Page 70 of Silent Fire (Sin & Steel #6)

Was Brian watching Sin’s? Has he seen Noel on the back of Tomas’s bike?

Fuck. He raised a hand and ordered another rum and Coke, asking the bartender to make it a little stronger.

Then he ordered another. The alcohol burned going down, but it dulled the sharpest edges of his fear.

Made the world go soft and hazy around him.

He knew he was drinking more than he should, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Not after the rum kicked in, making his body and mind buzz, the fear blessedly forgotten.

He felt Tomas’s heavy gaze on him, studying him silently. Noel avoided his eyes, afraid of what he might see in them. Pity? Judgment? He didn’t want either. Just wanted to forget. Always wanted to forget.

The text from Brian sat like lead in his stomach, a ticking time bomb waiting to blow his fragile sense of safety to pieces. Noel knew, deep down, he couldn’t outrun someone that determined forever. That eventually, Brian would catch up to him.

It was all unraveling, the threads of his tentative peace breaking, one by one. But that peace was an illusion, just like his hope that he could land somewhere like Sin’s and call it home.

Tossing back the rest of his drink, Noel relished the burn. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t drag Tomas and the others into his mess. He had to leave, had to draw Brian away before he brought ruin down on the only place that had ever felt safe.

He shoved to his feet abruptly, swaying dangerously. The room tilted and spun, forcing him to grab the bar for balance. Shit. Maybe that last drink had been a mistake.

“Easy there, carino .” Tomas’s strong hands gripped his waist, steadying him. The heat of them seared through Noel’s shirt. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Bathroom,” Noel lied. The word was too loud, too clumsy on his tongue. “I gotta...I need to...”

“I’ll help you.” Tomas slid off his stool, arm slipping around Noel’s shoulders.

“ What ?” Noel wrenched away, stumbling back a step. Several heads turned their way at his outburst. He swallowed hard. Lowered his voice. “No, I’m fine. I got it.”

Concern etched into every line of Tomas’s rugged face, watching with those piercing eyes as Noel turned and wove unsteadily through the crowd.

Noel didn’t go to the bathroom. He headed straight for the back door, shouldering it open and stumbling out into the cool night air. It was a shock after the stifling heat of the tavern. He gulped lungfuls of it greedily, trying to clear his head.

Shit, shit, shit. What was he doing? Running again, like a coward. Breaking his promise to Tomas not a full hour after making it. But there was no other choice. He was poison, a harbinger of bad luck and violence. Tomas was better off without him. They all were.

Noel staggered toward the back of the building and down the alley, no idea where he was going. Just away . Away from the soft thing unfurling in his chest whenever Tomas looked at him. Away from the tiny spark of hope he’d foolishly let take root.

Away from the home he might’ve had if he’d lived a different life.

Noel wiped at the tears, cursing Brian’s name, cursing his misfortune of ever meeting the bastard, of stupidly falling in love with a monster.

A block away, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows ahead of him. Stumbling to a halt, Noel blinked several times, trying to force his eyes to focus.

Chapter Four

Tomas’s jaw clenched as he spotted Noel stumbling down the alleyway, clearly intoxicated. The betrayal stung, but he tamped it down. Right now, his priority was getting Noel back to the tavern.

He strode toward his mate, boots crunching on loose gravel. “Noel.” His voice was a low rumble, meant to avoid startling the inebriated man.

Noel squinted at him, clearly inebriated. His cheeks were flushed, eyes glazed. “Whaddya want?” he slurred.

Shaking his head, Tomas closed the distance between them.

“C’mere, carino .” He didn’t give Noel a chance to protest, simply scooped him up into his arms like he weighed nothing. Noel made a feeble attempt to squirm free, but Tomas tightened his grip, cradling him against his chest. “Stop wiggling, cría de foca. ”

“Le’me go,” Noel slurred, head lolling. “Gotta...gotta run.”

“Not tonight you don’t.” Tomas carried him down the alley, jaw set in a hard line. He understood the instinct to flee, but he’d be damned if he let Noel wander off alone and vulnerable.

Inside the tavern, the noise and chaos faded as Tomas took the back hallway toward the bedrooms used for pack members only. He shouldered the door open to Noel’s room, relieved he’d found his mate.

Crossing to the bed, he gently deposited Noel on the rumpled covers. His mate looked even smaller against the expanse of mattress, blond hair tousled, lips parted slightly. An ache bloomed in Tomas’s chest at how lost he appeared.

Pushing aside the complicated emotions swirling within him, Tomas set about undressing Noel with brisk efficiency. He stripped off the sneakers then peeled away the jeans, leaving Noel in just his boxers.

