Hypnotic Ch. 07

"Safe houses aren't very safe if everyone knows about them. Velaku knows exactly what kind of life I lived before I met your brother. You can never be too careful. He didn't tell Mishtar. I only allowed him to tell Natham because," Dav looked at me, "mates shouldn't keep secrets."

I blushed. "We all make mistakes."

It was his turn to blush. He nodded, repeatedly checking his mirrors. Suddenly he pulled into a parking structure for a local grocery and shopping center. He drove down a level underground then slid into an interior parking spot.

"Get out of the car," he ordered.

He reached under the blue van next to us and pulled out keys. "Grab the extra guns, just pull up the sides of the bag and yank them out."

Ahsran reached back into the vehicle and pulled out the bag of guns and ammo. He placed it under the first set of backseats in the van, and then climbed in after Isiah.

"Ellis, let's go before the Falcon finds us."

I hurried around the car and slid into the front passenger seat, buckling my seat belt with clumsy fingers. I had thought I knew what Dav did, how dangerous his job was, but I was realizing that my mate was extremely paranoid and had back-up plans for back-up plans. It was impressive and not just a little bit scary.

Even my brother and Ahsran seemed a little weirded out by what Dav seemed to consider normal. He really did too; the only time I felt any tension coming from him was when he looked at me and asked about my head.

Otherwise he was cool, completely in charge, and totally collected.

Those fuckers who raised him really did a number on him. My hands clenched in fists when I realized just how much for the first time. He had told me the way he was raised not to show any weakness; I was just coming to understand what that meant. Other than situations involving me, he seemed to have no strong emotions.

"Dav?" The strain in my voice had to be obvious to more than just him.

Dav gave me a smile. "Don't worry Ellis. I've dealt with trackers before. You need to stop stressing out, you're going to give yourself another migraine and that's the last thing we need."

I knew he was right, but I couldn't just shut myself down like that.

"Velaku didn't mention having a guard on us; he must be one of Mishtar's." Isiah reached up from his seat behind me and began kneading my shoulders. I tensed for a moment, then sighed and leaned into the seat, tilting my head back against the headrest.

His strong fingers felt so good rubbing the kinks out, knots I didn't even feel until his thumbs dug into them and rubbed them away. Between that and the reassurance and love Dav was giving me through our bond I couldn't help but sort of float away.

I listened to them talk about the tracker as Dav pulled in between a couple of cars pulling out the garage, but I didn't join in. He made sure to split apart from them quickly as the other two went different directions at the first light. He drove carefully, his eyes on the mirrors and the sky.

"So far so good," he said. "He must have followed one of the other cars."

"You've done this before." Ahsran's tone made it clear it wasn't a question, merely an observation.

"Yes." Dav didn't go into specifics; his secretive nature was natural given his clan. I could see him watching Isiah frequently, but he didn't say anything about my twin's massage.

The loss of our tracker and the comfort I was being bombarded with combined with the fatigue of all I had been going through the past two weeks. I fell asleep in the midst of their plans of what we would do once we got to the safe house and the alphas showed up.

*

Dav carried me into the house, rousing me briefly as he set me down on a soft couch at one side of a huge room. "Hey," I said sleepily. I reached out and grabbed his hand when he turned away, giving him a soft smile. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. It was like sleep was pulling me back, not letting me wake up.

"Hey," he said softly. His eyes gleamed at me as he returned my smile. "You have only been asleep about fifteen minutes. They won't be here for at least another half hour. Get some more rest; you might need it."

I felt bad that they were preparing for this huge offensive and I wasn't helping. Dav must have caught part of my feelings. He sat down on the edge of the couch, pulling a thick, soft blanket off the back and laying it over me. His hands smoothed it over my chest.

"Hey now, what's with the guilt?"

"I'm not like you guys. I'm useless."

"Never say that." Dav was abrupt, his spine stiffening. I caught a hint of anger from him. "I never want you to be like me. Keeping you who you are, a healer, is my job. You are not a killer, Ellis, and I don't want you to be. The fates, or god, or random chance, whatever you want to call it, picked you for me. You are exactly who I need to keep me from losing myself completely; I've been waiting for you a long time.

"Let me do the bad things. You be my good thing to come back to, the one thing that tells me I'm better than those I have to fight. I wouldn't deserve you as a mate if I wasn't. I don't know if I could keep from losing myself in the hate if I didn't have you anymore." Dav's voice was fierce, his hands on my shoulders as he stared in my eyes.

I let out the breath I'd been holding in a sharp exhale. "Oh Dav . . . ." My hand came up to his cheek and I stroked his smooth skin. "You are a good man."

He shook his head. "No one thinks that but you."

"I know you better than anyone else. I'm right; they're wrong."

His eyes closed and he leaned down and kissed me. His lips pressed against mine and then his tongue stroked across them. I opened for him, letting the forks of his tongue tickle inside my mouth as he tasted me. He pulled back with a sigh.

"Thank you," he tucked the blanket around my shoulders a little tighter. "but you need to rest now. I'll wake you up before anything important is discussed."