Chapter Six

Lucifer

He broke the kiss as he heard Asmos shout Gage’s name. Cary jerked back and his panicked gaze met Lucifer’s.

“Stay here!” Lucifer ordered before he transported himself to Asmos’s side.

Asmos was throwing himself over and over at some invisible barrier keeping him from reaching an old white car speeding away. Asmos’s face was bloody as well as his hands.

“What’s going on?” Lucifer demanded.

“Gage! The pizza guy kidnapped Gage! I can’t get through.”

Lucifer threw his palm forward only to meet a resistance that shouldn’t be possible. He called on his magic and threw everything he had at it. The magic hit the barrier and bounced back at him. Lucifer’s magic smacked him in the chest, throwing him up. Lucifer crashed against the side of the house as Asmos continued to beat at the barrier.

“Lucifer!” Cary ran out of the house, throwing a towel over him, then crouched beside him.

He did not care that he was sprawled out naked on the porch as he stared in the direction that his mate had been taken.

“Where’s Gage?” Cary asked desperately. “Lucifer? Where’s Gage?”

“He’s gone,” Lucifer said quietly. He couldn’t believe that any magic could be stronger than his. This had never happened before. His mate! Who had taken his mate? Someone would pay for this.

“No!” Cary rose before running toward the street.

“Stop!” Lucifer yelled. He held out his hand, but he was too late.

Cary slammed into the barrier.

Asmos caught Cary before he could hit the ground, since he was out cold.

Lucifer scrambled to his feet.

“What is going on?” Bel yelled.

Lucifer took Cary into his arms as he stared at Bel on the opposite side of the barrier. “Gage was taken. White four-door car. Older. Find him. Find my mate!”

There were bags at Bel’s feet. The contents spilled in the yard. Popcorn. Candy. Chips. Tears fell from Lucifer’s eyes. He’d failed to protect his mate.

“Luci!” Bel shouted.

“Find Gage,” Lucifer begged his friend. “Find my mate!”

Bel’s eyes widened before he turned and raced off. Lucifer was desperate to follow but he needed to get past the barrier first. And make sure that Cary would be okay. Gage would never forgive him if Cary was seriously injured. He’d lost one mate and wouldn’t allow anything else to harm Cary.

Asmos appeared at his side. “What do we do?”

“Call in reinforcements. Call in everyone!” Lucifer ordered.

“Right away!” Asmos ran into the house.

Lucifer sat on the stoop of the house, holding his little human mate in his arms. Who would dare take Gage from him? Had Lucifer miscalculated the power the clowder held?

No, he didn’t make mistakes like that.

But the magic that was keeping him from going after his mate was unfamiliar. That wasn’t easy magic to wield. It wasn’t the same that the clowder leader had used either. The longer Gage was away from them, the farther he could be taken.

Closing his eyes, Lucifer pushed down his doubts. He had one mate in his arms who was hurt. He needed to look after Cary before he went after Gage. Lucifer was a very powerful being and it was time that he proved it.

* * * * *

Cary

“I don’t care who you must call! Call in every demon ever born! Find out who is responsible for this! Find my fucking mate!”

Cary gripped the back of his neck as he groaned. His head hurt. Bad. Why did his head hurt?

Lucifer turned from where he’d been pacing in front of the couch. Their gazes locked and Cary knew something was extremely wrong.

“I have to go,” Lucifer barked into the phone. “I want my mate back!” He tossed his cell onto the couch at Cary’s feet before he dropped to his knees.

Cary’s vision was blurry, but he could see the concern on Lucifer’s face clearly. “What happened?”

“Careful.” Lucifer helped Cary sit up. “You might be dizzy for a while. Have a headache. Blurry vision. I had a doctor come check you out.”

“How long was I out?” And what the hell was going on?

“About an hour,” Lucifer told him. “You hit the barrier extremely hard.”

“Barrier.” It was coming back to him now. “Gage?”

Lucifer shook his head. “We can’t find him.”

Cary grabbed Lucifer’s hand. “What do you mean that you can’t find him? You are the king of hell!” Ouch! He laid his palm over his forehead. “That hurt.”

“Please be careful. You have a concussion.”

Like he cared about that. “Where’s Gage?” He had to know. They had to find their boyfriend. Cary had never been separated from Gage. They were always together. Even when they were teenagers Gage would sneak out of his house at night and sleep on Cary’s floor.

