Frey (17 page)

Frey laughed, but he felt the exact same
way. “Truth.” As he sipped his own cup, his body tingled, his chest
tightened. Abbi was close.

“
Can I have some of that
elixir?” she asked as she entered the kitchen, grinning at her
brother. Her smile alone was enough to bring Frey to his knees. He
had been through countless battles, nearly getting shot out of the
sky, but never had he felt anything like what his mate did to him.
This female unsettled him in ways he couldn’t fathom. And they
weren’t true mates. Not yet.

He opened the cabinet and handed her a cup.
“Like I told Matthew, we have milk but no sugar. If you would, add
whatever breakfast items you’d like to the grocery list.” If Frey
was honest with himself, he was happier in that moment than he’d
ever been in his life. Having Abbi and Matt with him in his kitchen
felt like he had a family. He couldn’t remember being young, having
his parents and brothers in the same house. It was too long ago.
With all three of them together, his big house finally felt like a
home, even if it was temporary.

Once everyone was dressed and ready to go,
they headed toward the garage. Frey had already pulled his truck
out of the garage, not expecting Abbi to ride in his Jeep. “Where’s
the Jeep?” Matt asked.

“
In the garage. This will
be more comfortable for Abbi.” Frey opened the door and held Abbi’s
bags while she climbed in. Matthew hopped in the back, sliding
across to lean forward between the two front seats.

“
How many vehicles do you
own?” he asked Frey.

“
Three for now. Besides
the truck and jeep, I have a Harley, too.” Frey started the truck
and eased down the driveway. The gate automatically opened as they
neared and closed behind them.

“
You sure do have some
cool shit,” Matt said as he leaned back.

“
Matthew!” Abbi chastised
him.

“
Well, he does.” Matthew
sat back, looking out the side window.

Frey laughed softly. He never had to worry
about money. He’d always had plenty, but when Sixx came into their
lives and started investing the Clan’s money, he’d made them all
wealthy beyond their wildest imaginations. None of the Stone
Society would ever have to worry about their finances. Neither
would their kids or grandkids, if and when they ever had them. “I
have made some really good investments over the years. Something we
need to do is look at getting you some new wheels.”

“
You can’t do that,” Abbi
declared from her side of the truck.

“
Don’t worry; I’m not
buying him a new Corvette. But you have seen the piece of shit he
drives, right? I want him to have something dependable.”

“
His car may not look like
much, but it is dependable, and he paid for it himself. We can’t
afford anything newer right now.” She turned her gaze to the
window.

Frey knew he’d just stepped in deep shit and
hurt their feelings. He didn’t know what it was like to have to
scrape by for the necessities.

“
I’ll make payments. We
can set up a schedule, and you can take it out of my check from the
gym.” Matthew was obviously onboard with having something newer to
drive.

“
That’ll work. We’ll go
this weekend,” Frey told Matt’s reflection in the mirror. The kid
nodded and smiled.
Fuck.
Just the basic needs being met were putting a
smile on the kid’s face. Yeah, Frey was going to put a hurting on
Troy Quinn.

“
We’re close to some
drive-thrus. Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Both said they
were fine, so Frey drove on to the elementary. “We are going to
drive by slowly, and I want you to look for Troy’s vehicle. If he’s
here, we’ll drive around back.” Both Abbi and Matthew searched, and
neither saw him. Frey pulled up to the front door and let the truck
idle. “What time do you get out of here?”

“
I will be finished by
three-thirty.”

“
Okay, I’ll see you then.
Abbi, if Troy tries to give you any trouble today, call me
immediately.”

Abbi smiled and nodded. “Thank you,
Geoffrey.”

Frey wanted so bad to lean over and kiss her
lips. Until she was his, he had to tame his beast. “Have a good
day.” He waited until Abbi was safely inside before driving
off.

“
You like her, don’t you?”
Matthew asked as he climbed in the front seat.

“
Yes, she’s really
nice.”

“
No, I mean you
like her
like her. It’s
okay if you do. She needs a good man in her life instead of that
piece of shit she’s married to. Please tell me you like
her.”

Frey laughed at the puppy dog eyes Matthew
was giving him. For a seventeen year old boy who was almost a man,
he could act really child-like. He figured that was because Matt
hadn’t had a decent role model in ten years.

“
Yeah, I
like her
like her. She’s
pretty, and smart, and one helluva dancer.” Frey couldn’t help the
shit-eating grin plastered across his face.

Matthew gasped. “You’ve seen her dance?
When?”

“
Last night when I went to
the community center to talk to her. She laced up those funny
looking pink shoes and twirled around the room. It was the most
beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”

“
Yeah,” Matthew agreed,
grinning.

When they got close to the high school, Frey
pointed out Sixx, sitting in one of his many cars. “That’s Michael
Gentry. He will be close by all day. When you get out of school,
he’ll pick you up. Here’s his phone number. If you have trouble of
any kind, or see Troy before you reach Sixx’s car, call him.”

“
Sixx?” Matthew asked,
confused.

“
Yeah, Michael worships
the old rocker Nikki Sixx. Dresses like him on weekends. It’s
really funny to see him with his hair all spiked. Don’t worry;
you’ll get a glimpse of the glamour queen tomorrow.” Frey couldn’t
help but smile when his mind brought forth an image of his rocker
wannabe cousin.

“
Cool. Frey, thanks for
this. I still don’t get why you chose me and Abbi, but I’m glad you
did.” Matthew didn’t allow Frey to respond. Instead, he jumped out
of the truck and gave Frey a backwards two-finger salute as he
walked away.

