Eager for the news, Brendan gave Caleb a quick welcome home kiss before pulling him into their room and shutting the door.
Caleb laughed as Brendan shoved him onto the bed. ‘Can’t wait to have your way with me, huh?’
There was no way of hiding the tent situation in his pants from Caleb. ‘True, but I will wait long enough to hear your rundown.’ He sat beside Caleb and looked at him expectantly.
‘Well Jacob didn’t know you and Lord Jet are one and the same. The promotion surprised him, but I stuck to the plan, and he didn’t get suspicious. He and Cara split, by the way.’
‘What? Why?’
‘She was upset to learn about his involvement in the Rhapsody business and she blamed him for corrupting you. So, she left him.’
‘Christ! Did he look broken up about it?’
‘Hard to say. I think he is avoiding grief by hitting the party scene hard. Speaking of which….’
Brendan’s pulse picked up when Caleb’s words trailed off. ‘What?’
‘Jacob and I took a couple of chicks back to his place last night and had our own orgy. Nothing like what you and Bry would’ve got up to on Sunday night, but it was still pretty hot.’
Thinking back to the number of chicks and dudes he had fucked on New Year’s Eve; Brendan could hardly blame Caleb for getting some on the side. An impish grin formed on his face. ‘I want the graphic details later.’
‘Mm, thought you might.’
‘What other news of home?’
Caleb told him all the small-town gossip—some of which was amusing, most made him yawn—and none of it related to Alannah.
‘Anything else to report?’
‘Nothing good.’
He took a deep breath, attempting but failing to calm his racing heart. ‘Go on.’
‘I’m sorry, Brendan, but they’re getting married. Liam proposed to her on New Year’s Eve.’
‘Shit! He didn’t waste much time, did he? I guess he realised his mistake.’
Caleb’s hand squeezed his thigh. ‘You aren’t only talking about Liam’s mistake, are you?’
‘No. But she made her choice and now I have even less reason to go back.’ Brendan pushed Caleb back on the bed, pinned him down, and grinned wickedly. ‘And you keep giving me more reasons to stay here.’ He ravished every part of Caleb’s sweet body.
As the postcoital haze wore off, Caleb snuggled into Brendan’s arms. ‘Mm, I love this.’
‘Me too, Thornsy.’
With a contented sigh, Caleb stared at the ceiling. ‘When I was crushing on you hard back in our school years, I never once imagined I would end up in your bed, let alone getting to share you with Bridey.’
His fingers caressed Caleb’s arm as thoughts raced through his mind. ‘Curiosity is getting the better of me, Thornsy.’
Caleb stared into Brendan’s eyes. ‘How so?’
‘Have you fancied any guys other than me?’
‘Of course I have,’ he snorted. ‘I’m not as sexually repressed as you.’
‘Piss off.’ Brendan’s fist playfully punched Caleb’s arm. ‘Any of the guys we went to school with?’
‘Yeah, there were a few who got me hot under the collar, although never as much as you did. I even fooled around with one of them.’
Intrigued, Brendan propped himself up with one arm. ‘Now you’ve piqued my interest. Care to share?’
‘Well, it’s not like he’s gonna mind me telling you now. I had a casual thing going with Locky.’
‘Ah hell. No wonder you took his passing so hard. I’m sorry, man.’ As Brendan cast his mind back to their goofy goblin friend who had lost his life in the showdown with Tara, he tried to recall if there were any signs he might have missed but came up blank.
Caleb waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. ‘It’s okay. It was years ago and it’s not like I was in love with Locky. Sure, I miss him, but no more than you or any of the other guys do. He was a decent bloke and a great friend.’
‘Yup, he sure was. Did the two of you have anal sex?’
‘Yeah, but I always topped.’ That explained his initial instinct to top Brendan, despite his obvious preference for the reverse.
‘So why didn’t you ever give him a taste of your sweet arse?’
He shrugged. ‘I dunno. We found a dynamic that worked for us and never thought to switch things up. We were still extremely new to the whole experience.’
‘Fair enough. So, who else did you have the hots for?’
Caleb laughed. ‘Are we still talking about guys here, or do you want the full list, including girls?’
‘Let’s start with the guys.’
‘Okay, well from our old group there was Ben and Austin.’
Brendan nodded. ‘Yeah, I can see it. They were both attractive men with luscious long hair.’ Leaning in closer, Brendan tucked some of Caleb’s own lustrous locks behind his ear.
Caleb listed a few non-magical guys before pausing to bite his lip.
‘Oh Gods, who?’ Brendan prompted, fearing the worst.
‘Your cousin, Steve Maher.’
A half-laugh, half-sigh of relief burst from him. ‘Seriously? That tosser?’
