The large Warrior moved out of the way before Kobe could knock him on his ass. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling this way. Zion had sacrificed himself for them, but what he was feeling went so much deeper than that and he couldn’t understand his reaction.

  Kobe exhaled and tossed his arms into the air. “Yeah, I think that’s it.” It had to be. It had been a minute since Kobe had gotten laid. His feelings toward Zion could be something as simple as lust. The guy was pretty as hell, after all. Who wouldn’t be attracted to Zion?

  Hondo slapped Kobe’s chest with the back of his hand, nodding toward a guy walking down the street. “Check him out.”

  He knew right away what Hondo was talking about. The man was walking just a little too quickly, following close behind another man. “Soul-sucker.”

  It was nothing more than a guess. The Warriors never knew for sure until someone was getting his or her soul sucked out, and then a tightening in their chest let them know what was going on.

  Kobe wasn’t waiting for that feeling. He and Hondo casually fell back, following at a safe distance. They didn’t let the man out of their sight, but they also didn’t move too fast to clue the demon that they were on to him.

  It wasn’t like they could take him down just on gut feeling alone. Unfortunately, they had to catch the demon in the act of taking someone’s soul in order to get him off the streets. Kobe was trained to protect the citizens of Serenity City, and that was what he was going to do.

  “I got first dibs on beating his ass if he’s really a soul-sucker,” Hondo said as they continued to follow the pair.

  “Dude, there is something seriously wrong with you.” Kobe watched as the first man turned down an alleyway. When were the people in this city going to learn that alleyways were the worst places to use as a shortcut? Nothing good ever came of using them.

  “Some people just have victim stamped on their foreheads,” Hondo said with a disgusted sigh. “Let’s go save his dumb ass.”

  That’s the one thing Kobe loved about working with Hondo. The Warrior was very entertaining. He kept their patrols from becoming boring and stagnant. Though Hondo had a very strange sense of humor, more often than not Kobe found himself smiling around the guy.

  They walked side by side as they rounded the corner and saw one man slumped over as the other hovered close. Kobe shook his head. The situation had been too damn predictable for…Kobe froze when he didn’t feel the pull at his chest.

  The demon was sucking the soul out of the poor bastard—or so Kobe assumed he was because of their positions. But if that were true, he would feel the pull.

  He didn’t feel a thing.

  “It’s a trap,” he said as he reached out and grabbed Hondo’s arm, stopping the man from moving any closer. Kobe pointed at his chest and he could see that Hondo caught on to what he was saying.

  “No fucking pull,” the demon said on a low rumble.

  Kobe watched the “victim” jump up from his slumped position. He instantly recognized the demon. He was one of the men at the warehouse where Raphael had tried to kill him.

  What a fucking fool I am.

  “Breacher,” Kobe stated as if the word were poison on his lips. There were markers that divided the cities. If anyone crossed those markers into Serenity City, the Warriors knew right away. Once they tracked the Breacher down, they were taken to the underworld.

  If their intentions were nothing more than to live peacefully in Serenity City, the keeper let them go. If not, they bought themselves a fancy room in the underworld. Complete with gory nightmares and room service from a lost soul.

  The keeper and Panahasi didn’t take Breachers lightly. The punishment was harsh for those with ill intentions, but it kept Serenity City from being overrun with evil bastards like the two men standing in front of Kobe and Hondo.

  “You boys just bought yourselves a one-way ticket to the underworld,” Hondo stated with anger.

  “Hardly,” the victim said as he smirked at them. Kobe was getting a very bad feeling. He wondered how they had entered the city without setting off the markers. They couldn’t use shadows. Only Demon Warriors had that capability.

  The Black River was out of the question because it was connected to the human realm, not the other cities in the demon realm.

  “Are you getting the feeling that we’re about to get fucked with no lube?” Hondo asked as he reached behind him and pulled a pair of neutralizing cuffs from his back pocket.

  “Not today,” Kobe replied as he did the same. “But we need to move fast before whatever trap they are setting is sprung.”

