by Lynn Hagen
“What’s going on?” Ben closed the door behind Jericho, hoping his mate didn’t shut him out again.
“We need to talk, and afterward, if you want to walk away from me, I completely understand.” Jericho took a seat at the wobbly table and tucked his hands between his knees. “Then again, me telling you this could get you killed.”
Ben removed his towel and dressed before he took a seat in the opposite chair. He scooted it close to his mate and took Jericho’s small hands in his. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through this together.”
Jericho gave a nervous chuckle as he looked toward the window. “You make it sound like I’ve been diagnosed with some disease.”
Ben hadn’t meant to sound that way, but he wanted Jericho to know that, no matter what his mate said, he wasn’t going anywhere. If anything, Ben wanted to protect the guy from all the ugly in the world.
“I live with my uncle. His name is Landon…” Jericho talked for the next half-hour, and when he told Ben about the abuse, Ben had to force his anger down. His heart broke for Jericho, but he also wanted to remove Landon’s head from his shoulders.
The guy was fucking family, and he’d abuse such a beautiful creature. Ben would never understand abuse. What right did one person have to hurt another? Landon should have cherished his nephew, should have appreciated the role he’d been given as mentor.
He wasn’t going to allow Jericho to step foot back in that house. If his mate needed his things, Ben would gather them, and hopefully not gut Landon in the process.
But the insanity wasn’t over. Not when Jericho told him about the body Landon and his buddy had buried. How Ivan knew Jericho was on to them and how the bear shifter had threatened Jericho the morning Ben had been late getting to the bar.
“He said he would make me watch him kill you.” Jericho wiped at his nose. “Then he would kill me.”
Ben’s canines elongated. “Ivan is nothing more than a bully who uses his size and menacing personality to control people,” Ben said.
“But people are afraid of him,” Jericho said. “Including me.”
Ben pulled his mate into his arms and curled his arms around him. “As far as your uncle goes, you never have to worry about him again. You’re staying here with me until the paperwork on the house is complete.”
Jericho looked up at him in shock. “You’re buying the house?”
“What better way to show you that I’m not going anywhere?” Ben asked. “And as far as Ivan, you’re not leaving my side, pup. But we have to be smart about this. We can’t just accuse him of murder without any proof.”
“How do we get proof?”
That was a damn good question that Ben didn’t have an answer to. “We’ll figure it out. But in the meantime, you’re sticking to me like glue.”
Jericho rested his head on Ben’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to put all this on you. I know it’s more than you bargained for.”
That wasn’t what had Ben’s stomach twisting and him fighting to maintain his composure. Jericho was innocent in all this, and he’d been dragged into this bullshit. Ben shuddered at the thought of Jericho not making it out of there when Ivan and Landon had been searching for him. Things could have ended so badly. “Promise me you’ll never put yourself in harm’s way again.”
“I wasn’t trying to in the first place,” Jericho argued. “But I had to know who was buried back there.”
His mate’s big heart and curiosity was gonna get him killed.
Ben rested his forehead against the side of Jericho’s head. “That’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“But Ivan is gonna be gunning for me. He’s a nasty piece of work who won’t bat an eye at running us off the road or throwing a grenade through our window.”
Ben frowned. Jericho had quite the imagination. Since the bear shifter was hell-bent on keeping what he’d done on the down low, Ben highly doubted the guy would come after them out in the open.
“Why don’t we get some sleep and we’ll pick this up in the morning?” Ben set his mate aside and stood. He wanted to calm Jericho’s nerves by acting calm and casual, but there was no way he was getting any sleep tonight.
When Jericho crawled into bed, Ben’s phone rang. He saw it was Milo calling him. “I have to take this. I’ll be just outside the door.”
Ben stepped outside and closed the door behind him. “Hey, how’s Alice doing?”
“She’s in critical condition.” Milo sounded worn out. The poor guy hadn’t had any sleep in two days. Ben wished to god he could be there for his best friend. There wouldn’t be much he could do, but at least Milo would have someone at his side, some kind of support while he dealt with this.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Ben felt lame saying that, but what else could he say? “What do the doctors say?”
