Page 23 of Handcuffs & Honey

“There’s something I don’t understand,” Dominic said as he traced circles on Julian’s back. “Why did Robert attack you?”

“He was an asshole, a jerk who cheated on me, but he thought I should obey his every word. I broke things off with him, but Rob acted as if I never had. He still came around, still harassed me, and that’s when I moved. To get away from him.”

Men like Robert couldn’t take the blow to his ego. He was the type that could end things, but to have someone quit him was unthinkable. Dominic sighed, grateful Julian was safe and in his arms. But he knew that they had only just begun to deal with the ramifications of the attack. Ezekiel was still out there, and he would be coming for revenge. They would have to prepare themselves for whatever the guy might bring.

Too bad Dominic hadn’t known how to contact the next of kin. He would have told the father about his son’s death. It was the right thing to do, but now that he knew Ezekiel would want revenge, Dominic hoped the guy didn’t come to town.

“He wanted to make me suffer, and he refused to understand that I just didn’t want to be with him anymore.” Julian finished his statement with a shrug.

Dominic nodded. He understood, to a degree. He would never hurt his mate like that, not just because he cared for Julian but because Dominic was a shifter who respected the bond between mates. No matter how much things might hurt between them, it wouldn’t drive him to such levels of rage.

Then again, Robert hadn’t been Julian’s mate, so he wouldn’t give a shit about hurting his then-boyfriend.

He pulled Julian close and kissed the top of his head. “I’m here, and I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

Julian lay in silence, their arms wrapped around one another.

Dominic had no doubt Ezekiel would come to town eventually. When that happened, he’d have to be prepared. He knew he had to protect his mate, no matter what. And if anyone tried to hurt Julian, Dominic would break bear on them.

* * * *

Great, now all Julian could think about was Ezekiel coming to Midnight Falls to commit murder, and Julian would be the corpse. Rob’s father would find a way to blame him. He was just one of those people who thought his problems were everyone else’s fault. Julian hadn’t known the man long, hadn’t interacted with him much, but in the short time he knew the guy, Ezekiel had showed his true colors.

He was a bigger asshole than his son.

Julian just wished he’d known he was dealing with a wolf shifter. If he had, he would have broken things off sooner rather than later. Or he simply wouldn’t have dated Rob at all because Rob had been such a jerk.

But that explained Ezekiel’s dominance. It explained the man’s aggression. Julian just thought the guy had way too much testosterone. Maybe he did, but after Dominic had explained to him about preternatural alpha males, Julian wanted to move to another town so Rob’s father couldn’t find him.

Maybe Alaska was good this time of year. Julian could make friends with polar bears. They would just kill him in one swipe of their massive paws. Done. Over. No torture.

Because Ezekiel was going to torture him. Julian just knew it.

But Dominic had also explained to him that not all alpha males were like that. Most were level-headed and fair. It figured Ezekiel wasn’t one of those.

“What is wrong with you?” Elijah asked. “You act like you’ve had too much caffeine.” He leaned in closer. “Have you been drinking Red Bull? That stuff will wire you up faster than an electrician.”

“What? Me?” Julian looked around. “Um, no. No Red Bull.”

“Now I know something is wrong.” Elijah narrowed his eyes. “Did you and the sheriff get into it? Is that why you look at the door every time someone comes in?”

Honestly, Julian wasn’t sure if Elijah was human or a shifter. He wanted to tell him everything that was going on, because he was dying to share, but since he had no idea what Elijah was, he only let a few facts slide, which didn’t include the knowledge of the preternatural world.

He grabbed Elijah’s hand and dragged him to the hallway by the men’s room.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Elijah crossed his arms.

“I moved here to escape my asshole ex-boyfriend.”

Elijah’s eyebrows shot up. “Did he follow you here?”

Yeah, but he turned into a wolf, attacked me, and was shot and killed. “No. He…uh…died in a car accident.”

“Then why do you look so worried?”

“His dad.” Julian sighed. “He worshiped his son, and I know he’s going to blame me for Rob’s death.”

“But that’s insane!” Elijah said a little too loudly, ignoring the looks they received from customers. “How is it your fault that your asshole former boyfriend died in a car accident?” Elijah’s brows, if possible, rose higher. “Did you cut his brakes or something? No judgment. I’ve dated my fair share of idiots. I got this on-again-off-again boyfriend. I’d like to cut Kyle’s brakes sometimes. So, if the brakes ‘accidentally’ got a little sliced on your ex-boyfriend’s car, who’s to say it was you?” He lowered his voice. “Unless you were dumb enough to get caught on camera.”

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