Page 24 of Luka

“Make yourself at home.” After checking to make sure all the windows and door were locked, Luka went to his office on the first floor and scanned the monitors of his security system. Everything seemed normal, nothing out of place, but his gut told him that he should have taken Spencer back to the cabin.

His mate was coming off as cool and calm, but Luka could smell the underlying fear. Spencer wasn’t as okay with what happened at his apartment as he’d tried to lead Luka to believe. There was only one way to get Spencer’s life back on track.

Luka pulled his phone from his back pocket, determined to find out everything he could about Lazarus Webb.

Chapter Seven

Spencer hadn’t been able to sleep, which he didn’t understand. Normally he slept like crap when it wasn’t his bed, but that hadn’t been the case at the cabin. He’d slept like a log there. Now? Spencer lay there wide-awake staring at the darkened window of Luka’s bedroom. No matter how hard he tried to force his mind to shut down, to allow him at least an hour of sleep, he couldn’t do it.

Not wanting to wake Luka, Spencer flipped the covers back and headed downstairs, hoping the guy had some tea. It might not work in lulling him into dreamland, but it was worth a shot.

But he didn’t make it to the kitchen. Spencer saw a door cracked open with some light coming from it. Curious, he pushed the door open some more and saw it was a room with monitors.

It was some sort of security room.

Spencer sat and looked at the various angles from the cameras with interior and exterior views. It was dark outside, as it should be at two in the morning, but Luka had strategically placed outdoor lighting that chased away any shadows and enabled Spencer to see into them, leaving nothing hidden.

As he sat there, Spencer wondered how his life had turned into such a shitshow. It seemed that nothing had gone right for him since his parents died—from his uncle moving in with him—more like barged his way into Spencer’s life—to the abuse he’d suffered at Lyle’s hands. Now vampire loan sharks were after him.

The only silver lining was Luka. Spencer would never regret meeting the wolf shifter. He’d felt instantly connected with the guy as soon as their eyes had met, and that feeling hadn’t gone away. If anything, it had grown stronger.

He looked at the mating mark on his hand, still fascinated with it, then curled his fingers in and watched the monitors some more.

After a while he grew bored with nothing to look at, so he got up and went to the kitchen, searching the cupboards for tea bags. He’d seen that nothing was out there in the dark, but as he glanced toward the large windows, Spencer felt a bit creeped out that he couldn’t see perfectly into the shadows like he’d been able to through the monitor screens.

It felt as if the entire backyard was leering at him. Spencer hadn’t even turned on the light switch—all he had to work with was an under-the-cupboard night light that had already been on—but he felt like his presence was a beacon for bad guys or the bogeyman.

“Stop being so afraid. No one knows you’re here.” His little peptalk did nothing to ease his anxiety. His thoughts went to his conversation with Luka after they’d gone to Spencer’s apartment.

Spencer might not like the fact that Luka had had to kill for him, but he was damn glad he had an assassin on his side. Retired assassin. He had to keep telling himself that, though that didn’t seem the case back at his place. They shouldn’t have been there to hurt Spencer. They’d been bad guys, regardless of their species, and they’d messed with the wrong guy. Luka had no choice.

He jumped and screamed when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Whoa.” Luka held his hands up and took a step back. “I thought you heard me approaching. I wasn’t exactly quiet.”

Spencer pressed a hand over his chest, his heart racing like crazy. “I was too deep in thought.”

Luka stepped to him and folded his arms around Spencer. “I’m sorry I scared you. That wasn’t my intention.”

“This time.” Spencer rested his palms against Luka’s sculpted chest, forcing his heart to slow down.

“That was a dick move,” Luka finally admitted. “I’m not sure why I did it.”

Even so, Spencer had a feeling that Luka hadn’t found many opportunities to be playful, and he couldn’t hold the man’s devilishness against him. He’d loved seeing Luka laugh, even if it had been at his expense.

“What, scaring me outside the passenger window?” Spencer pursed his lips. “Just remember that payback is a bitch.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Luka rubbed circles over Spencer’s back, looking completely sorry that he’d scared him.

“I was hoping you had some tea. I’m not sure if that’ll help, but it’s worth a try.” Spencer sighed. “Okay, full disclosure. I was faking my calmness earlier.”

“I know.” Luka kissed his forehead. “You don’t have to fake anything with me, Spencer. I told you I would help, and I’m going to.”

“You’ve already been a huge help.” Spencer rested his head against Luka’s chest, wondering what he would have done without the guy in his life. He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about the outcome if he’d gone home last night to meet up with the henchman.

Or henchmen since there had been three of them.

“Is it too soon to say that I think I’m falling in love with you?” Spencer looked up into Luka’s gorgeous green eyes. He couldn’t tell what the guy was thinking, but whatever it was, there was an intense expression in Luka’s eyes.

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