“Sure thing, boss. And don’t be too hard on your boy here. I think he needs a little TLC from his favorite alpha.” Merchant winked at Chad, making him duck his head and smile.
“I will gut you,” Peter said, his voice deadpan. “Like a fish.”
Merchant just laughed. “I’ll call you later,” he said, walking back into the house.
“Let’s go home,” Peter said, putting his hand on the back of Chad’s neck and leading him over to the SUV. Chad focused on the feeling of Peter’s broad palm and the grip of his fingers, letting it comfort him and give him strength.
“You’re okay,” Peter said, pulling him in under his arm and kissing his cheek. Chad sighed, feeling anything but okay, leaning against Peter’s side and letting the older man steady him.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. Peter just shushed him and manhandled him into the passenger side seat of the SUV. Chad was about to grab his seatbelt and buckle it shut, but Peter reached across his chest before he could manage and did it for him. The feeling of Peter’s strong arm pressing against his chest had Chad’s stomach tingling pleasantly.
Peter walked around the SUV and climbed behind the wheel, turning the key in the ignition and pulling away from the curb.
Neither one spoke as Peter calmly drove them out of the suburbs and toward the city.
“You were kidding about spanking me, right?” Chad asked when they reached the highway, breaking the silence. Peter had never punished him before, and he wasn’t sure if the words had been a joke or not.
“Not even a little bit,” Peter said, his voice calm and assured. Chad felt a shudder run down his spine. He licked his lips and looked out at the road ahead.
After a few moments Peter spoke again.
“Not tonight, though.”
“What?” Chad asked. He turned his head and looked at Peter.
“I’m angry with you. I don’t want to do anything to punish you when I’m feeling like this, so it will have to wait.”
Chad’s stomach dropped. He didn’t like that Peter was angry with him. A spanking suddenly didn’t seem so bad compared to the horrible feeling Peter’s words had put in his gut.
“I love you,” Peter said, reaching across the dashboard and squeezing his hand on Chad’s shoulder. “And you worried me today. It drives me crazy that you’d do something like this.”
“She said she had my parents,” Chad defended himself. He’d panicked and acted rashly, sure, but it wasn’t like he’d set out to be stupid. What if there really had been someone who had kidnapped his parents? He never would have been able to forgive himself if they’d been hurt because he refused to cooperate.
Peter took a deep breath, and Chad recognized the action as something Peter did when he was trying to be calm.
It wasn’t often Peter was visibly upset, so Chad had learned to recognize the signs.
“Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened,” Peter suggested. “Explain your thought process.”
Chad swallowed and took a second to gather his thoughts, and then relayed to Peter everything that had happened from the second his phone rang back at the training center.
“And then Merchant shot her and you know the rest,” he finished, Peter’s hands clutching the wheel so hard his knuckles were white.
“How does your head feel now?” Peter asked, giving him a quick look before turning his attention back to the road.
“It hurts a little, but it’s not so bad. I don’t think I have a concussion.”
“Good. I guess… I guess I understand why you decided to do what you did. You weighed what you thought they were going to do to you against what they might do to your parents, and then you acted to save them. I can understand that.”
“You can?”
Peter huffed out a tired laugh. “Yes. I love my parents too, you know.”
“You do?”
Chad was surprised. The way Peter talked about his parents—who Chad still hadn’t met—made it seem like he resented them.
“Of course. I don’t like them and they drive me crazy, but I love them.”
