“I—”
Maverick held his hand up to stop any further protest from Evan.
Closing his mouth, Evan bit the inside of it to stop any further argument. Did Maverick seriously think Evan would have harmed Lewis? Sure, he was angry as hell, but to harm his mate would have been equivalent to chewing his own arm off.
* * * *
“Thanks.” Lewis reached for the handle of Tank’s truck door, having caught a ride with the massive guy to retrieve his car that had been left behind. His head was pounding, and his mouth felt like he had licked the bottom of fifty trash cans. To top it all off, he missed Evan so badly that his chest was hurting. It didn’t matter that it was made clear this morning that Evan didn’t want Lewis.
Did he really want Evan? One thing was certain, and that was that the man gave off plenty of mixed signals. Lewis ran his hands over his head. Things were getting too complicated.
“I’ll follow you back to make sure you get there in one piece.” At this point, Lewis really didn’t care. He waved a hand at Tank, closing the truck door and sliding into the driver’s seat of his car.
Starting the motor, he blew out a long breath. That was definitely the strangest night yet.
He made it home in one piece, and Tank honked as he pulled away. Lewis had never been more grateful in his life to see the inside of his apartment. Untying his boots and tossing his clothes into a pile on the floor, he crawled between the covers. The only thing he wanted
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was to sleep the day away. He tugged the covers over his shoulder as he closed his eyes.
One hour later, Lewis cursed as he flipped the blanket back, no closer to sleep than when he first shut his eyes. His brain wouldn’t shut down, and thoughts of the chestnut-haired man with those beautiful amber eyes plagued him. He didn’t want to be in a relationship, didn’t want to get involved, so why on god’s green earth couldn’t he push Evan out of his mind? Evan was anger personified, violent and aggressive, and those were things Lewis couldn’t and wouldn’t stand for.
Lewis dug into the back of the closet and pulled out the last pack of cigarettes he had. Going over to the cabinet, he poured two fingers of whiskey into a tumbler, grabbed a few ice cubes from the freezer, and perched himself on the balcony. He rolled the cigarette between his fingers, watching the wisps of smoke dance upward in a hypnotic swirl. Where had his life taken such a rough-ass turn? Patrick had been the beginning of his downfall. He knew that much. His ex had Lewis believe in such things as love, happiness, and a home. It wasn’t the fact that Patrick had cheated on him—well, mostly not—but the thing that cut Lewis to the core was the betrayal. Had Patrick come to him and told him he wanted out, that he no longer wanted to be in this relationship, Lewis could have handled that better. The deception was what sent him over the edge.
His dad had done the same thing to his mom, cheated on her left and right, and she always forgave him. Lewis watched how a once strong woman became nothing more than a living shell and lost herself inside a bottle until, one day, she killed herself.
Since then he knew control was the only thing that kept him from going insane. Needed it, craved it. Without control, he would have killed his father, would have allowed his life to fall apart all around him. Instead, he finished school, went to college, and pushed himself to be the best damn detective he could be…until Patrick.
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That man had brought home every feeling he had buried from his youth.
Lewis hated the hurt he watched his mother endure, and the lies his father had told, until it no longer mattered. His father would just shrug when confronted, and his mother eventually stopped asking. His home was broken.
Downing the whiskey, Lewis refilled his glass, lit another cigarette, and lost himself in the bottom of the amber liquid. Amber.
Evan had amber eyes. Why did that man get under his skin like no one else he had ever met? All he wanted was to be left alone, to protect his heart. He had done a piss-poor job of that with his last lover. He wasn’t about to repeat that same mistake. Evan wouldn’t be allowed in to wreak havoc and kill what sanity he had left.
Lewis flicked his cigarette and set his glass down. He stumbled from the balcony, tumbled onto his bed, and fell into an oblivious sleep. A quiet sleep…without parents, betrayal, or amber eyes.
* * * *
Gunnar watched from across the street. It disturbed him how haunted the human’s eyes were. The cop was finding solace with liquid demons, and even Gunnar could feel his pain radiating from across the street.
