“So, where to?”
“How about a nice long drive into the city?” Bryce asked as he started the motor and pulled from the ranch. He really had no definitive destination in mind as long as it put a smile on his face.
“Just as long as you tell Pa that I helped you, I’m ready for anything you have in mind.” Abe looked happy as he clasped his hands in his lap.
Bryce grinned and drove down the road. Maybe they could go shopping or… “How old are you?”
Abe wiggled his eyebrows. “Old enough to know better and young enough to still enjoy it.”
“That would hold a lot more weight if you didn’t look at least half my age.” Hell, Abe looked like a damn kid. A cute kid, but still a kid.
Abe cocked his head to one side, a sly smirk crossing his lips. “You don’t like younger guys, Bryce?”
Oh, how to answer that one?
“I suppose I like younger guys as much as the next man, but even I have my limits.” Besides, his interests of late seemed to lie somewhere around guys over five hundred years old.
“I’m older than I look,” Abe said. “Christian allowed me into his club with you the last time we were in the city. He’d never do that if I wasn’t old enough.”
“The Manacle.” Bryce thumped the palm of his hand on the steering wheel. “That’s where we should go. We could dance and drink ourselves silly.” Besides, the last time he and Abe had hung out, Bryce had had a really good time—before the club was blown apart.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Getting rip-roaring drunk sounded like a damn good plan. Bryce was ready to do just about anything to forget his coward of a mate, even get plastered in a vamp bar. Maybe he’d get lucky and find someone to spend the night with as well. It wasn’t like he was going to be able to go home to his mate.
His mate didn’t want him.
Ahm had made that perfectly clear when he hid from Bryce for years.
Bryce gripped the steering wheel until it began to creak under the strength of his hands. It galled him to no end that Ahm had denied him. What right did that freaky little elf have to deny him his mate? Ahm didn’t even discuss it with him, just cut Bryce out of his life.
How dare he!
“Dude, you want me to drive?”
“Huh?” Bryce turned to look at Abe. “What?”
“You’re driving like a maniac.” Abe waved his hand toward the windshield. “Do you want me to drive?”
Bryce grimaced and took his foot off the gas pedal when he realized he was speeding down the road. He quickly reached over and rolled down his window, allowing the cold night air to fill the cab of the truck. If he didn’t get his head screwed on straight, he was going to end up in the ditch.
“Sorry, Abe, my mind was on other things.”
“Yeah.” Abe didn’t sound convinced but didn’t say anything else. Bryce knew he could. Abe was fully aware that Ahm and Bryce were mates. Bryce was pretty sure everyone in the Lakeland household was. And Abe, being a Wood elf, would be even more aware of the situation.
Which made Bryce feel like growling. He hated people knowing his business. He didn’t mind joking with people and maybe getting the occasional piece of advice, but he liked to keep the intimacies of his personal life private.
Bryce’s mind was filled with turmoil and confusion until he pulled into the parking lot of The Manacle and heard the loud music coming from inside the building. He was delighted when he spotted the long line of people waiting to get inside.
Guess the place was back up and running.
The bombing that had pretty much destroyed the place—and almost took Chauncey from him—had been one of the worst experiences of Bryce’s life. After seeing the rubble from the aftermath of the explosion, Bryce hadn’t expected the club would be up and running so fast.
Bryce quickly scanned the parking lot before climbing out of his truck. After dealing with the crazy-ass woman who planted the bomb inside the club, he wasn’t going to take any chances. If anything looked out of place, he was gone.
“We’ve added cameras in the parking lot along with guards placed throughout the club,” said a voice from behind Bryce, making his heart speed up with sudden fear. “You are perfectly safe here, Bryce.”
Bryce blew out a relieved breath when he turned and saw Christian’s second-in-command, Christo, standing there. “Hey, man, how’s it going?”
“Never better,” Christo replied, grinning just enough that Bryce could see his fangs flash in the lights hanging over the parking lot. “The humans are lining up around the corner, the club has been repaired, and we are back in business full time.”