Sitting forward, Remi put his hands on Jake’s shoulders and offered his mouth. “Sir?”
Jake groaned. How could he ignore the plea in Remi’s tone? It still amazed him Remi had switched to calling him sir so effortlessly. He captured Remi’s mouth in a slow, gentle kiss and traced Remi’s lips with his tongue, feeling where it had been split. It wouldn’t take long to heal, but until it did… He drew back, studying Remi.
They stared at each other for the longest time with everything Remi felt on his face for Jake to read. The last of Jake’s anger melted away. He couldn’t remember ever sharing silent communication with another. Sure Rhys and he used grunts and nods on occasion, but with Remi it was different, special. The more they were together the closer they grew. It was an amazing feeling. One he didn’t know he could feel until Remi came along.
Yawning again, Remi leaned forward and rested his head on Jake’s shoulder.
Grabbing Remi’s legs, Jake wrapped them around his waist and picked his mate up.
“Where are we going?” Remi nuzzled Jake’s neck.
“To put you to bed.”
“Thank you.”
Jake smiled and continued to the bedroom. He lay on the bed, situating Remi on top of him, and rubbed circles on Remi’s back. He felt the scars and closed his eyes. The welts reminded him once again of his hatred for Lassiter and his desire to go after the man. But he wouldn’t, at least not now. He had a mate to take care of.
For the longest time, Remi laid there. His breath was slow and even, and Jake thought he’d fallen asleep, until he kissed Jake’s collarbone. “I hate how good it felt to hit him. I don’t want to be like that and I don’t want you to be like that. Killing him would be too easy and it would feel really good for a while, but in the long run it would make us no better than he is.”
Remi was right. They needed to try to do it legally first, like they’d planned. But if it didn’t work… “Okay, pup, we’ll keep going at it the way we have been.” Sighing, Jake continued to rub Remi’s back.
Remi’s cell phone rang.
Damn.
“It’s probably Sterling calling to see if you’re all right.” Jake loosened his grip on Remi so he could get up. He’d forgotten to call the imp back.
Oh no
. What if Dirk had gone home and beat on the kid? Jake had been so preoccupied with caring for his mate, he hadn’t thought of it before. “Do you think Sterling is okay?”
Remi crawled off of Jake and down to the foot of the bed to retrieve the phone. “Yeah, Sterling’s okay. Dirk was mad at me, not him.”
Pushing himself to a sitting position, Jake watched his mate.
Fuck me
. That was a pretty sight. He grinned and went to get his own cell phone as Remi answered. He got to the couch where his phone had been tossed and realized Remi hadn’t said any more than, “Hello.”
Something was wrong. Fear and the need to protect besieged Jake. He hurried back down the hall.
Remi still sat at the foot of the bed, the cell phone held in his hand. His face was blank, confused. Remi’s eyebrows pulled together. “I’m not allowed to see Sterling anymore.”
* * *
Rhys hurried across the field, with his ears back and his tail down, until he could clearly see the small white house. Hopefully, anyone who saw him would think he was a dog, but he’d stayed out of public view, keeping away from high traffic areas anyway. Now it was getting dark and he blended in.
Raising his nose, he sniffed, trying to find his target. The soft, wild and fresh, almost evergreen scent was easy to find. It was getting stronger.
The back door opened and Sterling clambered out, holding a bowl of something.
Milk.
It smelled like milk. Looking left then right, he hurried down the porch steps and into the grass.
What was he doing? Rhys crept closer on his belly trying to see.
Glancing back at the house, Sterling set the bowl on the ground. “Come on, boy, it’s okay.” He stared toward Rhys.
What? Can he see me?
Rhys looked around him, fairly certain he was concealed by the dark and the tall grass.
“Oh, there you are.” Sterling turned his attention to his left.
A small orange tabby cat wandered up and meowed a greeting. He went right to the bowl and began drinking.
Sitting down in the grass, Sterling talked to the cat like he was a long-lost friend.
