Hold Me Down (Peterick) ➳ Book 3

Nine

"Ow!" Patrick exclaimed as the side of his head received a small shock. He rubbed the area around the small square of metal he'd forgotten about in an attempt to dull the pain. For the longest time the device hadn't cause him any trouble, but he was now worried the attacks would start back up.

"You okay, Patrick?" Pete called from the bedroom.

"Yeah," Patrick replied unconvincingly.

The door opened, and Pete stepped in.

Patrick shamelessly let his eyes wander over Pete's bare torso—effectively blaming the post baby hormones—as Pete inspected him for injury.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I promise."

"I know you better than that, Lunchbox."

Patrick sighed in defeat. "Just this thing shocked me." He gestured towards the device. "Wasn't expecting it since nothing's happened in so long."

"I'll have Ryan look into it. Okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Pete gave him a kiss in response and pulled him to the bedroom.

The two curled up once they were under the covers, Pete attempting to lull Patrick to sleep. However, the shock he'd relieved earlier was only the beginning. Tiny and harmless, they annoyed him more than hurt him. He managed to last a few minutes without alerting Pete, but if there was anyone who knew him better Patrick had yet to meet them.

"I'll have Ryan deactivate it."

"What?"

Patrick's question was left unanswered as Pete went about dialling Ryan.

Their conversation was quick and hushed, resulting in Pete hanging up and looking over at Patrick with a concerned look in his eyes.

"Patrick?" he asked slowly.

"What the hell is going on, Pete? How can Ryan deactivate this thing? What's happening?"

"It's another story for another time, but we need to get you to Doctor Beckett now."

"What? Why? I'm not going anywhere without you telling me something."

"Fine," Pete said, pulling on a shirt. "If we don't get that thing away from your head you'll end up killing someone."

*

Taylor never questioned where Mikey went during the odd hours of the day. She assumed it was to patrol for enemies or to gather supplies. Sometimes Gabe went with him, leaving her with two babies. Most of the time they were nothing but smiles; however, today was not one of those days.

Milo was still experiencing some residual flu symptoms and Astoria seemed to be getting it. Gabe was quick to smooth Milo, but Astoria would most likely need medication.

Leaving the crying newborn with Gabe, she ventured towards the first floor where she could hopefully spot Mikey without leaving the building. Several humans had been reported in Mikey's radar, but none had noticed them.

She came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs as Mikey's voice echoed down the hallway. Following the sound, she quickly made it to a closed off room at the end of the hall.

"Mikey," she called as she stepped inside.

With wide eyes, she took in the sight of the four teens scattered around the room. Mikey was near the door, watching them.

"What in the world?" she muttered to herself.

"Who're you?" the small blacked haired boy asked.

"I'm Taylor. What your name?"

The red head next to him shook his head, but still, the first boy continued. "I'm Kellin."

She slowly extended a hand towards him, smiling as he took it. "Sorry about him." She pointed to Mikey. "He's just doing his job."

"What? Kidnapping people?" a tanned boy in the corner sneered.

"Protecting the heir to the throne. And he won't hesitate to kill you if you try anything. So why don't we go upstairs and talk?"

The four boys were quick to agree, and followed Taylor back to the room with no objection.

*

To his surprise, Patrick woke up feeling the most refreshed he had been in years. Hours and hours of sleeping as a kid couldn't compare to the Cloud 9 feeling he was experiencing at the moment. It reminded him of the first time he'd woken up in here. Except Pete was worriedly pacing the length of the room, talking on the phone in a soft voice.

"I don't know, Ryan. . . . I'll have to ask him when he wakes up. . . . No, seriously. . . . Have them start looking. I'm sure Patrick told them to keep and eye on them." Pete sighed. Noticing Patrick was awake, Pete walked over and pressed a kiss to his forehead while Ryan rambled on. "Ryan," Pete interrupted. "He's up. I'll call you back soon."

Patrick laughed at the less than amused expression on Pete's face as he hung up on Ryan. He collapsed into the chair next to Patrick's bed and leaned his head back.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. The procedure went perfectly. The thing's out, so you won't have to deal with any of those attacks anymore."

"Not what I was asking."

"When trying to turn it off, Ryan discovered someone trying to hack into it. That's why it was freaking out."

"If Ryan could turn it off does that mean he put it in?" Patrick asked.

"No," Pete replied, shaking his head. "But he created it at the instructions of my parents."

Now that had Patrick stumped. What did Pete's parents want with him?

"We've been on earth longer than you think. Your parents and my parents actually knew each other."

"What?"

Pete nodded. "Your mom helped mine after a car accident. And to thank her, my mom promised that the baby your mom was carrying would always be safe."

"Me?"

"I hope not. Seeming as she had some complications from the accident and miscarried a few days later. As promised my parents did everything for the baby. So when they heard your mom was pregnant again, with you, my mom was there every step of the way."

"Were you?"

"No. I just knew my mom had made friends with some human family. Though my parents did drag me to the hospital and set you right in my arms, saying you'd be mine one day."

Patrick let the information sink in for a long moment before looking Pete in the eye. "You look good for someone who's probably older than dirt."

And Pete threw his head back and laughed.