Jake waved goodbye to his friend and made his way towards his apartment. He wasn’t far away, but he couldn’t get there quickly enough. He felt vulnerable and exposed, and those weren’t emotions he was used to.
Jake had always been able to take care of himself. Not that he got into fights often—he didn’t—but he knew how to handle himself in one if the situation arose. The scary thing was, Jake didn’t know what he was facing, and if this guy was a shifter like Kelan said, he’d be strong.
Jake had made a point of telling Kelan he could look after himself, and under normal circumstances he could…but these weren’t normal circumstances. Jake had to concede that maybe he’d need Kelan’s protection after all.
For the rest of the short walk home, Jake couldn’t shake the feeling someone was following him.
Chapter Six
“Is there some reason you keep staring at your watch every two minutes?” Cody asked his older brother.
Kelan sighed. “Jake’s gone to a gay bar to meet with his ex.”
Cody nearly choked on his beer. “And you’re okay with that?”
“Don’t have much choice. I’m just going to have to trust him.”
“Wow, that’s mature of you, Kelan. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Shut up,” Kelan mumbled.
“I gotta say, being with Jake is changing you for the better,” Stefan said with a trace of amusement on his lips.
Cody giggled. “So who is this ex he’s meeting up with?”
“A friend he’s known for about ten years, apparently. Jake didn’t say it was his ex, but that’s the impression I got when he talked about him.”
“Why didn’t you just ask him?” Stefan said. “I’m sure he would have told you.”
Kelan shrugged. “Because I don’t think I’d have liked the answer.”
“Man, you’ve got it bad,” Stefan said.
“And you haven’t?” Kelan said defensively. “Please. You forget I’ve seen the way you walk around the place like a lovesick puppy.”
Stefan chuckled, pulled Cody onto his lap and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips, much to Kelan’s embarrassment.
“I never professed otherwise.”
“Is it safe for Jake to be going around on his own right now?” Cody asked. “I mean, the person that’s been leaving him notes and broke into his apartment could be anyone, right? And didn’t Jake say he thought someone was following him home last night?”
“Yeah. I told him I didn’t like him going there on his own, but he thought I was being jealous. Told me I had nothing to worry about.”
“How do you know this Tony guy isn’t the one sending the notes?” Stefan asked. “Could be he’s jealous that Jake is seeing someone else.”
Kelan’s eyes darkened.
“Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. Now that you mention it, I think Jake was with Tony the night I met him.”
“You don’t remember his scent?” Cody asked his brother.
“No. Don’t think I even caught it. You know what it’s like, Cody. I was so shocked to have found my mate, I wasn’t paying attention to anything else around me.”
“I think you should go to the bar, Kelan. Make sure he’s all right.”
“How the hell am I going to do that, Cody? If I show up at Liberties, Jake’s gonna be pissed. He’ll definitely think I’m being a jealous boyfriend. And I gotta say, he’d only be half wrong.”
Cody sighed and leant back against Stefan’s chest.
“I’m sure Jake will forgive you, but right now his safety is more important, isn’t it?”
Kelan nodded and got up from the sofa.
“Yeah, you’re right. I couldn’t stand it if something were to happen to him. I’d rather he was pissed at me and safe than the alternative. I’ll see you both later.”
“Okay, call us if you need us,” Stefan said.
“Will do.”
* * * *
Jake pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into his favourite bar.
Liberties was located in the old meatpacking district of New York. It had once been a haven for sex clubs and the BDSM subculture, but in the nineties it had been transformed into a fashionable neighbourhood for young professionals.
It was only Monday night, but the bar was buzzing. Loud music bounced off the walls and all around him men of every age and description gyrated their hips to the beat.
Snaking his way through the throng, Jake made his way to the bar and stood in line. While he waited to be served, he scanned the faces in the crowd. The busy bar was full of people he recognised, but none of them were Tony. Jake checked his watch—he was a few minutes late, but that didn’t mean anything. Tony often got held up at work.
