Frey (33 page)

Abbi climbed off his lap,
moving to the other side of the truck, and buckled up.
What the hell is wrong with you?
She took a look at the profile of the gorgeous
man sitting beside her, and realized
that’s
what was wrong with her. Frey
turned the radio on, and asked, “What kind of music do you
like?”

“
Classical, of course, but
that’s just to dance to. When I’m in the car I listen to mostly
rock, some country. What about you?”

Frey turned the channel to a classic rock
station. He put the volume at a level where they could enjoy the
music and still hear each other. He reached for her hand and twined
their fingers together. “Just about anything really. Depends on the
mood. I think I surprised Matt when he turned on some heavy metal
and I didn’t make him change it.”

“
Yeah, he’s all about that
new Cyanide group. Their music’s a little harsh for me.” Abbi was
surprised Frey listened to the same stuff her brother did. She
would have pegged him for a country lover. “What’s your favorite
dessert?”

“
Banana pudding.
Priscilla’s is pretty good, but there was this one housekeeper I
wish I’d got the recipe from. Hers was the best.”

“
Another housekeeper
besides Priscilla? You must have been pretty young then. How old
are you? I know that’s a rude question, but I can’t figure you out.
Sometimes I look at you and think you’re thirty, but you have an
old soul, if that makes sense.”

Frey smiled and said, “I’m five hundred
seventy-one.”

Abbi laughed. “Seriously, you don’t have to
tell me if you don’t want to. I’m twenty seven, but you probably
already knew that. You seem to know everything else about me.”

“
I just don’t want you to
dismiss me because I’m an older man.” Frey rasied her hand to his
mouth and kissed her knuckles.

“
Whatever.” Abbi couldn’t
dismiss him now if she tried. He was worming his way into her heart
one moment at a time, and she didn’t know how she felt about
it.

“
Before we go home, I want
to stop and get Matt something. Do you mind?”

Unless it was a bunch of nudie magazines, of
course she didn’t mind. Then again, if Matt had asked for the
magazines, who was she to say no? “I don’t mind.”

Abbi had no idea where they were going, but
when they pulled into the parking lot of a big sports store, she
was confused. “Uh, Matt doesn’t play sports.”

“
No, but he likes
basketball.” Frey got out of the truck and walked around to her
side. He opened the door and put his hands on her waist, helping
her down.

“
You do remember he has
some broken ribs, don’t you?”

Frey grabbed her hand, not caring who could
see. They walked across the parking lot like any other couple. What
if someone from school saw her? She pulled her hand away and
crossed her arms over her chest.

“
Are you cold?” Frey
asked, wrapping his arm around her. He just couldn’t keep his hands
off her. Before they entered the store, she stopped.

“
No, I’m not cold. I’m
just afraid someone will see us.” She didn’t miss the hurt look
that flashed through his eyes. “I don’t mean…”

“
No, I get it.” Frey
walked into the store without waiting on her.

“
Shit,” she muttered and
ran to catch up with him. “Frey, please stop. Geoffrey!”

“
What, Abbi? You don’t
want to be seen with me yet you yell and bring attention to us.
Make up your mind.”

“
It’s not that, at all.
It’s just, I’m still married.”

“
Not for long. Are you
afraid someone will see you and it’ll get back to Troy? I’ve
already told you I’ll protect you.”

“
No, I don’t care if he
finds out. God knows he isn’t faithful to me. But cheating is
wrong. What happens if you and I decide to try this thing between
us? If you cheat with me, what’s to say you won’t cheat with
someone else?”

“
You think I’d actually
cheat on you? Abbi, I want you. Forever.
When
you and I try this thing
between us, I’m going to make life so sweet for you that you won’t
ever remember a time before us. I get that you aren’t a cheater. I
appreciate that.”

“
Okay then.”

“
Okay.” Frey’s mouth
twitched. Abbi was sure he was holding back a grin.

“
Okay. What exactly are we
here for?” She looked around and saw they were in the section that
held basketball goals.

“
One of these.” Frey
pointed at a portable stand. A young sales girl wearing short
shorts walked up to them and totally ignored Abbi. She had eyes for
Frey though.

“
Well, hello. What can I
do for you?” Her voice was dripping with sugar, and Abbi wanted to
choke the bitch.

“
I want that one right
there,” Frey pointed to the goal and portable stand behind the
girl. While the girl turned around to see what he was pointing to,
Frey pulled Abbi to him, snaking an arm around her waist. As soon
as the girl turned back around, Frey tipped Abbi’s chin up and
kissed her. It wasn’t a kiss full of tongue, but it was hot enough
to let the salesgirl know where his attention was. When he released
her lips, Abbi was grinning. Frey continued to lay it on thick,
“It’s for our son. Isn’t it, Sweetheart?”

Abbi lost the rest of her heart to Frey
right there in the sporting goods store. The salesgirl got the
message. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll get someone to check you out.”
Abbi couldn’t hold back her laughter. The girl had definitely
checked Frey out. He picked Abbi up and swung her around, bringing
on more laughter. The salesgirl couldn’t help but smile at their
playful antics. Anyone on the outside looking in would swear they
were a couple in love.

“
Miss Quinn, Miss Quinn!”
A small voice coming from a small person wiped the smile right off
Abbi’s face. Frey put Abbi on her feet just as one of her students
yelled her name. Standing behind the little girl was her mom.
Debbie Cranston’s smirk let Abbi know she’d witnessed the whole
thing. Well, damn.