“They want to wait until the brain swelling goes down. They don’t want to make any predictions before then.”
Brain swelling? Ben didn’t know much about medicine, especially when it came to humans, but even he knew she had a fight on her hands.
“There’s something else,” Milo said through a strained voice. “Fuck, Ben. She’s got a kid. Why didn’t she tell me she had a kid? I haven’t seen her in two years, but I thought we were fucking closer than that. How could she get pregnant and have a baby and not tell me?”
Ben was blown away by the news. Alice hadn’t had an easy life, but she’d always confided in her stepbrother.
“I don’t know, man,” Ben said. “I honestly can’t tell you why she withheld that from you. When she gets better she can explain that to you.”
Milo sucked in a breath, as though pulling his shit together. “How’s things on your end?”
Ben normally told Milo everything considering they lived together and rode together. But he wasn’t laying his shit on Milo’s lap. The guy was already dealing with too much. “It’s cool. I’m in the process of buying a house.”
“No shit.” Milo chuckled. “The infamous Benjamin Calloway is actually settling down?”
“Shut the fuck up.” Ben grinned. “And you’re staying with me and Jericho until you get your own place.”
“Sounds good.” Milo sounded somber again.
“Don’t pull that shit with me,” Ben snarled.
“What’re you talking about?”
“Whenever you say ‘sounds good’ that means you aren’t going to do whatever it is, Milo. You think I don’t know you by now. I’ll ride all the way to Kentucky to kidnap your ass if I have to.”
“Look, you’re newly mated. I’m not gonna move in with you guys. I’ll come back to Maple Grove, but I’ll stay at the motel until I find a place to rent.”
Ben didn’t like the sound of that. Renting meant a temporary stay. He didn’t argue with Milo. The guy already had too much on his plate at the moment. But when his best friend got to town, Ben would make sure the guy stuck around.
“I’m gonna go get some shut-eye in her room. I’ll keep you updated,” Milo said. “I’m fucking beat.”
“Make sure you call me,” Ben said. “I meant it, Milo. If you go off the grid, I’m coming there.”
“I’ll call later.” Milo hung up.
Ben went back into the room to find Jericho asleep. He wasn’t tired. In fact, Ben was wired up. If he’d been alone, he would have gone for a long ride. But Ben wasn’t leaving Jericho by himself when he had a polar bear out to get him.
He looked at the time on his phone and saw it was only ten. Ben hadn’t asked Jericho if his mate had to work tonight, and he wasn’t waking Jericho to find out.
First thing tomorrow Ben would find a way to have a clandestine meeting with the sheriff of this town. If he could get the guy to believe him, they had to come up with a way to get Ivan to confess without Ivan killing anyone in the process.
* * * *
Ben sat across from Jericho in the diner and wondered how his mate was such a strong man after the life he’d endured with his uncle. Jericho st
ill seemed optimistic. His mate sat there with a smile on his face as his lips moved while he silently looked over the menu.
Ben’s heart did a couple flips and a smile tugged at his lips at how adorable the little bunny was. He was falling hard for Jericho. Ben had to be because he was turning his life upside down just to be with the guy. He’d never done that for anyone before. Ben had also never had his emotions tugging in all different directions, either.
On the one hand, Ben wanted to keep Jericho locked in their room so Ivan couldn’t get to him. On the other, he loved watching Jericho mingle with the people he knew in town, loved watching his face light up as he laughed, and adored the fuck out of the dimples that popped whenever he smiled.
Ben no longer felt as if a part of him was missing, as if he had to ride his hog throughout the country to feel whole. Every time he looked at Jericho, Ben’s insides filled with hope and dreams and all the warm and fuzzy things he’d never known existed.
Even his wolf no longer felt restless. His beast was resting and content. Which reminded him that he needed to let him out for a run, and soon.
“Hey, Moose,” Jericho said when the waiter approached their table.
“How’re you doing, squirt?” Moose grinned as he poured them some coffee.