‘Hey, I never said I liked the man, but he was sexy. Plus, he also had the hair thing going for him.’
‘Okay, what about the chicks?’
‘Oh hell, Winters. I was hard for half the girls in our year level.’
‘Come on, Thornsy, I want specifics.’
‘Fine. All the ones you fucked.’
Brendan twirled a strand of Caleb’s hair around his fingers as his gaze heated. ‘Were you keeping track of my sex life?’
‘You might say I was living vicariously through it.’
‘Well damn. So, which of my many conquests were you most attracted to?’
Tension visibly formed in Caleb’s jaw. ‘Do you have to ask?’
With a sigh, Brendan pressed a brief kiss to his lips. ‘I mean aside from Lana.’
‘In that case, I would have to say Bianca.’
Fond memories of simpler times flooded Brendan’s mind when he thought of the cute little nymph he used to hook up with in high school. It had always been no-strings fun with her. ‘Mm, would have been an incredible threesome.’
‘You know I used to think the exact same thing.’
‘Damn. There’s a missed opportunity. Did you ever sleep with her?’ Brendan asked. ‘I heard she hooked up with some of the guys in our group, but I never pried.’
‘I did actually. Only once though and it was immediately before I followed you and Bridey here. I wanted to forget the pair of you, but she made me realise what I was missing.’
‘Christ! I didn’t think she was that bad in bed.’
Caleb sniggered. ‘I never said she was. It was just the sex felt so… shallow and empty. The experience didn’t compare to what I’d recently shared with Bridey.’
‘I know what you mean. Meaningless sex can be fun, but it is nothing compared to being intimate with someone you love.’ Brendan ran his fingers along Caleb’s smooth skin, evoking a rapid recovery for them both. When their eyes locked together, there was no denying the raw emotions flowing between them.
A knock sounded at the door and Bridey approached the bed. ‘Room for one more?’
Caleb smiled at her lovingly. ‘For you, there is.’
After throwing her clothes aside, Bridey climbed in to face Caleb, flanking him with Brendan pressing against Caleb’s back. Three bodies entwined as they spent the rest of the night losing themselves in each other.
The musty old bookstore was a curious place to meet. A small bell jingled above the door as Brendan entered, alerting the old man who stood behind the counter. The geezer’s inner aura was silver, and his Celtic knot pendant bore the symbol of Lugh, father of mages: signs suggesting a spiritual leader.
He eyed Brendan in amazement. ‘Fascinating. You actually do look like his twin.’
‘Don’t you mean he looks like me? I’m the eldest.’ Brendan smirked, offering his hand. ‘Brendan Winters. You are an acolyte, yes?’
With a firm handshake, the mage nodded. ‘Acolyte Carran. The others are waiting for you out the back.’
‘Thank you, Your Holiness.’ Without further ado, Brendan strode behind the counter and through a door labelled Staff Only.
The warlocks did not look pleased. ‘You’re late,’ Hayes commented, while Tyler glared at him.
‘Apologies. I’m still not used to how ghastly Sydney traffic can be.’ Brendan was not sorry, not when magnificent morning sex had been the real reason for his tardiness; but they did not need to know, nor did he care what they thought. He took a seat at the cheap Laminex table in the poky kitchenette. ‘So, what’s the plan?’
‘Simple, really,’ Tyler explained, ‘I walk into HQ pretending to be you on a day when they are meeting in the boardroom and take them all out.’
Brendan burst out laughing. After catching his breath, a full minute later, he slapped his hand on the table. ‘I’m sorry, but there is no way that will work.’
‘Do you doubt my ability to impersonate you?’ Tyler asked.
‘Maybe, but it’s beside the point. If it was easy to walk in on them, don’t you think someone would have tried by now? They keep the place locked up tight.’
‘Which is why we intend to hack their security system and forge ourselves an all-access pass with your name on it,’ replied Hayes. ‘Did you bring your key?’
‘Here.’ He gave them the plastic ID card on the black lanyard. ‘But they have other security measures.’
Hayes snapped a few photos of the card, along with one of Brendan, and handed back the key card. ‘Figured they would, which is why we need to take impressions of fingerprints and scan your retinas.’ Pulling out a high-tech device, he connected it to a laptop and waved it in front of Brendan’s eyes.
‘The Council are more tech-savvy in these parts. I wonder, is it to compensate for anything?’
‘Hardly,’ Tyler scoffed, ‘I haven’t received any complaints yet and I don’t even need to resort to magic to please the ladies.’
Hayes rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t think Brendan was referring to dick sizes, Quirky. And no, we are not lacking in power here, we reserve our energy for what technology can’t do.’ Next, he produced two slabs of putty. ‘Press your thumbs and fingers into these.’ After taking Brendan’s print impressions, he placed the fresh moulds in the freezer.