  Kobe and Hondo moved fast, taking down the one they thought was a soul-sucker. Kobe smashed the man’s face into the ground as he sat on the guy, cuffing him. Raphael needed to send men, not boys to do his dirty work. The takedown was too damn easy.

  “Kobe!” Hondo shouted as he slammed his fist into the other guy’s face. “Behind you.”

  Before Kobe spun around to see who was there, he dropped into a crouching position, sufficiently stopping them from trying to knock him out when he turned. Where in the hell were these demons coming from?

  More importantly, how were they getting past the markers undetected?

  Kobe swallowed when he saw five more men appear in the alley. Hondo had taken down the guy he was fighting, but this was turning into a damn brawl.

  They needed backup.

  “Takeo!” Kobe shouted.

  The Warrior moved out of a shadow in the alleyway, immediately taking up a fighter’s stance.

  Kobe said one single word to the guy. “Breachers.”

  Takeo snarled as he joined the fight. Now they were three to five. Those odds were much better. He smiled at the demon closest to him. “Come get your ass spanked, bitch.”

  Kobe knew these were lowly demons. They didn’t even have any damn powers. They were the bottom of the barrel, nothing spectacular. Raphael hadn’t sent his best. He had sent disposable men.

  “You done pissed him off,” Kobe taunted the five men when he saw Hondo’s entire body engulfed in flames. The demon only went nuclear when he was beyond pissed-off.

  Takeo stood next to him…and in front of him…and behind the other men. The Warrior was replicating himself. Once again Kobe felt gypped in the powers department. So he took his frustrations out on the demon closest to him.

  He drove into the guy with his fists, throwing one punch after another. Within minutes the fight was over and the three of them were taking the Breachers down to the underworld, delivering their sorry asses to the keeper.

  “Next time choose your idol a little more carefully.” Kobe shoved the last guy toward the others. “Raphael sent you to us, knowing you would fail. What kind of a leader does that?”

  The guy glared at Kobe, and then spit at his feet.

  “Kiss your mother with that mouth?” he asked, but didn’t wait on an answer. The Demon Warriors were heading out already.

  “We need to find out why the markers weren’t tripped,” Hondo said in agitation. “That was seven damn demons that got into our city.”

  “I need to check on Zion.” Kobe headed toward the apartment building that housed the Demon Warriors. There was no way anyone could have breached the Warriors’ building, but Kobe wasn’t taking any chances.

  He entered his bedroom through his closet, immediately pausing so he could listen. When he didn’t hear anything, Kobe moved into the living room. He spotted Zion sitting on the carpet in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out over the city.

  Kobe had an urge to take Zion out and show him the city, but after the mess he was just in, that wouldn’t be a very smart move. “Have you eaten?”

  Zion jumped, holding his chest with his hand as he turned to face Kobe. “Don’t do that!” His indigo-blue eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

  Kobe brushed his apology away. “You didn’t seem to have any problem when you were punching me in my broken ribs.” If it hadn’t been for Phoenyx and his ability to heal with one single teardrop, Kobe would still be lying in his bed healing after that nasty beat down in Remtin a few days ago. “Don’t tiptoe around me, Zion. Be yourself. I’m not going to kick you out and I’m not going to punish you.”

  The man looked skeptical as he gazed at Kobe. He knew the code of the streets. Trust no one and believe nothing. Kobe had been the exact same way until he joined the Demon Warriors. Hell, he still didn’t trust anyone, but he knew his brethren had his back just as he had theirs.

  “I don’t want to go back to Raphael.” Kobe heard the fury beneath the polite tone.

  “Then don’t.” He headed toward the kitchen. “Again, have you eaten?”

  Zion pushed from the floor and followed Kobe, although the man kept a considerable amount of space between them. “No.”

  “Because you’re not hungry or too afraid to come in here and eat anything?” Kobe reached in the refrigerator and grabbed a fast-food container. He opened and sniffed the contents, crinkling his nose. After tossing the container in the trash, he glanced back into the fridge. “On second thought, maybe we should order something.”

