Frey (13 page)

“
That’s going to change,
starting now. I happen to know the Chief of Staff at New Atlanta.
One phone call is all it will take. You go see him, he’ll look at
your file, and the appropriate documentation will be noted. If you
don’t want to see him, my cousin’s ma… girlfriend is a doctor.
She’s in Greece right now, but as soon as she’s back, you can go
see her if you prefer.” Frey drew her close and wrapped his arms
around her shoulders. In that moment, Abbi felt safe. She allowed
herself to melt into the big, strong body holding onto hers.
Turning her head, she placed her cheek on his chest, his strong
heartbeat loud in her ear. That sound, life thumping, was the sign
she needed. She was alive, but she wasn’t living. Abbi was ready to
start living.

Chapter Twelve

Troy was beyond pissed. Not only was he
stuck on second shift, he’d been given a different patrol. Instead
of being close to home and the community center, the bitch Chief
had stuck him on the north side of town. He should just say fuck it
and drive by the center anyway. When too many calls kept him from
being able to do a drive-by, he called his buddy George. Troy had
promised his friend a case of beer if he’d keep an eye on Abbi
while Troy was at work, especially on the nights she stayed late at
the Community Center. Now that Troy wasn’t home waiting on her, she
could stay later with no reason to be home on time.

When George answered, Troy barked, “Where
are you?” instead of saying hello.

“
Sitting outside the
center. She’s still in there.”

“
Is she alone? At this
time of night, she should have already left. Fuck!”

“
I see two vehicles in the
parking lot. One is hers. Don’t know who the other one belongs to,
but it’s a sweet looking Jeep with about a four inch lift kit, KC
lights, big mud tires. I’m getting a hard-on just looking at
it.”

“
Fuck the Jeep. I want to
know what she’s doing there so late. Get your ass in
there.”

“
I’ve already been in. All
she’s doing is listening to fucked up Christmas music and writing
stuff down. I’m done with this shit; I got a date. Debbie
Cranston’s hooking me up with a big-tittied redhead that likes
threesomes. When you get off you should come find us. We’ll be at
Debbie’s. I promise not to wear them out before you get
there.”

“
Fuck, at least get the
license plate off the Jeep before you leave.”

Troy disconnected and quickly forgot about
what Abbi was doing. His thoughts turned to after work. “This
second shift might not be so bad after all.”

“
I’m sorry, I shouldn’t…
Is this a case you’re working on because that…” Trevor didn’t
finish. Was Jasper into pain? Trevor was pretty vanilla when it
came to sex, mainly because he didn’t have sex. His sex life up to
this point was practically non-existent.

“
Something like that.”
Jasper didn’t elaborate, but he also didn’t put the photos back in
the envelope. Instead, he walked to the stove and stirred the
sauce. He was quiet while he put water on to boil for the
noodles.

“
I’m sorry if I
overstepped. The reason I looked at all is because I’ve seen this
guy before.”

Jasper’s head snapped around, “What? When?”
He forgot the water and was right in front of Trevor. He picked up
the stack and handed it to Trevor. “Please, make sure Trev.”

Trevor didn’t have to look again, didn’t
want to look again. “I’m sure. He was outside the gym Tuesday when
I went in to sign up. When I walked back outside to my car he was
looking in the side window. I thought he was getting his rocks off
looking at the women working out. Guess he gets off a different
way.”

Jasper blanched. Trevor had to wonder if the
detective got off that way, too. Jasper took the photos and shoved
them back in the envelope. Trevor knew the truth of the photos.
“It’s not a case is it? This is personal.”

When Jasper wouldn’t look at him, Trevor had
his answer. “That’s the ex you were telling me about. That’s Craig,
isn’t it? That’s Craig, and he’s here. He was watching you at the
gym, not the women.” Trevor’s stomach roiled. Jasper’s ex was in
town, and he was into some kinky shit. Stuff Jasper was probably
into. Stuff Trevor definitely was not. He didn’t stand a snowball’s
chance in hell with this man. “I should go…” He stood, but Jasper
was in his space, between him and the door.

“
It’s not what you think,
I promise. Give me a chance to explain before you bail on me.
Please,” Jasper pleaded. He had his hands on Trevor’s arms,
squeezing his biceps. He was standing so close to Trevor. Too
close. When he was in the same room with Jasper, things were
strained. His jeans were strained, always, with a cock ready to
burst through the zipper. With him this close, though, Trevor
couldn’t think. His dick was throbbing, and his brain was absent of
blood. Trevor couldn’t stop himself. He licked his lips. He wanted
this man standing in front of him, but he would not make the first
move. Would not make a fool of himself just in case he’d read the
signs wrong.

He didn’t have to make a move. Jasper’s eyes
flashed to his mouth, and he took the invitation and R.S.V.P.’d
immediately. Tentatively he touched his lips to Trevor’s. Trevor
wanted more. He wanted to taste this man. Before he got the chance,
a cell phone rang. It wasn’t Trevor’s ringtone, so that meant it
was Jasper’s. “Fuck,” Jasper swore as he pulled his phone out of
his pocket and looked at the caller I.D. “I’m sorry, I have to take
this.”

“
Jenkins,” he practically
barked into the phone, his eyes never leaving Trevor’s lips. “I was
getting ready to eat... No, I got it; I’ll be there in a few.”
Jasper disconnected, still staring at Trevor’s mouth. His eyes
drifted up to Trevor’s as he asked him, “Can you boil
noodles?”

