Page 6 of In The Shadow of The Wolf

The red-headed one spoke first, which surprised Ronan because he looked like the timider of the two. He told them of the APB from Michigan and then reached over to a desk, took several papers, and handed them to Lance. Lance removed his arm from around Ronan but kept body contact. He read them in silence and then handed them to Aaron to read as he put his arm back around Ronan’s shoulders.

“Did you and your sister break into Jordan Randall’s office and tamper with evidence?” Lance asked.

“No, sir, Molly nor I would ever do such a thing.” Ronan kept eye contact with Lance as he explained. He knew that was important. He could crumble later, but right now, he needed to be strong; he needed for this man to believe him; otherwise, they were screwed.

…

Lance studied the trembling human in his arms and barely suppressed the urge to clear the room of everyone frightening his mate. As it were, he glared at the two officers that appeared to be causing Ronan the most stress and knew they could feel his anger. They immediately moved further back from them and submissively bared their throats. Lance understood they were only doing their jobs, but Ronan was still coming apart in his arms and he needed it to stop!

He took his free hand and brushed it through Ronan’s hair in a soothing gesture for himself as much as Ronan. His hair was soft and thick, hanging at his jaw line and the feel of it sliding between his fingers sent a jolt of awareness to his core. “I believe you; calm yourself. All will be fine, I promise.” He eased back from him a little to look into Ronan’s beautiful blue eyes once again.

“Tell me what happened.” His voice soothed and made it possible for Ronan to explain. Something about Lance Hendricks made you want to please him. Ronan decided to analyze that feeling later.

He felt the arm around him, and Lance’s fingertips ghosted across his cheek, and it relaxed him in a way no one ever had before, not even his mom. He wasn’t sure how far he would get regarding an explanation considering he had yet to speak of the incident to anyone except Molly, and she didn’t know the gory details.

Ronan looked around the room and noticed everyone sitting there, staring at him and listening. The eyes that were on him made him shiver slightly. Lance felt his fear and squeezed him tighter in response.

“No one is going to hurt you, Ronan; just tell us what happened. The officers need to hear your side of the story.” Lance once again glared at the two men.

The red-headed officer took his chances, and he got up and stepped toward Ronan with his hand out. “My name is Jamie McCormack, and this is Terry Moore.” He gestured towards the other officer, who gave him a quick nod. “We just need to know what happened; we aren’t here to hurt you.”

Ronan glanced at Molly, who was still wrapped up in Aaron’s arms with her blond head lying on his chest. Wow, how their world had tilted since coming to Lonepine. She nodded, which gave him the go-ahead. Ronan took the officer’s hand, shook it briefly, and then quickly rubbed his hands on his thighs. It was just a nervous move as he tried to relax. He needed to stay calm if he was going to get through this.

“Jordan Randall was Molly’s boss.” He decided to start at the beginning. “She’s a legal secretary, and as you know, he is Asst. District Attorney for our county. We all live in Traverse City, a town on Lake Michigan's coast in the lower peninsula of Michigan. We don’t live in Pittsburgh; I’m sorry for the lie.” He looked towards Aaron, who smiled at his confession.

“Molly has been working in Jordan’s office since just before our parents died eight years ago. I was eleven, and Molly was twenty; she took custody of me at that time, and I moved in with her. Jordan seemed nice back then, although I never actually met him until I was sixteen. He gave Molly more hours after she took me in and seemed to be very understanding of her situation.”

He had been staring at his hands that were both fisted on his thighs but now looked up to see that all eyes were still riveted to him. He noticed Molly give Aaron an anxious look. She was worried about him as always. He would get through this; he would do it for her. “He made Molly his personal assistant three years ago and gave her a good raise. He even became more interested in what I was doing and my future plans. He acted like a good friend, and we both appreciated his attentiveness. He gave me rides to school and work sometimes and even provided a reference for me to get into Central Michigan University. He helped me a lot.” How could he have changed so much? How could he have turned into someone who would lie and blackmail to get what he wanted?

Lance saw that Ronan’s mind was wandering, so he squeezed his shoulder again to bring him back. “You’re safe, Ronan.” He received a small smile for his effort, which warmed him to his core. His poor little mate was suffering.

