Page 78 of Hummingbird and Kraken

He and Geir were alone in the back, and he needed those strong arms around him.

“Where were you?” he finally whispered, his lips brushing Geir’s warm skin with each word.

“I was in the lake. I was… I’ll tell you everything, but I’d like to do it later.”

“Will you do that often?”

Geir sighed heavily. “I made a mistake and I needed some time. But I will not make that mistake again. If I ever leave in the future, I will let you know. And I will always come back.”

Declan pressed a kiss to his pec. He was curious, and maybe later he’d be angry, but with children missing and Geir returned to him, it wasn’t important. “That’s all I needed to know.”

Geir let out a deep sigh. Declan let himself nuzzle in for another minute, enjoying Geir’s heavy arm over his shoulders.

“I was really scared,” he finally admitted. He knew the shifters could hear him, but he didn’t care.

Geir’s arms tightened around him. “Did they hurt you?”

“No. Ro came to hang out with me. I think he was supposed to be checking up on me, but he would have protected me, too. I hope he’s OK. And I hope he finds someone to care about him as much as you care about me,” he said pointedly to both Geir and the Chief who was pretending not to listen in the front seat. His whole body had collapsed in relief when the call came in that Ro had been found, so Declan was shipping them for all he was worth.

“Things got a little… tense at the end,” Declan continued, “but I understand where they were coming from. I was new to the area, we couldn’t find you, and people were missing. Mostly, I was just scared that you were in danger.”

Geir sighed again. “That was my fault. I…”

Declan cut him off with a kiss. “It’s not important now.” Whatever guilt Geir was carrying around, they could face it later. He still hadn’t gotten over the past two days of worrying about him, and he just wanted to be close.

“Tentacles?” he asked, hopefully.

Geir’s eyes widened in surprise, and then he smiled. Declan had missed that smile.

The cool, slick feeling of Geir’s other limbs danced across his back. One spiraled down his legs and the other burrowed under his shirt and wrapped around his shoulders.

He let himself drift like that, secure in Geir’s embrace. He was terrified for May’s safety and worried about Ro, even though he’d been found. He didn’t even know the two other kids, but he worried about them, too. At the same time, he was also endlessly relieved to know that Geir hadn’t been taken.

The drive seemed to last forever, and eventually Declan’s exhaustion overcame his nerves. He awoke when the car stopped along the side of the highway and found himself sprawled over Geir’s lap. His seatbelt had been unfastened, but he couldn’t have been anywhere safer.

After he blinked awake, they all got out to stretch while Geir and Tier figured out directions.

With everything that Declan had imagined, watching them was anticlimactic. Geir closed his eyes. Tier closed his eyes. Nothing happened. He figured it was more interesting for them, but to an observer it was boring.

The best part was that Geir touched his ankle, just like he’d touched his shoe last time. That was pretty cute, right?

They stopped twice more to check the directions, and were joined by two cars and a van, all full of angry shifters checking their weapons and making plans at each pause and over the phone in between.

Now that he was more alert, he was actually a little excited about watching the mission unfold. It was exactly like an action movie. His heart beat too fast when he thought of May, but the show of force gave him confidence. The shifters were badasses, and they were going to attack the villains and save the day.

Obviously, someone could get hurt. And this was real life, not entertainment. But with twenty or thirty shifters on their side, and more that the Chief had called in to join them later, how could they lose?

The vehicles turned down a narrow road and at a command squawked over the phone, all of their lights went dark. They inched forward, then parked off the edge of the road, the other vehicles falling in line behind them. One truck drove ahead and turned sideways across the two tire pits, blocking the kidnappers from escaping but leaving their own vehicles free to maneuver.

In near silence, he watched the shifters get out, closing their doors with quiet snicks. Geir moved to get out, too.

Declan grabbed for his hand. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to stand outside. I’ll guard the vehicles and keep you safe.”

Declan personally thought he’d feel safer with Geir in the van with him, but he realized that wasn’t practical. “I guess that makes sense. I’m going to miss all the action, aren’t I?”

Geir glared at him. “I certainly hope so. You’re not leaving the van.”