“
What?” Trevor was ready
to leave since Jasper had to go back out.

“
Can you boil noodles? I
have to go to work, but hopefully I won’t be gone long. I don’t
want you to leave. If you can boil the noodles, you can go ahead
and eat, and I’ll eat when I get back. There’s salad stuff in the
fridge.”

“
I can boil noodles,”
Trevor said, not sure if he wanted to, though. He didn’t feel
comfortable staying at Jasper’s house without him there.

As if Jasper read his mind, he said, “I want
you here, Trev. I want you to get used to being here, making
yourself at home when you are. I wouldn’t have given you your own
code if I didn’t trust you.” Jasper grabbed his belt loops and
pulled him so they were chest to chest. He slid his scratchy cheek
along Trevor’s, the rough friction sending shivers down his spine.
Jasper’s lips were warm on Trevor’s ear as he whispered,
“Please.”

“
Okay,” Trevor whispered
back.

“
I really want to kiss you
right now, but if I do, I’ll never leave. Thank you for staying.”
Jasper backed away and headed toward the door. “I’ll be home as
soon as I can manage.”

Trevor’s heart had never beaten as hard or
as fast as it was now. How was it possible this badass wanted him?
He wasn’t hungry any more, at least not for spaghetti, but Jasper
would be when he got home. Trevor turned to the pot that was
bubbling with boiling water and added noodles.

He wanted to look at the pictures of
Jasper’s ex, then again, he didn’t. His curiosity got the better of
him, and he took them out of the envelope, spreading them on the
island. What had Jasper called it? Kinbaku? He pulled out his cell
phone and opened a search engine, typing the term into the blank
field. As soon as the pages were populated, Trevor closed his
phone. He would read about it later, when he had time to digest it
properly. A million questions were going through his mind, most of
which stemmed from the photos. Trevor studied every picture of
Jasper’s ex- his very good looking ex. Each position was more
intense than the previous one. His balls shriveled up and tried to
crawl back inside his body. There’s no way in hell that could be
anything but painful. Torturous. There were people who got off on
that kind of stuff. He’d seen bodies come across the slab from sex
play gone wrong.

He put the pictures back in the envelope and
stirred the noodles. He turned the heat down so the water wouldn’t
boil over onto the stove and then he took a good look around the
kitchen. Last time he was here, he hadn’t seen more than the living
room and bathroom. He took advantage of being alone and explored
Jasper’s home. The house was similar to the warden’s. Trevor hadn’t
seen much of Gregor’s lodge when he helped get Tessa from the
hospital to Gregor’s bedroom, but he’d seen enough to know this
home was built along the same floorplan, only on a smaller
scale.

One would never know Jasper was gay by
looking at the interior of his home. With the leather furniture and
the wooden accents, this house boldly stated male. Trevor’s home
wasn’t flaming, but it definitely had more feminine qualities than
this log structure. He had pictures of Travis and him all around
his apartment. Jasper had no photos anywhere, except those on the
kitchen island in an envelope. Trevor didn’t think those would find
their way into a frame anytime soon.

After inspecting every room in the house, he
ended up in Jasper’s bedroom. He could have found that room if he
were blind. The scent was spicy and manly, all Jasper. The bed was
made up, just barely. Trevor closed his eyes and imagined the
gorgeous detective spread out on the sheets with Trevor straddling
his large body. His cock was once again stretching the limits of
his jeans. Inhaling one last time, he walked back to the
kitchen.

Trevor searched the cabinets until he found
a colander. He strained the noodles and returned them to the pot.
Deciding he should probably eat something, he fixed himself a plate
and settled in to wait on Jasper to get home. Just as he sat down
at the table, his cell phone pinged with a text message.

Normally Jasper enjoyed patrolling for the
Unholy. Tonight was not one of those nights. He had his mate
waiting at home for him. Now that he knew Trevor was gay, he was
looking forward to the future. He still planned on being patient
with him, especially after seeing his reaction to the photos of
Craig. The pictures would be a shock to most anyone not associated
with the lifestyle.

When Deacon called, it was all Jasper could
do not to tell him no, but it was his duty as a Gargoyle to help
patrol and fight the monsters that threatened the humans. Now that
several of the Clan were out of the country, he was really needed.
He met up with the others and set about corralling the science
experiments gone wrong. When the Unholy fought in the streets, the
Goyles had to be careful about keeping their shifter selves hidden
from the humans.

A couple of hours later,
the Unholy were either dead or cuffed and subdued to be taken to
the Basement. The special area in the lowest level of the Pen where
they kept the monsters was getting full. Rafael had informed them
earlier that Gordon Flanagan, “maker” of the Unholy, was dead.
Hopefully there would be no more of the creatures created, and they
could finally get a handle on them. Jasper was helping Mason load
the dead bodies into a van for transport when his cell phone rang.
Thinking it was probably Trevor wondering where he was, he answered
it. “Jenkins.” There was no answer, so he repeated his name,
“Jenkins. Hello?” When he didn’t receive an answer, he looked at
the caller I.D.
Unknown
. Who the fuck kept calling him?

He shoved his phone in his pocket and
finished helping Mason. Deacon and Lorenzo had the live ones locked
up and ready for the Pen. Lorenzo said, “You get back home. I’ll
take care of the bodies.”