Page 91 of Broken Bonds

“Hopefully soon. I didn’t demand instant results, obviously, but I did tell him it was pretty urgent.”

“Couldn’t you tell him what it’s really about?”

“I don’t want to drag him into anything he doesn’t need to be in. That’s not fair to him. Once we have a plan I’ll talk to him again and see if he wants to send help. Until then, I’d rather not risk OPSEC and discover any leaks in his organization the hard way.”

“True.” He chews another bite. “You cook nearly as good as you fuck, by the way. When you want to.” He smirks.

I lean in for a kiss. “Yeah, well, get ready for plenty of rides from me at your next heat.”

His smile turns playful, vulnerable. “You sure?”

“I’m not sure of much in this world, but if you have faith in me, then I guess that’s all I need to be sure about.”

Chapter Forty

Todd

Prepping

I don’t want to disturb Mal before I leave, but I also don’t want to simply leave him with nothing more than a note, either. I settle in after setting my alarm to catch a nap, then get up and make coffee and breakfast and go to check on Mal.

He’s just coming out of his apartment when I stick my head out the back door.

My pulse spikes, thrumming, at the sight of him. When he walks over wearing a sleepy smile I also can’t help kissing him. “Hey, there.”

“Hey. Thought you said we could sleep late?” he teases, following me into the kitchen.

“Well, there’s been a change of plans. I hand him a coffee mug and a breakfast plate and fill him in.

Like Jax says, I use my best judgment, meaning I don’t hold much back from him.

Except my theories about our shifted communication, or that it’s even a thing.

I hate that now he looks concerned, but he nods. “No worries. I won’t leave the property. Frankly, if I could spend the rest of my life here, I’d be okay with that.”

That makes my heart skip again, especially when he focuses those gorgeous grey eyes on me.

“I promise I’ll try to save you some energy for the fun room tonight,” I say, and at least that earns me a still-sleep smile.

“Hell, I’ll settle for another hot tub snuggle, if that’s all you have energy for.”

Our gazes lock for a long, quiet moment, and…

Yeah. I have it bad for this pup already.

He looks away and takes a bite of his food. “Thank you for breakfast. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. Least I can do for the fun I had last night.”

His smile returns. “That was a lot of fun.” This time when he meets my gaze, it’s direct, brave. Like he needs to force himself to do it. “Anytime you want me for that, I’m definitely down.”

My mouth goes dry and I need a moment to compose my thoughts. “That makes two of us.”

I manage to leave—finally—with only giving him one more kiss. Then he shoos me out, volunteering to do the dishes.

I hate the worry creasing his face when I told him what’s going on. None of this is his fault. I just pray he won’t do something dumb, like leave, thinking he’ll take the heat off us.

And there’s a part of me unrealistically thinking maybe his father’s given up. The kid’s been gone, what, nearly two weeks now?