Plus Getty had bruises from where the guy had held him in place. But as frightening as the experience was, he was determined to get answers. And the only person who could give them to him was Donnchadh.
Unfortunately Getty wasn’t going to call Donnchadh and ask him to come over. Not when his dad was still home. They had to meet in a neutral location. The park by Bistro seemed like the best place.
When he was in the driveway, Getty pulled out his phone and dialed Donnchadh’s phone number. He’d been reluctant to take it at first, when he’d been eating breakfast with the guy, but now Getty was glad he’d programmed it into phone.
“Hello?”
God, even that single word was spoken in a deep, laidback way. Getty shivered as he held back his sigh of appreciation. It was like desire and warmth had wrapped together to create Donnchadh’s voice.
“Hi…uh…”
“Getty.” Donnchadh said his name like he was making love to it. “Is something wrong, hon?”
Hon? “Can we meet?” And why in the hell was he suddenly excited to see him? That handsome face, those pretty dreads, that muscular body. Sigh times infinity.
Fuck. Getty was turning into an idiot just thinking of Donnchadh. Even so, let the butterflies in the stomach begin.
“Sure. When and where, shorty?”
Getty was even beginning to like that nickname. “Are you available now?”
“I can be anywhere you want me to be in a flash.”
Which only reminded Getty of how Donnchadh had simply disappeared from his bedroom. He was going to get answers for that, too.
“I’m heading to the park next to Bistro.”
“Meet you there.” Donnchadh hung up, no good-bye or see you in a minute.
Getty shoved his phone into his pocket and got into his car. Screw walking. One encounter with… He shook his head, refusing to think about it until he met with Donnchadh.
Getty pulled from the driveway and saw Bimbo in the upstairs window looking down on him. He stopped and tried to remember if he’d locked his bedroom.
Unsure, Getty turned his car off and rushed inside. Sure enough, his dumb ass had forgotten to lock it. He’d installed the deadbolt the day after his father and Bimbo had moved in. Even though it was his father, Getty had trust issues.
Growing up, money had gone missing out of his room from time to time. He never thought Pete had taken it. His brother was as honest as they came. Hell, when Pete had gotten his first job, he used to give Getty pocket money. He didn’t want to believe his own father was stealing from him, but there had been no other explanation.
This time when Getty got into the car, Bimbo wasn’t in the window.
Rolling his eyes, he reversed from the driveway and headed into town. Since it was the weekday, there were parking spots.
As soon as Getty pulled in, he saw Donnchadh coming out of the coffee shop, two drinks in his hands.
Getty’s heart sped as he got out.
“Thought you might like this. It’s strawberry lemonade.”
“Thanks.” Getty took the offered drink. He had a million questions to ask but didn’t know where to start. “About last night…”
Donnchadh took a sip of his lemonade, looking toward the park. He started walking, and Getty was mesmerized by the guy’s swagger. God, now he wanted to have sex again, but that wasn’t why he was there.
He needed answers.
“Everything you see is what we want you to see,” Donnchadh said when Getty caught up to him. “Blending in is how we’ve survived for so long.” He pointed toward the diner. “You would never know that Moose is a bear shifter or that Cyril is a panther shifter.”
He tapped his own chest as Getty’s mind exploded. “Would you guess that I’m a demon?”
Getty slowed, staring at the diner across the street, watching as Moose moved from table to table to assumedly take orders. Getty looked at Donnchadh. A demon?
“Don’t flip your lid, shorty. I don’t have a pitchfork and horns or a tail. I just have powers.”
“And the guy who attacked me?”
“A hellhound. They zap all your happiness whenever they’re around. If he’d bitten you, you’d have died.” Donnchadh took another sip of his drink. “I’m just asking you to open your mind to the fact that other things do exist.”
Getty found a bench and sat down before he crumpled.
Donny tapped his ear. “The only way to kill a hellhound is to stab them in a mark behind their ear. As you saw, they explode into dust and are sent back to Hell.”
Hell was real. After setting his cup next to him, he pressed his elbows into his knees and cradled his face in his hands. When he glanced up, Donnchadh was spread out on the grass, one leg cocked up, resting on one elbow, and looking at the people walking by.
He couldn’t see the guy as anything other than human. One thing was certain. Donnchadh had saved his life last night, and whether he was a human, a demon, or whatever, Getty was indebted to him.
Chapter Four
Donny was waiting for Getty to call him a liar, say he was nuts, to tell him that he never wanted to see Donny again. He’d never had to tell anyone what he was. Those who knew him already knew the truth. Others didn’t need to know.
If Getty hadn’t turned out to be his mate, Donny never would’ve said a word. A mate was a rare find, someone to cherish and protect. Someone to make happy and keep safe. Donny knew all this, knew how important the human was to him.
But he didn’t rush things. He didn’t tell Getty to get over what he’d just found out. They stayed in companionable silence as Donny let his mate absorb everything.
Donny had been rejected before, and he’d always brushed that shit off. He’d also been through hell before, literally, and this was nothing compared to what he’d suffered through.
Yet, how Getty reacted, what he would say, affected Donny in ways he didn’t want to think about. He didn’t like someone else in control of his emotions. He’s sworn a thousand years ago that he would never be at anyone’s mercy again.
Getty got off the bench, and Donny thought his mate was about to walk away. Instead, Getty took a seat beside him. He folded his legs and started plucking at grass blades. “I’d say you’re crazy, but I saw what happened last night.”
Donny wasn’t sure what to say. He still had no idea what was going through his mate’s mind.
“Are there more than one of those things?” Getty glanced at Donny from under the fall of his lashes. God, the male was sexy as fuck. If the guy only knew the dirty thoughts racing through Donny’s head.
“A lot more,” he answered.
That was one thing he wasn’t going to do. Lie to his mate.
“Was he purposely after me because of you?” Getty asked. “I mean he could’ve seen us together that night at the club.”
That was a possibility, but hellhounds usually tried to stay out of the limelight. Then again, one had become mayor of some Podunk town. Hadn’t Panahasi said they were gathering in greater numbers? “I’m not sure, Getty. They aren’t behaving normal.”
Getty’s eyes widen. “Normal?”
“Yeah, normal. They like to keep a low profile, but lately they’re not giving a fuck. We demon warriors can’t figure out why, either.”