressed a quick kiss to Griff's temple.

"Aww, fireheart!" Griff's eyes crinkled in the rearview mirror. "Put on your seatbelt!"

"I am, I am." Quinlan clicked it into place, his heart still thumping anxiously. "By the way, Pinks. I don't know where you need to be, but we're on our way to Cartfalls, California. We can take you along with us, but we can't make much of a detour."

"O-okay," Pinks said shakily, glancing out the window. "Um, Cartfalls is fine. And... you have a shopping cart following you."

"Yeah! His name is Carty McCartingson," Griff said proudly. "He's a good cart!"

Quinlan snorted. "We haven't had him for a full day, and you've decided he's good?"

"I can feel it in my heart of hearts," Griff announced.

Quinlan shook his head, watching as Pinks eyed Griff warily. "Griff won't hurt you if you don't hurt us," Quinlan said. "And he's mine."

"Gosh, fireheart. My heart can't take all your affection." Griff swooned behind the wheel. "I don't want to be stuck here. I want to give you a wet smooch!"

That made Quinlan laugh. "Later. When we're safe."

"It's... It's nice that you have each other," Pinks said quietly. He finally set his bundle on his lap, clicking on his own seatbelt. Then he hugged his baby back against himself.

"Do you have any friends or family that you can stay with for now? Do you need to go home?" Quinlan asked.

Pinks froze. Then he sucked in a shuddering breath, his face falling. "My friends were captured some time ago. I was the last one still running."

Quinlan's heart sank.

"What the hell?" Griff growled. "Where were they taken?"

"I don't know." Pinks' voice broke. He looked so distraught that Quinlan wanted to hug him.

"I'll ask my friends in the area," Griff said. "They're not nearby, but they'll keep an eye out."

"Thank you," Pinks said miserably.

Quinlan grabbed a bag of cookies and dropped it on Pinks' bundle of baby. "Here. Eat some. Hopefully it'll help you feel better, but even if it doesn't, you're going to need some energy anyway."

"Thanks," Pinks said.

Pinks' baby promptly grabbed the bag of cookies and shook it, making excited sounds.

"Ahh, two babies in the car," Griff crowed. "I think this is a sign. I think we need a second child."

Quinlan snorted. "You've only mentioned it fifty times."

"As soon as we get home, we'll make another."

"Please no sex songs," Quinlan said.

"How could you say that?" Griff almost sounded offended—except amusement twinkled in his eyes.

Griff abruptly broke into song.

"My mate is jiggly

My mate is wriggly

He's pretty and drooly

When I bounce him he gets all messy—"

"Drooly?" Quinlan covered his face and groaned. "I don't drool!"

Griff shot him a predatory smile. "You don't drool from your mouth."

"Oh, dear gods," Quinlan said into his hands, thoroughly mortified. "Must you sing this in front of everyone?"

"The babies don't know what I'm talking about! And no one would've known if you didn't ask." Griff did an excited little wriggle. "It's a good song, isn't it, Pinks?"

Pinks looked extremely uncomfortable. "Um..."

"You don't have to lie to him," Quinlan said with a laugh. "They're terrible songs."

"Hey!" Griff said.

"You kidnapped me to make me listen to them."

"He kidnapped you?!" Pinks squawked.

"Yes," Quinlan said dryly. "But I have decided to be his willing prisoner."

Pinks looked between them as though he thought Griff might kidnap him, too.

"Don't worry, I'm the only one for Griff," Quinlan said. "You're just riding along to witness the crazy."

"I'm not crazy," Griff said.

"You write strange songs," Quinlan answered. "But because they're meant for me, I enjoy them."

"Awww!" Griff took a hand off the steering wheel, rubbing his chest.

They took an exit ramp about forty minutes later, pulling onto a deserted street. There, Quinlan and Griff got out of the car, helping Pinks pat down his clothes and baby bundle.

"No tracking devices," Griff declared.

Quinlan glanced at the car driving by on the street, all black with tinted windows. "We'd best get going anyway."

Griff handed out snacks and drinks. Then they piled back into the car, except Griff refused to turn on the radio.

"More songs for my fireheart," he declared.

"Are you just making them up on the spot?" Quinlan asked.

"Yes!"

Pinks looked even more uncomfortable. Quinlan would've swapped places with him, but he didn't trust Pinks enough to leave him in the backseat with Annie.

