by Faith Gibson
“Where are my black socks?” Troy had already showered and was getting ready for work.
“They should be in your drawer.” Abbi thought about the laundry she had been folding the night before when Troy grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the living room. Being pushed over the back of the sofa and screwed was so much more exciting in the romance novels. Having someone like Troy do it was anything but exciting. It was usually downright painful. “Now that I think about it, they are still in the laundry room. I was folding clothes last night when you decided you wanted to have sex.”
“Well, fucking go get them. I don’t have all day,” Troy demanded. Instead of him getting a pair as he headed to the kitchen, he would wait for her to go get them and bring them back. A long time ago, Abbi had tried growing a backbone. It only took one instance of telling him to do something himself for her to learn it was easier and less painful to do what he said. As quickly as her sore body would move, she retrieved his socks as well as the other clothes she had already folded. When she handed them to him, he grabbed her hand, hauling her harshly to his body. The basket of clothing slipped out of her arm, landing in a messy pile on the floor. “Now look what you did. Can’t you do anything right?”
As soon as he let go, Abbi picked up the clothes and shoved them in the basket. She was too tired to refold them and put them away. She would do that when she got home. Luckily, Troy didn’t try anything else. He didn’t bother saying goodbye, just walked out the door, leaving her to her thoughts. That was dangerous, because her thoughts automatically latched on to the gorgeous man at the gym. Abbi knew it wasn’t healthy to dream about someone she couldn’t have, but damn if he hadn’t gotten under her skin.
When she was looking over the form Matthew had filled out, she noticed all the different classes offered at the gym. Matthew had checked the box for men’s self-defense. Right below that was a women’s self-defense class. Abbi thought briefly about signing up for the class, but right now she didn’t have time. Even if she did, there was no way Troy would let her take a class like that. It would probably just give her a false sense of security anyway. She knew she was no match for someone Troy’s size.
Abbi showered, letting the hot water ease the tension in her shoulders. She mindlessly dried off and dressed as she did every morning. While she was choosing her clothes, she wondered what Frey thought about the way she dressed. He called her beautiful, but there’s no way he could really think so. He was one of the most stunning men she’d ever seen in her life, in person or on television. Geoffrey Hartley could have any woman he wanted. Maybe that was his deal- he seduced every woman he came across with his beautiful smile, his ripped body. Abbi didn’t know the human body had that many muscles in it. Troy was fit, but he couldn’t hold a candle to the gym owner.
As she was pouring coffee into a travel mug, Matt bounded down the hall. If he ever heard the noises coming from her bedroom while she and Troy were having sex, he never let on. The times Abbi had looked in on her brother, he’d been wearing headphones. Abbi wasn’t loud during sex, quite the opposite. She didn’t say a word, didn’t make any noises unless Troy got so rough she couldn’t help but yelp.
“Good morning, you look chipper,” she said, handing the mug of coffee to her brother. He didn’t need the caffeine, but he’d been drinking the stuff since he was six. Granted, back then it was mostly milk, but they both loved their joe.
“Guess what?” Matt asked as he grabbed the bread to make toast.
Abbi hadn’t seen her brother this animated in a long time. His demeanor was different this morning. “You’ve met a girl.”
“Ew, no. Mr. Hartley offered me a job.” Matt drummed his hands on the counter as he waited on the toaster to pop up.
“You have a job. How are you going to work two jobs and go to school?” Abbi was afraid he was getting in over his head.
“Not two jobs, I’ll quit the diner and only work at the gym. That way I’ll already be there when it’s time to work out. I can’t believe how nice he is. He reminds me a lot of dad.”
Abbi sucked in a breath. They never spoke of their parents. The memories were too painful for Abbi. She shouldn’t have been so selfish, though. Matty had been young when they died, but he wasn’t too young not to remember. Blinking back the tears, she asked, “Yeah? In what way?” Knowing she was going to be rushing to get to the school on time, she still wanted to give her brother this opportunity to talk about their dad.
