Page 6 of Kennedy

He glared at his brother. “I wasn’t doing anything.”

Seymour’s eyes narrowed. Lewis had noticed him talking to his mate earlier, and he was dying to ask about him. Seymour would clock him right away, unfortunately. He was the one person who knew Lewis almost better than he knew himself.

“You’re acting weird,” Seymour said. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just nervous at the thought of being surrounded by so many people trained to kill.”

Seymour’s expression told Lewis he didn’t fully believe him, but thankfully, he let it go. “They’re not going to hurt you. I’d protect you if they tried, and I’m not the only one. The trainers are here, too, so you don’t have to worry about anyone doing something stupid.”

That was Lewis’s chance. “The trainers are here?”

“Yeah. That blonde lady who looks like she could tear your head off with her thighs is Rhonda. She’s talking to Jamison while Kennedy is hanging there by the window.”

Kennedy.That was the name of Lewis’s mate. He’d been talking to Rhonda when Lewis had come in, but not anymore.

Lewis swallowed. “Are any of them in relationships? I mean, I know about Hawthorne, but what about the others? Isn’t it weird to train people who are almost as old as you?”

Seymour blinked. “I don’t know what the first question has to do with the second one. Are you asking if any of the trainers is in a relationship with a trainee?”

Seymour was making a mess, and he had no idea how to dig himself out of it. He desperately wanted to know more about his mate, but he also desperately didn’t want Seymour to realize what was happening. Lewis would tell him eventually, but he’d just found out himself, and he needed a little time to freak out before his brother knocked some sense into him.

“As far as I know, Hawthorne and Wallace are the only trainer and trainee relationship.” Seymour beamed. “Why? Are you interested in anyone? Please tell me it’s not Barry. He’s an asshole.”

Lewis had no idea who Barry was. “I’m not interested in anyone, and I don’t remember who anyone is, so cool it with the names.”

“We have to find you someone. We’re finally free to do what we want.”

Lewis wanted to tell Seymour that he was free to do so but that the same didn’t go for him. With Seymour out of the picture, their parents had turned their attention to Lewis. They were pushing him to close the shop, to travel the world and hopefully find his mate.

Lewis almost snorted. The joke was on them since he’d met his mate, and the shop wasn’t even closed for the day. Lewis’s best friend was taking care of it right now.

“Actually, I have to go,” Lewis said. “Danny called me, and there’s a flower emergency. He needs me.”

The suspicion was back on Seymour’s face. “Flower emergency? How is that even a thing?”

Lewis didn’t know since he’d never had a flower emergency and just come up with the excuse. Danny had threatened to kick his ass if he saw him at the shop today, but Lewis was going to risk it. He understood that Danny wanted him to make friends and spend time with Seymour, but Lewis was panicking, and nothing good ever happened when he panicked.

“It’s for a wedding,” he explained as he moved toward the door. He looked around just in time to catch his mate’s gaze. Kennedy smiled and stepped forward, and Lewis knew he had to go. “I’ll call you soon as I’m done,” he promised Seymour.

“Wait, I’ll walk you back.”

“There’s no need for you to. I can find my way without you. You stay here with your friends, all right?”

Lewis didn’t wait for him to answer. He turned around and rushed out the door, running all the way back to the building from which he’d be able to shimmer. He was sweating and panting when he reached it, but he didn’t care. He threw himself inside, ignored the startled gaze the two guards gave him, and shimmered away.

Come to think of it, those two guards probably should have reacted differently. How they didn’t think there was anything weird going on, Lewis wasn’t sure, but it felt like they might not be great at their jobs.

He appeared in the alley behind the flower shop. He rushed inside as if Seymour was still coming after him, slamming the back door shut and leaning against it as he tried to calm down his breathing.

“I was going to yell at you for being back so soon, but now, I’m worried,” Danny said as he came closer. “Did something happen? Who do I have to kill?”

Lewis snorted and slapped a hand over his mouth. Danny didn’t know what Seymour was training for, and he couldn’t find out, which meant that Lewis couldn’t joke around about the fact that it was more probable that someone would kill Danny than the other way around. “Nothing happened. Well, that’s not true, but there’s no one you need to kill because no one did anything.”

Danny cocked his head. His blue curls slid down his forehead, and he pushed them back up with a huff. He’d been talking about cutting his hair, but Lewis knew he liked it as it was. “That explains absolutely nothing. What’s going on, Lewis?”

Lewis pushed away from the door and moved to the front of the store. It was empty, so he didn’t feel guilty about flopping into one of the chairs behind the counter. How could he be sweating so badly? It was January, for fuck’s sake.

“You’re starting to scare me, so I’m going to call Seymour,” Danny said as he slid his phone out of his apron.

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