by Stormy Glenn
Chase knew the second he called for help, certain people with a grudge would get wind of his location. Maybe, just maybe, if he timed things right, he could call for help, find Justin, and get the hell out of town before shit came down on the heads of the people he cared for.
It was a plan anyway.
It was a better plan than idly sitting by and watching his mates grow to hate him.
Chase reached for his phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. It wasn’t in any phone book or registry. It was a phone connected to a secret satellite orbiting the earth. Only those who had the number could even access it. And it couldn’t be traced, not even by the government—any government.
“Chase Morgan, access node 57834. Code name: Ankle Biter.” Chase rolled his eyes as he repeated the code name that Marc had dubbed him with. He hated being called Ankle Biter. Marc thought it was hilarious. On the up side, no one would ever think of it.
“Accessing,” a bland, monotone computer voice replied.
Chase waited, hearing a series of beeps. He knew that the computer was analyzing his voice pattern and checking his location. Unless he passed the security protocol, he would never be connected to Marc, and this was the only way to get a hold of the man. Marc didn’t have an address.
“Access granted.”
Chase waited for a moment, and then he heard the phone give a series of clicks just about the time Taylor opened the passenger door and climbed into the truck. Chase glanced over to Taylor and then back out the front window when Marc came on the line.
“Chase, man, what kind of trouble are you in this time?”
“My mate is missing.”
* * * *
Taylor was so tired that his feet were cramping. They had searched almost every inch of Wolf Creek Valley, the town, the alleyways, the bars and restaurants, even the tow yard. There had been no sign of Justin anywhere. No one had even seen him.
Chase had even checked the hospital and morgue, places Taylor didn’t even want to think about but knew were a possibility. Thank fuck those avenues came up empty.
The more they searched, the more worried Taylor grew. He was starting to wonder if they would ever find his lover. Chase had assured him that if anyone could find Justin, his friend Marc could. But Chase had talked to Marc hours ago, and there had been no word from the man.
Taylor was starting to lose hope.
When Chase pulled into the parking lot of a roadside motel, Taylor turned to look at him. “Why are we stopping?” They had to keep looking.
“Taylor, it’s three o’clock in the morning. We need to rest. You need to rest. We can catch a few hours’ sleep here and get some grub, start out again at first light. But you’re dead on your feet.”
“I’m fine,” Taylor snapped, but he felt the weariness in his bones. He knew Chase was right, but he wanted to keep looking. His eyes were burning, and he was so damn tired that he could fall asleep right there in the truck, but he felt guilty for stopping their search.
Chase sighed and turned off the engine. “If you don’t get some rest, you’re going to be no good to me or to Justin. He needs you to be strong. And I need you rested so you can help me look for him.”
“I—”
“Taylor,” Chase said as he grabbed one of Taylor’s hands. “You need rest, baby. You’re not some sort of super soldier. You’re tired, upset, and frankly, you could use a bath.”
Taylor pressed his lips together to keep his chuckle locked behind his lips, but it did him no good. It slipped out anyway, which, Taylor was sure, was what Chase was hoping for. Taylor rolled his eyes.
“Fine, but we get a room with two beds.” There was no way in hell that he was going to spend the night in the same bed with Chase. His nerves were frayed enough. Sleeping next to Chase’s sexy body would send him right over the edge.
A grim look crossed over Chase’s face, pulling his eyebrows down low and pressing his lips together, but the man nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
It wasn’t, but that was the way it had to be. Chase had made his position more than clear, and Taylor refused to give in to the need he had for the bigger man, no matter how much he wanted to.
Chase didn’t want him for a mate, and that meant Taylor couldn’t give in to his feeling for the man. He wanted to mean something to someone long term, not as a one-night stand, and that was all he and Chase could ever have. Chase didn’t want more than that, and Taylor would never voice his need, and that left them in two separate beds.