What the hell was his best friend doing? He knew Evan had always been a brooder, but to push his mate away like this was unacceptable. What drove a man to act this way, to treat the one person meant for him like an enemy instead of the treasure that he was? Gunnar felt for Lewis, but it wasn’t his job to counsel his friend.
It’s not like Evan would listen right now anyway. His job was to sit quietly and make sure no harm came to him for the next seven days.
Gunnar laid his head back against the seat. This was going to be a long week. What he wouldn’t do to have his mate by his side. Nothing would make him treat what fate had deemed as his yesterday’s trash.
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Evan needed his ass kicked.
* * * *
Lewis grabbed his head. It was pounding out a staccato beat. He needed to get ready for work. He had second shift today, and his pounding headache wouldn’t stop. Popping two aspirin, he showered and tried his best to look presentable.
The empty whiskey bottle called to him, begged him to notice it.
With a sound of disgust in the back of his throat, Lewis chucked it into the trash can. No more. That shit was taking over his life.
Grabbing his keys, Lewis headed out to get some lunch. There was a diner in the small town he lived in. It was cozy and quiet. Since coming here six months ago, Lewis had never taken the time to get to know anyone. Being anonymous was perfect right now. It gave him the opportunity to nurse his hangover undisturbed. Lewis sat in a booth eating his lunch. He hoped the day remained boring after the events that had taken place. The sun was out, glaring into the diner window, making him sweat profusely. He asked the waitress to change his booth, away from the stifling rays. It was hot in this place.
Lewis downed a few glasses of ice water, trying to cool off. Maybe he was getting sick.
Turning around in his booth, Lewis tossed his arm onto the back of it. “If you’re going to follow me all day, at least come sit with me.” Watching the man with black and blond hair grab his plate and slide into the seat across from him, Lewis extended his hand. “Lewis Keating.”
A large hand extended to shake his. “Gunnar Sadena.”
“So, why are you following me?” Lewis sloshed his biscuit through the gravy, took a bite, and chewed as he waited for an answer.
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Chapter Three
“No one has ever made me before, you’re good.” Gunnar was impressed. He had stayed to the shadows, ever out of sight. There should have been no way Lewis spotted him. He didn’t even take a seat until the human’s back was turned. If the warriors found out about this, he would never hear the end of it, especially if Remi got wind. The wolf was a loudmouth to the ninth degree.
Lewis shrugged. “It’s my job to see the unseen, put the pieces together to solve the puzzle. So who are you?”
“Maverick is going to hand me my ass for this.” Gunnar grunted.
“Maverick. So you’re one of Evan’s guys?”
“Hardly. We’re both Maverick’s
guys
, in a manner of speaking. I can’t answer too many questions. Sucks, but I’m being honest. So let’s make this simple. I babysit you, and you stay out of trouble until Friday when we go meet with Maverick.” Gunnar knew it was a long shot. No grown man wanted a babysitter, and he expected Lewis would bristle at the idea of being followed around. Gunnar expected Lewis would tell him to go screw himself or something in that manner.
“Who says I’m going back there?” Lewis asked as he sipped his water.
Gunnar chuckled. “You’ll go. The question is will you go willingly or make a fuss and a show of yourself before finally giving in, so let’s cut the crap and just go, shall we?” Lewis began to laugh. “I like you. Straightforward. You’re my kind of man.”
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“Don’t let Evan hear you say that. He’ll try and chew my throat out.” Gunnar hated this. The cop seemed really nice. No one should have their privacy invaded because another person was too childish to control his temper tantrums. At least he would get to know Lewis better. He was one of the mates after all, and the oldest of all of them to boot. He didn’t think the warriors would have to worry about this one following Cecil and his harebrained schemes, but one never knew. Cecil could be very persuasive.
Lewis studied him for a moment, taking a sip of his water as his eyes scanned Gunnar. “I’m guessing you’ve been sitting in your car?” Gunnar grinned widely as he chewed his food. The cop was good.
“Yeah, sucks. The seats don’t even recline back far enough for my body mass.”
“Come see me when I get home. You can crash on my couch.” Lewis waved for the waitress to bring him his check. “Although it may not accommodate your body mass either…but you’ll be lying down.”