“What can I get you?” the bald, good-looking bartender asked, pulling Jake out of his musings.
“Uh, I’ll take a Coors, thanks, Andre.”
Andre nodded and turned to get the drink. Jake had known Andre for about five years. He’d never fucked him, but only because he knew Andre was big into the Dom scene and was a regular at some of the leather clubs in town. Although Jake had nothing against it, the scene had never floated his boat. Although maybe with Kelan…
Jake paid for his drink, tossed a couple of dollars into the tip jar and made small talk with Andre. When the handsome bartender was called away to fix another drink, Jake leant back against the bar, sipping his beer and enjoying his view of the room.
Liberties was more like a club than a bar. It had booths around the edges of the room and a small dance floor in the middle, with stairs that led up off either side to a balcony on the second floor. Jake had spent many a night up there, watching the dancers and searching for someone fuckable to take home.
It occurred to him he wouldn’t be doing that anymore—ever. Jake thought he should be freaked out by that, but he wasn’t. Kelan was perfect for him and, now that Jake had him in his life, he couldn’t imagine ever wanting anyone else. Not that he didn’t find other men attractive anymore, of course. He was still human, still a man. But as he watched the sexy men in the room strut their stuff, he had no desire to do anything with them other than look. Who would have thought?
“Jake?”
Jake turned to the small man standing beside him. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts he hadn’t even seen the young man approach. Crap, what was his name again? Ah, Cary, that was it.
“I just wanted to say sorry for my temper tantrum last week. It was childish of me,” Cary said, blushing furiously.
Jake couldn’t believe the young man was apologising—he’d done nothing wrong. Jake had been the one to behave badly. If anyone should be apologising, it was him. He just didn’t know how to make it up to the young man.
“No need,” Jake said, shaking his head. “I’m the one that needs to apologise. I didn’t treat you right, Cary. You deserve better.”
Cary’s eyes widened and his mouth hung open.
“What do you say? Friends?” Jake asked, extending his hand.
Cary shook Jake’s hand tentatively. A small smile played on his lips.
“Friends,” he said at last.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“Thanks. I’ll have a Coke.”
Jake paused for a moment then nodded and turned to get Andre’s attention. After he ordered the drink, he turned back to Cary, eyebrows raised.
“How old are you, anyways?”
Cary’s blush deepened. “Twenty, but I’ll be twenty one in the spring. Listen, are you doing anything la—”
“Sorry, I’m late,” Tony said, stepping up next to Jake and interrupting Cary’s question.
Jake turned to his friend and smiled.
“That’s okay. I was just having a drink while I waited for you. Tony, this is Cary. Cary, this is my friend, Tony.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Tony said in a clipped tone, extending his hand.
“Likewise.” Cary smiled, reached out and shook Tony’s hand in a friendly gesture. The
temperature in the room plummeted a few degrees, however, as Tony studied Cary uneasily. Jake had never known his friend to be so frosty before. Maybe he was worried that Jake would ditch him again. Cary grew visibly uncomfortable under Tony’s stare.
“I guess I’ll leave you two alone,” Cary said. “It was good to see you again, Jake.”
Jake nodded. “You too. See you around. And Cary? I really am sorry.”
Cary nodded and walked off. Tony raised his eyebrows but he didn’t say anything until Cary was out of hearing distance.
“You apologising again? What’s got into you lately?”
“Guess I’ve seen the error of my ways,” Jake said with a shrug.
Tony chuckled. “Well, I’m all for you turning over a new leaf so long as I don’t lose the old Jake I know and love. Uh, I mean…”
Jake didn’t have time to process Tony’s words. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a large man grabbing Cary roughly and dragging him to the side of the room. They exchanged heated words, then Cary tore himself out of the larger man’s grip and rushed out of the bar. He looked as though he was about to burst into tears. Shit.