“Did Mike call you?” Jericho asked.
Who the fuck is Mike? Ben wondered.
“Yeah, and we had a long talk about ‘you know what.’” Moose looked around. “I’m not trying to cut into his sales. I was just angry about Emilio. I hope I didn’t get you into trouble.”
“No trouble,” Jericho said. “He was pissed but understood.”
“I’m Ben Calloway.” Ben stuck his hand out and introduced himself since he felt like a third wheel in this conversation. “I’m Jericho’s mate,” he said in a lower voice.
“Glad to meet you.” Moose shook his hand. For a giant, the guy’s grip was gentle. “Sheriff Copache is my mate.”
It was as if luck had just fallen into Ben’s lap. He now saw a way to speak to the sheriff with Ivan being none the wiser. Ben would just have to wait to talk to Moose. Not only was the guy busy, but he didn’t want to throw the situation in Moose’s lap when he didn’t have time to sit down and talk.
When the waiter walked away, Ben grabbed a napkin and a pen from the counter and scribbled his number on it, along with a message that it was urgent Moose contact him.
Ben took the napkin to his table and enjoyed the rest of the meal with his mate. They were heading back to the house Ben was in the process of purchasing for another look.
When Ben paid the bill, he walked by Moose and shoved the napkin into the man’s large hand before he walked out of the door with Jericho at his side.
Chapter Seven
Jericho paced the motel room after Ben had spoken on the phone with Moose. The giant was supposed to drive there with his mate, and Jericho couldn’t calm down after the phone call.
He didn’t know the new sheriff and prayed the guy wasn’t anything like his predecessor. Sheriff Chuck Archer had swept a lot of crap under the rug, including Jericho’s abuse. The guy liked wearing the badge more than he liked doing his job.
Was Sheriff Copache the same way? It was hard for Jericho to imagine that he was corrupt considering how sweet Moose was. Jericho couldn’t imagine Moose letting his mate get away with anything shady.
“Goddammit, where is he?” Jericho looked out the window for the hundredth time. He couldn’t get Ivan’s threat out of his head. What if the bear shifter pulled up once Moose and his mate arrived and killed them all in a hail of bullets?
“You need to relax.” Ben moved in behind him and curled his arms around Jericho. “Everything is gonna work out. You’ll see.”
All kinds of horrible scenarios were playing in Jericho’s head. Why the fuck did he have to investigate those voices? Why hadn’t he minded his own business?
Because you didn’t want that unknown person to lie buried in your backyard.
His stupid big heart was gonna get him killed. But at least the mayor would have closure, even if his entire world was about to be ripped apart.
Again.
Jericho felt sorry for Mayor Thornton. He’d lost his wife and now his only child. The thought made Jericho seethe at what Ivan had done, and he wanted justice.
Jericho just didn’t want to die for it.
“How can I relax when I know what’s about to happen?” Jericho asked. “We’re about to shatter the mayor’s world and snitch on a very nasty polar bear who will come after us when he finds out what we’ve done.”
“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.” Ben slid a hand down to Jericho’s button and unfastened his pants. The zipper had come down next, and before Jericho could suck in a breath, Ben had grabbed his cock.
He didn’t argue that this wasn’t the appropriate time. Jericho didn’t grab Ben’s wrist and yank it away.
Jericho did none of that. He needed the distraction, the release, something that would calm him down.
He dropped his head back against Ben’s strong chest and punched his hips forward into the tight fist. Jericho reached up and curled his arms around Ben’s neck, holding on for dear life as Ben stroked him feverishly and placed kisses along Jericho’s jaw.
A whimper escaped Jericho when Ben pulled his hand away. He spat into his hand and then brought it back to circle around Jericho’s cock. The added moisture made Jericho cry out as his ass clenched and his balls drew up close. He was careening toward his orgasm, almost there, but it was just out of his reach.
“I see I need to amp this up,” Ben growled into his ear.
Ben’s beard scraped along his jaw, and Jericho shivered. He had no clue what his mate was talking about until Ben probed a single finger into Jericho’s ass.
