Frey (14 page)

“
Thanks, Lor. If Trevor
wasn’t waiting for me I wouldn’t put this off on you.” Jasper gave
the other Goyles a fist bump and took off toward his car. If Trevor
hadn’t been at his house, he would have just flown. He wasn’t ready
to explain how he got to work without a vehicle.

As Jasper neared his car,
he slowed his steps. There was a tall, well-built man leaning
against it; hands in his pockets, feet crossed at the
ankles.
Motherfucker.

Jasper was livid. Why was his past coming
back now? How had his ex even found him? Jasper didn’t need to get
any closer to know the man was Craig. If the way he leaned against
the car wasn’t enough of a tell, the cologne he wore was a dead
giveaway. He always sprayed it on too strong, something that never
really bothered Jasper before. Now, it made him want to throw up.
He preferred the clean, subtle scent Trevor wore. Trevor. Jasper
smiled as he thought of his mate back home, boiling noodles. At
least that’s what he hoped he was doing. That or playing video
games, or wandering through the house, becoming acquainted with it.
Anything except looking at those fucking pictures. He wished he’d
thought to bring them with him.

Jasper willed his claws to stay sheathed so
he didn’t take a swipe at the man standing before him. His smile
fading, he asked, “What do you want, Craig?”

“
Is that any way to greet
me? Jas, I’ve missed you, Baby.” Craig smiled, stepping away from
the car, but Jasper took a step back.

“
Stop. You’ve got about
ten seconds to tell me what the fuck you’re doing here. After that,
we’re done.”

The smile was replaced by a frown. “I’m in
trouble. I’m in big trouble, and I need your help. Please Jas, you
have no idea what I’ve gotten into, but there’s no one else I can
turn to.” Craig’s eyes were dilated, his pulse was racing. The man
was nervous, but not in the way he wanted Jasper to believe. Jasper
was pretty good at telling when someone was lying. Craig was lying
through his straight, white teeth.

He opened his car door and fished out a
clean shirt, hoping to mask any blood before Craig could get
suspicious. He slid the tee over his head and turned around to find
Craig in his space. Before he could stop him, his ex hauled him
into his arms and sealed their mouths together. Jasper was
surprised, to say the least. He opened his mouth to protest, and
Craig took advantage to slide his tongue into Jasper’s heat. Jasper
jerked away and grabbed Craig’s biceps, giving them a hard
squeeze.

“
If you’re referring to
being tied up in pretty little knots and then strung up on a hook
for someone to have their way with you, I know all about it.”
Craig’s eyes widened. He tried to recover, but he wasn’t quick
enough. Jasper could see the bullshit being formed before it was
able to leave his ex’s lips.

“
Save it. You walked out
on me when I needed you most. I have a new life now, one that
doesn’t include you. Whatever you’ve gotten yourself into, you can
get yourself out of.” Jasper stepped around Craig, but didn’t get
far before Craig grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms around
his waist.

His cologne was seeping
into Jasper’s clothes. He turned and with more force than
necessary, shoved the other man away from him, sending him
sprawling onto his ass. Jasper walked to where Craig was on the
ground and seethed, “Listen to me and listen well. You are
nothing
to me. I have
someone in my life now, someone who will be around for the long
haul. You need to get the fuck out of town, out of my life. Do you
get me?”

Craig glanced behind Jasper and grinned.
When he returned his attention to Jasper, he snarled his lip,
“Yeah, I get you.”

Jasper left him sitting where he was and
headed home. First he needed to find a way to wash the stench of
his ex off his body.

Chapter
Thirteen

Standing in the quiet room of the community
center with his arms encircling his mate, Frey didn’t want to push
Abbi, but he didn’t want to give her too much time to think,
either. “Abbi, if you really want to get away from Troy, let’s go
get your stuff tonight, while he’s at work. You can grab Matt’s
things for him while you’re there.”

“
How do you know Troy’s at
work? He just went on second shift today.”

“
Like I said earlier, I
know people, so I called in a favor.”

“
Where will you take us?”
she asked, pulling away from him.

