Page 13 of Broken Trust

Atlas looked over Kellen’s shoulder at the lifeless body on the ground. He began to shake uncontrollably as they passed his car, heading for the darkest corner of the lot, and then cut through tall hedges. Now they were on a sidewalk, but Atlas was too dazed to wonder why they were on the next street over.

Kellen opened a car door and gently placed Atlas on the passenger seat. Nothing seemed real as Atlas was closed in and Kellen walked around the hood before slipping into the driver’s seat.

The engine purred to life seconds before Kellen pulled away from the curb. Atlas remained motionless, staring blankly ahead as they sped away.

Chapter Four

Kellen concentrated on the dark and winding road, glancing occasionally from the corner of his eye at his mate, who remained completely still beside him.

Since last night he’d been berating himself for handling things all wrong. When they’d been at Fearless Fox, Kellen had been looking for a hookup. It wasn’t until he’d inhaled the smell of jasmine and felt the strong connection that he knew Atlas was his mate.

That should have made Kellen pump the brakes until he could explain what he was and that Atlas was his mate. But Kellen had been so caught up in bonding with the guy, he hadn’t stopped to think what the human would do when the bite happened. Kellen hadn’t stopped to think of anything beyond the sex.

Now his scent was all over Atlas, which had made his mate a target. Luckily Kellen had gotten a heads-up. One of the few friends he had reached out to him. The vampires had been at Diablo’s when one of them received a call. Bezill overheard them say they’d just gotten the location of the town where Kellen lived.

After driving around for hours searching for any sign of them, Kellen had decided to get out and go on foot. When he finally caught one of their scents, he had cut through those tall hedges.

His heart nearly gave out when he saw his mate dangling from the bloodsucker’s grip, Atlas already turning a deep shade of red. Kellen’s wolf had burst free and attacked.

When Kellen was close enough to home, he slowed down and then turned into his private driveway, Lucille purring like the well-tuned engine she had. He drove to the back, punched in a code on his phone, and the third garage door eased open.

Kellen slid in and closed the door as he cut the motor. “We should head inside, Atlas.”

Without saying a single word, Atlas got out, slammed the car door, and stormed away. Under any other circumstance, Kellen would have gone ballistic about someone handling any of his cars that way, but it was the least he deserved after royally screwing the pooch.

Inside the house, Atlas sat on the couch in the living room, his arms crossed, glaring at a potted plant as if he was willing it to wilt and die.

Kellen sat on the coffee table in front of his mate. “I have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Why?” Atlas snapped his head around to stare daggers at him. “You seduce me in bar, bring me home for sex, and bite me, never telling me what you were, though you had plenty of time to say something before you screwed my brains out. Then you show up at the parking lot where I’m being choked the fuck out by whatever that guy was, only it wasn’t you. It was a massive wolf. Nope, I don’t see any reason for an explanation.”

Kellen would take anger over the silent treatment any day of the week. He couldn’t stand to be frozen out. That was one way his mother used to manipulate him and his brother. One and a half centuries of mind games left Kellen with some deep-seeded issues when it came to trusting anyone.

And that hadn’t been the extent of the trauma Kellen had gone through at the hands of his mother.

Standing, he slapped his chest. “Go ahead, swing at me. Take all your anger out on me. I promise I won’t stop you or strike back.”

Atlas’s jaw dropped as he lunged from the couch, their bodies barely an inch apart. “You’re a straight-up asshole! This is not how you work through a life-altering problem, Mr. Macho Jerk.”

Shoving past him, Atlas started toward the hallway but stopped and turned, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t you dare follow me.”

“As long as you don’t leave the house.”

His mate flipped him off and stomped away.

Kellen dropped onto the couch and leaned back, rubbing the pads of his index finger and thumb against his eyelids. If there was a way to screw shit sideways, Kellen Sager was a pro at finding it.

Easing his hand away from his eyes, he watched as Atlas barged back into the living room. “Are you seriously going to sit there and not tell me what in the hell is going on?”

“You just ordered me not to follow you,” Kellen countered. “Do you want me to leave you alone or talk to you? I can’t do both.”

Atlas threw his arms up, made a disgusted noise, and walked back out.

“I’m going to need a map to navigate through shit creek.” Kellen pushed from the couch and found his mate in the kitchen, using a spoon to eat out of a tub of strawberry ice cream with chocolate swirls.

Spinning a chair around and straddling it, Kellen rested his arms on the back. “Can I talk without you trying to scoop one of my eyes out with your spoon?”

“I’m terrified and confused, Kellen.” Atlas didn’t look up. “I also feel downright used. I was just starting to put my life back together when you walked over to my booth, all suave and charming.”

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