  He was pretty sure everything he was looking at had expired. One of these days he was going to have to clean the damn thing out. Closing the fridge, Kobe grabbed a menu from the side that had been held by a magnet. “You like chicken?”

  “I love chicken,” Zion blurted out bullet fast and then his pale cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. Kobe chuckled as he handed the menu to the demon.

  “Figure out what you want. Don’t worry about the cost.”

  Zion stared at the offered menu for a long moment. Kobe didn’t think he was going to take it. But then he reached out and grabbed it, holding it in his hands.

  “You kind of have to read it to know what you want.” He resisted the smile fighting to break free when Zion blinked a few times and then looked at the menu. The guy seemed flustered. Kobe was used to people acting that way around a Warrior.

  Not only did the Demon Warriors protect Serenity City, they had a shit load of groupies. But Kobe didn’t want Zion to be a groupie. He was starting to realize that he wanted something more with this demon, something a little more solid.

  “The wings sound good,” Zion said as he tried to hand the menu back to Kobe.

  “Please don’t tell me that’s all you want. When was the last time you ate?”

  Kobe groaned when Zion pursed his lips, like he had to really think about his answer. Grabbing the menu, he said, “I’ll order lunch. Trust me, you’ll love this food.”

  “You don’t have anything to drink here,” Zion pointed out.

  “I’ll take care of that as well.” Kobe pulled his cell phone out. He didn’t have to look at the menu. He knew the damn thing by heart. He ordered a feast fit for a king and then hung up. “Should be ready in about twenty minutes.”

  Zion muttered a thank-you and then walked rapidly from the kitchen, as if he couldn’t get space between them fast enough. That was very disconcerting. If Kobe was going to get to know the guy, he needed to build some sort of trust between them.

  That was easier said than done with both of their backgrounds. He didn’t know Zion’s, but the demon had grown up in Remtin. That said it all. Knowing he grew up in the same place that Kobe had meant the man was pretty screwed-up.

  Tossing the menu aside, Kobe strode out of the kitchen. Zion was back in the same spot, sitting in front of the window. It seemed to be his favorite spot. “Is there one particular thing that has caught your interest?”

  The demon glanced over his shoulder, his gorgeous blue eyes skimmed over Kobe, and Kobe stopped himself from shuddering. The look wasn’t sexual or heated, but it almost felt very personal. “I like it all.”

  Kobe wished the man was talking about him.

  Keeping plenty of room between them, Kobe took a seat on the carpet in front of the window, trying to see the city through Zion’s eyes. “It is one beautiful city.”

  Serenity City was nothing like Remtin. Lights shone everywhere and there were no boarded-up buildings. That alone appealed to Kobe on so many different levels. “I talked to Panahasi. Even if you decide not to stay here, he has granted you citizenship.”

  Zion turned his head slightly, gazing from behind his long black hair over at Kobe. “He did?” The man’s tone said he was afraid to believe Kobe.

  Nodding toward the window, Kobe said, “You can live anywhere you wish.”

  Although he was hoping the pretty little man wanted to stay with him. Even though Kobe had been searching for his mate for as long as he could remember, the idea of settling down with Zion felt right. He wasn’t going to deny that he was already feeling…something for the guy. Kobe highly doubted it was just lust as Hondo had guessed.

  Kobe was well acquainted with lust. This didn’t feel like that. It felt deeper. “But you are more than welcome to stay here. Half the time I’m never here, so you wouldn’t have to worry about me hanging around all the time.”

  He was trying to make the offer as appealing as he could for the man. Maybe if Zion stayed, he would get over his mistrust of Kobe and wouldn’t mind him hanging around the house.

  Tucking his silky black hair behind his ear, Zion gave him a timid smile. “I’d like to stay here.”

  The tension of Zion living somewhere else, away from Kobe loosened, and Kobe was surprised to find he could breathe easy again. He dipped his head in confirmation. “Then you can make the guest bedroom all your own. As soon as it’s safe, we’ll get some things to make it more personal for you.”

  “Safe?”