“I don’t know, baby.” Lucifer cupped his cheek. “I’m going to find him though. I have every demon I was able to pull from hell looking for him.”

“Is the barrier down?”

“It is. I believe it came down when Gage was a predetermined distance away.”

“Then why can’t you find him?” Cary asked. “Just transport to him. Or transport him back here. Please!” He needed his boyfriend. Both his mates!

“I can’t, Cary. My magic can't find him.”

What did that mean? “So… He’s…”

“Magic is blocking me.”

“Isn’t your magic stronger?” It had seemed like Lucifer could do anything. Sure, Cary might not know much about magic, but his mate was a freaking king!

“That’s not exactly how magic works,” Lucifer said.

“Well then how does it work?” Cary demanded. Then winced. His head really hurt.

“Let me get you something for the pain.” Lucifer tried to rise.

Cary grabbed Lucifer’s wrist. “Help me up. We need to find him.”

“No.” Lucifer pushed Cary’s shoulder down. “Every inch of the town is being searched.”

“We can’t just sit here,” Cary argued.

“I have friends coming to watch over you. They’ll be here—”

The front door opened and three men walked in. Two very large and obviously demons and someone who appeared as human as him.

“They’re here.” Lucifer’s shoulders relaxed.

“Lucifer!” The human raced over. “You found your mates!” He hugged Lucifer’s neck as he smiled at Cary. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Who was this?

“My Lord.” The bigger demon bowed. “What can we do to aid you?”

Lucifer kissed Cary’s forehead before he stood. “One of my mates is missing. Taken. I need you to watch over Cary while I search for Gage. Protect him with your lives. And he has a concussion so keep an eye on him.”

“I want to go too!” Cary argued.

The younger man dropped on the couch beside him. “Hi. I’m Adam.”

Cary frowned. “Cary.”

“That big guy there.” Adam pointed to the largest demon Cary had seen so far. Not that he had seen very many. “That’s my mate, Mal. He’s the master of punishment.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Cary admitted.

“That he’s the most badass demon ever,” Adam said. “And with my amazing mate is Ash. He’s a reaper. He can get into any realm that he wants.”

“Gage could have been taken to another realm?” Cary shouted. Ow! Still hurt.

“Oops!” Adam replied. “My bad. I’m just saying that we’re here to help.”

“You’re human?”

“Nope.” Adam popped the p . “I’m a dryad. But I belong to the most spectacular family full of paranormal creatures and humans that will come the moment I call. We’ve got your back.”

“Lucifer told us about you. The family of paranormals and humans that have all found their mates,” Cary remembered.

“Almost all of us found our mates,” Adam said. “And we are going to be great friends. I just know it!”

“That’s wonderful,” Cary told him. “I want to be friends. After we find Gage.”

“Of course,” Adam replied.

He appeared to be a pretty easygoing guy. And he was helping Cary push his panic down. To think.

“We will find your Gage and then we’ll discuss having a mating ceremony. Mine was awesome-sauce! I can help plan yours. My minions love planning parties.”

“Minions?”

Adam grinned.

“Before you and your minions get out of hand with party planning, we need to talk,” Lucifer said as he joined them on the couch.

“What minions?” Cary questioned. Was this a whole thing in hell that he wasn’t aware of? Did he get minions? That seemed like a lot of responsibility he didn’t want.

“Ash is going to start checking other realms.” Lucifer held his hand up when Cary opened his mouth. “I don’t think that he was taken elsewhere, or a portal would have been easier to get him away. It’s just a precaution.”

“Okay.”

“Mal and Adam will remain here with you.”

“But I want to go!” Cary stressed.

“I understand,” Lucifer said. “And I thought about bringing you with me. With Mal and Adam as guards. But then I thought about what Gage might do.”

“Do?”

Lucifer smiled sadly. “We haven’t known each other long. I have much to learn about you both, but I do know how much the two of you love each other.”

Cary nodded. That was nice to hear.

“Gage will do everything in his power to return to you. He is not without his own gifts. If he gets away, he will come here for you. You should be here if that happens.”

Cary climbed from his cushion to sit on Lucifer’s lap. “To return to us. Yes, we love each other. We’ve been together for years. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t already falling for you. You belong with us too.”