“
The fates chose you and
Abbi, and I’m also glad they did,” Frey told the teen’s retreating
body.

Chapter
Sixteen

Troy woke with the sun in his face coming
through the front window. He’d fallen asleep on the couch when he
came in the night before. He had every intention of showering the
scent of the two women off his body before taking what was his from
Abbi. Shit, he couldn’t believe he’d slept so late. She could have
at least woken him before she left for school. He’d have to get on
to her for that.

His mind drifted back to the previous
night’s events. Those two girls had been a trip. They had
definitely put on a show for him and George. It’d been a while
since he and his best friend had tag-teamed the ladies. Before
George was married, they did it at least once a month. Then his
friend became a little more discreet in his cheating. He wasn’t
careful enough, though. The marriage lasted all of six months, and
once the divorce was final, the threesomes were back on. And now
that Troy was on second shift, he could see them happening quite
often. As a matter of fact, the four of them had already decided
tonight would be a repeat performance.

Troy lay back down on the couch and flipped
the television on. He didn’t have to be at work for a while, so he
was going to enjoy the quiet without his wife banging around the
kitchen.

Frey had called Lorenzo and asked if he
could watch the school while Frey ran his errands. Mason was
manning the gym. He really should be there himself, but Abbi and
Matt were too important. He’d close the gym before he’d neglect
their well-being. His first order of business was to purchase them
both new cell phones. He didn’t ask Abbi if it was okay to get Matt
a smart phone, he just figured it was better to ask for forgiveness
than permission. He was also going to make sure they both had
dependable cars, whether Abbi liked it or not.

He pulled into the grocery store parking lot
and killed the engine. Before he went inside, he took the grocery
list out of his pocket and stared at it. Abbi had written very
little on the list. Fuck it, he’d buy what he thought they would
like. Once inside, he grabbed a cart and started in the produce
aisle. He grabbed the essential vegetables and headed to the meats.
By the time he was finished, he had everything on the list plus
enough other items to fill the cart. He paid for the groceries,
returned home, and put them away. While he did that, he put both
their phones on chargers.

He didn’t know if they liked steaks or would
prefer hamburgers, so he marinated steaks, just in case. If they
chose hamburgers, those were easy enough to pat out later. When
that was finished, he grabbed both phones off the chargers and
headed back toward town. He stopped first at the high school,
asking to speak with the principal. The secretary sat staring
momentarily before finally gathering her wits about her. Frey had
that effect on almost everyone. When the principal came out of his
office, he smiled and shook Frey’s hand. If they had been in the
dojo, he would have bowed.

“
Scott, how are you?” Frey
asked one of his newest students.

“
Doing well. Looking
forward to our next class. What brings you here?” Scott wasn’t a
tall man, but he was stocky, much like Gregor.

“
Can we speak in
private?”

“
Sure, come into my
office.” Scott escorted him into the inner room and shut the
door.

“
One of your students is
being abused. He came to me for help, wanting to train, and I’ve
taken him under my wing, so to speak. The reason I’m telling you
this, is his abuser is his brother-in-law who also happens to be a
cop.”

“
Matthew Swanson. I knew
someone was getting to the boy. I’ve seen the bruises, but he clams
up when I ask him about them. He always says it’s some punk from
work. Dammit, I should have turned him over to child services
anyway.”

“
He’s protecting his
sister. I wanted to ask you to keep an eye on Matt while he’s in
the building. I have someone outside watching him. Here is a list
of my men with their pictures. If you see any of them lurking
around the building, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t call the
cops. They will stay out of the way unless they feel there’s a
threat to Matthew. If they come in the school, it’s for a good
reason.”

“
I’ll let the teachers
know to be on the lookout. What else can I do?”

Frey pulled Matt’s cellphone out of his
pocket. “Please give this to Matt. His old one was
compromised.”

“
Thanks for the heads up.
I’ll do everything in my power to keep him safe inside these
walls.” Scott held out his hand, and Frey shook it
gratefully.

His next order of business was taking Abbi’s
phone to her and alerting her principal of the dangers of Troy
Quinn. Once that was taken care of, he relieved Lorenzo of his post
and took up residence in the elementary parking lot. While he
waited, he called Rafael and filled him in on what was going on.
His King was understanding as well as supportive. They were family,
and as such, mates came first. It didn’t matter that Frey and Abbi
hadn’t completed the bond, just like when Dante went after Isabelle
and Connor. With any luck, Frey would get Abbi away from her
dickhead husband. Hopefully one day, even if it took years, she
would feel something other than the mate bond for Frey.

Sixx called relaying he had Matthew safely
on his way home. Frey could hear the boy chattering excitedly in
the background. “What’s the kid going on about?”

Sixx sighed. “Apparently, I look like a rock
star.”

“
Well, we all knew
that.”

“
I’ll see you later.” Sixx
cut the connection. Frey laughed out loud, knowing how much of a
handful Matt could be when he got going. Frey leaned his head back
and smiled. He couldn’t remember smiling or laughing as much as he
had in the last few days. The kid brought it out in him. He wanted
to return the favor.

At three-thirty on the dot, Abbi walked out
of the school, looking more beautiful than ever. He had wanted to
compliment her clothing that morning, but didn’t want to make her
feel awkward. There would be plenty of time to build up her
self-esteem later. She climbed into the truck and smiled. “How was
your day?” he asked as he drove away from the school.