Taylor sat in the truck while Chase ran inside and rented them a motel room for the night. When the man came out, he jumped into the truck and drove through the parking lot before parking in front of one of the rooms.
Taylor followed Chase out of the truck and upstairs to the second door down from the stairs. He waited while Chase unlocked the door and then followed him inside, looking around.
The room wasn’t fantastic, but at least it seemed clean. Taylor just wished he had remembered to pack a bag so he would have something clean to change into after a quick shower and something to sleep in.
“If you want to jump in the shower, I’ll run down to that fast-food joint we passed a couple of blocks back and grab us something to eat.”
Taylor nodded and started for the bathroom.
“Is there something specific you’d like to eat?”
Taylor shook his head, and then stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Chase. “French fries. I’d love some hot French fries.” With Justin’s diabetes, he had to watch his diet. And since Taylor took care of Justin, that meant he mostly ate what Justin ate. He missed French fries.
“French fries it is.”
The moment the door shut behind Chase, Taylor walked into the bathroom and started undressing. His shower was fast, just a quick scrub down and shampoo. He was so tried that his eyes burned and his head throbbed. He just wanted to eat, climb into bed, and pass out—and no necessarily in that order.
As the hot water pounded his weary body, Taylor wondered if Chase would try anything or let Taylor sleep in peace. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted the most. He was exhausted, afraid for Justin, and too tired to argue with Chase. His anger from earlier had dissipated, and all Taylor wanted right now was to find Justin and go home.
Never in his life had a day lasted this long. He had spent nearly twenty-four hours with Chase, the longest the man had ever been around him, and Taylor had to admit that he liked being with Chase—even if it was to hunt for Justin.
He had kept a cool disposition, but his eyes had continuously wandered over to Chase as the man drove or they hunted through different places. It was kind of nice to spend time with the wolf.
He just wished Chase would stop telling Taylor he didn’t understand what was going on and explain things. From what he’d seen today, Taylor knew he wanted to get to know Chase a little better. Chase seemed caring and concerned. Taylor smiled to himself. The man was even interesting and witty.
Too bad he had a freaking wall built around him. A wall so high that Taylor knew he wouldn’t be able to climb it.
Taylor turned off the shower and climbed out. He grabbed a towel and quickly dried off and then tied a dry one around his waist. He really didn’t want to put dirty clothes back on, but he knew he would need to eventually. But for a little while…
Taylor grabbed his clothes and carried them out into the main room. He laid them out on the chair next to one of the beds and then scooted onto it, moving back to lean against the headboard. He grabbed the remote off the nightstand and started flicking through the channels just as the door opened and Chase walked in, two bags in his arms.
Chase paused in the doorway and stared at Taylor for a moment and then turned and shut the door, locking it. He tossed the keycard down on the small table in the corner by the window and then set the bags down.
“I knew you had forgotten to pack anything, so I stopped by a twenty-four-hour store and picked you up a couple of cotton shirts. Sorry, they didn’t
have any pants.” Chase tossed the two shirts at Taylor, one white and one baby blue.
“Thank you,” Taylor said as he caught the shirts and held them up to his chest. He was surprised that they seemed to be his exact size. But he was extremely grateful that Chase had picked them up. Jeans two days in a row he could handle. Shirts, not so much.
“I believe you ordered fries?” Taylor’s eyes grew round as he looked at the huge basket of French fries that Chase held out to him. He loved fries, but he wasn’t sure he could eat that many. He wasn’t even sure that three people could eat that many fries.
“Thank you.”
“I also got you a grilled chicken burger with Swiss cheese and a juice.”
Taylor’s eyes shot up in surprise. “Juice?”
Chase shrugged. “I figured with you caring for Justin and all that, you didn’t usually eat a lot of junk food, and while it’s okay to splurge every once in a while, there is no sense in going overboard. You’re stomach probably couldn’t handle it.”