An uneasy feeling came over Brendan as he gave up pieces of his identity. ‘Promise me you’ll destroy my fake biometrics once you’ve dealt with these arseholes?’
‘Of course,’ Hayes assured him. ‘We are not crooks, and we have no interest in misappropriating these items.’
He turned his attention to Tyler in an attempt to shake off his apprehension. ‘Say you get all the way to the boardroom; how do you intend to take them all out before they strike back with magic more powerful than that of any warlock?’
‘The element of surprise should give me enough time to hit them all with a single chain-lightning attack.’
‘Are you for real? That’s like twenty guys. Do you know how much mana you would burn to hit that many targets at once? How much power you would need to channel? You could kill yourself.’
Tyler gave him a smug grin. ‘I’ve been training for something like this all my life. I can easily manage twenty people.’
Not even Liam could pull it off. Brendan felt a newfound respect for Tyler. ‘Well, fuck! I’d love to see you put my brother to shame in a duel one day.’
Pride beamed from Tyler. ‘You think I’m more powerful than Liam Winters?’
‘If you can pull off a chain attack of twenty or more, then yeah, easily. The most targets I ever saw him hit was like five.’
‘It’s true, most warlocks can’t pull off a stunt like this,’ Hayes explained, ‘but Tyler has specialised where the rest of us tend to diversify our skill sets. Plus, I think the fact he is not a bloodline mage has driven him to prove he can fight like the best of us.’
Brendan stared at Tyler in wide-eyed astonishment. ‘You’re not a pure blood? Your aura is as strong as Jaxon’s.’
‘No, I’m only ninety percent. My great-grandfather had a bastard child with his maid who was not pure. She would be where the doppelganger gene came from.’
‘Interesting.’ Brendan gave it some thought for a moment. ‘You said doppelganger genes came from one of the other Gods, right? Possibly a God of magic?’
‘Yeah, why?’
‘What if descending from these two different Gods makes you more powerful despite the slight dilution of your blood? Like with the enlightened and endarkened fae.’
‘You know, I never thought of it that way,’ Tyler admitted.
‘Right, well we’ve got all we need from you for now.’ Hayes rose to his feet. ‘I’ll call you on the burner phone when we are ready for stage two.’
‘Okay. See you then.’ Brendan took his leave, walking back through the bookstore and waving to the acolyte on his way out. Rounding the corner to the carpark, something moved in his peripheral vision, and he spotted a dark figure bolting down the street. What the hell? It was hard to make out any details, but Brendan did not need to see the man’s face—he could recognise that arse anywhere. Why the fuck is Thornsy spying on me?
Drawing the curtain aside to look through her window, Samantha sighed as she watched Tyler leave. She hated spending time without him. Not only did she love and miss Tyler, but he was the most powerful warlock of the three, and thus more adept at protecting her.
Movement on the balcony beneath drew her eye and she noticed Tanya step out and sit on one of the deckchairs. The two of them had not had much chance to connect in the time they’d lived together, and it was not like Samantha had any issues with her. Seizing the opportunity, she joined Tanya. The gentle breeze tickled her skin when she stepped outside with a coffee in her hand. ‘Mind if I join you?’
Tanya looked up and smiled. ‘Please do.’
Glancing at the laptop on the small round table, Samantha saw the open Pinterest results for pagan weddings. Sitting beside Tanya, she gestured toward the computer. ‘How goes the planning?’
‘Good. I’ve been compiling an inspiration board to collect ideas.’
‘Neat. I’ve never been to a wedding before and now it looks like I’ll be attending two this year.’
‘Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. I’m thrilled to hear about Alannah and Liam.’
Samantha could not share her enthusiasm, not when she knew the truth about Alannah’s broken heart; all she could do was nod and shrug a silent reply.
‘You’re not pleased about the news,’ Tanya observed.
‘Hmph. I never was great at faking emotions. Honestly, I don’t think Liam’s a suitable match for Alannah.’
Tanya furrowed her brow. ‘Would you rather see her raise the kid alone?’
‘No. It’s just….’ She bit her lip to prevent the truth spilling out.
Tanya eyed Samantha suspiciously a moment, then her eyes widened as realisation dawned. ‘You’ve got the hots for her too, don’t you?’
A nervous laugh slipped out. ‘Maybe.’
Tanya shook her head with amazement. ‘That woman’s ability to charm the pants off men,’—she cast her eyes over Samantha—‘and some women, apparently… is uncanny. Especially when you consider she’s not even an enchantress. Look, Sam, you know she’s a pureblood, right? Even if she wanted to live with you and Tyler, her uncle would never stand for it.’