“Tony, can you hold that thought? I’m going to check on Cary.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re not seriously bailing on me again?”
“What? No, I’ll be a couple of minutes. Order yourself a drink, I’ll be right back.”
Tony shook his head and muttered something under his breath Jake didn’t quite catch. As he wound his way through the crowd and headed for the door, Jake looked for the man Cary had been arguing with but he couldn’t see him anywhere in the room.
He exited the bar and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The street to the right of Liberties was practically deserted and Cary was nowhere to be seen. Taking a chance, he turned the corner and walked left, just in time to see Cary slip into a back alley that led around to the back of the bar.
“Cary! Wait up!”
Jake cursed, zipping up his jacket against the cold as he quickened his pace, his footsteps echoing along the quiet street. When he reached the entrance to the side alley, Jake squinted into the darkness while he waited for his eyes to adjust to the change in light.
“Cary? You down there?”
Jake had never been afraid of the dark before, but the whole business with the notes and the break-in at his apartment had him spooked. And he was certain someone had followed him home the night before.
“Cary!”
Jake sighed and started down the alley. It was dark, damp and smelt of urine. Why the hell had the kid come down here? Trash cans were lined up along one side, and on the other, rusty old fire escapes climbed the walls of the old warehouse buildings.
Jake moved farther into the bowels of the alley, listening carefully for any sign of his young friend. Where the hell had he got to? He was about to turn around and go back to the bar when he heard a noise farther ahead.
“Cary! That you?”
Jake’s question was met with silence. He stilled his body and cocked his head to the side to listen more closely. The quietness in the alley was eerie. There was a wrongness about it that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
It was only then that Jake realised his stupidity. There was a psycho stalker roaming the streets with a clear dislike of him. A man that had actually gone to the trouble of breaking into his apartment, and instead of being more cautious, Jake was wandering down a deserted back alley, essentially offering himself up on a plate. Way to go, Jake.
The longer Jake stood in the dark alley, the more uneasy he became. He had exactly the same feeling he’d had the previous night when he’d been walking home from the gym. It wasn’t his imagination. Someone in the alley was watching him, he was certain of it.
Jake had to get out of the alley and back to the safety of the bar, but when he turned around he came face to face with a very large, black cat.
“Oh, shit,” he breathed.
The cat was huge. Some sort of panther, maybe? Its black coat almost blended in with its surroundings but there was no mistaking the fierce glint in its yellow eyes or the sharpness of its teeth when it opened its mouth and snarled.
Jake was under no illusions. Panthers didn’t just wander freely around the streets of New York. From everything Kelan had told him, he knew the cat was a shifter, but who? Surely it couldn’t be quiet, mild-tempered Cary?
Jake edged backwards very, very slowly, afraid to take his eyes off the large cat for a single second. The panther hissed another warning and took a step forward. Jake brought to mind everything he knew about big cats. He knew the one thing he should not do was run. It would only give chase. And Jake had no doubt the panther would catch him. But then, the panther was also a man. Maybe he could talk to him, reason with him, even?
“Cary, is that you?” Jake asked.
The cat hissed again and prowled closer. The irony wasn’t lost on Jake. He’d thought he was being harassed by some random stalker, and now he was quite literally being stalked.
Jake raised his hands in front of him and took another step back.
“Cary, it’s Jake, can you understand me?”
The cat made a gurgling noise in its throat. The sound was inhuman and sounded almost like the cat was laughing at him.
Jake chanced a look at the fire escape beside him. He wasn’t sure he could make it to the ladder before the panther reached him, but he had to try something. He couldn’t just stand there, waiting for it to attack.
The panther took another step forward. A second later, a noise from outside the alley caught the cat’s attention and Jake saw his chance. He leapt for the ladder and began to climb. He had only made it a couple of rungs when the cat turned, realised what he was doing, and pounced.