If Rhys had been in human form, he’d have smiled. The kid would talk to anyone or anything. It was endearing.
Lying there, Rhys could see that Sterling was unharmed. Dirk Lassiter’s scent lingered around the home, but it was faint. The man wasn’t in residence. The tension in Rhys eased and he closed his eyes, listening to the smooth cadence of his mate’s voice, content that the kid was all right.
Chapter Eighteen
“Goddamn it, Jake, get out of my way.”
“No. You are not going over there by yourself. You told me your mom said everything was fine and Sterling was safe. If you think you have to go, I’ll take you, but you’re only going to make him madder.” Jake leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. Remi was being completely unreasonable. After the phone call from his mother informing him Dirk no longer wanted him around Sterling, Remi got up and grabbed his helmet and keys. He was intent on going to check on his brother, which was probably exactly what that asshole, Lassiter, was counting on. No way in hell was Jake letting Remi go near Dirk Lassiter after what had happened.
Jake was trying his damnedest not to get mad at his mate, but he was nearly at the breaking point. It amazed him how quickly Remi could go from sweet and lovable to growling and snapping. Sometimes it was like he was two different people.
“I can’t take you with me. I have to make Dirk think I’m doing what he wants.” Remi looked down at the helmet in his hand, then back at Jake. “Jake, please.”
“No.”
Remi’s eyes shifted as he snarled at Jake. “I just want to make sure he’s—”
Someone knocked on the door.
Holding up his hand, Jake stalled Remi and inhaled deeply.
Pack. It was their guys. Jake recognized their scents. He turned and opened the door, letting them in and ignoring Remi for the moment. “What are y’all doing here?”
“Son of a bitch.” Remi stalked further into the living room.
Dago’s eyebrows rose as Zack pushed past him into the apartment. Dago came in behind him, his eyes zeroing in on the blood-splattered wall to the left of the door. “Whoa.”
Jake shut the door.
“We heard what happened and came to check on Remi.” Zack walked around Remi, studying him. “Are you okay?”
Jake grinned, not at all surprised. They’d taken to Remi as quickly as he’d taken to them. Following the guys into the living room, he extracted the helmet and keys from Remi’s hands. He set them on the coffee table and sat on the couch, crooking his finger at Remi. “Come sit.” He looked at Dago. “How did y’all find out?”
“Listen, guys. I’m fine, but I need you to go. You can’t come here. If I’m seen around all of you—” Remi stopped when Jake turned back to him.
Immediately, Jake felt the unease in the air. The men were reacting to their omega. “Remi, come here.”
“He’s having me watched, somehow. He knew about me going to the bar. I bet you anything he’s paying those homeless men we keep seeing around here to report back to him.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, Remi closed his eyes for a minute. He dropped his hand and glanced at Jake. “He knew about you and I running into my mom at the grocery store. If he finds out about all of them”—he waved his arms around, indicating the room as a whole—“here, he’s going to keep Sterling from me.”
Which was a moot point as far as Jake was concerned because Dirk was already doing that. Jake stood and went to his mate, wanting to ease his worries even though he knew there was little he could do. Remi was right. Dirk had to be keeping tabs on Remi somehow, which was exactly why, from now on, Jake was staying with him at all times.
So far, he’d kept his cool and tried to calm Remi that way. Earlier, Remi had done the same to him. It wasn’t easy though, he couldn’t remember ever hating another person as badly as he did Lassiter. His resolve to keep from killing Dirk was slipping a bit more each second. “Remi, he’s already forbidden you to see Sterling. There isn’t anything you can do about it. What will alienating our friends, your pack, do?”
“He did what?” Dago asked, outrage clear in his voice.
“He doesn’t want me hanging out with all of you.” Holding up his hands, Remi turned back to Jake. “I tried it your way.” Shaking his head, he took a seat on the arm of the couch, next to Zack. “I can’t not be around Sterling, Jake. With me out of the picture, Sterling will end up hurt. You can keep investigating, but until you get something on Dirk…” He stood and his eyes were misty. “I can’t.” He gazed back at the guys. “I’m sorry. All of you have to go.”
