Frey (27 page)

Frey opened the gym, but instead of working
out, he was meeting with Malakai Palamo, a Gargoyle who had
recently transferred from the west coast. The newcomer was a
martial arts expert, and Frey needed an extra body to help out
around the gym. Mason had manned the gym the previous day while
Frey and Uri took care of Abbi and Matthew. Hopefully soon, things
would get back to normal, but until they did, Frey didn’t want to
tie Mason down.

Frey grinned to himself when he saw his
newest employee. The Goyle belonged on an ad for surfing equipment.
He was native Samoan, wearing a tank top, ripped blue jeans, and
flip-flops. “Hey, Malakai, welcome to New Atlanta.”

“
Please, call me Kai. It’s
good to be here, I think. I don’t know about this weather, but at
least the scenery’s nice.” Kai shook Frey’s hand and looked around
the gym. “So, this is your place? Sweet.”

“
Yeah, come on. I’ll show
you around.” Frey gave him a tour of the facilities, stopping a few
times to talk with some of his regulars. Until he had a chance to
spar with Malakai, he wouldn’t turn him loose with classes. “So,
what do you think?”

Kai smiled. “I’m impressed. This is much
larger than the gym I came from. Everything is state of the art. I
would be honored to be part of your dojo.”

“
Glad to hear it. Let’s go
to the office so we can talk in private.” Frey led him to the back
and explained some of what was going on with the others. “Urijah is
our resident swordsmith. He and I are in charge of the sword
training. Mason is our youngest Clan member, but he’s maturing
nicely. He’s getting stronger every day.” Since Rafael and Sinclair
spoke on the phone often, Rafe had filled him in on what Alistair
was up to and the importance of taking up arms once again. Sinclair
had already started the west coast Clan training as
well.

“
Normally, I’m here most
of the day, but with my mate’s brother coming home from the
hospital today, I will be taking the day off. Uri will be here soon
to take over. He will teach you everything you need to know. You
can shadow us for a week or so. We’ll add you to the rotation
whenever you’re ready.”

“
Sounds good. I’m glad to
be able to continue in the same type of work I was already
doing.”

The bells over the door sounded and Frey
looked at the monitor. Uri had arrived. He introduced the two
Goyles and excused himself. It was time to go get Matthew and take
him home.

Frey didn’t waste any time getting to the
hospital. If Matthew had already been released, he didn’t want the
teen and Abbi to have to wait on him. He stopped at the door and
spoke to Lorenzo. “Good morning, Lor. Thank you for standing
watch.”

“
My honor, Frey. Matthew
is a good kid. The doctor has already been in to release him.
You’re right on time.”

“
Good, good. If you
wouldn’t mind hanging around, I don’t want to take any chances
getting them both to the truck.”

“
I don’t mind.”

Frey turned to the laughter coming from
Matthew’s room. He didn’t understand their obsession with the old
comedies, but if it made them both happy, he wouldn’t dare begrudge
them their amusement. He rather enjoyed their laughing. He waited a
few minutes until the show was over before entering the room. “Hey
there, Buddy. How’re you feeling?”

“
Like I got run over by a
tank,” Matt said over a smile.

“
I hear you’ve been
released. You ready to get outta here?”

“
Yes, Sir. I can’t wait to
sit on the deck, get some fresh air. This place stinks like
disinfectant. No offense,” he said to the nurse waiting with a
wheelchair.

Abbi and Frey laughed at the teen. Frey
turned his attention to his mate. “And how about you? You ready to
get some fresh air?”

“
What I want is a shower,
but yes, I’m ready to go.” She looked tired, like she’d slept in an
uncomfortable hospital chair all night.

“
Okay, Matt, let’s get you
in your wheelchair. Abbi, I’ll take your bag.” Frey had to look
away when Abbi bent over to retrieve her bag. Her ass looked too
good in her blue jeans.

“
Here you go,” she said,
drawing his attention back to her face.

Once she handed the bag to him, she turned
to Matt and helped him transfer from the bed to the wheelchair.
He’d already changed clothes, so there was nothing they needed to
do except get him seated. Once that was accomplished, they left the
room. Frey led the way with Lorenzo bringing up the rear.

When they reached the front exit, Frey
tossed his keys to Lor, who went and brought Frey’s truck around.
Soon, they had Matt loaded in the back seat and were ready to
leave. Abbi climbed in the passenger seat and closed the door. Frey
could tell she was frazzled. She needed to rest in a good bed.
“Thank you, Brother. I owe you one,” he said to Lor.

“
Nah, it’s what we do. You
know that.” They clasped hands, and Frey pulled him in for a man
hug. Lor clapped him on the back and headed toward his own
vehicle.

Frey walked around the truck and got in. His
cell phone rang. “Yes, Jasper.”

“
Just wanted you to know
that Troy still hasn’t left his house. You’re clear for the time
being.”

“
Thank you, Brother.”
Jasper sounded funny, but then again, he had been staking out
Troy’s house all night. He was probably tired. Instead of
responding, Jasper disconnected.

