by Faith Gibson
The image Frey couldn’t get out of his mind was one of Abbi dancing. What he wouldn’t give to see the beautiful blonde twisting and turning across a wooden floor. Matthew laughed when he shared how he used to try to wear his sister’s pointed dance shoes. He would walk around the house on his tip toes so he could dance like his big sister. Frey hadn’t missed the love in the kid’s voice as he spoke of their bond or the sadness when he briefly mentioned their parents’ deaths. Frey took in all the information, and as soon as Matthew left the gym, Frey had called Julian. He wanted everything there was on Abbi, her aunt Judy, and her dickhead husband.
A turtle not far from the dock walked into the lake and began making his way through the calm waters. Even though the slow animal was causing ripples in its wake, it was not upsetting the peacefulness of the morning. In that moment, Frey knew he was the turtle, and he had to take his next steps with Abbi just as slow as the turtle so as not to upset the peace that could be their relationship.
Training went well with all the Goyles pretty evenly matched, with the exception of Urijah. He continued to hold back unless he was sparring with Rafael. If Frey and Uri had put on a show, the King and their cousin were truly a sight to behold. When training was over, Rafael gave the others the good news that Dante had rescued both Isabelle and Connor. He and his mate had completed the bond. Finally, some good news they could celebrate.
Once the others had driven off, Julian and Frey made their way into Dante’s office to access his computer. Frey didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary to see the information on his own mate. Julian fired up Dante’s laptop. While it was booting up, he said, “I am going to leave you alone to read over the files. I won’t leave the property in case you have questions or want to hit someone, but I am going to let you read these alone.”
Frey clenched his fists. “That bad?”
“Worse.” Julian clicked the mouse and stood from Dante’s leather chair.
“Yell if you need me. I’ll be outside in the swimming pool.”
The first file Frey opened was one his brother had named “hospital visits”. Frey reached deep within himself for a calm he knew he would need.
Jasper entered the precinct a few hours later than normal having spent the first part of the morning sword training. If he were a human, his body would be aching. Frey was a relentless teacher, not allowing the Goyles to take breaks other than to work on technique. Jasper couldn’t remember the last time he’d held a sword, much less wielded one. Dane had only seen a sword once, and that had been at a Renaissance Fair as a child. That one had been a replica. The half-blood didn’t complain, though. He took his training as seriously as the full-bloods and quickly adapted to the weapon. Speaking of his soon to be chief, Dane came through the door right behind him. Kaya had sent in the paperwork for her resignation and Dane’s promotion, but she had yet to announce either until they were approved.
As Jasper reached his desk, his landline was ringing. “Jenkins,” he answered, pulling out his notepad and pencil, expecting it to be a case. When no one said anything, he spoke again, “Jenkins, hello?” He received no response, so he hung up. On his blotter was a manila envelope. It had his name written on the outside, but there was nothing else indicating who it was from. He was staring at it when Dane approached the empty chair beside the desk. “What’s wrong?” his partner asked as he sat down.
Jasper pointed to the envelope without touching it. “That’s wrong,” he said. Remembering Rafael’s recent episode with an unmarked package, Jasper was leery to reveal the contents. “After what Rafe received, I’m afraid of what could be inside.” Removing a pair of latex gloves from a desk drawer, he slid them on and carefully sliced open one end of the envelope. Dane sat up in his seat, also curious. Jasper slid the edges apart and peered inside. “Photos,” he murmured, turning the package on its end, the pictures sliding out onto his desk. The first one didn’t make sense. Using his gloved finger, he slid the top one over revealing the next one in the pile. Jasper continued pushing photo after photo aside until he reached the end.
Dane had stood and was looking over Jasper’s shoulder. “Do you know who that is?”
Jasper nodded. “Yes, that’s Craig.”
“Your ex, Craig?” Dane asked quietly. Jasper didn’t hide the fact he was gay, but there were still those on the force who had a big problem with his sexual orientation.