That was the extra edge he needed. Jericho threw his head back and shouted as spurts of cum shot from his cock. Ben milked him for every drop before his hand slowed. Jericho slumped against mate, feeling so languid that he wanted to crawl into bed.
“Better?” Ben kissed his ear.
“You have the hands of a god,” Jericho murmured just as a knock landed on the door. He stuffed his cock back into his pants as Ben moved from behind him and looked out the peephole.
Ben glanced over his shoulder, his gaze falling on Jericho’s crotch. Satisfied that Jericho was decent, he opened the door. In walked Moose and Sheriff Copache, who wasn’t in his uniform.
The sheriff had on a plaid shirt with his sleeves rolled to his elbows. He wore a faded pair of jeans and cowboy boots, and he and Moose moved out of the way so Ben could close the door.
Ben introduced himself to Copache, who insisted on being called Grayson. Next Jericho shook the man’s hand and was glad the guy had a gentle grip. It told him that Grayson was a good man. The one time Jericho had shaken Sheriff Archer’s hand, the grip was so firm that Jericho swore the guy had tried to break his fingers.
Grayson also had kind gray eyes, the same stormy color as Ben’s.
“Okay, now that we’re here, do you mind telling me what’s going on?” Grayson asked.
Jericho knew Ben hadn’t said a word on the phone. He hadn’t wanted to take any chances.
Grayson and Moose took a seat at the wobbly table as Jericho and Ben sat on the closest bed. “You’ve had a murder in your town,” Ben said. “I already know who the victim is and who did it.”
Grayson scrubbed a hand down his face. “Not another murder,” he grumbled. “But at least I don’t have to figure out who the culprit is.”
Ben sat there and explained everything to the human. Moose’s eyes darkened as he glanced at Jericho when Ben told them about the threat Ivan had given him, along with Ivan nearly breaking Jericho’s arms in half as he delivered the threat.
But Grayson’s eyes widened and his jaw fell when Ben told him about Robbie. The sheriff cursed as he entwined his fingers and looked down at them.
“So let me guess,” Grayson said as his jaw clenc
hed. “Since Ivan is a shifter, I can’t arrest him. You guys have to handle this and take him to…” He looked at Moose. “What was that place called again?”
“The underworld,” Moose supplied as he reached over and took one of Grayson’s hands in his. The sheriff looked adoringly at his mate. Jericho looked at Ben, who was studying him.
“What?” Jericho asked.
“Just making sure you’re holding up okay.”
Jericho blushed as he remembered the hand job moments before. He leaned into his mate, and Ben curled an arm around him, tucking him into his side.
“I want to come up with a plan,” Ben said to Grayson. “I don’t want anything to happen to Jericho.”
Grayson sat up straight. “I’ve heard of Ivan Carugo. One of my deputies had run-ins with him on more than one occasion. I’ve also met Robert Thornton. From what I could tell, he was a good kid.”
“Kid?” Moose looked at Grayson before he turned his attention to Jericho. “How old was he?”
Jericho shrugged. “I think he was in his early twenties.”
“You’ve called the right guy,” Moose said. “I have background in black ops. Deputy Christopher and I used to work together, so I’ll get him involved in this case. He’s a coyote shifter and knows how to handle things like this with a delicate hand.”
Jericho felt horrible for being glad that he wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore. Not directly. He didn’t like handing off Robbie to someone else but was relieved the sheriff and Moose had believed them.
“I’m sorry Chuck Archer swept your abuse under the rug,” Grayson said. “How do you want me to handle this? Do you want your uncle brought in for domestic violence? Say the word and I’ll haul his ass in.”
Jericho shook his head as fear made his heart thunder. He didn’t want to be labeled as a victim. He didn’t want what Landon had done to him to be known throughout town. Jericho just wanted everything Landon had done to him to fade away.
“If you bust Ivan, you’ll bust Landon, too,” Jericho said. “He was the one who buried the body. There has to be some kind of way to put him in the underworld, too, right?”