Bleacke's Geek (Bleacke Shifters) (11 page)

Back inside the truck, Ken gave Badger directions to his apartment. “So, can all shifters do that?” Ken asked. Trying to deny everything he’d seen and felt would be a waste of time and energy. Best to just go with it and accept it unless something new cropped up.

The fact that a gorgeous woman was in love with him was already stretching the bounds of his credulity to start with, never mind the wolf stuff.

“Do what?” Badger asked.

“The mind control stuff.”

Badger grinned. “Naw. Only Prime Alphas have the ability to do that.”

“You’re a Prime Alpha?”

Badger cackled. “I know I don’t look like much now, lad, but I just celebrated my three hundred and tenth birthday this past January. I’ve seen a lot of miles on this body, as if ye couldn’t tell that. Why do ye think they gave Dewi to me to care for? No one else could’ve handled her except another Prime.”

“Is Beck a Prime?”

“Him? Naw. He’s more muscles than anything. Nice boy, but I knew she’d never have him as her mate. Primes never pick another Alpha. They need someone…eh, different.”

Ken knew Badger hadn’t meant any offense by his comment, but it still stung his pride. “You mean someone weaker.”

Badger stopped for a red light. “Just because yer not an Alpha or a shifter don’t mean yer weak. Yer already standing up to her. Ye’ve got a backbone on ye. And a right good pair of bollocks.”

He laughed and drove forward when the light turned green again. “But two Alphas, especially if one’s a Prime, that’s a recipe for murder, not marriage. It’s not heard of. It’s Beck’s own fault if he got his hopes up.”

* * * *

Belatedly, Ken prayed his step-brother hadn’t picked today to make one of his rare appearances. Usually, he went weeks, if not months, without seeing him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Badger’s keen gaze as the shifter quickly scoped out the apartment complex. Not the best, but not the worst, either. Three blocks north of the northernmost boundary of the USF Tampa campus, he could bike to work and arrive in ten minutes on a good day.

“If ye don’t mind me asking, why don’t ye drive? Ye showed the cop a driver’s license.”

Ken fumbled his key as he tried to unlock the door. “It’s a long story.”

“I’m up for it.”

He let him in and nervously scanned the apartment for any signs of Dave.

Apparently, nothing escaped Badger’s keen powers of observation. “Missing someone?”

He hated that he felt his face turn red. “I’m hoping my brother isn’t home.”

“Ye live with yer brother?”

“No. He crashes here on occasion. The rare occasion.”

Badger walked through the small living room, looking around at the sparse furnishings. “The rarer, the better, I take it?”

“You take it correctly.”

Badger crossed his arms and turned to him. “Tell me. I need to know these things.”

He didn’t feel any mind control mojo from Badger. “He’s in and out of jail. He’s my step-brother, not my real brother. He’s five years older than me, and he bullied me from day one. I was seven and he was twelve when his father married my mom.”

“So he’s in or out of jail now?”

“Out, last time I heard. I haven’t seen him in several weeks. He usually shows up here needing money and a place to stay when his latest girlfriend gets sick of him and kicks him out.”

“Ah.” Badger leaned against the counter. “I take it yer not fond of him. So why do ye put up with him?”

“Because I’m fond of keeping my teeth.”

Badger surveyed the tiny apartment again. “Ye teach over at the university. How much ye making?”

“Fifty grand a year.”

Badger arched an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, I’ve bailed him out. So sue me, I’m a Virgo. Rescues-Are-Us. I learned my lesson a long time ago, but I’m still paying off the debt he’s put me in. Every time I move, he still manages to find me.”

“He won’t find ye this time,” Badger growled. “He steps foot on my property, he’ll be singing soprano if I get me hooks into him. If Dewi doesn’t tag him first, that is.”

Ken’s stomach rolled. “I don’t like him, but I don’t want him dead, either.”

“Dead and disemboweled can be mutually exclusive.” Badger’s expression softened. “Go pack yer things. Take as much as ye can this trip. I’ll get some boxes for ye this week so we can get ye moved proper. Money’s no longer an issue for ye. They’ll give ye a job doing something for the pack, once yer up to it. For a lot more money than yer making now. Most likely with computers, since that’s yer strength. Peyton’s been wanting to update the network anyway.”

“But I enjoy teaching.”

Badger waved his objection away. “I’m sure Dewi will be able to persuade ye.” He looked around again. “Not many pictures. Where’s the rest of yer family?”

His face heated again. “I don’t have any,” he mumbled.

Badger turned and stared at him. “None?”

Ken shook his head.

“What about yer father? Yer mom and step-father?”

“My dad died when I was four. My step-father is doing life without parole in Starke.”

“Starke? The state prison?”

Ken nodded.

“What’d he do?”

“He killed my mom the day after I graduated from high school. Got drunk, then beat her to death with his bare hands when she told him she was leaving him.” He studied his hands. “She was waiting for me to graduate before she left him.”

Badger’s expression softened. “Oh. I see. I’m sorry, lad. No other family then?”

