“Can we go for a ride? I have a lot of explaining to do, and I would prefer not to do it in front of the tavern.”
“Sure,” Dino said as he followed Torem to his truck. They headed down Route 22 as Dino sat in the passenger’s seat, stealing glances at the handsome man.
“How did your back window get busted out?” Dino asked after fifteen minutes of silent driving.
“There is no easy way to say this,” Torem said. Dino noticed how the guy ignored his question.
“That you’re a cheating bastard?” Dino had tried to hold it in, but the thought that Torem was stringing him along pissed Dino off. He wasn’t going to end up another notch in the guy’s bedpost.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Torem asked in shock. His eyes left the road for a moment to stare at Dino in utter confusion.
“I met Sidney.”
The truck jerked, but Torem quickly righted it. “When?”
“So he is your boyfriend,” Dino snarled darkly. “Pull the fucking truck over now.”
Torem shook his head as he continued to drive. “No, not until you tell me what he said.”
Dino couldn’t take it anymore. His anger hit the roof as he snapped his head around to glare at Torem. “If you think for one fucking second I’m going to help you cheat on your partner, you have balls the size of Texas. I met Sidney. He’s a little off, but he seems like a nice guy. How the hell can you do that to him?”
Torem slammed on the brakes. When the truck stopped, the large man spun in his seat to face Dino. “I’m not cheating on him. I would never do that to either of my mates.”
Some of the wind left Dino’s sail as he studied the man sitting next to him. He was slightly confused now. “Sidney used that word, too. What the hell does it mean?”
“I’m a fucking werewolf. You and Sidney are my mates.”
And Dino thought Sidney needed medication? He casually unsnapped his seat belt and shoved the truck door open.
Dino had had enough of the crazy-ass people in this town. Why did all the hot guys have to be nuts? Or straight?
He gave up on trying to gain a sane explanation from Torem as he headed back in the direction of town. It would take him awhile, but he was going to foot it. To hell with Torem and to hell with Sidney, they deserved each other.
“Not so fast.” Torem closed the distance, grabbing Dino’s upper arm. Dino swung around, his fist balled up ready to knock Torem on his ass. The guy was faster and ducked as Dino swung on him.
“I will fucking hurt you if you don’t leave me alone,” he warned. “There is nothing going to happen between us…ever!”
The look on Torem’s face said, wanna bet me? Dino was ready to pound Torem into the ground when he noticed Torem’s face turn ashen.
“Get into the truck,” Torem said in a warning tone.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Dino growled. Enough with this macho shit and enough with the insane crap, he just wanted to get away. Dino was way too attracted to the guy and couldn’t condone having sex with him. None of this made sense and Dino needed to remove himself from Torem’s presence since he couldn’t think straight.
“Now.” Torem grabbed him and used strength Dino wouldn’t have thought the guy possessed.
Dino’s eyes were drawn to where Torem was looking, and he saw a large black truck coming slowly down the road, a little too slowly. Dino didn’t waste time asking questions. He jumped into the passenger’s seat as Torem got in on the driver’s side.
Torem put the truck in drive and spun the truck around, hitting the gas, almost giving Dino whiplash. “What the hell is going on?”
“Those men want to kill my baby brother, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
Dino looked into his side mirror and saw the other truck giving chase as Torem picked up speed.
“Why don’t we just kick their asses?”
“Because they’re shifters, and you can’t just kick their asses.” Well, that just cleared everything up, now didn’t it? Torem pulled his cell phone out and dialed someone as Dino grew more confused and frustrated by the moment.
“Eagle, those men that want to kill Chey are here. I’m heading toward the police station now.” He hung up and tossed the phone on the dashboard.
“Did you just get me involved in some kind of gang war?” Dino snarled. If Torem had, he would have to call his cousin Romano. No one called Romano unless they meant business, and Dino meant business. He was five seconds away from telling Zeus to kiss his ass and pulling his men out of there.
Dino shoved his feet onto the dash as Torem cut a hard right into the police parking lot. His jaw dropped when he spotted at least half a dozen wolves emerging from the forest behind the building. Was this Torem’s backup, fucking dogs?