“I’m going to give you two a minute.” Adam jumped quickly off the couch and made haste over to his mate and the other demon, reaper, whatever.

Cary cupped Lucifer’s face, ignoring everyone else in the room. “You’ll find him. I know it.”

“I let you both down,” Lucifer said quietly.

“You didn’t,” Cary disagreed.

“He got kidnapped with me right upstairs.”

“So was I,” Cary pointed out. “We were showering together, remember. And do you also remember that he was the one that maneuvered that to happen? To give us time together.”

“He could be hurt,” Lucifer told him.

Cary closed his eyes as he nodded. He needed to be strong. For Lucifer. For Gage. For himself. He opened his eyes with a new resolve. “Then we’ll care for him. Spoil him. He doesn’t get to shift much. He’d love the opportunity to do that more and we’ll take him to your wonderful home and allow him to shift for days.”

“That would be nice. A warm fluffy cat in my lap as you play on the floor in front of us.”

“He’d like that too,” Cary assured his mate. “Daddy.”

Lucifer’s reaction was instant. His arms tightened around Cary as his pupils dilated. It was the first time that he’d said that title since they’d been in Lucifer’s home.

“Just go find Gage and we can go home.”

“Home,” Lucifer repeated.

“Yes, Daddy. Home.”

* * * * *

Gage

This was not how he anticipated this evening going, and Gage was going to make someone very sorry for ruining his plans. He straightened his legs, glad that he could finally move his body. And that he wasn’t tied up.

A damn stun gun. Josh the friendly pizza guy had shoved a stun gun into his ribs and blasted Gage with electricity. He was never tipping that asshole again. Gage snorted at himself as he struggled to sit up against the wall. He didn’t even know if he’d see Josh again.

“Damn it!” he shouted into the silence. The sound of his own voice echoed back at him.

The basement was damp and cold. He’d been planning for a night cuddling on the couch with his two mates, not freezing on a cement floor. Gage had been inside nearly every room in the church and this space was familiar enough. Being stunned hadn’t kept Gage for hearing what was happening around him.

The sheriff, mayor, and several human residents had him kidnapped so they could demand the return of Stan Fisher and the other missing clowder members. No one knew what happened to the clowder leader once Lucifer popped away with him.

Finding out that the humans knew about the clowder, magic, and Lucifer was quite the shock.

If Gage could have spoken, he’d have told them to check in hell, but that would be up to them to figure out now. And they were stupid if they thought that Lucifer wouldn’t make them burn in hell for taking him.

It was just a matter of time before his powerful mate found him. And at least Cary hadn’t gotten mixed up in this. Cary could have been seriously injured if he’d been with Gage.

He froze when he thought he heard footsteps. Was someone coming? Yes! Maybe Lucifer was already there. They could get back to movies, snacks, and cuddling on the couch! And claiming one another once they were alone.

“Hello!” Gage called out. Had that been his imagination? Would they leave him unguarded? “Anyone there?”

Nothing. No response.

Gage rested the back of his head against the concrete wall, trying to ignore how cold it was. With his body still humming from the jolts of electricity, he didn’t want to try shifting quite yet. It would just be his luck that he’d get stuck in a half shift or something.

Time. He had plenty of time. As long as he didn’t freeze to death.

He’d give anything to be wrapped up in a blanket in front of Lucifer’s hearth. Or cuddling on Lucifer’s lap as his mate pet him. Or lying with Cary as his boyfriend read one of the hot and smutty gay romance books he hoarded.

Anywhere would be better than this place but especially if Gage were with his two mates.

He hoped that Cary and Lucifer were able to connect earlier when Gage had left them to shower. Gage really wanted the details of his mates getting a little bit dirty before they got clean.

Unless his stupid kidnapping had interrupted that as well.

Gage huffed.

He didn’t want to think about was happening. Gage wanted to be with his mates! This little misadventure was proof that they should have already taken care of claiming one another. It could be harder for Lucifer to find him. Who was he kidding? Lucifer should find him in minutes.

Minutes.

Lucifer was powerful.

This was nothing.

They could get back to their planned evening. The movie and cuddling. Pizza. Damn, Gage was hungry. He just needed to be patient.

Minutes.

It wouldn’t take that long.

At any moment, Lucifer would come riding to the rescue.

Any minute now.