by Lynn Hagen
Noah had a thumping headache from the stressful situation and wondered how long a body could stay coiled before muscles started locking up. His entire body felt tight, ready to explode at any second.
It was a mental sickness. Noah was pretty sure that, if it hadn’t been Justin, Viktor would have focused on anyone else who had showed him the slightest interest.
That knowledge didn’t help settle his nerves.
Noah had to think of a way to put the pin back in the grenade, to soothe Viktor’s warped sense of betrayal.
“You don’t have to shoot me,” Noah said. “Justin doesn’t even want me. He just told me tonight that our little fling was fun but I’m not the guy for him.”
Those words crushed Noah, even though he knew they weren’t true. That only made him realize that he’d fallen in love with his wolf, because he felt as though he was slapping Justin in the face.
Noah couldn’t look Justin in the eyes as he talked.
“He said that while his dick was in you?” Viktor gave Noah a doubtful look.
Noah shrugged. “You know most guys will fuck anything that isn’t nailed down. It was a goodbye fuck. That’s all.”
His stomach churned, and Noah felt nauseous. Justin had to know that Noah was only trying to defuse the situation, but there was still a pang of hurt in his eyes that Noah wanted desperately to wipe away.
He wanted to launch himself into Justin’s arms, to be folded in their strong safety, to forget that Viktor even existed. The dawning realization that he loved Justin only made his words taste like acid, and he desperately wanted to tell Justin that all his words were lies.
Viktor narrowed his eyes at Noah, and in that second, Noah knew what the guy planned on doing. Viktor’s pleas to Justin had evaporated. The cold, hard look in his eyes was filled with determination.
He was going to end Noah.
Justin must have known that, too. He lunged forward, throwing his weight into Viktor as he shouted for Noah to run. Instead, Noah screamed when the gun fired, the sound deafening in the bedroom.
Noah didn’t think. He simply reacted, joining the fray as Viktor spun, as though he were trying to flee.
Noah didn’t have time to see where Justin had been shot. He launched himself at Viktor and tackled him, both of them hitting the wall.
Pain exploded in Noah’s shoulder as he tumbled to the floor. He rocked sideways, grabbing his arm, and then remembered Viktor.
As badly as it hurt, Noah shoved to his feet, ready to face the lunatic and stop him from getting away. Noah whipped his head around, looking for Justin on the floor, but his mate was standing tall, the gun gripped loosely in his hand as he stared down at Viktor.
That was when Noah noticed Viktor hadn’t gotten up. He was curled into a ball, clutching his stomach. Justin cursed as he went for his cell phone on the nightstand and called for an ambulance.
It had been Viktor who’d been shot.
Noah had tackled the guy with a bullet wound in his gut. He looked down at himself and saw Viktor’s blood on his T-shirt.
Soon the house filled with cops and paramedics. Justin had thankfully put on some clothes, and Noah had had a chance to slip his jeans on. He was now standing in the living room as he and Justin answered a ton of questions.
Viktor had died before the paramedics could save him.
Noah felt numb, unsure what to say or think. The movements and noise around him seeming detached, a cacophony of nothingness that he wanted to stop.
Then Justin slid an arm around Noah. Pulled him close to his chest. It was the comfort Noah needed, craved, and prayed Justin never stopped giving him.
When the house finally cleared out and they were alone, tears slid down Noah’s cheeks. Viktor might not have been a stable human being, but he was still a person who had died by his own hand.
And that saddened Noah.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” Justin closed the door behind the last guy to leave and waked to Noah, pulling him into his arms.
“It happened to you, too,” Noah pointed out. “Is it finally over?”
He wasn’t sure if he could take anyone else trying to hurt him. Noah had had enough to last him a lifetime.
“It’s over.” Justin kissed Noah’s forehead. “And if you ever tackle another perp, I’ll put you over my knee. You damn near gave me a heart attack when you did that.”
Noah was still shocked he’d done it, too. He wasn’t the physical type, but the thought of Justin being shot and bleeding had unleashed something inside Noah, some fierce, primal need to avenge Justin.
Which, it turned out, hadn’t been necessary. Justin hadn’t been the one who’d gotten shot.
“I’m not going to apologize.” Noah lifted his chin and stared defiantly at Justin. “He hurt the man I love, and I’ll take on a dozen crazy men to keep you safe.”
“The man you love?” Justin pulled back and looked down at Noah. “When did that happen?”
“I have no clue. It just kind of crept up on me,” Noah admitted.
Justin cupped his face, and Noah stared into his gorgeous eyes. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
Those words made Noah’s heart swell with so many emotions that, despite what they’d just been through, Noah smiled.
After his attack, Noah never thought he would get his life back. Then Detective Justin Grace had swooped in and made things make sense again, helped Noah past his trauma, and how could he not love a guy who went above and beyond for him?
“You’re my saving grace.”
Justin rolled his eyes. “You did not just say that.”
Noah laughed as Justin scooped him up and carried him to the guest bedroom. No way was Noah sleeping in Justin’s room where Viktor’s blood still dotted the carpet.
They would get it cleaned, put their lives back together, and push forward from there. Noah looked forward to every single day with his mate, the love of his life, the man who had saved him ten times over.
THE END
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