“One and the same.” Jasper studied the photos more closely. The lighting was dim, but it was clear someone had his ex-lover tied up, bondage style, hanging from a hook.
“Why would someone send these to you? To make you jealous?” Dane asked, studying the photos more closely.
“That’s a very good question. We were broken up before I moved from the west coast.” Jasper flipped the photos over, searching to see if the sender had included a message. He wasn’t quite ready to share with his partner what these photos meant. Jasper studied the knotwork. In another lifetime, he knew someone who practiced Kinbaku. The art of tying someone up had become popular in the BDSM scenes, but more often than not, it was considered Shibari. The act of knotting and the intricacies of the designs were the draw. Kinbaku went much further into the partner’s psyche. There was a level of trust required with both practices. If the trust was absent, the ropes only served as a rough, often painful restraint. The memory of the ropes digging into his skin, the pressure of his balls being separated, the tug of the pins on his nipples; it all came rushing back. Jasper was going to throw up. He grabbed the photos and stuffed them back into the envelope. He couldn’t look at these. Not now. Not ever.
“Hey, Jas, are you okay?” Dane asked, gripping his shoulder.
“Yeah, fine,” he choked out. He was anything but fine. Jasper needed water. Air. Needed to have never been reminded of what happened so long ago. “I’m going to take these to Julian, see if he can get anything off the envelope. Can you cover for me?”
“Of course. If anything comes up, I’ll call you.” Dane had a concerned look on his face, as well he should have. If he knew what the pictures really signified, he probably wouldn’t let Jasper out of his sight. “I tell you what, I need to go see Julian. Why don’t you let me take the envelope when I go?”
Jasper agreed. He took an empty envelope out of his desk and swapped the photos from the original to the new one and placed the original in an evidence bag. If his suspicions were confirmed, only then would he confide in his partner and the techy about the sender, but not until.
Not wanting to go home, Jasper decided to hit the gym. Even after training earlier, he was ready to release his anxiety at seeing the contents of the package. As he pulled into the parking lot, his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D., and it read Unknown. Ignoring it, he grabbed his bag out of the floorboard of the passenger side and entered the building. Mason was manning the front desk. He gave the younger Goyle a fist bump as he walked by. After changing clothes, he taped his hands and headed to the specially designed punching bag.
Jasper wasn’t as proficient in the martial arts as were Frey, Gregor, or some of the others, but he was a pretty good boxer. Right now, he wasn’t worried with form. If Frey were there, he would call him out for it. Jasper didn’t care. He just needed to hit something. Hard. Fast. Something to take his mind off those damn photos. Why Craig, and why now? If it was the same person who bound him when he was young, Craig didn’t stand a chance.
Getting in a zone, Jasper was unaware of the men and women entering the facility to work out. His shifter stamina allowed him to go for hours without stopping. He should have been paying attention to the time, but he was lost in his jabs. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed one man in particular staring at him, taking in his form. A wave of light-headedness grasped Jasper, his right fist missing his intended target. He backed away from the bag. The next off feeling had him looking in the mirror. Trevor was there, behind him. His mate was there, not moving, only staring.
Jasper couldn’t help t
Jasper turned to face him and asked, “Is what real?” His adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, and now that his mate was within reach, his beast was tearing at him to be released. He stood still as Trevor moved even closer, until they were almost toe to toe.
Trevor tentatively touched Jasper’s right pectoral muscle, more or less poking at him. “This. You. Are you real?”
Jasper gasped as Trevor’s fingers traveled from his chest to his bicep. His clinical touch was replaced by a soft whisper against his skin. Jasper glanced around the gym to see if they were drawing attention. He didn’t care if people knew he was gay, but Trevor caressing him openly could raise a few eyebrows.