Troy was pissed. No, he was beyond pissed.
He’d borrowed George’s car so he could remain incognito. If Matthew
named Troy as his assailant, they would be looking for him. So far,
things had remained quiet. He had his portable police scanner and
would be alerted instantly if they started looking for him. He had
called the hospital to make sure Matt was still there. He was going
to wait around at Abbi’s car for her to come out and take Matthew
wherever she was hiding out, only her car wasn’t at the hospital.
He parked as close to the entrance as possible without causing
suspicion.

He expected Abbi to wheel Matthew out and
get in a taxi. If she was hiding, she knew he would be able to spot
her car anywhere. What he hadn’t expected was for her to wheel her
brother out of the hospital accompanied by the big man he’d seen at
the precinct, along with an equally big man who brought around a
truck. They got Matthew settled into the back with Abbi climbing in
the front. The two men spoke quietly and clapped each other on the
back.

Who the fuck was this man, and why was he
insinuating himself into Abbi’s life? First he’d come to the
precinct right before Troy was put on second shift. Now, here he
was, playing the part of the happy husband to someone else’s wife?
Fuck that shit. Troy didn’t give a damn how big the man was, he was
not going to let him take Abbi away. Troy pulled out of the parking
lot and followed the truck.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

“
I didn’t know Jasper was
your brother. Y’all don’t look alike,” Matthew said from the back
seat.

“
He’s not; we’re just
really close like brothers.” Frey needed to be more careful with
what he said.

“
Do you have any brothers
or sisters?”

“
I have two brothers,
Julian and Nikolas. They are both in Egypt right now.”

“
Do they live there?”
Matthew should be tired from the pain meds, but obviously, they
were wearing off.

“
No, they live here.
Nikolas’ girlfriend is there with her parents, and Nik decided to
join her. Julian hasn’t had a vacation in a long time, so he
decided to go as well. Nik and Jules are really close.” Frey smiled
thinking of his two younger siblings and the way they bantered with
each other.

“
Why aren’t you in Egypt
with them?”

“
Because I’m here with you
and Abbi.” That was the truth. He’d had every intention of going to
the sandy country until Matt stormed into his life. Abbi was
sitting quietly, staring out the window, but he knew she was taking
in the conversation.

Matt sighed and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“
I’m not. Listen to me.”
Frey looked in the rearview mirror at the teen. “I have no regrets.
You might not realize it, but we’re like family now. I wouldn’t be
anywhere else.”

“
But they’re your real
brothers.”

“
They’re my brothers by
blood. Jasper’s my brother by choice. Doesn’t make him any less of
one. You’re a little young to be my brother, but you mean just as
much as if you were. It’s hard for you to understand now, but one
day you will.”

“
Frey…” Matt paused, a
pained look in his eyes.

“
Yeah, Buddy?”

“
Remember the first day we
met, and I told you not to call me Son?”

Frey’s heart skipped a couple of beats.
Surely Matt wasn’t going there. “Yeah?”

“
You can call me Son,” he
whispered.

Abbi felt more than saw Frey nod his head.
She couldn’t stop the tears from falling. She had failed her
brother miserably. She had allowed Troy to be a part of Matt’s life
with no positive influence at all. Not only had he been a bad role
model, but he’d abused Matt. She was the worst kind of sister in
the world. She didn’t deserve his love. The man sitting beside her
did, though. In less than a week, Geoffrey Hartley had shown her
brother more love than he’d seen in the last ten years.

Frey reached across the truck and grabbed
Abbi’s hand. Now he was offering her his strength. “So, Matt.” Frey
cleared the frog out of his throat. She wasn’t the only one
affected by Matt’s words. “Some of the guys and I moved your bed
and a dresser downstairs to the gym. I figured until you’re all
healed up, it’ll be easier on you than walking up and down the
steps.”

The man kept surprising her. He not only
opened his home to them, he also upended it so Matt would be more
comfortable. Still, she couldn’t get out of her mind that he had
failed him as well. Maybe if Frey had been watching Matt instead of
trusting Michael, Troy wouldn’t have gotten to him.

They arrived at Frey’s driveway, and it
dawned on Abbi, “We left my car at the hospital.”

Frey rolled the window down and spoke into
the security panel. The gate slowly swung open and he drove
through. “I brought it back last night after you agreed to come
here instead of going home with Kaya.”

“
How did…” Abbi shouldn’t
be surprised, but she was. “Is there anyone you don’t know?” Was
everyone she’d met a friend of his? She bet if she could see the
police chief’s fiancé, he’d be part of the male Amazon club,
too.

Frey pulled up to the garage and parked the
truck. “I’ve been in this town for a long time now, so yeah, I know
quite a few people. I’m not going to apologize for having good
friends.” Frey got out of the truck and opened the back door to
help Matt out. He didn’t wait on Abbi.

Instead of going in the side door, Matt
headed toward the back of the house. By the time Abbi caught up
with them, Frey and Matt were sitting side by side on the back
deck. Matthew had his eyes closed, soaking in the early morning
sunshine. Frey was staring off into the woods, his body still. She
had to watch closely to see if he was actually breathing. When he
didn’t look at her, she continued on into the house. She carried
her new bag upstairs and unpacked it. She tossed her dirty clothes
in a hamper that hadn’t been there the day before.