"A dragon's mate is the purest mate

You have to feed them sour grapes

Kiss them over spaghetti

With pasta sauce all over your face

When they fart it's all for me"

Thus began a marathon of Griff's most terrible songs. Thirty songs in, Pinks' eyes had glazed over. Griff was as happy as he always was, and Quinlan played with Annie, amazed that Griff hadn't repeated a single song.

They drove for several more hours. Midway through, Quinlan and Griff discussed renting a motel room to sleep in. But Quinlan wasn't comfortable staying in one place for too long—especially now that they were harboring someone the bad guys wanted.

They ended up dropping off the rental car and renting a white SUV, moving all of Quinlan's things into the new trunk.

Quinlan and Pinks dozed off.

When Quinlan woke, it was daybreak, and there was a crick in his neck. Griff was still driving.

"You should rest," Quinlan said, his voice rough with sleep.

Griff shook his almost-empty bulk bag of habanero peppers at Quinlan. "I'm still awake."

"You've just been guzzling energy drinks and habaneros!"

Griff's smile was all sharp teeth. "We're almost home."

Relief surged through Quinlan's chest. Softly, he said, "Thanks for driving."

Just as softly, Griff replied, "Anytime."

Quinlan tried to stay awake to keep Griff company during the drive. But his eyelids grew heavy, and he fell back asleep.

When he woke again, he found them driving up to a familiar mansion, sunlight bright around them. "Why're we at Blade's?"

More importantly, why was there a crowd in front of the mansion?

Quinlan recognized Joey and Wren. And suddenly he was a lot more alert than before.

He gathered Annie into his arms and struggled out of the car, fighting his still-sleeping limbs.

"Fireheart," Griff yelped. He raced around the car and caught Quinlan as he stumbled. "Don't move, you're not fully awake."

"What happened?" Blade demanded. "You didn't answer any of our calls."

"We were attacked on the way there," Quinlan said. "Took a dive into a lake. A deep dive. Our phones died."

Wren and Joey's eyes grew wide. The burly men behind them frowned; Griff eyed them suspiciously.

"We were about to send a search party after you," Blade said to Griff. "Dad and Papa have been concerned."

"Who attacked you?" Yaeger demanded. He was a dragon shifter, too.

"Some men in a helicopter," Griff growled. "They kept shooting at me. I dropped Quinlan and Annie into the lake, then crashed their ‘copter. Very hard. Think they followed us all the way from Utah."

"After that mess, we figured it was easier just to drive home with all my crap," Quinlan added. "Except on the way back, we found Pinks and saved him from more kidnappers. Everyone, this is Pinks."

Several introductions were made, not just for Pinks' benefit. Before this, Quinlan hadn't had the chance to meet the rest of Joey's friends.

Elson was an alchemist mated to Yaeger. Liem was an omega wolf shifter married to Onyx, a demon. Samsen was a vampire mated to Valor, an alpha wolf shifter.

Then there was Doc with his multiple surgical masks, Fang who was Valor's coworker, and Telos and Mav, two alpha-types who were glaring daggers at each other.

"I told you we should've followed them," Mav sniped. "But no, you had to drop my food on the ground and give me food poisoning."

Telos rolled his eyes. "You insisted on eating that food. I told you not to, you idiot. I didn't even think you could get food poisoning."

"Must've been the germs from your hands," Mav said. "Strange bacteria from the Ice Age."

"Excuse me? Pterodactyls were not from the Ice Age." Telos rolled his eyes.

"Why were you even spending time together when you hate each other?" Griff asked.

Mav and Telos shut their mouths, glowering.

"Um, will you help my friends?" Pinks glanced nervously at all of them. "They were captured one by one, starting from a few months ago. I was the last one standing; they caught me by surprise today. They... They said something about the babies?"

Onyx sighed. Quinlan wondered what his demon form really looked like. "This is more widespread than we thought."

"There have been several attempts at kidnapping, at least in Cartfalls," Valor said. "They've been targeting the babies of rare species, or babies who have the abilities of two or more species. We think they're attempting to build an army by training the babies from a young age."

"What?" Griff growled. "How come no one told me this?"

"Because you were hiding in your cave," Blade said dryly.

"I was busy," Griff spluttered.

"I didn't know about the baby army, either," Quinlan said quietly, his stomach turning.

"Not that the kidnappers will get very far, if they treat the babies like crap," Joey muttered with a scowl.

Pinks' already-pale face turned even paler. He hugged his bundle closer to himself. "Oh, no."

