Page 56 of Visions of You

"After I'm done here?"

"No," Keegan said. "It has to be now. Come here as soon as you can."

"But I'm at work."

"Find a reason to get out of work. You're smart. You'll think of something."

Jaron was silent for a moment. Keegan pictured his foot tapping on the ground as he thought. "You're serious," he said after a moment.

"Very serious."

"Why now?"

"There's no time to explain. Please, Jaron, trust me on this."

There was a beat of hesitation, then a heavy sigh filtered through the speaker. "Fine," Jaron conceded. "I'll think of something and be there as fast as I can."

Relief flooded Keegan, followed swiftly by a pang of guilt. He was manipulating Jaron—for his own good, but still. Surely this wasn't how one was supposed to behave in a relationship. Keegan couldn't say. He'd never been in one before.

"Thank you," he said into the phone.

He heard the shuffle of movement on the other end as Jaron prepared to leave work. "You owe me one hell of an explanation," Jaron warned before hanging up.

Keegan ended the call and placed the phone down on the table. He dragged a hand through his hair and sank back into his chair.

The crisis he'd dreamed of had been averted, but who was going to take the fall in Jaron's place?

CHAPTER 13

Keegan paced near the entrance of the nightclub, waiting for Jaron to arrive. When he finally did, Keegan couldn't help but smile, despite all his nerves.

As long as Jaron was here, he wasn't going to be hurt.

Keegan stepped aside to let him in, his fingers brushing against Jaron's arm briefly. "Thanks for coming," he murmured, guiding Jaron toward the bar area, now cast in the stark overhead light they never turned on during the night.

Jaron settled onto a barstool, his eyes never leaving Keegan. "What's going on? Why did you want me here so urgently? You're not just horny, are you?"

Keegan turned his back to Jaron and reached for a bottle of synthetic blood behind the bar. As he poured himself a drink, he felt Jaron's gaze boring into him. He took a slow sip, savoring the metallic taste as it slid down his throat.

What to say, what to say?

"I just really wanted to see you." It wasn't entirely a lie. His heart did leap at the sight of Jaron. It always did.

For a moment, Jaron's expression softened, flattered by Keegan's words. But then suspicion crept back into his eyes. "Did you see something?"

Keegan worried his lower lip. He could lie. The words were on the tip of his tongue, so ready to be spoken. He was so used to lying to people. He didn't want that to be the relationship he had with his mate.

He had manipulated Jaron today… but only to keep him safe.

"You saw something but you can't tell me about it?" Jaron asked when Keegan didn't speak.

"Telling you would risk the goal I'm trying to achieve."

Jaron leaned forward, elbows resting on the bar. "What goal is that?"

Keegan reached out and took one of Jaron's hands in his own. "Protecting you."

Jaron met his eyes, searching. "You saw something bad happening to me at work?"