“Jordan’s behavior started to get strange a couple of months ago. He took me out to dinner, saying that he wanted to discuss my future. I thought it was about my major in computer programming that he thought was useless. He said there are more than enough computer repair people around, and I should set my sights higher. Our get-together had nothing to do with my major and everything to do with my social life. Wow, was that an uncomfortable dinner. I couldn’t sit there and discuss my personal life with my sister’s boss.” He glanced up at Lance as he continued.

“I don’t know how you and your friends will take this, and after hearing it, you may want to remove your arm and step back a bit, but I’m gay. I don’t advertise it, but I don’t hide it either, but it’s not a subject I am going to discuss with the county D.A. over dinner.” Ronan looked around the room, as did Molly, and they waited for the fallout from that announcement. But none came, but he was treated to a very large smile from Lance as Lance’s other hand came over to rest possessively on Ronan’s thigh.

Ronan noticed no one seemed concerned with the news, and Lance did not back away, so he continued. “I told Jordan that my relationships were my own business and asked him to accept that as politely as possible. It seemed to piss him off a bit, but he took me home, and I thought that was the end of it. Molly later informed me that Jordan was gay and had a live-in boyfriend, so I didn’t understand his concern about my social life.” Ronan paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

“I tried to write it off as his attempt to warn me about being accepted or give me some tips on surviving as a gay man. I was grasping at explanations that could put him back into a good light in my mind because Jordan had always been so good to us.” Ronan rubbed his hand through his hair roughly before feeling the pressure of his explanation weighing on him. Everyone waited, no one commented or pushed, and he appreciated their patience.

“It all came to a head a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday. I was waiting outside the office for Molly, and Jordan came out and caught me up in conversation, just small talk at first, and then he started getting really personal again, only this time he asked me to go out with him. I said that I thought he was already seeing someone, and he said just a date, no commitment.” Ronan started to tremble, and Molly scooted to the edge of her seat as if readying herself to grab him and run.

“I turned him down, saying that I really didn’t have time for dates right now. He didn’t seem to buy it, but he didn’t pursue it any further until last Monday.” Ronan’s voice started to quiver, and he shot a nervous glance at Molly. She stood and moved to stand in front of him and then crouched down, placing both of her hands over his, comforting him the way she always did.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Ronan. It wasn’t your fault.”

Lance leaned in closer and spoke to Ronan. “What did he do to you? Tell me.” There was savageness in his tone. Katherine had said that his mate would need patience and healing, and Lance was certain he was about to hear what that healing would entail. He wanted to find this Randall character and pull his spine out of his ass. How dare he seduce and damage a young man who had looked up to him as a role model and who obviously had great respect for him.

It was clear to Lance that Randall’s interest in Ronan began at sixteen, when the boy was probably coming into the handsome looks he now had. Randall decided to take Ronan under his wing to prepare him. Thankfully Ronan was nobody’s fool, and neither was Molly.

…

“He came over to our house Monday evening. Molly was in town for a meeting. He asked if he could come in and we could talk. I didn’t think I had anything to fear from him; he was always a good guy, a little forward sometimes but usually a good guy. I offered him coffee, and he declined; he took his jacket off, tossed it on the sofa, and came toward me. I asked him if he wanted water or milk or juice, and he laughed and said, ‘I only want you, boy.’ He called me boy like I was a dog or something. I backed up and started towards the kitchen; the backdoor was off the kitchen, and I wanted to be near it, but he caught me in a heartbeat and had me bent over the back of the sofa before I could even comprehend what was happening.” He shut his eyes and dropped his head as the evening returned to him. “Fucking shit!” Ronan exploded and pounded his head with his own fists in frustration and humiliation.

Lance immediately grabbed his hands and held them down as he pulled Ronan closer. Ronan thought he felt lips press to his temple, but he wasn’t sure. “I was trapped. I couldn’t even move the man was big and . . . I couldn’t move. He told me that I was going to be his. I started to yell, and he slapped me so hard I saw stars. Then he. . . he.”

“I can take it from there,” Molly announced and abruptly took the seat next to Ronan.

Lance pulled Ronan closer, enveloping him with his arms and his strength. Ronan would swear the man called him baby and said that he would always protect him. ‘I must have been mistaken. I just met this guy; he wouldn’t declare such things, would he?’

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