"We have a safehouse you can stay at for now, if you need shelter," Blade said to Pinks. "We'll get you a phone, too. You'll be able to reach us with it."

Pinks looked down at his baby. "Will we be safe there?"

"As safe as we can make it," Doc said.

Pinks nodded uncertainly. Quinlan felt sorry for him, even more so than before—Pinks didn't know anyone here. At least Quinlan had Joey and Wren with him in Cartfalls.

"Hey, if you need friends," Quinlan began, glancing at Elson, Liem, and Samsen. Those three had accepted him, Wren, and Joey into their circle without any questions.

"We can definitely be friends with you," Liem said kindly. "We haven't had any of our friends go missing—"

"Except me," Quinlan said, with a pointed look at Griff. Griff didn't even look the least bit guilty.

"We haven't had a friend go permanently missing," Liem corrected. "But we have been having trouble with the kidnappers. We understand some of what you're going through."

"T-thank you, I appreciate it," Pinks said, the tension seeping out of his shoulders.

"Quin?" Wren grasped Quinlan's arm and tugged him aside—not that they had any privacy, considering how many people here had supernatural hearing.

"Yeah?" Quinlan shifted Annie in his arms so she could look at everyone. "I got your piggybank from the apartment. Your special blanket, too."

"What about the rest of the things?"

"Griff paid our rent. We figured that you can go back sometime later this month and decide for yourself what you want to move. We couldn't fit all your stuff in the car, anyway."

Wren squirmed and looked at the ground. "I'll need to find a way to get there."

"I'll get you some cash," Quinlan said, feeling guilty. There were some large boxes that he and Griff couldn't fit in the car. Quinlan hadn't stayed to open every single one of Wren's boxes—now he really wished he had. He'd left something important behind, hadn't he?

"It's—It's okay." Wren chewed on his lip so hard that it almost looked bloody. "I'll figure it out." He shook his head quickly and glanced at Griff. "Is he taking care of you? Joey and I have been worried."

"I'm allowing him to court me." Quinlan blushed. It wasn't something he expected to say after Griff had stolen him from under his friends' noses. But Griff had been nothing but good, and... Quinlan was looking forward to later. When he and Griff were back in Griff's cave-mansion. "It has been going well."

Wren's smile was duller than usual. Then he peeked at Fang, and blushed.

"What's going on with you and him?" Quinlan whispered back.

"Nothing," Wren said, his shoulders slumped.

Except Quinlan caught Fang glancing at Wren—which Wren completely missed when he looked down. "Are you sure?"

Wren nodded.

Before Quinlan could investigate further, Griff announced, "Quinlan and I are going home. I am going to breed him."

Quinlan choked on his spit. "That's not something you just... announce! Not like that!"

"Of course it is!" But Griff seemed really tired. He had shadows under his eyes, and his hair was mussed. Even then, he had the nerve to look completely innocent. "We agreed on breeding you."

"‘We'? You and who?"

"Me and you, of course," Griff said with a roguish grin.

Quinlan couldn't look anyone in the eye. He gave Wren a quick hug, then went over to grab Griff by the arm, dragging him back to the rental car. "We're leaving. You need some actual sleep."

"Aww, fireheart. You care so much about me." Griff's smile turned hopeful. "After a nap, we'll discuss the terms of your breeding?"

"Sure," Quinlan said. What terms did they even need?

"Good," Griff crowed. He bundled Quinlan and Annie into the car. Right before he started the engine, he glanced at Blade and his friends.

Griff looked... wistful. Longing?

Quinlan waited until they were far away from the mansion, before asking, "Why don't you make friends with them?"

Griff chewed on his lip. "Me?"

"I think they'll like you. As long as you don't kidnap anyone else to be your mate."

Griff chewed harder.

"I'm... not like everyone else," Griff finally said, his gaze shadowed. "You don't think I'm too corny for them?"

"That's not a bad thing."

Griff sat straighter. He was so adorable sometimes that Quinlan didn't know what to do with all the feelings Griff inspired in his chest.

"You're special," Quinlan added.

Griff beamed. And Annie kicked in her car seat, trying to wriggle out.

"C'mon, let's go home," Quinlan said, reaching back to pat Annie's leg. "You'll be free to roam when we get home, little anchovy."

Griff sucked in a quick breath. "You think of my humble cave as your home?"

"All my things are in this car," Quinlan pointed out. "I have nowhere else to call home."

Griff rumbled and puffed out his chest. "I will make it the best home you've ever had. But first, the breeding."