“No,” I managed to whimper.
“Do you know where he is? How long ago did you lose him?”
I swallowed back my tears and forced myself to answer as best I could. “He left ten minutes ago, but I – I don’t know where he went.”
There was a loud rustling on Nick’s end. It sounded like he was putting on clothes. “Wait there. Don’t move. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay.”
After I hung up, I stared at the mirror and tried to pull myself together. The oncoming torrent of tears made my head ache. My eyes were rimmed with red and I looked like a disaster. But I'd managed to stop myself from crying, at least for now.
When Nick burst in through the front door, I leapt.
“Don’t worry, it’s just me,” he said, panting and waving me towards him. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Then I asked hopefully, “Do you know where he is?”
“Not for sure, put I have a pretty good idea,” Nick said. “Let’s go.”
Nick led me down the street from the apartment. The sun had set and it was chilly. In a hurry I’d pulled one of Victor’s jackets off the hangers. I shivered, even with the jacket on and despite my naturally higher shifter body temperature. Then I recalled Victor had left without a coat, and he was only a human. He would have to be freezing by now.
“Victor must be cold,” I mumbled.
Nick snorted. “Probably, but that son of a bitch will never admit it.” He turned to me. “Let me guess. You asked him about his ex and he threw a tantrum and left?”
I nodded.
“Figures.” Nick scowled. “I’m sorry, Liam. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this by asking you to do it.”
“It's okay,” I said. “I really did want to know, too.”
Nick shook his head. “It’s been half a year and he still hasn’t told any of us what the hell happened.” He suddenly sighed. “It just… it feels like he doesn’t trust us.”
I looked at the sidewalk. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell people your secrets. But it doesn’t mean you don’t trust them.”
Nick chuckled. “You’re right. But we just want to help him out, you know? That’s what I wish he’d realize.”
“Yeah,” I said. I glanced up at Nick. “Maybe with the two of us ganging up on him, it will work.”
Nick laughed and clapped me on the back. “Definitely. Won’t hurt to try. And I have a feeling where he is, it’ll be easy to corner him.”
“Where do you think he is?” I asked.
“His classic Victor brooding spot,” Nick muttered. “We're almost there.”
We walked in silence, the chilly wind whipping around us. The exercise and insulation of Victor’s jacket warmed me up enough to stop shivering. With every step forward, his scent drifted into my nose, strong and comforting. I took a deep drag of it then sighed.
“He almost kissed me,” I said.
Nick stopped walking. “He did? Victor?”
I nodded. “That was when he got upset.” My shoulders slumped at the memory, then I couldn't stop the words from pouring out. “He – he was about to kiss me, but then pulled away and said he couldn’t. That’s when I asked about Tristan. He asked me how I knew about him, and I said you told me, and then he got mad and said we shouldn’t pry about his relationship. He said you didn’t know anything.”
Nick rolled his eyes but didn’t look offended. “Big fucking brutewouldsay that. Let me guess. He ran out right after that.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “I’m sorry I mentioned you at all. I didn’t mean for him to get mad at you, too.”
“God, no, don’t worry about it,” Nick said. He nudged me playfully with his elbow. “That’s just the way he is.”
