Page 31 of Handcuffs & Honey

Dominic wanted to tell him to sit up, that he would shoot the wolf if he tried anything, but maybe not making himself a target was a good thing.

“Yes.” Dominic steered toward home.

“I don’t know why I asked that,” Julian said. “Of course he took it badly.” He rubbed his eyes. “I wasn’t the one who killed Rob. Why is he after me? Why am I asking questions I know the answer to?”

His mate’s nerves were shot. Dominic reached over and took Julian’s hand, though his mate was practically on the floor. “He’s not getting anywhere near you.”

“He got this close,” Julian said. “He made it to town. He spotted me in front of the diner, and he came to the police station. I’d say he got near me.”

Julian was right, but Dominic was trying to calm his mate down. He still didn’t know why Ezekiel hadn’t attacked Denali for killing Rob or stopped by the diner since that was the last place he’d seen Julian. That only told him that Ezekiel was plotting, and someone who had nothing to lose was a dangerous person.

Finally, they made it back to Dominic’s house. It was an old cottage nestled in the woods, with a wraparound porch that was perfect for drinking coffee and watching the wildlife. The sun had set, but the sky still boasted shades of pink and orange as it faded away into darkness.

Dominic led Julian inside and went around turning on lights so that his home could take on a more welcoming atmosphere. He noticed Julian had grown even more quiet.

He was quick-footed around the kitchen—Damn Cannon for putting that espresso in Dominic’s coffee—pulling out cupcakes with colorful frosting from the cabinet. Next, Dominic put on water to make some hot tea.

“You pick the movie,” Dominic said when he entered with the tray of cupcakes and tea. “Swear I won’t bitch if it’s a sappy one.”

The three days they’d spent at home when Julian had first gotten out of the hospital, Dominic had protested about watching those kinds of movies. They’d never interested him before. They still didn’t, but if that was what it took to ease Julian’s worries, Dominic would endure them.

Julian bit the side of his lip. “One. We can watch one movie on the Lifetime Channel since I know you loathe them.”

“I don’t loathe those movies.” Dominic set the tray on the coffee table. He sat and slid an arm around Julian’s shoulders as he pulled his mate closer. “My whole life I’ve felt the need to protect those who needed it, and watching these movies, I want to arrest every last perp.”

“Those movies aren’t real,” Julian argued good-naturedly.

The movies on that channel always had psycho men going after women. How was that not real?

“You think those kinds of situations don’t happen?” Dominic wasn’t going into any details, but those things most certainly happened in the real world. He thought of Brett and Adele, how Brett had taken his family hostage because his wife wanted to leave him. Those poor kids had witnessed it, had been a part of the traumatic experience. Things could have turned deadly if Deputy Wyatt Birch hadn’t taken Brett down.

Which reminded Dominic, he needed to check up on Adele and her kids to make sure they were still okay. Brett had been sentenced to probation, which had pissed Dominic off, but there was nothing he could do about it. The judge had made his decision.

But Dominic would ensure that Adele and her kids remained safe, if they ever returned to town. Cannon had given her his phone number and told Adele to call if she was returning or if Brett showed up at her sister’s. Cannon was just as protective as Dominic. All his deputies were.

Julian slapped Dominic’s knee with his hand. “Why is your leg bouncing?”

“Because my deputy thought I needed extra caffeine.” He explained to Julian what Cannon had done. “I drink a cup in the morning. That’s it. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

Julian looked up at him. “You got a lot of pent-up energy.”

Dominic snorted. “I feel like cleaning the entire house.”

“It’s already clean.”

“Maybe I need to go for a run,” Dominic said. “I have to do something to stop these jitters. I’m just afraid of leaving you alone.”

Julian pointed toward the front door. “You have an alarm system.”

“That won’t stop Ezekiel from breaking in and doing harm before I return.” Even if Dominic heard the alarm from wherever he was in the woods, he might not make it back in time.

“Go,” Julian said. “You’re not about to drive me crazy because you can’t sit still.”

Dominic stood up, bouncing with nervous energy. “I’ll be quick,” he said to Julian. “I just need to run off some of this excess adrenaline.”

He slipped out the door and onto the front porch, taking a deep breath of the crisp forest air. Dominic stripped out of his clothing and then shifted, lumbering down the stairs in his bear form.

But he didn’t take off right away. Dominic sniffed the air for potential threats. When he didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary, he looked back at the house. Julian stood in the living room window, his eyes wide, as he looked at Dominic.

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