A smile spread across Aiden’s face when he saw Tiago’s number. They didn’t have a date or tutoring planned for tonight, so he wondered why he was calling. Sometimes they called each other just to talk, and Aiden was always happy to hear his voice.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Tiago’s voice sounded weird. “I need to tell you something. But you can’t tell anyone.”
Great. More secrets. “Okay.” Aiden sat on his bed, weight settling on his shoulders and a nervous flutter in his stomach.
“My parents came to talk to me.”
Aiden jolted. “What?” A million questions flooded his mind.
“Don’t worry, I’m okay. They were… they tried to convince me to go with them.”
“Do you mean they tried to take you?” Aiden pictured shadowy figures grabbing Tiago and dragging him toward a black van.
A pause. “They didn’t touch me. But they… chased me.” He sounded scared, really scared.
Aiden’s stomach tightened. “We have to call Mr. Johnson. The wardens will—”
“No! Aiden, please. You can’t tell anyone.”
“But what if they try to kidnap you?” He’d already been through that terror with Dylan. He couldn’t bear it if Tiago’s abusive parents dragged him off.
“The wardens will kill them. I can’t murder my parents.”
Aiden didn’t know what he would do if he were in Tiago’s position. The right thing to do was tell the wardens, and as much as Aiden wanted to think they were like the human police or FBI, they weren’t. Of course, serial killers and other murderers got the death penalty. It would be following human justice to put Tiago’s parents to death.
Aiden wanted to think he’d do the right thing and turn his parents in if they were murderers, but he couldn’t be sure. And he wasn’t Tiago and could never really understand what he was going through.
“Okay, but you can’t put your safety at risk.” Aiden’s gut clenched again at the thought of Tiago being taken away, being hurt.
“That’s why I’m calling.” A nervous laugh. “Will you protect me?”
It was absurd. Aiden was a coward, and Tiago was so brave. He’d wanted to take on the dark fae, even knowing a werejaguar didn’t stand a chance. “Me?”
“Don’t be like that. You’re awesome. I know you don’t like fighting, but this is different. It’s watching out for me. And it’s just in case. You’ll be like, my bodyguard.” Another nervous laugh. “Maybe I was just overreacting. Maybe they chased me because they wanted to talk more. Or they were afraid I’d tell someone.”
Aiden closed his eyes. How could Tiago keep downplaying this? “So what if they come after you again? What am I supposed to do?”
“Just keep them from taking me, that’s it. Do that vine thing, or the quicksand spell.”
“And then what? Just keep waiting for them to come after you again, over and over?” There was no way Aiden could stand that.
Tiago made a long sigh. “If they seriously try to kidnap me or hurt me I’ll… I’ll tell the wardens.”
“Promise?”
Another sigh. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” Aiden gripped the phone tight. After everything he’d been through, fighting off two werejaguars should be easy, but Aiden felt a panic attack creeping up on him. What else could he do though? If he said no, Tiago would be alone in this.
“Thanks. You’re my hero.” Tiago tried to make it sound light, but his voice still had a nervous tremor.
Maybe they could get some help. “I think we should tell Dylan.” The dragonkin was a much better choice for a bodyguard.
“I don’t want anyone else to know.”
“He can keep a secret, trust me. And having two bodyguards is better than one.”
“So you trust him, but you still won’t tell him about us?” Before Aiden could protest, Tiago cut him off. “I know, I know. It’s not the same. I guess we can tell him, but we have to do it together.”
A little sting of guilt settled in the middle of Aiden’s chest. It wasn’t like he wanted to keep secrets from Dylan, but he didn’t want to risk losing his best friend. “Okay. We’ll talk about it at lunch tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” There was a long pause. “I guess I have an idea what you felt like last year.”
Aiden shifted on the bed. “Is there anything I can do? My parents could drive me over.” He suddenly, desperately, wanted to hold Tiago.
“No, I’ll be fine. Although I wish you could spend the morning with me. Not in a sex way,” he added quickly. “Well, I mean I do. But not today. I want you to do that alarm system thing with my house where the walls can tell you if someone’s trying to break in.”
“I could try that, but it only works if I’m around.” For a moment Aiden seriously considered it. Sneaking out and walking all the way to Tiago’s house once his parents were asleep, spending the morning with him. Just to make sure he was safe. Although there were parts of him that contemplated how nice sharing a bed with Tiago would be.
Tiago let out a breath. “God, nothing fucks me up like my parents. I just never thought I’d see them here. They must be nuts to walk into Shadow Valley. If anyone catches them…”
“Did you tell Rosalind?” Aiden asked. Tiago had finally started inviting Aiden over to his house, and he’d met the woman acting as Tiago’s guardian. She seemed really nice and had told Aiden he was welcome to come over anytime.
“Hell no. She’d call the wardens in a second. She keeps asking about my parents, so I know she’s trying to get info out of me. Shit, I hope she doesn’t listen to my phone calls or have some kind of magical bug in my room.”
Aiden hoped so too, for very selfish reasons. Tiago didn’t have a cell phone, so he had to make all his calls from the landline. If Rosalind wanted to, all she had to do was pick up another phone in the house and spy on Tiago. If she was monitoring his calls, she knew all about their relationship.
“I guess she’s probably working for the wardens, which is why she’s taking care of you.” It was on the tip of Aiden’s tongue to tell Tiago that Mr. Johnson kept asking about his parents, but he didn’t want to worry his boyfriend anymore tonight. “But I do wish you could trust her. Do you think your parents will try to break into the house?”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t put anything past them, but it’s been almost two hours and they haven’t tried anything.”
Aiden wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t offer. “I could come over.” No matter the risk. “I could sneak in your window and keep you safe while you sleep.” It sounded absurd and romantic, and it made his stomach flutter.
Tiago snorted. “That’s quite an image, and man, I’m so tempted. But I’ll be okay. They probably ran off, thinking I’d tattle on them. I bet they’re long gone.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
“Okay. But if you change your mind, just call and I’ll be there.” If Aiden got caught, they could tell the truth. But no, Tiago didn’t want anyone to know about his parents. They could lie, or tell a half-truth. Make up some reason why Tiago was afraid to sleep without protection.
There was no reason anyone needed to know they were dating. Aiden’s reasons for spending the morning truly would be innocent.
“And you could watch me sleep all creepy Twilight style.”
“It wouldn’t be creepy! I’d be sleeping too. The house would be watching.”
“So you want to turn my house into a voyeur?”
“That’s not—”
Tiago laughed. “I guess I should go. See you tomorrow.”
They said good-bye after Aiden made him promise to call if he changed his mind. Aiden had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy to sleep for either of them anyway.