Page 30 of In the Dark

“You know his name?” Kelvin shouldn’t be surprised at how much Gray knew, but he was this time.

“He’s your mate. Of course, I ran a background check. Nice guy too. Loves his son. Loves his wife and visits her grave every week to place fresh flowers.”

“That’s love.”

“It is. One that transcends death.” Gray picked up a sensor and stood. “We believe humans can’t feel love the way we can because we mate, but we’re wrong. I’ve seen it many times. Humans can and do love just as deeply as we do.” Walking over to one of the windows, Gray looked outside. “You can be seen from the rooftop opposite, which you know all about.”

Coughing, Kelvin agreed. “Weak spot.”

“It is. I’ll place a camera here so we can keep an eye on it and wait for Maxim to appear, which we both know he will. He has both your scents now and can use that against you by threatening your mate. It could place you in a position where you are forced to become his spy.”

“He’s always wanted to find a way inside our security.”

“Now he may believe he has one. An enforcer with a human mate? He knows the laws better than anyone. He knows how to tread a fine line when he needs to or jump straight over it when he wants something, but he’s careful. We can never pin anything on him with a degree of certainty.”

“He knows what he’s doing, but look where he comes from? His family is responsible for where we are now.”

“And now they live in the shadows because of it and they know we watch them, which is why they stay under the radar as much as possible.” Gray approached the window and began cleaning it. “Go and sleep. You’re as tired as your mate.”

Kelvin nodded and left Gray to do the job he was more than capable of doing. In the bedroom, he paused to watch his mate sleep, then quietly stripped and crawled into bed behind him, spooning him. Inhaling his mate’s scent, Kelvin felt his body ease and closed his eyes. He could sleep a little better knowing they would be safe.

Hearing faint murmurs roused Kelvin from sleep, and when he rolled over, he found the bed empty and the sheets cold. Throwing the covers back, Kelvin pulled his jeans on and walked into the living room, finding Key and Gray sitting and talking.

Key watched him, then pursed his lips. “Morning.”

“Morning?” Had he slept that long?

“I need to leave, but I’ll use the alarm you’ve installed. You can poof your way home.”

“Wait.” Kelvin reached over and took Key’s arm. “You can’t go to work.”

“I never said I was leaving for work, but I was leaving to pick up some groceries. It turns out I’ve been fired, so I have lots of free time.” Shrugging Kelvin’s hand off, Key grabbed his keys and left.

Kelvin glanced between the closed front door and Gray. “He’s been fired?”

“Told him not to bother coming back, and they’d mail his stuff to him.”

“Shit.”

“Offered him a job with me. You know Key isn’t his real name, right?”

“It isn’t?” Gray knew more about his mate than Kelvin did.

“It’s Jax, but he’s called Key because there is no IT system he can’t crack. Why he’s working where he is, or was, is beyond me. A guy with his skills will be a huge benefit to me and our team. And that is what you are going to run with when you get hauled in front of the council for breaking our laws.”

Standing, Gray put his laptop away in his duffel bag, something Kelvin hadn’t even noticed was there, and then stretched. “Long night, but the apartment is secure. Not sure how you slept through me drilling, but you did.”

“I was tired.” Kelvin scanned the room, noticing everything he’d failed to notice when he’d first walked in from the bedroom. There were sensors on the windows, a nice up-to-date alarm by the door, and a camera blinking away in the corner of the living room. There was probably more hidden away that Kelvin couldn’t see.

Gray packed away his belongings, then stretched again. “Speak later.” With those words, he disappeared, leaving Kelvin alone in his mate’s apartment, but with no mate to speak of.

While he had the time, Kelvin took a shower and remade the bed, then looked inside Key’s fridge. It was empty except for some bottles of beer and a half-eaten apple. Grimacing, Kelvin threw the apple in the trash and closed the fridge door. As he rummaged through the pantry, Key came back.

“Hey.” Kelvin rocked on his feet, watching Key unpack several bags of food. “Sorry about your job.” Having him as a mate hadn’t done Key any good so far, and Kelvin was going to do everything he could to change that.

“You can eat normal food, so I’m making vegetable soup. We can have it with some warm rolls.”

“Soup from scratch?” Kelvin couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten anything made from scratch.

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