Page 43 of Cuddles for the Bear
The businessmen, who always seemed in a hurry, spoke rapidly into phones plastered to their ears. The harassed parents apparently on holiday, trying to get their kids to behave. There was a young man hovering by one of the gates, clearly waiting for someone. His face broke into a huge smile as a woman with wild colors through her hair came through, carrying a backpack over her shoulder. Within seconds, they were in each other’s arms, kissing as if they were alone.
That’s so sweet.Wren turned back to Devon. He looked so smart in his dark gray suit, pants, and jacket, with a black T-shirt plastered to his muscles underneath it. Devon gave the impression of someone confident and unfailingly polite – a man secure in his place in the world.
Clearly, the receptionist thought so, too. “Will that be all I can help with today, Mr. Taylor?” she said as she handed over a set of keys with a huge smile and a toss of her long blond hair. “Hotel reservations, perhaps, or restaurant recommendations? I know all the best spots to eat in town, if you’re looking for company.”
“I have everything I need, thank you.” Devon took the keys with a nod and a smile and then draped his arm over Wren’s shoulder. “You’ve been quite helpful enough. Have a nice day.”
Devon turned Wren around before he had a chance to growl, and no, Wren wasn’t normally the type to go growling at anyone, but even with his limited social experiences, he knew when someone was trying to muscle in on his mate.
Breathe, my darling mate.Devon’s voice echoed in his mind as Wren found himself guided out of the airport.She didn’t mean anything by it. She was just being friendly.
Friendly?Wren snorted.If she had her way, you’d be paying for her dinner, while she’d be hoping you’d be having her for dessert.
Mates don’t ever stray, babe. Not ever. Even if a shifter was considering it, and they wouldn’t, it’s not physically possible. I know I would never want to.Devon stopped by a fancy-looking black car, turning so they were facing each other. “My darling Wren, why would I ever settle for a cute-looking puff pastry, when I have the most succulent honey cake in my arms?”
Wren ran the words he heard through his head. “Is that a compliment to me?”
“Very definitely.” Devon’s smile was warm. “And as much as I’d love to spend the next two days showing you how wonderfully succulent and darling you are to me, like many people around us right now, we’re on a job.”
Glancing around, Wren could see other people hurrying to cars, clearly focused on what they were doing. Standing up on tiptoes, he brushed a quick kiss on Devon’s chin. “I doubt any of them will be on their way to kill someone.”
“If they’ve got a rude or demanding boss, they probably wish they could.” Devon chuckled as he kissed him back. “Come on, babe. Let’s get going. We’ve still got to check into the hotel before we get on the road.”
Wren hurried around to the passenger side of the car, waiting for Devon to unlock it.All these people,he thought,and we blend right in, even though we’re in the killing business. Is that weird?He reminded himself to talk to Pax and Flint about it later. It didn’t feel that unusual, but then Wren had never felt like he’d fit in anywhere until Devon took him to the Alley.Still,he reasoned,it wouldn’t hurt to get a second or third opinion.
/~/~/~/~/
Another hour later, they were on the road. According to the GPS unit in the car, Wren could see they were on a road that just had a number – twenty-nine – and they were in Iowa, when Wren knew the hotel was in Nebraska. More confusion, he decided, he didn’t need to worry about. Devon stopped so they could get some take-out, with the plan to eat in the immaculate car as Devon kept driving.
“Eat up, love. Don’t worry about the crumbs,” Devon said. He must’ve noticed Wren’s reluctance, despite being hungry.
“We won’t be taking this car back to the rental place ourselves. We’ll leave it at the hotel and take a cab to the airport. The agency has a very thorough cleaning crew that will take care of the pastor’s body, this car, and our hotel room once we’ve finished with it. By the time they’ve finished, there will be no trace of us in this car, the hotel, or Jorgenson.”
“That must be a busy crew,” Wren muttered, but he opened the box containing his burger, making sure he laid a napkin over the front of his suit jacket first. It was his first time wearing it sinceDevon had bought it for him in Big Sky, and he didn’t want to get any stains on it.
The material wasn’t the best on his skin, but Wren had put a pair of thin black tights on under the pants, and like Devon, was wearing a black T-shirt under the jacket. It was long-sleeved, so apart from the jacket collar, the suit material was barely touching his skin at all.
Leaving his waistcoat at home made sense to Wren. Somehow, in his head, an embroidered waistcoat didn’t scream “assassin” or perhaps more in his case, “man on a revenge kick” or “sidekick to an assassin.” As the sky got dark and the car ate up the miles on a mostly deserted road, Wren wondered what on earth he was doing.
Supporting Devon.There was that, although Wren wasn’t sure how much help he might be. But Wren’s instincts were telling him he needed to be with his mate, and he was learning to trust them.
Getting closure.Wren wasn’t even sure that was possible. Cyrus, Devon, and Flint had all mentioned in the past month that he shouldn’t be ashamed if he needed to “talk” to someone – they used the word talk as if it was code for something else. It would help, in Wren’s opinion, if he knew what he was supposed to talk about.
His previous life with the people who raised him was shit – he had basically grown up in a cult. But to Wren, that had been normal at the time.
His time with the evil snake shifter – same thing. It was horrible, and yes, he’d considered ending his life in a bid to be free – but Wren’s current living situation was so far out of the realm of his imagination, he refused to dwell on his time “before.”
And yet now, I’m driving toward my past to face the man who sold me to the snake shifter in the first place. I haven’t got a clue how that is supposed to make me feel.
Wren looked over at his mate, who was focused on the road ahead. He could sense a difference in Devon the closer they got to their destination. It was as if Devon was shutting down – shutting him out - taking on a persona Wren barely recognized.
Gone was the snuggly bear with the laid-back attitude. The set of Devon’s chin and the way his hands were gripping the steering wheel gave off a “don’t fuck with me” vibe. Frowning, Wren went back to looking out of the window.All this will be over soon. Whatever “this” is.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As a rule, Devon didn’t like killing people. He had justified his occupation many times to himself over the years, but every job required a mental shift in how he typically behaved.
He and his bear were insistent that there had to be a compelling reason for a person’s demise. Devon had made that plain from the first time he had been approached by the agency. This was well before he’d met Storm, Levi, Calvin, Flint, and Python - when he was working by himself.