“He’s just so gentle, but in a stern way. It’s hard to explain, really. He is smart and tough, but he doesn’t bully or yell to get his point across. I watched him interact with the other people last night, and he was genuinely interested in what every one of them had to say. He knows everyone by name, asks about their kids, their jobs. He’s just… nice.” Matt spread butter on the toast and took a big bite.
“I’m glad you like him. Honestly, I was worried when I met him. He’s just so big. All those muscles, he could really hurt you. But he promised me he’d take care of you.” Abbi felt one hundred percent better about Matt working out with Frey. If Matt thought he was nice, maybe he really was.
“I need to get to school. I have bus duty.” Abbi grabbed her own to-go cup of coffee. “Matty, if you ever want to talk about them, it’s okay. Okay?”
A sad smile crossed her brother’s face. “Yeah, okay.”
She ruffled his already messy brown hair as she walked by. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Matt turned away, but she didn’t miss the tears in his eyes before he did.
As soon as Mason arrived at the gym, Frey left to go see Kaya. He wanted to talk to her before he headed over to Dante’s for sword training. The last time Frey had been to the precinct was when they set up the ruse to get Tamian St. Claire arrested so he could go undercover in the Pen. Tessa’s cloned brother had all but disappeared once his sister recovered from her horrific car crash.
Frey knew where Kaya’s office was, but he couldn’t just barge in there and start talking to his Queen. He had to pretend he was there as a citizen. He entered the building behind a cop. The jerk didn’t bother holding the door open even though Frey was right behind him. He did stop to talk to the dispatcher, leaning his ass against her desk. “Good morning, Kim. You’re looking as pretty as ever.”
Kim, not missing a beat, told the cop, “Not gonna happen, Troy.” Noticing Frey, her scowl turned into a seductive smile. “Good morning, sir. How may I help you?”
The cop stood and turned toward Frey. His shitty demeanor at being rejected quickly fell from his face as he got a good look at Frey. Troy wasn’t a small man, but Frey was intimidating, even when he wasn’t trying to be. Frey ignored the cop and told the dispatcher, “Good morning. I’m here to see Chief Kane.”
With her smiled glued to her face, Kim asked, “May I tell her your name?”
“Frey,” he said, noticing the cop hadn’t moved. Frey took the time to study the man. He looked like most other cops with the pressed uniform and the short haircut. This Troy was fit, evident when he crossed his arms over his chest. A gold wedding band was on his left hand. So, the douche was married and hitting on the dispatcher.
“Fray, that’s an unusual name.” Kim obviously didn’t like having his attention on the other man and not her.
“Frey is short for Geoffrey. Now, if you would please, tell the chief I’m here.”
“Do you have an appointment?” Troy asked. He obviously didn’t feel the need to get to work.
“I don’t need one,” Frey said, crossing his arms over his chest, mimicking the cop’s stance. Kim sucked in a breath, and Troy scowled.
“Frey, what are you doing here?” Jasper asked from behind. Thank the gods for a friendly face. He turned and was pulled into a quick embrace with a slap to the back. Frey didn’t miss the bigoted remark that rolled off Troy’s tongue.
“I need to talk to the chief, but I can’t seem to get any service around here,” Frey poked at the two people staring w
ith their mouths open. Kim finally picked up the phone to call Kaya, and Troy stormed off.
“Come on. I’ll take you to her,” Jasper said, not caring that Kim was following protocol. They reached Kaya’s office just as she was hanging up her phone. Not bothering to stand, she motioned them both into the small room.
“Rafael said you wanted to talk to me. What can I do for you?” Kaya asked, her face glowing. Something was up, because she looked like she had hit the lottery.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Jasper turned to go, but Frey stopped him.
“No, Jas, this involves you, too.” As soon as the newest member of their clan was fully in the room, Frey closed the door. “I have a problem, and it involves one of your officers.”
Kaya leaned forward and asked, “Which one, and what kind of problem?”
