Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Hold my beer!" shouted Bill as he thrust a can of Miller at Car and ran right at Wheeler. The beer had arrived at the clinic when the twins showed. It was the last thing Bill needed, but the first thing he went for before helping himself to some of the sub sandwiches the twins had stopped off to get before meeting at the clinic.

Car stood there holding Bill's beer, looking confused.

The next thing Wheeler knew, he was being bear-hugged by the human. Bill released him and stepped back, giving him a good once-over. "I should have said this before, at that place with all the dead bodies and bad art."

Wheeler just stood there with his arms out, unsure what to do or say since Bill wasn't exactly part of his fan club or anything. In fact, Bill had gone on a shower strike in the days leading up to Wheeler being turned to stone in protest of having to listen to Wheeler's rules while staying in his home.

Being hugged by the human was new.

And frankly unnerving.

Bill stepped back a bit. "Sorry I tried to talk Landros into making you into a bird fountain when you were a giant lawn ornament."

Wheeler stared down at the man. "You did what?"

Bill blushed. "It ain't important. Glad to see you're back. Told these buttholes you'd be fine, but they didn't believe me. I'd have said something sooner, but I was trying to make that cool necklace and then bummed the asshole cleanup guys wouldn't let me. I'm over it now."

Garth entered through the main doors next, with Gus following behind a few paces. He saw how close Bill was to Wheeler and lifted a brow. "Do I want to know?"

Bill took a giant step away from Wheeler. "Don't give us that look. I was apologizing to my friend."

"We're friends?" asked Wheeler.

Bill nodded. "You like me, and you know it. Deny it all you want. I grow on people. Mac says it's like a fungus, but whatever, man. Growing is growing. That reminds me, I once picked up this fungus while in Vietnam. That shit itched for months. Hell, I still have residual itching today."

Reaching down, he rubbed the front of his swim-trunk-covered groin.

Garth blinked several times. "Maybe you should get that looked at if it's still bothering you."

Car shook his head. "Nah. Only worry if it burns when you pee."

Wheeler groaned. They were all idiots. But Bill was right. They were all his friends. That much was clear. From what he'd been told, they'd not stopped searching for him since he'd gone missing. Sure, they'd shipped him in a questionable manner, but they'd never intended for him to fall into the wrong hands. And the moment they'd lost track of him and realized he was missing, they'd searched.

For so long it had felt like he only had his fellow Outcasts to rely on and trust. Even that was difficult since so many of them feared being found by the government. Having men step up to the plate—ones who owed him nothing—meant something to him. And while he'd not yet had a chance to fully process the fact he was, at least for the time being, on file as a Shadow Agent with PSI, that meant something to him as well.

It gave him hope for a real future.

Then there was Sammy.

She was his woman. His mate. And having a level of security and a future with PSI meant he wouldn't be dooming her to a life on the run from the government.

Right now she was with Auberi in an exam room after having showered and changed. Wheeler had yet to see her again and had been pacing outside of the room she was in for the greater part of thirty minutes.

Thankfully, Auberi had poked his head out a few times to assure Wheeler that Sammy was not dead, just getting cleaned up and some blood drawn.

"Dead-Wheel is daydreaming again," said Bill, elbowing Wheeler in the gut.

For a human, he had a lot of strength. That, or Wheeler really was worn down and not at a hundred percent, even after ingesting some blood. Then again, that amount hadn't been nearly enough to make up for three days without feeding.

Garth scratched just under his chin. "When Gus told us you'd turn up, to be ready for the call, I wasn't sure I believed him. But you did."

Bill frowned. "That ain't what Gus said. He said Dead-Wheel would see the paintings and then the Dragon's Fire would call us. You people don't listen."

Wheeler was confused a moment before it hit him. "Ah, I'd end up at the art gallery and Ezra's mate, who happens to be able to start fires with her mind, would reach out to all of you."

Garth looked tired. "Glad you speak fluent Crazy Bill."

"That's Wild Bill to you, Gunther the Not So Great."

Garth glanced at Wheeler. "How much would he be missed if I ate him?"

"All of you threaten that," said Bill.

Garth offered a wolfish grin. "Yes, the question you should be asking yourself is, which of us will really do it."

