Shaw was silent for almost a full minute while Brock held his breath. He didn’t know how his mate was going to respond, but he hoped the man wouldn’t judge him too harshly. Yes, he’d killed a human, but his intentions were to protect others.
“I…” He paused for a moment and Brock could practically see the gears inside his mind moving. “I spent years training and fighting so that I’d be ready to face the men that killed my family. I wanted revenge for all the blood that was shed and all the lives that were senselessly taken out of this world.”
Brock unbuckled his seat belt and moved across the bench seat so that he was sitting next to Shaw. Their thighs touched and through the denim, he felt Shaw’s heat radiate into his body. Shaw moved one hand off the steering wheel and gripped Brock’s knee, seeming to hold on for support. The hard shell was cracking, breaking away, and exposing all of Shaw’s hidden emotions. Brock was finally able to sense exactly the way Shaw was feeling.
“I went back to my pack land ready to do battle.”
“What happened?” Brock laid his head on Shaw’s shoulder, offering comfort to his mate.
“Things had changed over the years. The rogues that went to war against my pack were nowhere to be found. Now, there were families…women and children. Here I thought they were sitting around boasting about killing my family, but that wasn’t the case at all. My family had long been forgotten.”
“What did you do?” Brock nuzzled closer, rubbing his nose against the base of Shaw’s neck.
“Nothing.” He sighed. “I turned around and left. So, believe it or not, I do understand your need to protect your pack and I can respect that. The choice to kill is never a simple one. There are always consequences even if your motives are pure and you believe you’re doing the right thing.”
“Thank you,” Brock murmured.
“For what?” Shaw whispered.
“For listening to me and for telling me your own story, I’m relieved that you understand. It means a lot to me.”
“I’ll always be on your side, no matter what happens. Never doubt that I’m loyal to you. Your safety and well-being are my priority, Brock, and they always will be.”
Brock allowed Shaw’s words to sink in. Killing Paul wasn’t an easy choice and although he knew his actions were wrong, he didn’t want Shaw to consider him a bad person.
* * * *
Having Brock cuddled close was all Shaw needed. The beast that had been roaming close to the surface, needing an outlet for his frustration, calmed immediately. After the small bump in the road, it felt as though the two of them were moving forward together.
“How long will it take us to drive to Wyoming?”
Shaw smiled. “I’m not really sure. I didn’t exactly have time to map out the trip.”
Lifting his hips, Brock pulled his cell phone from his pocket and started playing with the device. Shaw couldn’t really see what he was doing, but it didn’t take long before Brock was going over the directions.
“Twenty-nine hours, but probably quite a bit longer since we’ll have to stop for fuel, food, and bathroom breaks,” Brock said, and Shaw nodded. “Do you really think the agency will send hunters after us? They’re your friends…maybe you can explain the situation to them.”
“I can’t take any chances.” Shaw shook his head.
He knew the agents, had served with most of them for years, but still, this was a new situation. A mate had never committed a paranormal crime. What would Abram expect him to do? If given the order…Shaw shook his head. He couldn’t chance it and put Brock in danger. He didn’t want to punish Brock or inflict pain onto the one person meant to belong to him.
* * * *
Ranger Caber strode into the FPA complex and went directly to Abram Jackman’s office.
During the flight, he’d been wrestling with his decision to follow Shaw’s orders. Although he respected the man and the agency, it didn’t seem cut and dry to him and he wondered if this really was where he belonged. He knew Brock, the wolf shifter wouldn’t randomly seek out humans and start killing.
Why hadn’t Shaw questioned him? Why did he automatically assume Brock was guilty? In the short time he’d been a member of the agency, he’d never seen an agent act so rash without the suspect being guilty of something more heinous. Yes, Brock probably killed the human, but why? Was anybody going to ask?
When he reached the closed double doors, Ranger lifted a hand and knocked.
“Enter,” Abram called out, and Ranger shivered internally.
There was something about the man’s deep voice that affected him. Shaking his head, he wrapped a hand around the doorknob and opened the door. His eyes immediately landed on Abram. And as always, he was sitting behind his huge oak desk, elbow deep in paperwork, and looking sexy as sin. Ranger had been tempted on more than one occasion to ask the big man out on a date, but chickened out before the words could even move past his lips.