“I had a kid come into the gym; his face was all bruised up. Said his brother-in-law did it. When I asked why his sister hadn’t gone to the cops, the kid said the man is a cop. I haven’t been able to spend much time with him yet, but I did meet the sister. She had no visible signs of physical abuse, but her demeanor was that of an abused woman. She’s beautiful, yet she wears baggy clothes and little makeup. She’s very skittish. When she thought I was mad at her, she backed up like I was going to hit her. The kid didn’t come out and say the cop’s abusing his sister, but he stated he wants to train so he can protect her. He’s a wiry seventeen year old who can’t even protect himself, yet he’s worried about her. I wanted to ask you if you’ve had any complaints filed against him.”
“What’s his name?” Kaya asked, frowning.
“I don’t know his first name, but his last name’s Quinn.”
“Motherfucker,” Jasper swore. “You’ve already met him, standing out front.”
“That’s Abbi’s husband?” Frey asked incredulously. “Of course he is. The bastard was hitting on the dispatcher when I walked in. She wasn’t taking the bait, but he was still trying.”
Kaya let out a loud sigh and leaned back in her chair. “I had trouble with him when I first made Chief. He didn’t like taking orders from a skirt. He’s always been a hothead. I had a couple of complaints filed against him, but before I could do anything about it, the complaints were withdrawn. What do you want me to do? I can’t take any action without the brother or the wife pressing charges.”
“As far as Quinn goes, I’d like you to put him on second shift. I know that’s asking a lot, but if he’s on second, that’s less time he has to spend at home with Abbi. Also, I was hoping Dane or Jasper could come down to the gym and talk to Matthew. If we can get him to file a complaint, maybe we can get the sister to see reason.”
“Does she want away from Quinn? I mean, a lot of women refuse to leave even if they are abused. I’ve witnessed too many domestic violence cases over the years. I can’t understand staying with someone who would intentionally hurt you.”
“I don’t know. I would hope so. But that’s not the worst of it.”
“How could it get any worse?” Jasper asked.
Frey sighed and told them, “She’s my mate.”
Chapter Seven
Frey couldn’t believe the douchebag Troy was Abbi’s husband. It took all of his control not to walk out of Kaya’s office, find the asswipe, and pummel him until he looked worse than Matthew did. If he did that, Abbi would probably be more scared of Frey than she was her husband. He had to be smart and hope that Matthew would press charges, or at least give them ammunition to go after Troy. Frey would not stop until Abbi was free from her abuser.
Training went by quickly. For a few hours, Frey had been able to think about something other than his beautiful mate and her predicament. Now, he was back at the gym, waiting on Matthew to show up. He had the day off from his diner job, so he was supposed to come in right after school. With that thought, the bell rang as the front door opened. Matthew was keyed up as usual. Frey was looking forward to teaching the teen meditation, showing him how to subdue his energy.
“Hello, Matthew. How was school?” After a lengthy chat the night before, Frey knew Matthew’s favorite subject as well as what he disliked. Matt spoke freely about school and about Abbi being a teacher, but became closed off when Frey asked about his past. Matthew mentioned his parents’ deaths, but he refused to talk about anything that came after it. Ten years ago, the teen’s life irrevocably changed. Now, it didn’t seem to be getting any better. Had he been abused for ten years? After they parted ways the night before, Frey had gone home and fired up his computer. Rarely did he do any of his own research; that he left to Julian. When it came to Abbi and Matt, he didn’t want to get his brother involved if he could keep from it.
Frey found newspaper articles regarding the wreck. Abbi had been seventeen, a senior at New Atlanta High School, and a promising ballet dancer with a bright future ahead of her. Matthew had been seven. What the article didn’t provide was what happened to them afterwards. When he couldn’t find the information he sought on his on, Frey called on Julian to do his thing. He wanted any and all information his brother could find on Abigail Swanson Quinn.
“Same as most days, only now we’re cracking down for the SAT’s.” Matthew was worried about his math score.
“If you need help, my brother is really good in math. He’d be glad to tutor you, if you want,” Frey offered up Julian’s assistance without asking. Julian loved teaching, loved sharing his knowledge, even if it was high school level subjects.