“Yes, I’m real,” Jasper whispered. It was all he could do not to grab his mate and drag him to the changing room. Trevor was already dressed in workout clothes, so he couldn’t use that as an excuse to be alone with him. He had to get Trevor’s hand off his body, or he would ruin their friendship right there in front of everyone. “You ready to work out?” he asked, unable to move away.
“You can still work out after you did that?” Trevor removed his hand.
“I belong to the badass club, remember?” Jasper smiled and winked.
“How can I forget? Yes, let’s get this over with.” Trevor stepped toward the bench press machine. He set it at more weight than Jasper thought he would, and surprisingly, lifted the bar with no trouble. Jasper admired the way the muscles in Trevor’s arms moved underneath his skin. This obviously wasn’t his first time in a gym. They took turns on each machine, giving the other time for their muscles to recoup before the next set of reps. Jasper sat down and used the same weight Trevor had. The first time he didn’t change it, Trevor called him on it. “I know you can lift more than me.”
“Yes, I can, but I’ve had a pretty strenuous workout already. This is my cool down.” Jasper was getting a different type of workout from keeping his beast under control and his cock deflated. He was really glad he was wearing loose shorts. He couldn’t help but notice Trevor’s were just as baggy. As they were moving to the rowing machine, the bells chimed over the door.
“Jasper, glove up!” Frey yelled as he stormed through the building.
“Oh shit,” Jasper groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Trevor asked as he put his hand on Jasper’s arm, but his eyes were following Frey’s movement to the boxing ring.
Jasper sighed, “You’re about to see me get my ass handed to me.”
Chapter Ten
Frey read every word Julian unearthed on Abbi, from her parents’ car crash, her aunt becoming her guardian, the aunt’s death, to Abbi graduating college. He was certain there was much more, but he would have to be patient and get the information from Abbi herself.
The more Frey read, the madder he got. How in the gods’ names could a man do that to a woman? At first, it was just a fracture or broken bone that could be explained as an accident. When the red flags began going up, Troy changed his M.O. The visits to the emergency room lessened, but the next few visits, the real tragedies, sickened Frey. Three pregnancies. Three miscarriages. The reports showed stress as the cause, but Frey knew in his soul Troy was responsible. Even if he didn’t lay a hand on Abbi, he was the cause of her losing her babies. That probably wasn’t all of it, but it had to be the worst of it.
He removed the thumb drive from Dante’s laptop and shut it down. Julian was sitting in a lounge chair beside the pool, waiting as he said he would be. “Are you okay?” he asked Frey, concern etched on his face.
“No, I’m not. I need to hit something. I’m going to the gym.” Frey stalked to his Jeep with his brother following behind. Frey opened the door, placing his foot on the running board. He noticed the tension in his brother’s body. “Thank you, Jules.”
Julian opened the door to the Corvette and nodded. Frey knew his brother was torn about something. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll do anything I can to help you with Abigail.”
“I know you will, but there’s something else.”
“I need to help Nik get Sophia back.” Julian’s shoulders sagged as he said, “He hasn’t asked me to, but I feel like I have to go.”
Frey placed his foot on the ground and walked over to his brother. He wasn’t a hugger, so he placed his hand on the side of Julian’s neck, giving him a small smile. His brother’s heart was warring on doing the right thing. “I get it, and I would be upset if you didn’t go help Nik.”
“But…”
“But nothing. I got this. Trust me. I have the information I needed, and you gave that to me. It’s up to Abbi now; she just doesn’t know it yet. Go. Help Nikolas find his female and her parents. When you get back, there will hopefully be two more members of our Clan.”
Julian placed his hand on top of Frey’s. Nothing else needed to be said.
Frey climbed into the Jeep and headed to the gym. He had almost asked Jules about tutoring Matthew, but when he saw his brother was needed elsewhere, he decided to figure out something else. Julian had done his job, and now Frey would do his. Just as soon as he beat the shit out of something.
