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“Thanks, but Sabre’s fine. You wanna take him outta here?”
“If that’s alright? I didn’t want him to get in trouble, leaving all that money around.”
“It’s chill. Let’s take it to the office and get it tucked away.”
“Fine with me, as long as I can get Daniel out of here.”
Sabre gathered the cashier’s box and led them out a back door that exited into the basement level of the casino parking garage. Theo kept an arm around Daniel as they wove their way between support posts and stacks of supplies until they reached an employee elevator. Sabre used a keycard to call the elevator to them, and when the doors opened, he let them enter first.
Theo continued to stand close to Daniel, watching his chosen to ensure he was okay. He almost did a comedic double-take when he saw Sabre press the button for floor number thirteen.
Did you think it would be eighteen?
Theo gasped quietly. Father would never allow evil to surround his most favorite of numbers. Eighteen was special to His people as it had a double meaning of “life,” when translated from the Hebrew word “chai.”
“Are you okay?” Daniel whispered, leaning against him.
“Yes.” Theo gazed down into Daniel’s concerned, chocolate-brown eyes. “I’m fine. The thirteenth floor surprised me.”
Daniel chuckled. “Weird, right? I guess a lot of hotels have them and use them for storage and offices. It makes sense to use the space wisely. Creepy, though.”
The doors slid apart with an ominous creak which sent a chill down Theo’s spine, and he normally did not frighten easily. The hallway on the other side was dimly lit.
“Okay,” Sabre drawled, “nowthatis creepy. They’ve never done that before.” He peeked out and then motioned for them to follow. Theo stiffened and steeled his resolve. He gathered Daniel’s hand in his and led him after Sabre, the lights clicking on as they passed.
“Huh.” Daniel peered around, seemingly able to shrug off the ominous feel of the thirteenth floor. Theo wasn’t so lucky. He wished he had his sword… just in case. “Motion sensor lights make sense. I’ve never been here when there wasn’t someone else already around. Troy’s office is at the end. Usually, his secretary is here, acting as a gatekeeper to his inner sanctum, taking his calls, and pretty much being something for Troy to slobber over.”
“Ew.” Theo wrinkled his nose. “That’s rude, but considering what Troy is…”
Daniel rounded on Theo. He pressed both palms to Theo’s chest. “So it’s true? What he is? Damn… I’d really hoped I was wrong.”
Ensuring Sabre was far enough away, Theo let loose the truth. “He is, and he’s so much worse. We suspect there might be quite a few low-level demons among his organization, and many more of those who work for him are tainted by his evil.”
“We?”
Seeing Sabre coming toward them, Theo pressed a finger to Daniel’s lips. “Later.”
“Hey,” Sabre called, “you coming?”
“Sorry,” Theo said, turning Daniel around and placing a hand on his mate’s lower back, maintaining their contact. “Daniel was just giving me the lay of the land.”
Sabre’s gaze bounced from Theo to Daniel and back again. “Is that a sexual euphemism?” He snickered, waved off any refusal they might have made, and pointed toward Troy’s office.
Under the watchful “eye” in the corner of the ceiling, Sabre opened the safe and stashed the money box inside. He spun the dial to reengage the lock, then shooed them from the room.
“Go home. I’ll make your excuses to Mr. Troy. He knows you hate these nights.”
“Thanks.” Daniel took Theo’s hand and dragged him to a different set of elevators. When these opened, they were bombarded by the clinging, clanging, and ringing of thousands of slot machines, overlaid with piped-in holiday music.
Daniel directed Theo along the vinyl-laid pathways, weaving between the corridors of gamblers and their chosen machine. The bright lights and sounds of tokens falling as gamblers won distracted him more than once, but each tug of Daniel’s hand reminded him of why he was here and for whom.
“Where are we going?”
Daniel pulled Theo to the side, pulling him along until there was only a few inches of space between them. “I’m feeling better now that I’m away from all that.” He shuddered, pausing and drawing in a breath before meeting Theo’s gaze. “It’s not that late… We could go dancing again?”
The way Daniel drew his bottom lip between his teeth, the slight tilt of his head, and the caress of his hand down Theo's arm inspired ready agreement. “I’d like that. Shall we head to Haven? I know a guy. He can get us in free.”
Daniel’s laughter fanned the flame growing inside Theo. He wanted to always see his other half smiling, without a care in the world. Silently, he vowed to make it so.