“Why are you being so calm about this?” The human baffled Gunnar.
“You’re gonna follow me anyway, so why not make it comfortable for you.”
And that’s all he had to say about it. Gunnar was shocked. He liked Lewis. Guy was a decent man. The human didn’t throw a fit and cause a scene because he had to be watched. He took it in stride. Once again Gunnar wanted to go home and kick Evan’s ass.
“I have a few errands to run. You gonna follow me, or do we ride together?” Lewis tossed a few bills onto the table. Gunnar looked over at Cody, who was grinning. The warrior owned half the diner, and his mate Keata was sitting at the counter. He was really going to catch hell for this.
“I’ll be right back. We can ride together.” Gunnar slid from the booth, walking over to the smiling pair.
“Busted.” Cody chuckled.
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“Busted,” Keata repeated.
“Are you going to rat me out?” Gunnar smoothed his hands over his head. “How much?”
“What are you talking about?” Cody eyed him as though he were speaking Keata's language instead.
“How much do you want to keep your mouth shut?” Cody burst out laughing. Gunnar was getting more aggravated by the moment. Would Maverick kick him out of the pack if he throttled the last breath out of the wolf?
“Is this a common practice with you? Maybe this isn’t the first time you’ve been busted. Must get awfully expensive to cover it up.”
“Never mind.” Gunnar turned to see Lewis opening the diner door. “Shit, gotta go.”
* * * *
Gunnar gave a low laugh as Lewis grumbled about having to pump the gas. He was the one chauffeuring his babysitter around, the least the cackler could do was get
his
hands all smelly with gasoline.
The odor always made Lewis nauseous. And to make matters worse, the handle was leaking gas right onto his hand. “Don’t pout. I’m sure they have sani-wipes. I’ll go check.” Gunnar headed into the gas station as he yanked the nozzle from its cradle and shoved it into his tank. He was getting edgy again. The feeling was creeping into his chest.
“Here you go.”
Lewis threw his hands out to catch the small white packet. What the hell was this rinky-dink thing supposed to clean? Lewis tossed it back at Gunnar. Replacing the cap then the nozzle, Lewis went into the station to ask for the bathroom key. The only thing that was going to halfway get the smell off was soap and water.
Gunnar chuckled behind him as he made his way over to the soft drink cooler.
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“Your gas pump is leaking. Do I need a key to the restroom?” he asked the clerk as he watched Gunnar in the large mirror hanging by the counter. Gunnar shut the cooler door and headed back to the counter. He had three drinks in his hand. How long did the guy think they would be out?
“Here you are, sir.”
Lewis stared at the key that had a large piece of wood dangling from it. “Am I supposed to use the wood to beat off any attackers as I wash my hands?” Why in the heck would somebody attach something like that to a key?
“No.” The clerk laughed. “The key has been lost twice already.
You can’t misplace the block of wood.”
“Guess not.” Lewis held the key up as the wood dangled in front of him. Shaking his head, he walked out and around the building. The block of wood tapped into the door when Lewis inserted the key, almost pulling the key right out of the tumbler. “Stupid wood.” He clicked the light on and stood there with mouth agape. The bathroom was horrendous. The toilet hadn’t been flushed and paper towels littered the sink. It looked as though someone used the wall as a urinal. Maybe he could get a dozen sani-wipes. Lewis backed out of the bathroom allowing the door to close. That was just nasty.
“Excuse me. The clerk said you had the key.” Lewis turned to see a gentleman standing there smiling at him.
“Go in at your own risk.” He dangled the piece of wood in front of the guy.
The gentleman shrugged as he pulled his hands from his pockets and grabbed the drift log. “You wouldn’t happen to be single, would you?”
Was he? Thoughts of Evan appeared in his mind. They technically weren’t an item. Lewis shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not,” came out before he even thought about it.
“Pity. You are one good-looking man. Very masculine. You wouldn’t consider a quickie in the bathroom, would you?” The
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stranger took a step closer to Lewis. If there was one thing he hated, it was his space being encroached upon. The stranger perused his body with his eyes, smiling as his eyes finally landed on Lewis’s face.