Feeling his mate’s fear and sorrow so keenly, Jake had to blink back tears. How could he get Remi to understand? How could he assure Remi they’d get something on Dirk? Maybe he
should
just go kill the bastard.
Zack came forward and began kneading Remi’s shoulders.
Shrugging him off, Remi stepped away.
Looking like a kicked dog, Zack went and sat beside Dago on the couch.
Jake studied them with their heads hanging and had no clue what to say. Jesus, this was not only destroying Remi, it was tearing their pack apart.
There was a knock at the door.
Growling, Remi grumbled, “Who now?”
Nick and Tank. Jake could smell them. He opened the door, allowing them in before shutting it.
“Goddamnit.” Remi threw his hands up again and groaned. “Gee, let’s put a sign on the door to make sure everyone knows who all’s here.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.” Stepping aside, Jake extended an arm toward the couch.
“No, he’s not.” Remi flopped down on the carpet.
Something scratched the door.
Jake frowned.
“And that would be Rhys, Keaton and Chay.” Covering his face with his hands, Remi groaned.
All the men looked at Remi, then one another.
“Who is that?” Tank asked.
It smelled like…
Matt?
Opening the door, Jake spotted a black wolf. He stepped out of the way, letting the wolf in, and closed the door.
Sighing, Remi sat up.
The wolf began to shift. Muscles shrank and bones popped as tanned skin took the place of black fur. In a matter of seconds, Matt picked himself up off of all fours and stood, naked, in the living room. Shaking his head, he stretched his arms. His lithe body flexed. He turned, looking at Jake. “Rhys sent me to tell you that Sterling is fine.”
Remi jumped to his feet and rushed forward, nearly tripping over the coffee table. “What? How does he know? Where is Sterling? What—?”
Jake wrapped his arms around Remi’s waist. “Shh. Let him talk, pup.”
Matt smiled at Jake and addressed Remi. “After Jake left, Rhys shifted and headed out. I, ah—” Matt blushed and darted a glance around the room. “I decided to follow. So, after I let Rhys out the front, I locked up, stripped and went out the back.” His gaze met Jake’s. “I locked the back door first and hid the key before I shifted. Then I followed Rhys’ scent. When I got there, Rhys told me to come let you know.”
Remi actually relaxed a little, his shoulders lost some of their tension and he leaned against Jake. “Tell me about Sterling?”
“He’s at the house with your mother. We caught glimpses of them through the windows. Your father came home, got changed into his uniform and then left again. Rhys is going to stay until he comes back, to make sure everything is okay.”
“Thank you.” Remi stepped away from Jake. “I’m going to have to ask you all to leave now.”
Ignoring the gang’s reaction, Jake reached for Remi and turned him back around. This news should have made him feel better. It sure as hell had made Jake’s anxiety lessen. “What gives? Rhys is watching after him.”
“It doesn’t change anything. The fact that Dirk is at work makes it worse. You all have to leave. What if he comes by and sees all the bikes?”
What if he did? No way in hell was Jake leaving Remi, knowing Dirk was out there. And if Remi thought otherwise, he’d lost his damn mind.
The guys all got up and gathered around Matt, talking at once, but Jake tuned them out. “Remi, don’t do this.” He smelled tears, but Remi never let them fall.
Blinking them back, Remi looked at the ceiling. “Sterling needs me.”
So do I.
“So do we.” Jake pointed to their pack, his anger growing despite his promise to remain clam. Remi was being stubborn and he wasn’t thinking straight.
Shaking his head, Remi went to the couch. “Get out.” He didn’t say it with much conviction but he dropped his head in his hands, dismissing Jake.
Caught between the urge to shake the shit out of Remi and start punching things, Jake turned back to their pack.
They stood gathered around the door, looking like they’d gone to a funeral. Matt was gone.