Matthew frowned and stopped moving. He cocked his head to one side, studying Frey. “Why would he do that? He doesn’t even know me.”
“He knows who you are, and he would do it because I asked him to.”
“You told your brother about me?”
“I did. You’re a good kid, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” Frey didn’t miss Matthew bristle at the term kid. “You are an interesting young man, and I am honored to be your teacher. Now, before we get started today, I wanted to talk to you about Troy.” The bell rang, and a familiar looking face walked in.
“What about Troy?” Matthew seethed, fisting his hands.
“I need to assist this client, but I have someone coming in to talk to you. Please go wait in my office.” Frey would not talk about personal business in front of patrons. Matthew turned and looked at the man behind him before walking off to the office as instructed.
“Can I help you?” Frey asked the young man he was sure he’d met before.
“I’d like to work out,” he answered as he shuffled from one foot to the other. Where Matthew did this from too much energy, this young man did it from nervousness.
Frey attempted to put the man at ease with a smile. “My name’s Geoffrey Hartley, I own the place. You are?”
“Trevor. Trevor McKenzie,” he said, politely holding out his hand.
Frey carefully shook the offered hand, firmly but not too hard to be painful. “You look familiar, Trevor. Have I seen you around here before?”
“I don’t think so. I work and go home. That’s it,” Trevor replied as he looked down at his feet.
“Come on, let me show you around. So, what kind of work do you do?” Frey asked him as they walked, certain he had seen the guy somewhere.
“I’m the M.E.’s assistant over at the hospital.”
“That’s right, you work for Dante. I thought I recognized you.” Dante had spoken of his assistant, and how the young man was somewhat of a loner. Frey attempted to lighten the mood by asking, “So, what are you looking for in a workout? You want to build muscle? Bulk up? Get ready for bikini season?”
Trevor’s mouth gaped open, obviously not expecting someone of Frey’s stature to crack jokes. “I, uh, just want to get in shape, maybe build a little more muscle.”
Frey couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Trevor’s face. Still smiling, he noticed Jasper had arrived. He told him, “Hey, Brother. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Frey didn’t miss the way Trevor’s body stiffened
. The young man looked behind him at Jasper. It was obvious they knew each other when Jasper quietly said, “Hi, Trevor.”
Frey didn’t need Dante’s special abilities to know something was going on between these two. Giving them the opportunity for some privacy, Frey said, “Jas, I need to take care of something really quick. Can you show Trevor around until I get back?”
They both looked at Frey like he was throwing them to the wolves. “If it’s okay with Trevor, sure.” Jasper told Frey but kept his eyes on Trevor.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” Trevor’s cheeks were pink. If Frey didn’t know better, the young man was embarrassed.
Regardless of what was going on between those two, Frey needed to talk to Matthew and let him know exactly why Jasper was there. He found the teen in his office, pacing the floor. “I’m sorry about that. Now, please take a seat.” Matthew sat down in the chair across from the desk, his knee bouncing up and down. “Matthew, I want to help you. I have a cousin who is a police detective. One of the good guys. He works with Troy, so he already knows what kind of man he is. What I need you to do is tell Jasper your side of the story. If you want to file charges against him, we’ll help you do that. It would be best if Abbi would file charges as well, but I have a feeling that’s a long shot, am I right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been trying to get her to leave his ass, but she says it’s impossible since he’s a cop. Is she right?” Matthew’s face was hopeful. He was looking to Frey to be a savior to him and his sister.
“It is possible, but only if Abbi takes the first step. We can’t do that for her. You are a different matter. I don’t want to get Abbi in trouble, but as your legal guardian, she is neglecting you by allowing Quinn to physically abuse you. Matt, I have a lot of contacts in this city, and I am willing to go to bat for you, at least until we can get Abbi away from Troy, too.”
Matthew stood, pacing the room again. “Why? I know I already asked you this, but why me? I’m just a kid you don’t know.”