Love in the Land of Fire (6 page)

“Then I’ll handle the meals or we’ll take turns as the mood strikes us. You’re not here to serve me, Rafe; you’re here for your own protection. I’m not going to treat you like a slave. You’re a person; being a submissive doesn’t make you less than I am and despite what you might have been told in the past I believe that you deserve nothing but respect.”

Rafe stares at him, eyes slightly wider than normal, and Josiah is both pleased and saddened by the look of almost shocked delight that flitters briefly across the other male’s face. It’s replaced all too quickly with a sort of wary acceptance. He knows that it’ll take some convincing before Rafe truly trusts him, that it’ll take work to make the submissive understand that he’s telling the truth. Just like Marcel had warned him earlier in the week Josiah knows that it will not be easy, but he also knows that Rafe is well worth the effort.

2
Chapter Eight

They fall into a steady routine together sometime within that first week. Josiah is as soft spoken and gentle tempered as he can force himself to be and Rafe wanders through the apartment like a wraith. Marcel is a regular visitor and her loud and unapologetic presence provides a pleasant sort of buffer between Josiah and the still skittish submissive. Even better are the days that she is sometimes accompanied by Isaac.

The obviously happy and well-loved submissive visits on the rare days that he doesn’t spend locked inside his studio, spinning the pottery that makes him famous. His presence seems to almost reassure Rafe on some level, almost as if it’s a small amount of proof that Josiah is telling him the truth. Somehow it seems as if Isaac’s obvious love for Marcel and the joy that is palpable between the couple begins to help Rafe believe that he might actually be safe with Josiah, and he slowly starts to relax.

Josiah himself gets an unexpected jolt of pleasure from seeing Rafe interact with Marcel and Isaac. It’s as if seeing him there, getting along with two of the only people Josiah actively trusts pleases Josiah on a deeper level. It’s further proof to him about just how well Rafe would fit into his life if the submissive would be willing to try.

Things go on like this and Rafe heals quickly. The steady meals, low stress and freedom of movement within the apartment do much to reverse the effects of spending a week sedated in a bed and to speed what bit of healing Rafe still has to do thanks to his other injuries. It is in this way that, despite his misgivings, despite wishing otherwise, Josiah returns to his duties as an enforcer fulltime with little in the actual way of complaints.

Weeks pass and Josiah and Rafe coexist around each other instead of actually together. Josiah rises first in the morning and is often out of the apartment before Rafe begins to stir. Rafe is often awake long into the night and Josiah falls asleep to the small sounds of the submissive existing not too far from him. Generally the atmosphere in the apartment is filled with a delicate sort of tension that Josiah itches to break but refrains from doing so. He knows that what he wants must come second to what Rafe needs now more than ever.

Things do not change until the day that Josiah is sitting, calmly completing the files upon files of digital after-case paperwork that is the main downside to his job. His concentration is disrupted by the low, vibrating ping that signals an incoming message on his p.a.t.c.h. Absently he pauses in his work and undocks and unfolds his screen, fingers bringing up the message through sheer muscle memory alone. His mind wanders for a moment, pausing on different thoughts here and there, lingering as always on the ones that revolve around Rafe.

He freezes though, feels fear rush through him at the message displayed on his screen.

Vanguard,

The danger and plot are larger than you know so watch your boy’s back before someone sinks a knife into
it.

Reestablish contact soon,

Skirmisher

Vanguard is something that he hasn’t been called since his days in the Crimson Elite, where he’d specialized in the forward assault. It’s the sender though that truly gives him pause, the name Skirmisher sending all sorts 2of warning bells ringing in his mind.

Gar.

Gar Druce, or Skirmisher as he’d been known in their unit, had been a sniper by trade and a shadow by nature. A tall, leanly muscled dominant, Gar had been all wild dark hair and pale white skin. He’d been quiet and intense but fiercely loyal to the unit and braver than most. He’d taken to his job of disrupting any enemy troop formations and guarding their collective asses like a stalking tiger, fiercely territorial and all fluid movements and quick kills. Every man and woman in the unit had adored Gar, but for all of his loyalty he’d always been standoffish and almost awkward around everyone. They’d all been surprised when he’d been the main driving force behind making sure that they stayed in contact once their unit had finally disbanded.

