They’re…they’re dangerous,” he admitted. “I don’t know how to explain it without sounding like an insensitive bastard.”
Fucking hell, is that what I am? An insensitive bastard because I won’t accept his differences? Am I just as bigoted as the scientists that want him caught?
“Let me ask you this,” Valerie said softly, interrupting his thoughts. “If Demitri was going to die next week, would it matter about this…whatever these family issues are that you seem to have a problem with? Or would you still want to spend every waking moment with him?”
“I—I wish I knew,” Kiernan whispered. But he did know.
Now if he could just figure out how to fix what his insensitive reaction must have surely broken.
Chapter Ten
Demitri carefully spiked his hair, then applied a hint of blush, eye shadow, and lip-gloss. He never wore a lot, just a dusting, but just putting it on made him feel more like himself. After the failed kidnapping attempt and his mate’s rejection, Demitri had missed two days of work. He hadn’t wanted to see if Kiernan would stop coming to see him at lunch.
Returning to work yesterday had been tough, and he’d almost cried when every minute passed one o’clock made it more and more painfully clear that Kiernan wasn’t coming.
Sighing, Demitri left the bathroom and headed toward the front. He was almost to the door, Frankie’s spare house key in hand, when Vince appeared. “You need a ride?” the vampire asked.
“Um, no, that’s okay. It’s only a thirty-minute walk. I don’t mind,” he said, giving his friend’s mate a smile.
Vince grinned. “Okay, let me rephrase that. Let me get my keys and I’ll drive you,” he said. Demitri couldn’t hide his confused look, and Vince patted him on the shoulder.
“Sorry. Declan doesn’t want you alone on the street until your mother and her buddy are found,” he explained.
“Oh,” he mumbled. “Okay.”
Yesterday, he’d just thought Frankie was being nice by driving him to and from work. His buddy was always nice, supportive, helpful, a good wolf shifter. He couldn’t ask for a better friend. Now, Demitri knew there was an alternate reason, although he probably would have done it even without their alpha’s orders.
Seconds later, Vince reappeared and led the way out the door. “Off we go then,” the vampire said. Once they’d settled in Vince’s SUV, he glanced at him and asked, “How are you holding up?”
Demitri shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I try not to think about it,” he admitted.
“If he doesn’t come around, you know we’ll help coerce him, right?” Vince grinned, showing off his fangs, and winked. “That’s what friends are for.”
Rolling his eyes, Demitri shook his head. “I don’t actually want him coerced.”
Vince nodded, his voice more subdued. “I know.” He pulled into the restaurant parking lot and stopped near the door. “What time do you get off?”
“Nine tonight,” he said. At least he didn’t have a lunch shift again and wouldn’t be watching for Kiernan every second. He’d only come in for dinner that one time. At least, as far as Demitri knew.
Vince nodded. “See you then.”
Demitri headed inside and greeted Jessica at the hostess stand. “Hey, Demitri,” she said, smiling. “You’re looking so much better. Glad you stayed home and didn’t spread it around. So was that one of your boyfriends? I’m counting three in the past week. I bet you had hotties waiting on you hand and foot,” she teased, winking.
Trying not to blush, Demitri mumbled, “No, he’s just a friend,” and hurried past. Jessica’s soft, musical laughter followed him as he hurried down the hall to the employee area. Demitri knew Jessica was acting floor manager and didn’t usually hang out up front. But since she did know every position of the restaurant, if someone called in, she’d help pick up the slack. He absently wondered who was out.
He grabbed his apron off the hook, hung up his jacket— it’d be chilly later—and clipped his nametag to his shirt.
After taking a fortifying breath, Demitri pasted a smile on his face and got to work.
Wiping down the surface of a table, Demitri glanced at the clock, fifteen minutes to closing. That was good. He was ready to be done. Maybe he could talk Frankie and his brother into taking him for a run. That’d be nice, feeling the earth beneath his paws. He normally had tracking lessons with Nick on Sundays, but he’d been too depressed to go.
The front door’s bell jingled, and Demitri bit back a groan.
Why the hell did customers insist on entering an eating establishment—he glanced at the clock again—ten minutes before closing?
“Hey, Mister K,” Jessica greeted perkily. “You here for a cup of coffee or just to see Demitri?”
“Just to see Demitri. Think I could steal him for a couple minutes or just hang out until he’s done?”
Hearing her words, coupled with the deep voice of his mate, Declan froze. He struggled to continue breathing as all his blood flowed south, making him light-headed. Had Kiernan’s voice always sounded that good? Or was it just because he hadn’t seen or heard him in four days?
“Um, it looks like he’s wiping down his last table. You can snag him for a minute,” Jessica said. “I’ll need him back in ten for a few things, but until then, he’s all yours.”
Was it Demitri’s imagination, or was there sexual innuendo in his boss’s voice? He could feel the flush working up the back of his neck. His hand clenched on the cloth, reminding him he needed to finish wiping the table.
Acting on autopilot, he finished the task, all the while listening to the whisper of shoes scuffing on carpet.
“Hey, Demitri,” Kiernan murmured. “Can we talk?”
Slowly, he straightened, tucking the rag into his apron, and turned to face his mate. Gods, he looks amazing. Demitri swallowed hard, then managed to find his voice. “I think what we need