‘I know.’ Feeling dejected, Samantha stared into the distance. Alannah’s situation contained bucketloads of unfair.
Distracted by her inner musings, she did not notice the black clad figure dropping onto the balcony from above until it was too late. He pressed a knife to Tanya’s throat and clamped a hand over the woman’s mouth.
‘Not a sound,’ the familiar voice spoke behind her, and Samantha’s skin crawled off her bones and nose-dived from the balcony.
She spun around to face Kek, cursing herself for forgetting the wards did not extend beyond the walls of the house.
‘Or your friend’s blood will decorate this lovely balcony,’ Kek continued. ‘You’ve been a naughty girl, Samantha,’ pronouncing her name with a thick Arabic accent, ‘and you know what I do to disobedient girls, don’t you?’
Is it a rhetorical question? She never could tell with him, so she gave him a curt nod.
‘Your current assignment ends now. You will come home with me this instant. And if you cooperate, we will let the healer live.’
She looked over her shoulder at Tanya whose eyes pleaded with her, but Samantha could not tell if Tanya wanted her to stay or go. Not that it mattered—there was no way she would risk the woman’s life. Samantha may have been a hunter and a killer, but there were already too many innocent lives weighing on her conscience. She mouthed her final words, ‘Tell Tyler I love him.’ Slipping her hand in Kek’s, she let him magiport her back to hell on Earth.
When Bridey asked Caleb to spy on Brendan, she assured him it was for Brendan’s protection. But as he followed Brendan to the old bookshop in Darlinghurst, he wondered if she had been upfront with him. What are you doing here, Winters?
As he peered through the window using binoculars, he noticed the shopkeeper was an old mage of some sort. Is he a dark mage? For the bazillionth time in his life, Caleb found himself wishing he could read auras like an enchanter.
After a short greeting, Brendan disappeared into the back of the shop. There was no way to get a visual from this side of the building, so he moved around the back. Damn it! The only window was small and frosted, suggesting the room beyond housed a toilet. Settling on making do with audio alone, he snuck into some bushes alongside the carpark. At least the minute microphone he had planted in Brendan’s wallet worked well enough.
The voices of the men he spoke to sounded familiar, but he could not place them. And who are they plotting against? At the first mention of the Council, Caleb’s blood chilled, despite the warm summer sun. That’s where I know these guys from! What the actual fuck, Winters?
As the man he loved continued to scheme with the Council’s warlocks, Caleb felt his trust in Brendan dwindling. Mention of doppelgangers pricked his ears up, literally in his case. He had heard the term doppelganger used loosely before and it was fitting when applied to Brendan and Warlock Quirke, but knowing there was some magical significance tied to the Gods? I’ll have to investigate that.
Thanks to his wandering mind, Caleb almost missed Brendan’s exit. He made a mad dash for the street, racing toward his silver Corolla. It was imperative he got out of there before Brendan recognised his car. Taking the next left turn, he wove through some side streets and sped off along a highway.
After travelling a safe distance, he told his phone to call Bridey.
‘Hey sweetie.’
‘Hey Bry, I have some disturbing news. I caught Brendan collaborating with a couple of Council warlocks. They are planning something big. I don’t know what, but it involves using Brendan’s identification.’
‘Hmm.’ Bridey did not sound happy. ‘Did you record their conversation?’
‘Of course. I’ll upload it to your secure drive on the cloud.’
‘Thanks, hun. Which warlocks did he meet?’
‘Hayes and Quirke. The same two who arrested me. Something else came up. Do you know anything about the magical significance of doppelgangers?’
‘No. Why?’
‘I think it’s what Brendan and Quirke are, what with them looking like twins. Quirke mentioned something about having the doppelganger gene. I don’t know what it means, but I’d like to.’
‘I can look into it. Given your discovery, I think it would be prudent to keep an eye on Brendan at his office. Can you do that for me?’
‘Sure.’ Changing into the left lane, Caleb took the next exit and turned toward the city centre.
‘Oh, and Caleb?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Please watch your back. I’m worried Damien has his eye on you.’
‘Will do. Love you, Bry.’
‘Love you too, Caleb.’ She ended the call.
When he got to Brendan’s office, he parked a safe distance down the street and watched as Brendan’s Jag pulled into the parking lot beneath the building. Tuning in to the device he had planted, Caleb heard Brendan cursing under his breath as he rode the lift. As soon as he was in his office, the speaker crackled an awful lot. ‘Fuck’s sake. He’s even bugged the office.’
Caleb’s heart stuttered. Shit! Winters is on to me! Did he see me at the bookshop? A loud pop sounded through the speaker, startling him.
Brendan’s voice spoke sternly, ‘If you ever want to see me again, you will get your arse up here right now, Thornsy.’