“I—” Zane backed away from our group, his eyes on Charlie, who was still fighting us to get to him. Finally, he turned to return to his apartment, and Jason signaled all was clear. “I gotta go.”
“Yeah, you better run.” Charlie struggled against my grip. Isaac had let go, with a big smile on his lips.
“You can quit the act now. He’s gone back inside.” Isaac shook his head, chuckling. “If that doesn’t scare him off of your man, I’m not sure what will.”
Charlie stood straight, his lips forming a sly grin. He winked at me.
“Did you seriously just pretend to be a rabid mate about to attack someone crouching on your territory?” I looked between Thomas, Isaac, and my mate. “I swear I thought I was going to have to subdue you there for a moment.”
“Honestly, I really got into the role.” Charlie shrugged. “You may have had to if he dared to keep up his shenanigans. Part of me wishes I had thrown hands. That might make him finally give up the chase.”
“We were just talking about what to do about Zane.” Thomas looked at my mate. “I never would have come up with that.”
“It was an impromptu thing.” Charlie leaned against the rig. “Isaac and I were visiting our friend Piere who lives in the complex, when we saw you guys parked out here. We were admiring you from afar when I saw Zane approaching and came up with the plan. Isaac was on board, so I went with it.”
“Well, I think it was a fantastic plan.” Thomas nodded and gave a couple of quiet claps. “I honestly wouldn’t have blamed you if you were that fed up with the guy. But the fact you were acting—brilliant.”
“Thanks.” Charlie reached out and forced my arms around him. I turned it into a real hug, quick. “But I can’t promise it won’t be real if there is a next time.”
“We’re ready to go.” Jason came up to our group. “Is that omega up there bothering you, Jamie? We can put it in an official report, and that way, you have backup if you decide to pursue stalking charges or anything in the future. He seemed okay, just a bit love-sick. But you never know when that can turn toxic.”
“Part of me does, another part of me doesn’t want to do anything that might hurt his future once he finally wises up.” I blew out a breath, looking down at my mate in my arms. “What do you think?”
“Put a note in the case report, but don’t do anything beyond that yet.” Charlie looked up at me. “Let’s see if we got through to him this time. If not, we will consider stronger options for making him stop.”
“Okay.” Jason nodded. “I need to take your mate away from you again. Sorry. I promise to give him back tomorrow.”
Charlie pulled away with a little pout. “Fine. But promise you’ll keep him safe. From fires and from crazy exes who just won’t let go.”
“I’ll do my best.” Jason clapped me on the back and got into the rig. “Let’s roll out.”
I placed a kiss on Charlie’s head. “Love you, baby. See you tomorrow.”
“Love you too.” Charlie gave a tiny wave.
I got in the truck with the rest of the guys and waved out to my mate and Isaac. Thomas gave a head nod in their direction.
“Something going on between you and Isaac?” I whispered to Thomas, who had become one of my best friends over the years and usually spilled all his secrets. He had been uncharacteristically silent lately on the dating front. But I wasn’t blind to the subtle looks he had been giving a certain alpha over the last few weeks.
“Not ready to talk about it.” Thomas looked straight ahead. His features remained neutral, giving nothing away.
“Okay, man.” I bumped him slightly with my shoulder. “Just remember, I’m here if you need to talk.”
“I know. I will.” Thomas blinked twice. “Eventually.”
I wonder if Isaac is as tight-lipped as well. I’ll have to ask Charlie tomorrow.
Chapter Fifteen
Charlie
“Why are you still looking like you didn’t get your favorite flavor of ice cream from Creamies?” Jamie sat down across from me at the kitchenette. “Is this still about last week?”
“Of course it is.” I knew it was silly that I was pouting, but I really didn’t know how to stop. That damn Zane had tried calling Jamie this morning from a friend’s phone, only to hang up when it was me who answered. We thought blocking his number would solve the issue, but he’d thought of ways around that. What game was he trying to play now? “I probably should have attacked him for real. You shouldn’t have stopped me.”
“Maybe.” Jamie nodded. “But then we would probably have to spend money on bail when I could spend it on getting you yummy food instead.”
My head perked up. “Food?”