“
My place would be safest,
but if you don’t feel comfortable staying with me, I have several
cousins you could stay with, or I can put you up in a hotel.
Anywhere you decide to stay will be secure.”

Abbi bit her bottom lip between her teeth,
thinking. Frey had to look away. He needed to keep in mind what she
had been through. Even though she was his mate and he knew they
were fated to be together, he had to give her time to get to know
him. Having waited almost six hundred years for his mate, he could
afford to be patient a few more months, or years even. The first
thing he had to do was get her away from her abusive bastard of a
husband. Once that was accomplished, she would be free to spend
time with Frey.

“
I don’t know your
cousins.”

“
You don’t know me either,
but I would prefer you and Matt stay at my home. I have plenty of
room, and that way, I will worry less.” Frey would worry
regardless, until Troy was completely out of the
picture.

“
Are you sure you can
protect me from Troy?” Abbi was frowning again. “Once he finds out
I’ve left, he’s going to be hell bent on getting me back. He’s
going to cause trouble wherever I go.”

“
I’m sure. I will drive
you to and from work. I’ll have someone drive Matt, too. Trust me;
he won’t get close to you as long as I’m around. But Abbi, I need
you to do what I ask. You have to file a restraining order, and you
have to see a doctor to document the abuse.”

“
I need to call Matt, see
if he’s okay with this, but yes, we’ll stay with you.” Abbi walked
over to her bag and pulled out her cell phone. While she was
punching in numbers, Frey noticed her phone was an old one. “He’s
not answering. I’ll leave a voice message.”

“
Tell him to meet us at
the gym.”

Abbi blinked at him while listening to the
message. “Hey, it’s Abbi. I need to talk to you. Meet me at
Geoffrey’s gym as soon as you get this. And Matty, whatever you do,
don’t go home.” She hung up and put the phone back in her bag. “Now
what?”

Frey walked over and picked up her bag.
“Now, we go get your stuff.” He motioned for her to precede him out
the door. Abbi locked up behind them and headed to her car. It was
an older model sedan that had seen better days. One day soon, she
would be driving something more reliable. “I’ll follow you to your
house. While you pack your bags, I’ll stand guard, just in case. If
he happens to be home when you get there, just drive on past and
meet me at the gym.”

“
Okay,” Abbi nodded and
took a deep breath.

“
Breathe, Gorgeous. I
promise everything is going to be all right.” Frey tucked a stray
strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertip lingering. Her body
shivered. Whether from his touch or the thought of leaving her
husband, he didn’t know. As soon as she was safely in her car, he
shut the door. Frey climbed into his Jeep and fired it up. Letting
out on the clutch, he followed Abbi the few miles to her
house.

Luckily, there was no sign of Troy, and Abbi
was able to get her and Matthew’s clothes with little trouble.
Apparently, the only trouble she had was finding something to put
them in. When she walked out the door with several plastic grocery
store bags, Frey asked, “Where is your suitcase?”

“
We don’t have one. We’ve
never been on vacation so…” her voice trailed off as she tossed the
bags of clothing and toiletries into her trunk. Frey couldn’t
imagine not having any type of bag to tote stuff in. He probably
had ten gym bags thrown in the back of his closets. First the old
phone, and now, no luggage. Did she have anything new? After a few
more trips into the house, Abbi assured him she had everything she
and Matthew needed as well as some items they wouldn’t want to
leave behind. He was glad to see she changed out of the baggy
sweats into jeans and a UGA sweatshirt.

They drove to the gym with Frey parking in
his reserved spot and Abbi parking next to him. He jumped out of
the Jeep and hurried around her car to open the door for her. He
held his hand out, and she took it. He didn’t want to let go but
knew better than to be affectionate too soon. When they reached the
front door to the gym, he held it open and couldn’t resist touching
the small of her back, ushering her in.

Matt came walking up from the back of the
gym, a load of towels in his arms. “Hey, Abs, what’s up?” He laid
the towels on the counter and began folding them. Frey laughed at
the look on Abbi’s face.

“
What are you doing?” she
asked.

“
Folding towels, duh. So,
what’s going on? Why’d we need to meet here, and why the cryptic
message?” He grabbed the pile of now folded towels and looked
between his sister and boss.

