Frey (11 page)

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.”

Frey laughed at the teen. “Come on, I’ll get
Mason to work with you tonight.” Matthew followed Frey to his
office where Frey asked Mason to help Matt on the machines. After a
quick shower, Frey climbed into his Jeep and headed across town to
the community center. Frey pushed past the speed limits, not
wanting to miss Abbi.

Trevor was right. The man of his dreams was
part of a badass club. That was the only explanation for what he
had just witnessed. Jasper had gone toe to toe, glove to glove with
the big guy and was still alive. Not only was he alive, he was
joking and laughing. Trevor was so far out of his league with the
hot detective he was ready to bolt. Only he couldn’t move. The
sight of Jasper bent over, hands on his knees, shorts stretched
across his fine ass had Trevor glued to the spot. Jasper turned and
grinned. Yep, Jasper caught him ogling his ass, and he smiled. That
beautiful smile caused Trevor’s stomach to do funny things. This
wasn’t butterflies lightly fluttering around in there. Nope, this
was monkeys swinging from tree branches, flipping through the air,
catching the next limb one handed. Jasper said something to
Geoffrey that Trevor couldn’t hear. Geoffrey removed Jasper’s
gloves and tossed them in the corner. They exited the ring with the
owner going one way and Jasper walking toward Trevor. Jasper wasn’t
even winded or sweating. Yep, badass.

“
What are you?” Trevor
asked, kind of joking, kind of serious. The Unholy were a type of
superhuman monster Trevor had never had the unlucky chance of
seeing up close and personal. What if Jasper was some kind of
superhuman without the monster part? It was entirely
possible.

“
I’m hungry, that’s what I
am. I’m going to go home, shower, and find something to eat. You
wanna stop by later?”

Of course Trevor did. If for no other reason
than to figure out the mystery that was Jasper Jenkins. “I’m going
to finish my workout. I’ll need to go home and shower first. If it
won’t be too late…”

“
Not at all. Do you like
spaghetti? Or would you rather grill hamburgers? Both are
quick.”

“
Dude, you’re cooking, you
choose.” If either were half as good as the pizza he concocted last
time Trevor visited, he would be in heaven. He hated to
cook.

Jasper laughed at him, “Okay, I’ll figure it
out when I get to the kitchen. Oh, I programmed the gate so you can
punch in a code to get in. That way you don’t have to wait in case
I’m in the shower or something.”

He had his own code? Was that like having
his own key? “What’s the code?”

Jasper looked around before answering. He
pushed Trevor’s bangs off his forehead. “Your birthday.”

Trevor didn’t know which was more
disconcerting, the fact Jasper felt comfortable enough to touch him
in public or that he knew when his birthday was. “How do you know
when my birthday is?” Trevor didn’t tell anyone his birthday,
mainly because he wasn’t born but created.

Jasper winked at him. “I’m a detective.”
There was that smile again. Fucking monkeys. “I’ll see you later,
yeah?”

“
Yeah,” Trevor sighed, not
able to keep his eyes off Jasper’s tight ass.

Two hours later, Trevor
pulled into Jasper’s driveway. Had it only been three nights since
he’d first been here? So much had changed in that short amount of
time, not all of it good. Trevor wasn’t one hundred percent sure
Jasper was gay, but the detective didn’t have an issue touching
him. He didn’t know if it was just the man being friendly or what.
He really hoped it was
or
what
, but if it was, that posed the same
question as before- why him? Trevor punched in the month and day of
his birthday, and the gate opened.

He parked in the same spot as before, only
this time, Jasper wasn’t waiting outside. He was probably in the
kitchen cooking. If he had decided on burgers, he could be on the
back deck. Trevor angled out of his car and made his way to the
porch. He knocked on the door and waited. When Jasper didn’t
answer, Trevor turned the knob. It was unlocked, so he let himself
in and called out, “Jasper?” He didn’t see his host anywhere, so he
walked to the back and looked out. Jasper wasn’t on the deck
either. Trevor caught the scent of spaghetti sauce wafting through
the air and headed to the kitchen.