“Yeah.” Taylor was a little stunned that Chase had thought about that and considered it enough to buy him something healthy to eat. He just expected Chase to buy him a fast-food burger and some fries, maybe a Coke or something. He didn’t expect such consideration.
He dug into his fries as he watched Chase settle down at the table and eat his food. He smiled when Chase ate two burgers, one right after the other. Chase had fries as well and a juice. By the time Taylor polished off the last of his food—which he was amazed he ate all of—Chase was leaning back in his chair, rubbing his stomach.
“Full?” Taylor asked and then drank down the last of his juice.
Chase chuckled. “Yeah, those were some pretty big burgers.”
Taylor gathered up his garbage and stuck it into a bag, and then he sat back on the bed, not sure what to do.
“Lie down and get some rest, Taylor. I’m going to hop in the shower. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Taylor nodded and scooted down on the bed, pulling the covers up over his body. It wasn’t until he started snuggling down to sleep that Taylor realized he still had a towel wrapped around his hips.
He cast a quick look toward the closed bathroom door and then pulled the towel off and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. He’d grab it in the morning before sneaking into the bathroom, hopefully before Chase woke up.
He pretended to be asleep when Chase exited the bathroom ten minutes later, but it was hard to do when he could hear Chase’s every movement—the squeak of the mattress springs as the man sat down, the shuffle of the covers, even Chase’s deep sigh when he finally stretched out on the bed.
“Good night, Taylor.”
Taylor’s eyes popped open. Chase was looking right at him. He swallowed hard at the glint of lust he could see burning in Chase’s eyes. Since when had the man lusted after him?
Taylor quickly squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shut the image out of his mind. “Good night, Chase.”
Chapter 5
Justin edged past a particularly smelly guy as he made his way to the front counter of the roadside diner and found the only open seat. He was starving. He was also starting to feel a little light-headed and knew if he didn’t get something to eat soon, he’d get sick.
He felt like he had been on his feet forever. It had been easy enough to sneak out of town, but once he had, he didn’t know where to go. He had spent a majority of his life having all of his actions and time dictated to him. Now that he was free of the Teacher, Taylor filled up his day.
Well, Taylor and thinking about Chase.
Now that he was all alone, he didn’t know quite what to do.
One thing at a time, maybe that was the way to do things. Right now, he knew he needed to eat, and then he needed to take his medication. Taylor was always harping on him about taking his medication.
“What can I get you, honey?”
Justin glanced up to see a platinum-blonde woman standing in front of him, snapping gum between her teeth. Her outfit, if it could be called that, was pink with a little white apron, and her name tag said Flo. Her makeup looked like it was put on with a spackle, as if she was trying to hide years of wear and tear, but there was a glint in her eye that said she was still sharp as a knife.
Justin smiled. “Good evening, Flo. May I see a menu, please?”
The woman cackled. “Oh, aren’t you a sweet little thing.”
Justin’s smile grew. “Thank you.” He took the menu the woman held out to him and flipped it open. Grease, grease, and more grease. There wasn’t an appetizing thing on the menu. Everything seemed to be filled with grease and deep fried. Gross. The menu even boasted of fried cheesecake. This place was a heart attack waiting to happen.
“Do you have any fruit?”
“Sorry, honey, these boneheads only eat meat. Besides, if these guys can’t shoot it or fuck it, they don’t want it.”
Well, that was fairly nauseating.
“I’ll have whole wheat toast and a glass of orange juice, please.” Justin gave the woman another smile as he handed the menu back.
“Is that all ya want, honey?”
“I can’t eat deep fried foods, ma’am. They don’t agree with my stomach.”
The woman stared at Justin for a moment, and then a smile covered her face, one that Justin felt was real. “You just wait right here and let ol’ Flo fix you up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The man sitting next to Justin began to chuckle. Justin turned and glared at him until he stopped and turned away. He smiled back at Flo. “I apologize for his rude behavior, ma’am.”