Its long talons clawed at Jake’s calf, cutting deep. White-hot pain shot through his leg and he cried out while still trying to keep his grip on the ladder. Hot wetness from the wound seeped through his jeans and trickled down his leg. Jake grabbed hold of the next rung of the ladder and heaved himself upwards. His leg throbbed from the cut, but he ignored the pain and kept on climbing.
The panther hissed. When Jake looked down, the cat was starting to climb up behind him. It swiped at him again, but this time Jake was able to move his leg in time, narrowly missing a blow from the sharp claws.
Jake kicked out and his foot caught the top of the panther’s head, but it wasn’t enough to stop its pursuit. All it did was infuriate the panther further, and after another series of snarls and hisses, it swiped out again, its claws once more finding their target.
The second blow was too much for Jake. The pain tore up his leg, stealing his breath, causing lights to dance in front of his eyes. Blood from the wound ran down his leg onto the rung of the ladder beneath him. His foot slipped on the wet surface and he fell.
Jake hit the ground with a loud thud, the back of his head slamming down onto the hard concrete surface. As the dizziness passed, Jake looked up into the gleaming yellow eyes of the panther as it loomed over him, lips curled back around sharp, pointy teeth.
The last thing he remembered before the darkness took him was the cat’s huge paw raised, its claws inches away from his throat.
Chapter Seven
Jake gagged. He tried to move his head away from the stream of hot, thick liquid that was pouring into his throat, choking him. A large hand held the top of his head, pinning him in place. He fought to open his eyes but they were too heavy.
“That’s it, Jake, drink.” Kelan’s soothing voice invaded his senses and Jake relaxed, opening his throat to drink whatever Kelan was offering him.
Jake’s head was thumping and his leg throbbed like a son of a bitch. But the more liquid that poured into his throat, the better he began to feel. A moment or two later, the flow stopped and Jake was able to crack open his eyes.
Kelan was looking down at him with an anxious expression on his face. His forearm was raised to Jake’s face and a deep cut on his wr
ist was closing up before Jake’s eyes.
“Kelan?”
“I’m here, baby. Try not to move for a while, okay? You’re still healing.”
“Blood?” Jake croaked.
“Yes. Your leg is in a bad way, so I gave you some of my blood to help you heal.”
“What happened?”
Kelan frowned. He reached down and stroked the side of Jake’s face. “You don’t remember?”
Jake tried to recall what had happened to him but his mind was foggy. He fought off the dizziness and, slowly, pictures began to form in his mind.
“There was a cat,” he said at last. “A big, black cat.”
Kelan nodded. “A shifter. I came to the bar to make sure you were okay, but I caught your scent outside before I went in, and I followed it to this alley.
“When I got here, you were unconscious and a panther shifter was standing over you. Do you remember any of that?”
Jake nodded. “Yes, I fell from the fire escape and hit my head. What happened to him?”
“I chased him, but he was fast. I couldn’t catch him. In truth, I was too worried about you. I had to come back to make sure you were all right.”
“You saved my life,” Jake said, “If you hadn’t got here in time, I might be dead by now.”
“Shh, don’t say shit like that, Jake. Don’t ever say that. If anything happened to you, I…” Kelan hung his head and Jake noticed a tear fall from his eye and slide down his cheek.
“Hey, I’m okay,” Jake soothed, reaching up a shaky hand to wipe it away. “You did get to me in time. I’m going to be fine, right?”
Kelan nodded. “You’ll heal, but the cuts on your leg are deep. You’ll probably be left with scars.”
Jake shrugged. “Scars, I can deal with, so long as the sight of them doesn’t turn you off me.”
Kelan growled. He leant down and captured Jake’s mouth in a fierce kiss, shoving his tongue inside forcefully. Jake opened right up and surrendered to the kiss.
“Never,” Kelan said, against his lips.
Jake threaded his fingers through Kelan’s hair and held on tight. He could feel Kelan’s hardness pressing against him. It made him shiver with desire and ache with the need to come.
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