Chapter Thirty

Jasper’s mind was spinning. Too much was
happening at one time, and he felt like he was going to have a
meltdown. Did Gargoyle’s do that? Were there psychiatrists who
handled the stress of life when it got to be too much for shifters?
If there weren’t, there should be. He didn’t care that Craig was
dead. Hell, he’d threatened to do the deed himself. That’s what
made the situation so bad. Had anyone heard him?

Dante’s initial assumption
that Craig’s neck had been broken led Jasper to believe that their
mutual
friend
was
involved. Nobody else knew about Jasper’s past. Had Craig somehow
found out and contacted him? Or had he sought out Craig knowing he
and Jasper had been lovers? If so, why now? It had been over a
century since Jasper had heard from the man. Even longer since
they’d been intimate. Jasper had changed his identity several times
since then. None of it made sense. The timing was wrong.

How the fuck did someone find out about
Trevor? The only time they were seen together was at crime scenes,
and that was in a professional capacity. They had been at the gym
at the same time, and Trevor had seen Craig lurking at the window.
But they weren’t together then, not really. No, someone had been
watching Jasper.

Kaya and Dane decided it would be best if
Jasper went on administrative leave, pending the investigation. He
wasn’t suspended since there was no evidence other than the
circumstantial video. Everyone in the room knew Jasper was
innocent. He had been staking out Quinn’s house all night. Now they
needed Dante to prove time of death coincided with the hours Jasper
had been in his car.

“
Jasper, would you mind
watching over Matthew tomorrow? Frey will want to keep an eye on
Abbi,” Rafael requested. Jasper knew it wasn’t really an option,
but he didn’t mind. The kid was funny, and would hopefully keep his
mind off Trevor.

“
Don’t mind at all. As a
matter of fact, I might go on over there tonight, if Frey doesn’t
mind.” After the shitty day he’d had, Jasper really didn’t want to
be alone.

“
I don’t see why he would.
He has plenty of room, and if I recall correctly, about a thousand
video games.” Rafael preferred shooting pool or throwing darts to
video games, but he was well aware of who played what during family
day. The competition got pretty fierce.

Normally, Jasper didn’t mind being by
himself at home, but with Trevor gone, the memories would drive him
batshit crazy. “Then I’d say Matthew and I will be able to occupy
ourselves quite nicely. I’m just going to go call Frey before we
eat. If it’s okay, I’ll head that way after dessert.” Jasper’s head
might be reeling, but it wasn’t bad enough that he would skip one
of Priscilla’s meals.

Frey had no idea who the woman was, but by
the smirk on her face, she was not a fan of Abbi’s. Dammit! This
was just what Abbi had wanted to avoid. Frey had been so caught up
in the moment, he couldn’t help himself. Now, Abbi had to deal with
the fallout.

Abbi squatted down so she was eye level with
the girl. “Hello, Amelia. How are you today?”

“
Fine,” Amelia replied as
she looked up at Frey. She almost fell backwards having to crane
her neck so far back. “He’s really tall,” she said looking back at
Abbi. “Who is he?”

If the little girl’s mother had not looked
at Abbi like she was going to eat her for lunch, Frey would have
let Abbi handle it. As it were, he took over answering the little
girl but kept eye contact with her mother. “I’m a good friend of
Miss Quinn’s. She and I haven’t seen each other in a long time, and
I told her some really good news. She was happy for me.”

The answer seemed to momentarily throw the
woman off track, but Amelia was like most children- nosy.

“
What’s your good news?”
the little girl asked, looking up at Frey again.

“
I have a beautiful new
girlfriend.”

“
Are you gonna get
married? My momma’s not married. She just has lots of boyfriends.”
Frey didn’t miss the way Abbi’s back stiffened when Amelia asked
her question.

“
Let’s go, Amelia.” The
woman was no longer smirking.

“
I sure hope so,” Frey
told the girl, smiling.

“
I said let’s go.” The
woman grabbed her daughter’s hand and practically dragged her
away.

Amelia turned back and yelled, “I love you,
Miss Quinn!”

Abbi called after the girl, “I love you too,
Sweet Pea.” She didn’t move until they were out of sight. When they
were out the door, Abbi’s shoulders sagged.

“
I’m sorry,” Frey
whispered. He could feel the torment rolling off his
mate.

Abbi scowled at him and huffed out a laugh.
“It had to be her. Of all people to run into, it had to be
her.”

A salesman approached, interrupting, “Sir,
are you ready to check out?”

“
Yes, I’ll be right
there.” The man walked off, and Frey asked Abbi, “Her,
who?”

“
Debbie Cranston. I bet
she’s already on the phone to Troy. She’s been trying to get him
ever since high school.”

“
Then you should be glad
it was her and not somebody else. He already knows we’re
together.”

“
Still, it proves my point
about being seen in public.” Abbi wrapped her arms around her
waist.

“
You were right, and I’m
sorry. Let’s go pay for the goal and get out of here. I promise I
won’t let this happen again.” Frey was afraid of what this would do
to the headway he’d made with her. He grabbed a basketball off the
display and headed toward the cash registers. Once he’d paid, he
pulled the truck to the front door so the salesman could load their
purchase. Frey searched the parking lot for any sign of Amelia and
her mother. When the coast was clear, he opened the passenger door
and helped Abbi in.

She was quiet on the ride home, and he let
her be. He’d apologized, but he didn’t know if it was enough. When
they arrived at his gate, he rolled down the window, spoke a prayer
to the gods in Italian, and rolled the window back up. This time,
she didn’t ask him to translate. Frey parked in front of the garage
and got out of the truck. Abbi let herself out, jumping down
without his assistance. He hauled the box out of the back of the
truck and decided to go ahead and put the frame together. He needed
something to do while he gave Abbi time to think, or cool off, or
whatever it was she needed to do.