“Taylor!”
“What do you expect from me, Chase? Am I supposed to fall into your arms because you are here and willing to help?” Taylor let go of an undignified snort. “Sorry, buddy, but my days of chasing behind you are over.”
Chase was across the room in under a second, grabbing Taylor around his arms. “You’ll never understand, Taylor. But I’m not expecting you to. Let’s put our differences aside and work together to find Justin. After that, you can forget all about me, and you and Justin can live a long and happy life together.” And those words were the hardest thing Chase had ever said in his life. He didn’t want his mates to forget about him. He didn’t want them to go on without him.
But he had no choice if he didn’t want them hurt.
“Fine,” Taylor said as he slung his arms out to his sides, breaking Chase’s hold. “We’ll find Justin together. And after that, I never want to see your face again, Chase.”
Chase knew he would always remember the exact moment his heart died. It was right here, right now, in this very kitchen as Taylor’s words sank in and he stared at Chase with so much hate in his pale-blue eyes that Chase’s very soul shattered.
“Then we need to go.” Chase turned, walking out of the kitchen and feeling as if he would never be warm again.
His mate hated him.
It was what he deserved after everything he had put them through, and it was all in the name of protecting them. He headed for the front door, praying he could find Justin, and praying he wouldn’t curl up somewhere and die from the pain in his heart right now.
He slid into his truck and started the motor, watching as Taylor stiffly walked around the truck and got into the passenger’s side, not saying a word as he buckled himself into place. This was going to be one frosty-ass ride. His mate’s eyes were narrowed in anger, but Chase could see the underlying hurt in them as well.
“Where should we start?” Chase asked.
Taylor gazed out of the window for so long that Chase wasn’t sure the man was going to answer him. He finally shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess we could start with the bus terminals or the train station.”
“He would leave town?” Chase asked.
“I’m not sure what’s going on in Justin’s head right now. He won’t let me in.”
Chase nodded as he tossed his arm over the back of the seat and pulled the truck from the driveway. He put it in gear and headed down to the bus terminal. When he pulled into the parking lot of the bus terminal, Taylor jumped out before Chase even brought the truck to a complete stop.
“Taylor!” Chase shouted as he turned the engine off and then jumped out of the truck and took off after the man. He caught up with Taylor just as the man reached the main doors. “Taylor, damn it, slow the fuck down.”
“You fucking slow down,” Taylor snapped as he yanked his arm free and stormed into the bus depot.
Chase rolled his eyes and followed. He could see the middle ground was going to be somewhere in the arctic from the way Taylor was acting. He was being so cold that Chase was getting frostbite.
At least when they got inside, Taylor seemed to be willing to work as a team. He took one side of the room while Chase took the other. The checked the entire main room, the bathrooms, and a utility closet. They searched the food court and the vending area. They even checked the outside of the terminal where the buses parked.
Nothing.
No one had seen Justin.
Chase waited by the main doors as Taylor caught up with him. “Train station?”
Taylor shrugged and headed out, looking more downtrodden with every step. Chase’s heart went out to the man. He knew exactly what it felt like to lose someone close to him. He had lost both of his mates in his quiet campaign to keep them safe.
“We’ll find him, Taylor.” Chase tried to reassure his mate. He hated to see Taylor look so distraught.
“Will we?” Taylor asked in a deadpan voice. “How? He’s fallen off the face of the earth, Chase. It’s like he just disappeared. There’s no sign of him. If he did indeed leave of his own free will, then where in the hell is he? He couldn’t have gone far without someone seeing him. And it’s not like he is easily overlooked. He’s too beautiful to be missed.”
Yes, he was. Justin was breathtaking, but so was Taylor. Chase just couldn’t understand how Taylor couldn’t see that. Both men were gorgeous in Chase’s eyes.
“If we can’t find him by looking tonight, I have a few favors I can call in.”
“Favors?” Taylor’s head swung around as his eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “You can call in help and you haven’t already? What in the hell is wrong with you? Justin is out there all alone. We need to find him anyway that we can.”
“Taylor, it’s not that simple.”
“The hell it’s not!”
Chase sighed deeply. “You don’t understand.”
“I’m getting really fucking tired of you saying that.”
“And I’m getting really fucking tired of you yelling at me all of the time!” Chase knew that was the wrong thing to say almost instantly when Taylor’s eyes narrowed. Or maybe it was the wrong tone. He had shouted it at Taylor. But he was getting fucking tired of being yelled at. There were things at play here that neither Justin or Taylor understood.
“Look, Taylor, there are things about me that you don’t understand.” Chase ignored the small snort that came from Taylor. “And I’m not in a position where I can explain them to you. Needless to say,