They’d all realized though that his desire to stay in contact was mainly due to the fact that Gar was utterly alone outside of the ties that bound them all together.

Josiah knows that if Gar has decided the situation warrants such an outright warning that things must be worse than he and Marcel have realized. He deletes the message, erasing any sign of it from his p.a.t.c.h out of respect for Gar’s own personal preferences before he refolds and docks the piece of tech. There’s no sense in sending a reply. Josiah knows that Gar doesn’t actually expect one and that more than likely he’ll have used a disposable unit anyways.

Gar’d always tried harder to be invisible than any of the rest of the unit and so far no one has ever been able to figure out exactly why.

Josiah wastes no time in heading to Eagan’s office, closing the door and asking the older man if the room is secure through a series of simple hand signs that are standard tools of communication in their job. When he receives the all clear signal he jumps right into explaining the new information he’s just been made privy to.

“I’ve just been informed that the danger to Rafe Zweil is far from over.”

Eagan stares at him for a moment, something like confusion swimming across his features before he snaps himself out of it and straightens from his relaxed slouch in his chair.

“What were you told and how reliable is the source?”

“It was more of a vague warning, but I’ll be receiving a packet of Intel soon. As for the source, Skirmisher initiated contact with me a moment ago.”

Josiah feels the tension in the room wrench itself up a few notches and knows that Eagan understands the implications of that statement. The other man, who as his new CO had been informed of some of the particulars of Josiah’s time in the Crimson Elite, is aware of Skirmisher’s reputation within their unit and the fact that his involvement spells trouble.

“Shit. Skirmisher’s presence just made this a lot more complicated. Here I was hoping that this whole situation would be resolved peacefully and then you have to tell me something like this.”

“Frisch has been almost suspiciously silent as of late. Marcel and I had hoped that he’d simply come to his senses and moved on, especially since my own contacts have mentioned nothing out of the ordinary. Then again Skirmisher was always better at maintaining a network than any of the rest of us besides Con our resident techie.”

Eagan scrubs a hand over his normally cheerful face and regards Josiah with a smile that falls just short of amused.

2“You’re going to kill him if he makes one wrong move towards Zweil, am I right? Nothing I can say or do is going to be able to stop that if Frisch gets to him before you manage to get to Frisch.”

Josiah doesn’t even bother to pretend otherwise. He just nods along with Eagan’s statement, knowing all the while that it’s completely true.

“It’s fairly obvious to everyone, except for Zweil, how you feel about him. We all know that you’d Claim him in an instance and probably Bond with him if given the opportunity.”

Josiah forces himself not to twitch under Eagan’s watchful eyes at that statement. He wants Rafe, wants him chained to his side and kneeling at his feet, wants to do anything and everything to him, with him, but he wasn’t aware that he’d been obvious about it. Besides around Marcel and Isaac, of course. Those two knew more than anyone. Plus the thought of Bonding with Rafe, of having him at his side for the rest of their existence, to become one with him and to forsake all others, the thought alone is enough to heat his blood.

Eagan chuckles then, actual amusement ringing in the sound.

“Give you a rapier and an electric pistol and you’re ready to storm a beach somewhere, but talk about you Bonding with that man of yours and you get as flustered as a school girl. This is something I’ll have to remember for the blessing speeches.”

“You’re a horrible bitch of a man, Eagan.” Josiah deadpans only to have Eagan break out into full-blown laughter, and Josiah cannot help the small answering twitch of his mouth at the sound of the other man’s glee.

The laughter doesn’t last long as the seriousness of the situation takes a hold of the atmosphere of the room once again.

“As of right now you’re being granted full leave to stay by Zweil’s side until this mess is completely resolved.”

Josiah can’t contain his faint frown of disbelief at Eagan’s statement even though the thought of having so much time with Rafe is a welcome one.

