“So yeah,” Tom said finally. “I took the job with Steadman, and I never looked back. Never thought of doing anything else. But sometimes—”
He stopped again, then gave a dry laugh. “Well, sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to take what someone says at face value, rather than try to work out the angle or the spin.”
“That sounds a little like looking back,” Bryce said quietly.
Tom gave him a sideways glance, then he sighed. “You’d think it’d get easier, that you’d get used to everything being spun and nothing being what it seems. But somehow—it’s corrosive.”
He bit off his words suddenly, and he looked at Bryce for an instant, something akin to panic skittering over his face. And Bryce couldn’t tell if that was because he’d just been disloyal to the Council he was supposed to be representing, or if it was something Tom had realized for the first time and was struggling to come to terms with himself.
Bryce hated that look on him and needed to take it away.
“I don’t know about that, but you seem to have been honest with us,” he said. “And I appreciate that.”
Tom smiled then, and it looked real. Like Tom, not a council aide. And something warm shifted in Bryce’s chest. He caught himself noticing the curve of Tom’s mouth, the way that hoodie clung to his shoulders.
They looked at one another for a long moment, long enough that the space between them felt like it changed again, warmed by something softer than sunlight. Not only attraction, though that was there. Something slower. More curious.
Tom eventually glanced away, shifting slightly on his rock before looking back at Bryce, eyes inquisitive.
“You don’t need to tell me, and I don’t intend to pry, but Iamintrigued,” he said. “Your pack’s very small, and all men. Is there a particular reason for that?”
Bryce rolled off the boulder and headed toward the stash. Grabbing a couple of granola bars, he tossed one to Tom. And yeah, he was covering, playing for time as he decided how much to say.
“Matt never intended to form a pack,” he said, settling beside Tom once more. “But there are always strays out there, for one reason or another. And shifters need a pack.”
Tom made a low noise of agreement, his mouth full.
“As for us all being guys, that definitely wasn’t a decision Matt made. It just happened that way. So far, anyway. The rate at which we’ve been picking up new members lately, who knows?”
The corner of Tom’s lips twitched upward, and something in Bryce sparked in response.
They sat and finished their bars, basking in the sunshine and it felt peaceful. It was becoming clearer to Bryce why Dave liked it so much up here. Or maybe it was the company he was enjoying as much as the view, because Tom was easy to be around. Which he damn well shouldn’t be, given where he was from and why he was here.
Bryce glanced sideways at him, and decided to prod. “Any reason for the two different security checks?”
He scrunched up the granola bar wrapper and stuck it in the pocket of his sweats, giving Tom time to decide how to answer such a pointed question.
“Councilor Steadman likes to be fully prepared for any situation,” Tom said.
“And you can give her intel the Council security team can’t?”
When Tom looked at Bryce, his eyes were rueful. He knew exactly what Bryce wanted to know, but he had his own loyalties.
“Let’s just say, Jax—head of Council security—has many talents. None of them involve interpersonal skills. And Steadman likes to get the small things right from the start. No calling someone by their given name if they’re always known by a nickname, that sort of thing.”
He stared up at the sky, and a sigh escaped him. Bryce wasn’t sure he knew it had.
“You mean she doesn’t want to burn any bridges with us,” Bryce said. “At least, not without good reason.”
Tom’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked at Bryce. “Noone’s going to want to burn bridges where Jesse’s concerned,” he said. Then he sobered. “Though I’m not sure sucking up’s going to go down well with him.”
“Another thing you’re going to tell Steadman?” Bryce suggested, just a hint of challenge in his voice.
Tom sat up and looked at Bryce, his eyes serious. “I’m not doing anything underhanded here, but yeah, I’ll tell her what I’ve noticed if it helps her make a connection with this pack so you can have productive conversations.”
Bryce nodded, and found himself smiling. “See? Thank you for being honest with us.”
Tom flopped back down, staring up at the sky rather than holding Bryce’s gaze. But there was a softness to his face, as if Bryce’s words had meant something to him.