He helped himself to a bottle of water from
the fridge and sat at the island to wait on Jasper who was probably
in the shower. A stack of photographs were peeking out of an
envelope in the middle of the island. Trevor knew he shouldn’t
look, but the man in the picture was familiar. Trevor picked up the
top photo and stared. This was the creep who’d been looking in the
window at the gym. He slid out the next photo, unsure of what he
was looking at. The man was tied up in an elaborate system of
knots. When he saw the next one in the stack, his breath caught.
Was the man being tortured or did he like it? If his hard cock was
any indication, he was enjoying it. Trevor turned the picture
sideways, taking in the intricacies of the rope.

“
It’s called Kinbaku,”
Jasper said behind him, causing him to jump.

Chapter Eleven

Dane and Julian had danced around the
Katherine topic long enough. Using the envelope as an excuse, Dane
drove to the lab. He didn’t bother knocking, as all the Gargoyles
had clearance into the building. He entered the computer lab where
he found Julian typing away at a keyboard. He didn’t know how the
Goyle didn’t have calluses on his fingers. “Julian, sorry to
interrupt,” he said as he entered the room.

“
Dane, what can I do for
you?” Julian turned his way, giving him his undivided
attention.

“
Jasper received this.”
Dane held the envelope out, still secure in the plastic evidence
sheath. “It’s personal, so he would rather you check for
fingerprints.”

Julian took the envelope from Dane, turning
it over, looking at both sides. “What was inside?”

“
Photographs. Until he
knows who sent them, he wants to keep this to himself.” Dane didn’t
blame Jasper. He wouldn’t want anyone to see an ex-lover of his in
such compromising pictures either.

“
Understood. I’ll do my
best to find something for him before I leave.”

“
Leave?”

“
Yes, I cannot sit here
any longer while Nikolas needs me. I’m leaving for Egypt
tomorrow.”

“
Oh.” Dane didn’t want to
hold up Julian over their disagreement.

“
Oh, what?” Julian asked
with one eyebrow cocked.

“
I wanted to discuss
Katherine. Possibly set up a time to have her meet us so we could
put this to bed, so to speak.”

Julian sighed, “If you can set up a meeting
in the morning, I’ll do it. I want us to be able to move past this
as well.”

Dane nodded, “Okay, I’ll reach out to her,
see if she’s available. I’ll call you tonight or in the morning and
let you know.”

“
Sounds good. And Dane? If
she turns out to be my mate, no hard feelings?”

“
Of course not. At least
I’ll know one way or the other.” He reached out a hand to Julian
who fist bumped him.

“
Good. I’ll get started on
Jasper’s envelope.”

Dane left Julian to do just that. He exited
the lab and leaned against his cruiser. He needed to come up with a
feasible excuse to lure Katherine to a meeting.

When Frey arrived at the community center,
he noticed there were only a couple of vehicles in the lot. Not
paying attention to the cars, he strode into the building. He would
have to remember to say something to Abbi about the door being
unlocked.

Reaching out with his shifter senses, he
heard music coming from the hallway to the right. He followed the
sound of tinkling notes floating through the air. Frey wasn’t a
classical music person, but this tune was familiar. He slowed
himself as he reached the door to the only lit room.

Abbi was dressed in dance leotards with a
large button down covering the top of her body. How did she dance
in that baggy shirt? She was standing at a desk, writing something
on a piece of paper. She closed her eyes, swaying to the music. She
opened her eyes and wrote something down. Closing her eyes again,
she moved away from the desk and spun on her left foot. This time
when Abbi opened her eyes, she didn’t move to pick up the pencil.
Instead, she walked to a closet, opened the door, and stared. Frey
couldn’t see what had her so entranced until finally she reached
her arm in, coming out with a pair of ballet shoes. She clutched
them to her chest reverently with her chin bowed as if she were
praying. Or remembering. How long had it been since she danced?

Abbi sat down on the floor and placed her
feet in the pink slippers. After wrapping the ribbons around her
ankles, she tied them in bows. Slowly she stood and removed the too
large shirt she was wearing. The first thing Frey noticed was his
mate’s beautiful body. She was lean like a dancer but still curvy
like a woman should be. Troy no doubt insisted she wear the baggy
clothes to hide this gorgeous figure from the appreciative eyes of
other men. The next thing he noted were the bruises on her slender
arms. Obviously, she thought she was alone, or he doubted Abbi
would have dared to bare the evidence of her abusive husband. Frey
was ready to go to her. He calmed his body so he wouldn’t run to
her and grab her up, squeezing her in a crushing embrace.