Frey took the stack from Matt. “Why don’t we
go to the office to talk?” He didn’t wait on them to follow.

As soon as they reached the back, Frey
stored the towels in the bin. He walked around to his chair and
took a seat across from his mate and her brother. As Abbi explained
to Matthew what Frey had suggested, he took the time to observe
them together. He knew what it was like to have a younger brother
you wanted to protect. Both his siblings would soon be in Egypt,
and he wanted to go protect them. Rafael was like a brother, and
Frey looked up to the King as the great ruler he was. Frey would
lay his life on the line for any of his Clan, blood relative or
not. Now he had the opportunity to protect his new family, and he’d
lay down his life for them, too.

Frey realized they had stopped talking.
“So?”

Matt answered for them both, “Let me grab
the garbage, and we’ll be ready to go.”

Frey nodded, and Matt practically bounced
out of his chair.

“
Who was that, and what
have you done with my little brother?” Abbi laughed.

“
That is a young man with
a purpose,” Frey grinned as he stood from his chair.

Matthew came back, and they all headed for
the front door. Urijah was manning the counter as they passed by.
He held a fist out and knuckle bumped Frey then Matthew before
fisting his heart and bowing his head slightly to Abbi. Frey’s
heart skipped a beat when his fellow Goyle honored his mate. He
grinned again at the look on Abbi’s face. One day they would look
back on this moment and laugh.

As they approached the parking lot, Frey
said, “Abbi, please follow us. Matt, you ride with me.”

The teen laughed, “You got a step ladder
with you? What does this thing have, a four inch lift kit?”

“
Five, and you can climb.”
Frey turned his attention to Abbi who was shaking her head at her
brother. “My place isn’t too far. I’ll see you there.” Once she was
securely in her car, he stepped into the tall vehicle and buckled
up. If Matthew was going to ride with him, he’d have to remember to
put the doors back on.

“
Are you going to be okay,
or do you want a jacket?” Frey kept extra clothes with him at all
times. All of the Gargoyles did. They never knew when they would
encounter Unholy, or need to cover up the fact any wounds they
received healed rapidly.

“
I’ll be okay. Man, this
is so freaking cool! I’ve never driven a stick before. Do you think
you could teach me someday?” It was a good thing the kid was
buckled up. He was looking in the back, twisting and turning to
take in the jacked-up ride.

“
I’ll teach you anything
you want to know.” There was so much Frey was willing and eager to
teach Matt. If Abbi ever accepted Frey as her mate, they would be
family. He wanted both of them to know how the man was supposed to
treat those in his care. If Matt wanted to learn to fight, he’d
teach him. If he wanted to learn to drive a manual transmission,
he’d teach him that, too. The most important thing he’d teach him,
though, was the right way to treat a woman.

He pulled into his drive with Abbi right
behind him. He spoke into the security box, and the gate swung
open. “Holy shit! That’s some high-tech gate you got.”

Frey laughed at the kid
but kept his eyes on the rearview mirror. He had driven the whole
way home looking behind them more than in front of them, mostly
making sure they weren’t being followed. When they rolled up to the
garage, Frey hit the button on the remote opening the small door
off to one side of the massive building. “Is that your garage?”
Matt asked, eyes wide. Frey didn’t respond. He knew as soon as Matt
saw the contents of the building he’d have even more questions.
“You have a freaking helicopter? Fuck, man, you have
two
helicopters. Uh, I
guess it’s too late to be asking this, but are you some kind of
commando?”

Frey laughed again and shook his head. “No,
I own a gym.”

Abbi didn’t drive into the garage, so Frey
shut the Jeep off and hopped out. He walked outside and motioned
for her to pull in beside him. Instead, she shut her engine off and
parked outside the garage. “Don’t touch anything,” he yelled to
Matthew, not having to look to know the kid was eyeballing the
helos. Abbi’s eyes were wide when she noticed the contents of
Frey’s garage. He opened her door and held out his hand. She took
it, not looking at him. She, too, was staring in disbelief at the
two helicopters. “Come on,” he gestured toward where her brother
was walking around each one.