Bill put his thumbs in his ears and stuck out his tongue at Garth, shaking his butt as he did. It was incredibly childish but so was Bill most of the time. Wheeler had known the man a short period of time and already understood just how off the rails he was.

Car lifted the beer Bill had given him to hold and began drinking from it.

The act left Bill rushing at the Scotsman. "Hey, that's mine."

Car stood a considerable amount taller than Bill. He simply continued to drink, polishing off the rest of the beer before burping and smashing the can with one hand.

"Dick," said Bill with a scathing look.

Car shrugged. "Aye. I got one."

Bill eyed Mac, who entered the hallway of the clinic from the lobby area. He'd been tasked with getting everything turned on upon their arrival. "How about I make you an only child?"

Mac's brows went up. "What are you offerin'? I might be in."

Car groaned. "Arsehole."

"Yer an ugly fuck and I could stand some alone time," argued Mac.

"I look just like you," stated Car with a note of indignation in his voice.

"The fuck you do," snapped Mac. "It's clear Ma dropped you when you were born. On yer face!"

The two ended up smacking at each other before they took turns putting one another in headlocks. They fell over onto the floor of the hall and rolled. In the process, Mac's kilt flipped up, showing off his bare ass, just as Rurik was entering the building.

Rurik glanced down in a blasé manner, stepped over the fighting twins, and strolled past everyone as if it was no big deal.

Garth chuckled. "Takes a lot to rattle the Russian."

"Oh my," said Sammy as she stepped out from the first exam room with Auberi directly behind her.

Sammy was freshly showered and wearing a pair of scrubs that were easily three sizes too big for her. Her long, wet hair hung over one shoulder, and she carried her heels in her hands, walking barefoot. Her gaze was also locked firmly on Mac's naked ass.

"Hey now! Enough!" Wheeler shouted at the twins. "Mac, cover your ass!"

The twins rolled again but this time they ended up on their backs.

Mac's kilt, which was already riding high, did nothing to cover the man's groin, leaving all of him exposed to Sammy.

Sammy gasped. "Wow. So it's true about what men wear under their kilts. And I'd like to stress the word ‘man' here because…wow."

Auberi eased up alongside her, joining her in admiring Mac's family jewels. "Impressive."

"And then some," whistled Sammy. "And it comes in pairs. God is good."

The next Wheeler knew, his vampire and his gargoyle side united with the common goal of killing Mac. His body had a mind of its own as he charged at the Scotsman.

Someone tackled him, and then additional weight was on him, pinning him to the floor.

With a roar, he thrust the weight off and set his sights on Mac once more.

Car and Mac came off the floor fast and Car leaped in front of his brother as someone jumped onto Wheeler's back, trying to take him down once more.

"No killin' him!" shouted Car.

"Dead-Wheel, that's my job!" yelled Bill. "Give me a beer and I'll do it for you. Ain't even gotta get your hands dirty then."

Wheeler continued going at Mac, dragging something massive with him.

"Fuck, he's strong for an American," said Rurik, sounding very close.

"We're barely slowing him down," added Garth, also sounding close. "Auberi, a little help here."

Auberi appeared before Wheeler, grinned, and then pulled Sammy over to stand near him. "I'd rather watch the show and see who wins."

Sammy darted away from Auberi's side and put herself before Wheeler.

He stopped dead in his tracks, the vampire and gargoyle side retreating quickly at the look of annoyance on her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

With a sheepish grin, he tried to shrug, only to realize he had Garth and Rurik partially wrapped around him from behind. "Uh, nothing?"

Sammy rolled her eyes. "Men are idiots."

Auberi laughed. "Yes. We are. Now, if you'll join me for a head scan."

"I feel fine," she argued.

Wheeler tensed. "Is she okay?"

Auberi continued to chuckle. "I'm sure she's fine. I'm just going to confirm as much. Can you all behave yourselves while I run more tests on her? We left you alone for thirty minutes and already you're acting like children."

"We can behave," said Wheeler.

Auberi gave him a once-over. "Go get yourself cleaned up. I want to get a few blood samples from you as well. James and Green are asking for them."