Page 33 of Broken Trust

Atlas grabbed Sam’s hands, squeezing them when a few tears escaped the guy’s eyes. Sam gave him a watery smile, cleared his throat, and pulled his hands away to wipe at his tears.

“Then next thing I know, Daryl’s hands were off me, and I heard bones breaking above my head. Morgan rushed the guy, pummeling him until Daryl was dead. When I saw movement to my right, Kellen stood there, and I knew he’d saved me.” Adoration filled his eyes. “He said no one fucks with his family.”

“But how did Kellen know that Daryl would break into the house?” As horrific at the story was, and as glad as Atlas was that Sam hadn’t been killed, he loved hearing how badass his mate was.

“I have no idea,” Sam said. “If you ask me, when he found out I was in trouble, he made it his job to watch out for me.” He patted Atlas’s knees. “And I’m just family to him. Imagine what he’ll do if his mate is in trouble.”

He told Sam about the vampire attack. “I guess you already know since you talked to Kellen yesterday, but being there takes it to a whole different level, especially when I didn’t know that Kellen was a wolf shifter.”

“I freaked out and became comatose when I saw Morgan’s bear for the first time,” Sam confessed. “Like you, I didn’t know he was a shifter. At least your brain didn’t shut down on you.”

“It wanted to.” Atlas sat back. “I hauled ass out of his house, nearly running Kellen over with my car to get away, and then spent the rest of the night pacing my apartment flipping between thinking I’d imagined the whole thing and trying to figure out what Kellen was. I saw firsthand what he was when that vampire attacked me and Kellen’s wolf attacked. Then he changed back into his human form and ripped the vampire’s heart out.”

Sam grimaced. “That’s disgusting.”

“Try watching it happen.” Atlas ate some more cheese and crackers, washing the food down with the tasty lemonade.

“I’m just glad I have someone who knows about their world that I can talk to. Being with Morgan is wonderful, but a guy’s gotta have friends he can hang out with.”

Atlas set his lemonade aside and looked toward the wall of glass that showed off a stunning backyard.

“I’m not trying to be your best friend, Atlas.” Sam touched his arm. “I just thought it would be nice to go get a coffee or grab a bite to eat together sometime.”

“It’s not you.” Atlas cleared his throat, refusing to cry over what Braylon had done to him. “I just have trust issues.”

“Hello?” Sam waved at himself. “You’re talking to the king of mistrust. All I’m going to say is that you don’t have to worry about me trying to sleep with Kellen, and I don’t have to worry about you having an ulterior motive. Besides, Kellen is like a brother to me, and that would be gross.”

Atlas arched a brow. Sleeping with Kellen was the farthest thing from gross. It was the best sex of his life. “I have no ulterior motive if we hang out, Sam. The only thing I’ll want is to have a nice time.”

“Then I’ll give you my phone number.” Sam scarfed down more of the platter.

“Why don’t you just make something to eat if you’re still hungry?” Atlas asked.

Sam held up a finger as he chewed. When he swallowed, he said, “That’s a damn good question.”

“Because I’m going to fire up the grill,” Morgan announced when he and Kellen returned. “You fellas are more than welcome to stay.”

Kellen swept Atlas into his arms, kissing him right below the ear. “If that’s okay with you,” he whispered as Morgan led Sam to the backyard.

“How much did you guys hear?”

“Just the part where you asked Sam why he didn’t make something to eat. We made sure to stay out of earshot so you two could talk, so I took Morgan outside to drool over Lucille.” Kellen grinned. “The guy is dying to drive her.”

“Not unless I can.” Atlas tilted his head to the side as Kellen worked his way around his neck with soft kisses.

“I would do anything for you, but letting you drive Lucille isn’t going to happen.” Kellen pulled away but took Atlas’s hand as they headed toward the sliding glass doors. “If you’re that pressed to drive a muscle car, I’ll see which one in my garage I won’t mind getting damaged.”

Atlas slapped his arm. “I’m a very cautious driver! It’s my dad you’ll have to watch out for. He loves muscle cars.”

Kellen stopped walking and looked down at Atlas. “Are you saying you want me to meet him?”

That wasn’t what Atlas was saying, but if he and Kellen were mates, he wasn’t hiding the guy from his family, no matter how his mom felt about Atlas’s sexuality. “Why do you look on the verge of passing out?”

Changing direction, Kellen led Atlas to the living room. “I’m not. I’ve just never had to meet anyone’s family before.”

“Now who’s nervous about meeting someone?” Atlas was teasing the guy, but he also saw how important this was to Kellen and how truly nervous his mate really was. “We don’t have to do it tonight. But if you’re going as my date to my sister’s wedding, you’ll eventually meet them.”

Until now, Atlas hadn’t thought about how bringing Kellen as his plus-one would affect the guy. He’d had a shitty upbringing, kept everyone at arm’s length, and Atlas was asking the guy to attend a wedding.

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