Flo’s eyes widened, showing off their deep-blue color. And then she reached over and smacked the man on the head with the menu in her hand. “Behave yourself, Rufus, or I’ll kick your sorry ass right on out of here.”
Flo walked away. Justin could feel the man sitting next to him staring at him. He pointedly looked the other way. He didn’t want any trouble, but he truly disliked rude people. It never hurt anyone to be a little nice.
“Here ya go, honey,” Flo said as she set a tall glass of orange juice down in front of Justin.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Your food will be right up, honey.” Flo patted Justin’s hand before walking away again.
Justin heard the man beside him snort loudly as he reached for his juice. He tried to ignore the man, really he did, even when the man bumped in to him so hard that his juice spilled over his hand. He chalked it up to an accident.
When it happened again, Justin carefully sat his juice down and scanned the dingy diner for another place to sit. Surprisingly, the entire place was booked. If he wanted to eat, he was stuck right where he was.
The little bumps continued until Flo came back over and set a plate down in front of Justin. He was surprised to see a turkey sandwich on the plate, complete with whole wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, and a pickle on the side.
He smiled up at Flo. “Thank you, ma’am. This looks very good.”
“Eat up, honey.” Flo patted Justin’s hand again. “I’ll work on some dessert for you.”
“Oh, please, don’t go out of your way,” Justin said quickly. As much as he wouldn’t mind biting into a big, thick piece of pie, he knew he couldn’t. “I can’t have very much sugar. It makes me sick.”
Flo’s dark-blonde eyebrows drew together, and then she bent over the counter, getting real close. “Honey, do you have diabetes?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Justin said, surprised that the woman even knew what it was.
“Do you take medication for it?”
Justin patted his fanny pack. “Got it right here.”
“Good.” Flo stood up straight again. “My grammy had diabetes for over fifty years. You keep eating right and taking your meds, and you’ll be just fine.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now eat up like I said.” She pointed at the plate of food. “You need to keep your blood sugars level.”
Ju
stin smiled and then grabbed his sandwich. He was just about to bite into it when the man next to him bumped him so hard that the sandwich flew out of his hand and ingredients scattered all over the counter top.
Justin shot the man what he hoped was an evil glare and then turned to gather up his sandwich makings. He carefully stacked them all back into place and then lifted the sandwich to his mouth.
The guy bumped him again.
“Really?” Justin snapped as he slammed his sandwich down on his plate. “Would you like me to lift my juice again so I can wear it next time you bump me? Or maybe I should order a cup of coffee so you can really do some damage.”
“I done saw you flirten with Flo,” the snarly man snickered. “Ain’t gonna do you no damn good. Flo don’t put out for no one.”
Justin looked the disgusting man up and down. “Gee, I wonder why.”
The man’s face flushed with anger, and Justin suddenly wished that Taylor was there. Taylor always kept him out of trouble even when his mouth overrode his common sense. As the man grabbed him by the collar and started lifting him out of his chair, Justin didn’t think he was going to walk away from this scrape.
He wasn’t a fighter. Had never been a fighter. But the guy had ticked him off. Rude was just rude, no matter what form it came in, and this man was downright mean. Justin may not be able to kick anyone’s butt, but he wasn’t going to let anyone walk all over him either. Those days were over. The Teacher had done enough damage to last Justin a lifetime. No one else was going to push him around or bully him.
But it sure would be nice to have Taylor here right about now.
“You put him down this instant, Rufus,” Flo shouted as she started beating the man over the head with a dirty dishrag. Rufus sputtered, and Justin suddenly dropped when the man let go of him, barely catching himself before he hit the floor. “Get out, Rufus, and don’t come back until you learn some manners.”
“You can’t kick me out of here!” Rufus bellowed.
“Sal!”
Justin blinked in shock when the biggest damn man he had ever seen lumbered out of the back of the restaurant, meat cleaver in hand. “You called, little darlin’?”