Ken shook his head. “Nope. Maybe some distant cousins somewhere, but none that I’m aware of.”

Badger walked into the kitchen. Ken heard him rummaging around. Ken walked to his bedroom and surveyed things. There really wasn’t much he wanted. His clothes, a few photo albums. His books, CDs, and DVDs were neatly arranged on second-hand shelves in the living room. This room held nothing more than his bed, closet, and a ratty yard sale dresser.

Compared to the inviting warmth and comfort of Dewi’s house, this felt like a slum, and he knew it.

Ken heard Badger muttering to himself in the kitchen while he grabbed a suitcase and started cramming as much as he could into it. As embarrassing as it would be, he emptied the closet and dumped dresser drawers out onto the bed so he could put everything into trash bags.

Who was he kidding? He didn’t want to come back here to live. Ever.

Home was with Dewi.

He walked out to the kitchen to get the trash bags when he spotted Badger, head inside the fridge, and the counters covered with the fridge’s contents.

“What are you doing?”

Badger turned. “I wanted to see what a grazer normally eats.” He waved his hand at the counters. “Most of this is stuff I got, but I wanted to see if there was anything you might like that I didn’t have.” He started putting things back.

Ken fought the urge to laugh. This was surreal even by Salvador Dali standards. He found the box of garbage bags in a cabinet. “I’m kind of glad it’s you and not her with me,” he admitted. “I’d hate for her to see where I live.”

Badger scowled. “Listen, ye could be a bum under a bridge and she’d still be snout over tail into it for ye. She loves ye for who ye are, not what ye have.”

“Women usually want their boyfriends to at least be able to afford to buy them things. I’ve got nothing but a lot of debt. I can’t even afford to take her out to dinner someplace nice.”

Badger leaned against the counter. “Yer not getting it. She’s not yer girlfriend. She’s yer
mate
. Ye might as well propose to her and get it over with. Yer together till death do ye part.”

He felt himself redden again. “I can’t propose. I can’t even afford a ring.”

The other man’s face lit up. “Ah! That’s where I can help ye.” He reached into his pocket and fished something out, then held his hand out to Ken. In his palm lay three rings—two wedding bands, a man’s and a woman’s, and a gorgeous engagement ring.

Ken didn’t want to take them and fought against his prideful anger. “I don’t need a handout.”

“Dumbass. These were her parents’ rings. Trent gave them to me after their parents died. By all rights, he should have taken them as the eldest. Or Peyton could have taken them. But they wanted Dewi to have something, even a small something, of their heritage. This is history. It’s only right ye have them. We can have yer band sized, if need be.”

Badger’s rationale softened the sting. Ken carefully reached out and took them, examining the engagement ring. Several large diamonds swirled around a sapphire. He tried the man’s wedding band on his left ring finger.

It fit perfectly.

Badger grinned and let out a loud, pleased laugh. “See? Fate. Charles Bleacke was nearly as big and beefy as Beck. The fact that his ring fits ye perfectly should be proof yer exactly where ye should be.”

Ken couldn’t argue with that logic.

He didn’t want to, either.

* * * *

Badger helped him load his things into the truck. He grabbed his computer accessories, iPod charger, and other things he needed. He didn’t have a cell phone.

Dave had taken his last one and lost it, and he couldn’t afford another one. Besides, he didn’t really need one, and Dave would only steal it from him if he had one.

An hour later, they were in the truck and on the road again. “So, back to the question I’d asked ye,” Badger said. “Why don’t ye drive?”

“Because Dave wrecked the last two cars I owned. I’m lucky he didn’t kill anyone. I was underwater on the second car loan from the first one. Because he was drunk when he wrecked the second time, and because he didn’t have a valid license and wasn’t on my policy, my insurance wouldn’t pay the gap coverage. I still owe two grand on the loan I’m paying off. In addition to the other twenty grand I’m paying off on debts he caused me.”

He hated having to admit that, especially to Badger. Then again, maybe it was better admitting it to him than to Dewi.

Badger shook his head. “Jesus,” he muttered.

“So I’ve ridden a bike for the past three years. Dave’s too lazy to ride a bike. He might steal it and pawn it, but I can replace a bike a lot easier than I can a car.”

“So you
can
drive?”

“Yeah, but I’ve gotten so used to riding, I haven’t actually driven a car in a couple of years.”

“We’ll take you car shopping this week.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind riding my bike. I can’t afford a car. No one will give me a loan anyway, because my credit’s totally messed up. Not to mention insurance will be sky-high.”

He snorted. “Laddie, where we live there isn’t anything close enough within riding distance. And yer money’s no good now that yer family anyway. How ye going to get to work if yer not driving?”

“Dewi said she’d drive me.”

He scratched his chin. “Well, actually, she probably would be happier driving ye rather than letting ye out of her sight for too long. I imagine she’ll be particularly possessive of ye these next few weeks while ye get settled in as mates.” He winked. “I’ll need to break out me ear plugs. Otherwise, I won’t be getting a wink of sleep with ye two going at it like a couple of crazed bunnies.”