They did take their time in the shower, though.Matthew wanted to cherish his mate, especially so soon after bonding with him.He wanted Alan to know that he was loved.They hadn’t said the words yet, but it was how Matthew felt.He was just trying not to send his mate running.Alan had more than enough things to focus on right now.He didn’t need to worry about Matthew’s feelings, too.As soon as they were both safe, though, Matthewwouldtell him.It wasn’t a secret that he wanted to keep from his mate.
They both started getting tense again as they walked toward Rikar’s house.When Alan reached for Matthew’s hand, linking their fingers together, Matthew squeezed as hard as he could without hurting his mate.He hoped that the silent gesture told Alan that he wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what happened.They were in this together—for the rest of their lives.
“How do you think he’ll react to seeing you?”he asked Alan.“Is he a violent man?”
“I would’ve said no a few days ago, but I feel like I don’t know him anymore.Anything is possible.”
Matthew could hear the pain in his mate’s voice.He desperately wished that he could help, but this was a pain that Alan would have to deal with on his own.“Some people are very good at hiding who they really are,” he offered.
“Well, Victor is definitely one of those people.I never would’ve thought that he could betray people the way he did.Idefinitelywould never have thought he would try to kill me.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through this, but I’m glad you found out before you got hurt.”
* * * *
“HE WOULD’VE HURT MEeventually, wouldn’t he?”
“We can’t know for sure.”But since Victor had clearly been using Alan, Matthew suspected he would have.
For now, Victor was happy with what he was doing.He was being paid to provide names he’d obtained through Alan—he didn’t even do the work himself.Matthew couldn’t imagine that the Glass Research Company was happy to give Victor all of that money, though.If it was him, he’d be trying to find someone else to provide names, even though Victor was in a unique position to do so.He was becoming too greedy.
But that was okay.They were about to stop him, and once they did, Victor would never be able to hurt anyone else ever again.As much as Matthew hated that his mate was hurting, he was glad this was happening.If it wasn’t for Alan, they never would’ve discovered what kind of man Victor really was.
The tension was high in the house when they reached it.Everyone wasn’t there yet, but the people who were had gathered in Rikar’s office.Alan disappeared for a few minutes, coming back with two cups of coffee and handing one over to Matthew, who took it gratefully.
“You’re ready?”Moore asked as he stopped in front of Alan.
Alan hesitated, then shrugged.“As ready as I ever will be.”
“You’ll be safe.I know it feels like we’re just saying that, but I promise that we’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
“I know.I’m Matthew’s mate.”
“And Matthew is like an annoying little brother to me.I never want him to be hurt, and losing you would destroy him.”
Alan’s gaze flickered to Matthew, who nodded to confirm.He couldn’t imagine life without Alan, even though they’d just recently met.
“I know,” Alan murmured.
“Do we have any more information on Victor and what he might do?”Matthew asked because he could tell that Alan was uncomfortable.
Thankfully, Moore got the message and turned to Matthew.“We’re still waiting for Dante, but I bet he’ll have something to tell us.”He didn’t look happy about that, but he wouldn’t fight Dante’s involvement.He knew it was the best option they had to keep Alan safe.
Things went quickly after that—too quickly for Matthew’s taste.When he arrived, Dante confirmed that they already had people waiting at the coffee shop and others keeping an eye on Victor.Apparently, he’d been behaving completely normal, as if he wasn’t about to threaten and possibly try to kill Alan again.He’d continued living his life even after trying to drive Alan off the road.Everything was routine for him.
Matthew hated the guy.He would have hated Victor anyway because of what he’d done, but the way he’d treated Alan and had deceived him made Matthew want to scream.His mate didn’t deserve this.
Alan deserved a friend who would truly be a friend.He deserved people who would always be there for him.Victor hadn’t been one of those people, but thankfully, Alan had Matthew and his family now.Even if something were to happen to Matthew, he would die with the knowledge that Alan would always be taken care of.
It gave him a sense of peace he hadn’t expected.He wasn’t planning on dying anytime soon, but no one ever did.He’d try as hard as he could to come back to his mate if anything happened, but even if he couldn’t, Alan would be fine, and in the end, that was what mattered most.
He wasn’t sure Alan would see it the same way, so he didn’t say anything.Now wasn’t the time, anyway.
It felt like now wasn’t the time for a lot of things in Matthew’s relationship with Alan.They were out of sync, having to focus on more important things than their bond, and Matthew didn’t like it.Once all of this was over, he was grabbing Alan and locking his front door.The world outside of it would have to wait.Matthew would fully focus on his mate and on making sure that Alan knew how much he was cherished.
Eventually, they had to go.Matthew had grown more uneasy as the time passed, but at least things were nearly over.He wasn’t even allowed to shimmer with his mate, just in case.Alan would be shimmering with the Nix enforcer, while Matthew was stuck with Teddy.
There were worse people to be stuck with.
