Page 71 of Nitro

"You looked pissed," Spike remarked as I entered his room.

Micah had just finished giving him a final check-up, and the absence of bandages suggested Spike was back to his normal self.

"How is he?" I asked Micah.

"Good, but he shouldn't push it," Micah said before excusing himself.

I decided to address Spike's observation.

"I'm not pissed, just annoyed I won't be seeing my mate for a few days," I grumbled, a hint of frustration in my voice.

"Just two days," Spike reminded me.

"Who will watch Tommy's back while you're gone?" he inquired when I didn’t say anything else.

"Marc," I answered. "He'll be in Moon Burrow for the entire week."

"It's a good chance for those two to talk," Spike pointed out.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "Anyway, let's load the truck and get going."

As we loaded the cache of weapons into the pickup truck, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease at leaving Tommy behind.

Also, I preferred riding on my Harley instead of taking the truck, but duty called.

We needed to deliver these weapons to Olaf and his pack as an apology.

Spike wasn't my ideal road companion either. I glanced at the weapons in the back, a tangible reminder of the mess we needed to clean up.

I sighed, missing the moments with Tommy, and if given a choice, I'd never leave his side.

But Marc was there to watch over his brother, and I trusted him. Besides, I had a plan B.

I managed to convince a raven shifter, to keep a close eye on both Marc and Tommy.

If anything happened, Corey would report back to me immediately. As the familiar scenery rolled by, Spike sensed my preoccupation.

"You're still thinking about Tommy?" Spike asked, glancing at me.

We were only fifteen minutes into our long journey.

Spike took over the wheel for now but we planned to take turns driving to cover more ground efficiently.

I nodded, unable to shake the worry that lingered in the back of my mind.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Nothing's going to happen to him, Nitro. Marc's there, and he can handle things,” Spike said.

"I sure hope so," I replied.

My mind kept returning to Dylan’s attack and that worrying note left on Tommy’s doorstep.

To ease my anxiety, I decided to share a secret with Spike. I told him about the watcher I'd assigned to keep an eye on Tommy and Marc.

Spike chuckled. "Overprotective bear,” he muttered under his breath.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

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