By the time he reached the dojo, he was more keyed up than ever. He needed Gregor, but Gregor was in Greece. Then he was off to Egypt. Between him and Julian, surely the two of them could help Nik find Sophia and her parents. He stalked in the door, seeing Jasper. Good enough. “Jasper, glove up!” He didn’t wait for the redhead to answer him. Jasper wasn’t as proficient in martial arts sparring, so Frey would have to do with plain old boxing.
He didn’t bother taping his hands before sliding a pair of gloves on. He climbed into the ring and bounced around, loosening his muscles. Jasper did the same, not wasting any time. They stood in the middle of the mat, tapping gloves, rocking back and forth on their feet, getting a feel for the other. Frey had only boxed with Jasper once before and knew he would have to take it easy, even if the male was a Gargoyle. Jasper threw first, a right jab that Frey easily avoided. Both men punched and jabbed, bobbed and weaved. Neither was landing many punches, but the concentration of the movements was helping to clear Frey’s mind.
He really wished Tamian was still in town. Tessa’s brother was more proficient than even Frey in martial arts and the best sparring partner he’d ever come across. At the time, Frey hadn’t been aware St. Claire was a half-blood. He had worked out at the gym for over three years with no one knowing who or what he was. It wasn’t until Gregor found out Tessa was his mate that Tamian’s true identity was revealed. Had Frey known the quiet man had Original shifter blood coursing through his lean body, he could have really let loose. Granted, they would have needed to spar when the dojo was closed. Frey was already pushing it now with Jasper.
He’d obviously lost track of time, because he noticed Jasper’s punches were coming with less intensity and quickness. Frey backed away, holding up his hands. Jasper leaned over, hands to his knees. “Thank you.”
Pulling his gloves off and tossing them in the corner, Frey asked, “For what? I’m the one that should be thanking you. I needed that.”
“For not embarrassing me too bad.” Jasper grinned, looking around at all the people who had stopped what they were doing to watch.
Frey didn’t miss the look Trevor was giving Jasper. “Is there something I should know, Brother?” he whispered so only Jasper could hear.
Jasper followed Frey’s gaze until he caught Trevor staring at his ass. He grinned at Trevor and straightened his body. “I’m so fucking confused right now; I’m not sure there’s something I should know.”
Frey removed the gloves from Jasper’s hands and tossed them on top of his own. “Truth. The fates aren’t going to make it easy on any of us, are they?” he asked as he held the rope for Jasper to crawl through. Following the younger Gargoyle through the ropes to the floor, Frey caught sight of Matthew. The kid was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, eyes wide.
Frey approached him, worried about the look on his face. “Matt, how was school today?” He wanted the teen to know he was genuinely interested in his well-being.
“It was okay. I want to take you up on that offer for your brother to help me study.”
Shit. With Julian now going to Egypt, maybe Sixx could help instead. He was a math whiz, too. “I will work something out. Now, tell me what’s really bothering you.” Frey knew he was reading the kid right when he started shuffling his feet.
“I talked to Abbi, told her Detective Jenkins offered to help. I don’t think she was convinced, though. I was hoping you could talk to her. You know, tell her he really can help get her away from Troy.”
Frey didn’t like the sound of defeat in Matthew’s voice. “When would it be possible for me to speak to her? Away from other people?”
Matthew’s face lit up. “Tonight. She normally doesn’t have class on Thursdays, but she mentioned going to the community center where she could work on the festival. Maybe you can catch her before she goes home.”
“What about your training? If I go talk to your sister, we’ll have to skip tonight.” Frey knew the kid would be on board with that. This was all about his sister anyway.
“I’ll double up tomorrow. Please, Geoffrey?” Matthew was standing very still, waiting on Frey’s answer.
“I’ll go talk to her on one condition. Instead of doubling up tomorrow, you come to my home on Saturday. I want to start you out with meditation, and I have the perfect spot for that.”
“Whatever you want. I’ll be there. Just tell me when and where.”
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