  Kobe hadn’t meant to let that slip. He didn’t want Zion to know that Raphael was sending his goons into Serenity City to track the little demon down. “We caught a soul-sucker today. I just want to make sure there aren’t any more lurking around before you leave the apartment.”

  Zion seemed to accept his lame answer. In truth, he had thought the demon was a soul-sucker, so it wasn’t technically a lie.

  “Why would you buy me anything?” The suspicion was once again heavy in the man’s tone.

  Kobe knew exactly what the guy was thinking. He would think the same thing if roles were reversed. “I don’t want anything in return, Zion.”

  The demon didn’t look convinced.

  “Okay, take care of the place, keep it clean, and I’ll fix your room up for you.” The place stayed spotless because Kobe truthfully was never there. But Zion didn’t need to know that.

  Kobe remembered Zion’s small apartment. It was a rundown apartment building, and Zion’s apartment housed one small couch, a few crates for a coffee table, and a tall stand that sat off to the side in the man’s living room that looked like it had seen better days.

  Having his own room here in Kobe’s apartment would be a definite upgrade.

  Turning his head back toward the window, Zion said, “Deal.”

  Chapter Four

  Zion stepped into the guest bedroom and just stood there, staring at the room. Sad thing was, this guest room was the nicest place he had ever slept.

  He knew for a fact that Kobe was holding back something when he said it wasn’t safe for Zion to go outside. He had seen the guarded look in the guy’s pale-brown eyes.

  “I’m going over to King Wing to get our food. I’ll be right back,” Kobe called from down the hallway.

  He didn’t answer the guy. Instead, Zion walked over to the long curtains on the far wall and opened them. It was the same view he had seen from the living room. The window was also floor to ceiling.

  Laughter bubbled up from his throat as he dropped down onto the bed. This had to be a dream. This room was perfect. A part of him whispered that he shouldn’t trust Kobe, that none of this was real. But for once in his life, Zion ignored that voice.

  Curious, Zion got up and explored the room a little further. There was a huge walk-in closet. He was pretty sure it was bigger than his bathroom in his apartment. Zion glanced down and stared at the tattered clothes he was wearing. There was no way he would be able to fill this closet.

  “Come eat!” Kobe hollered from another part of the apartment. No sooner had the words been said than Zion’s stomach rumbled loudly. Shutting the closet, he left the bedroom, closing the door tightly, and wandered into the kitchen.

  The smell of food overwhelmed him. When was the last time he had a decent meal? Lately, Zion had been scrounging for anything to feed himself. Some things he didn’t even want to remember eating.

  He stood there and watched as Kobe pulled container after container out of the plastic bags, setting the items on the table. Next the Warrior walked over to the cupboard and pulled down two plates and two glasses, setting them on the table as well. “Don’t be afraid, dig in.”

  Had he ever seen so much food in one setting before? Zion knew the answer was no. He just wasn’t used to eating like this. He stared at the plate, wondering if Kobe wanted something in return for this feast.

  The guy said he didn’t want anything sexual, but Zion had heard that before. No one had ever kept their word. Hoping he wasn’t going to have to pay for his meal, Zion picked the plate up and held it tight, glancing at the different containers.

  Before he could decide what to do, Kobe was dropping pieces of chicken onto Zion’s plate. The Warrior didn’t say a word as he filled both plates. He wasn’t sure what to think. Kobe didn’t act like anyone Zion had ever encountered before. The guy wasn’t grabbing at him or giving him looks that said lust was on the man’s mind.

  Kobe just stood there licking his fingers quickly before he washed his hands and then poured their pop into the two glasses. Zion eased into one of the chairs, pulling his plate close. He waited until Kobe took a seat and began eating before Zion tore into his food.

  “I feel ya, man. This is the best damn chicken,” Kobe said, smiling over at Zion.

  Forcing himself to slow down, Zion grabbed his glass and took a long swallow. Kobe was right. He had never tasted anything this good. He soon found his plate empty.

  “If you don’t eat this up, it’ll only go to waste.”