Noel’s eyes cracked open again, a faint flush coloring his cheeks that had nothing to do with alcohol. “Wha’re you doin’?”

“Getting you ready for bed.” Tomas kept his tone gentle, patient. He shrugged out of his own clothes until they were both down to their underwear. “You’re staying put tonight, where I can keep an eye on you.”

He joined Noel on the bed, pulling the smaller man flush against his side. Noel made a soft sound, one Tomas couldn’t decipher, but he didn’t resist the embrace.

Settling back against the pillows, Tomas let the tension bleed from his body. He could feel the rabbit-quick flutter of Noel’s pulse where their skin met, the warmth of Noel’s shallow breaths ghosting across his collarbone.

“Why’d you run?” The question slipped out, barely above a whisper. Tomas didn’t expect an answer, not with how out of it Noel was.

To his surprise, his mate stirred, lifting his head to meet Tomas’s eyes. “I ruin everything,” he murmured, voice thick with emotion and alcohol. “Ev’rywhere I go, shit hits da fan. I don’t wanna drag you into my mess, Tomas. You’re too good for that.”

The raw honesty in his tone gutted Tomas. He pulled Noel closer, tucking the man’s head beneath his chin. “You don’t get to decide what I can handle, mi elegido . That’s not your call.”

Noel made a soft, frustrated sound but didn’t argue further. His body went lax against Tomas’s side, breath evening out into the deep rhythms of sleep.

Tomas lay awake for a long time, just holding his mate, feeling the steady thump of Noel’s heart. He had so many questions, so much he wanted to ask. But he knew Noel well enough by now to recognize the walls he’d erected, the fortress he’d built to protect himself.

From what? Tomas wouldn’t demand answers, not tonight. He would wait, as patient as the wolf inside him, until Noel trusted him enough to tear those walls down on his own.

Pressing a tender kiss to the top of Noel’s head, Tomas whispered, “I promised to protect you from the world, from yourself if I have to. You’re mine now, whether you know it or not. And I don’t let anything precious slip through my fingers.”

He meant the words with every fiber of his being. Noel was his to cherish, to shield from the world’s cruelties. And Tomas would gladly lay down his life to keep that vow.

“You’re going to tell me what’s got you so spooked you keep trying to bolt. No more running, carino . No one’s going to hurt you ever again.”

Gathering Noel closer, Tomas let his own eyes drift closed. Tomorrow would come soon enough, with all its complications. For now, he simply held his mate close, letting the steady cadence of Noel’s breathing lull him into a deep, contented sleep.

* * * *

The early morning sun peeked over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the parking lot. Tomas sat outside on an overturned milk crate, methodically tuning his motorcycle. The familiar motions were soothing, allowing his mind to settle after last night.

The creak of the tavern’s front door drew his gaze. Noel emerged, disheveled hair sticking up at odd angles and a steaming mug cradled in his hands. Dark circles shadowed his blue eyes, but to Tomas, he was still breathtaking.

An ache twisted in his chest as Noel’s gaze found him. He hadn’t forgotten the broken promise from the night before, the way Noel had tried to slip away again. It stung, that lack of trust, but Tomas tamped down the hurt.

A hesitant smile tugged at the corners of Noel’s mouth before he made his way over, sinking cross-legged to the ground.

He sipped his coffee, quietly observing as Tomas worked.

They existed in companionable silence for several moments, the only sounds the clink of tools and the rumbling purr of a motorcycle engine being revved somewhere nearby.

He stole glances at his mate, noting the pensive set of Noel’s jaw, the way his fingers fidgeted with the handle of his mug.

Finally, Noel cleared his throat. “Look, about last night...” He trailed off, worrying his bottom lip.

Tomas grunted noncommittally, keeping his eyes on the bike as he tightened the last bolt on the handlebars, the metal cool against his calloused palms. Another stretch of quiet fell between them, this one heavier.

Tomas focused on the rhythmic motions of his hands, replacing spark plugs and adjusting cables with practiced ease.

“I’m sorry,” Noel said in a rush. “I know I said I wouldn’t take off like that again, and then I did. You have every right to be pissed.”

Slowly, Tomas set his wrench aside and turned to face his mate fully. Noel’s shoulders tensed as if bracing for Tomas’s reaction. But his eyes...those baby blues held a vulnerability that made Tomas’s breath catch.

“Can I...can I trust you?” The question was so soft Tomas almost missed it. “I mean really trust you, with the dangerous shit? The life-or-death kind of trust?”