“Are you sure that you want to go that far? There are alternatives, ways that we normally handle cases similar to this one.”

“This is an unusual case, Josiah. We’ve never had a submissive that we have to protect from so many people at once. Zweil’s got a dominant with a claim and his Head of House after him so we’re going to have to try something a bit more unusual. I’ll not have the death or mistreatment of a submissive in our custody happen on my watch so I’d rather be overly cautious instead of getting caught off guard. You’ll need to provide regular reports, of course, both in person and over a secure channel. We’ll have extra security making sweeps in your area on a regular basis but for now the best thing to do is to keep Zweil off the streets all together. Other than that, I ask that you keep me informed unofficially with any new developments and watch your back as well as Zweil’s. I don’t want to lose one of my best in the crossfire either.”

Josiah studies Eagan silently for a moment before he snaps a sharp salute at the other man, a sign of respect that he knows his L.E. will understand. He turns on his heel and heads back towards his desk to gather anything and everything he might need until the next time he can make it back into the office.

He’s got a submissive to protect and he’s not willing to take any chances either. He refuses to lose Rafe before he’s even had the chance to have him.

3

3
Chapter Nine

Josiah manages to make it home quicker than he normally would without blatantly breaking all of the known speed restrictions. He’s out of the transport, eyes scanning the surrounding area and footsteps silent, and at his door before he realizes anything is amiss.

The apartment door is unlocked and partially ajar and Josiah is immediately on full alert. He draws his pistol and steps through the opening almost before he realizes he’s moved. Moving swiftly down the entrance hall he begins to do a thorough sweep of the apartment. He knows almost immediately that the pistol is not necessary. The apartment is obviously empty, the silence in the place so thick that it practically vibrates, but he still keeps his weapon out and in position because that’s what he’d been trained to do.

The apartment is dark, the wall-lights either dimmed or off completely in some areas, and it only serves to add to the feeling that the place is clearly empty. Still he finds no sign of forced entry, no signs of a struggle or anything really out of place. All of his personal belongings and the things that he’d purchased for Rafe are still in their proper places. The only thing actually missing is Rafe himself.

Josiah hears the front door squeak open slowly, feels the change in the air when someone steps into the apartment, and he’s crouched, hiding in the shadows and ready to spring in seconds. Footsteps move slowly down the hall and right when they round the corner Josiah’s leg sweeps out automatically to trip the intruder.

His leg connects and he feels the intruder stumble and tilt forward. Surprise filters through him when instead of going down hard the stranger uses the momentum of his own fall to propel himself forward onto his outstretched palms and into a smooth forward flip. Josiah is up instantly, his pistol pressing deep into the flesh of the exposed back before him.

“If you as much as twitch,” he hisses, “I will shoot you.”

“Josiah?” It’s Rafe’s voice that speaks his name, the word practically vibrating with unease.

“Shit!” Josiah immediately holsters his gun, wraps one hand around Rafe’s shoulder and spins him around until they’re face to face. Anger flares through him, anger at himself for not recognizing the other male sooner, anger at Rafe for not being where he was supposed to be in the first place. It all comes spilling out of him before he can think twice about it.

“What in the fuck were you doing? What in the hell possessed you to leave the apartment? I’ve seen your test scores, Zweil, so you’ve got no excuse for acting like a fucking idiot!”

Josiah shakes Rafe hard once before letting go of the submissive as if burned. Raking a hand through his blond hair he stalks towards the nearest switch and turns the dial all the way up until the apartment is flooded with light. In the now bright room he can see Rafe’s face clearly, can see an anger that matches his own rising up in the man, which is at odds with the mostly meek behavior he’s shown to Josiah since they’ve been together.

“I wasn’t aware that I was a prisoner,
Marx
, or that you’re apparently my warden. Although I suppose that was a foolish assumption to make. After all a cage is still a cage even if the bars are pretty this time around.”

“Damn it all to hell, Rafe, that’s not what I meant and you fucking know it!”