“Why?” Ryder’s brows pulled together the slightest bit. “Nothing to apologize for. It’s good to see you smile. And if you want to talk about it…”
He shook his head. “Not until after I talk to Race.”
“Fair enough. Now, eat up. More food is coming.”
He tried for a smile again. “Thanks. You don’t have to be so nice to me. And I can barely afford the soup.”
That had that dark, intense gaze arrowing in on him in a hard focus. “Oh, I think I do need to be good to you, little bear,” Rydersaid, his bass rumble sensual and deep, making goosebumps rise on his arms.
In a good way. Not like Herschelat all.
He smiled at Ryder, trying to keep things light and easy, to back off on the intensity, but he was feeling it too, and that was bad.
He wasn’t in a place to think warm, fuzzy thoughts about another bear. He wasn’t healthy, he wasn’t ready, and he was being hunted.
At least he assumed so.
It wasn’t so much as he had a lot of money or a lot of power or a lot of connections.
But sometimes when something was a possession…
Well, no one liked losing those, he guessed.
The bartender, Wilder, came over, his cell phone in his hands. “Hey, I got a hold of Race. He wants to talk to you.”
He reached up and took the phone. “Brother. I came… like you said. Please don’t make me go back.”
“Of course not, Nolan. I’m here for you. Always.” Race’s voice was sure, firm, and real. “I’m proud of you. You did it. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come get you, but I knew how strong you are.”
He slumped down in sheer relief. “Can you come get me?”
“I’m not in town, brother. Wilder says Ryder’s there with you?”
He nodded and then realized that there was no way Race could see that. “Yes, he’s here. We’re having food.”
“Good. I want you to listen to me. I need you to either have Ryder come stay with you at my house or for you to go stay with Ryder. It’ll only be a few days, and I can guarantee your safety. I know Ryder—I’ve worked with him, but I don’t want you to be alone right now until we figure out what’s what, and I’m in the middle of an extraction.”
“O-okay.” Shit. He glanced at Ryder. “Promise it’s safe?”
“Yes. Rye and his brothers are the best. Well, aside from Quin and Thiago, but they’re crazy busy all the time and won’t be able to watch over you.”
He glanced at Ryder, who was still staring, but he had a feeling the big guy was also hearing every word. “I don’t want to be so much trouble.”
Ryder lifted his chin, then held out his hand for the phone. Nolan shook his head, but Ryder wiggled his fingers.
“Ryder wants to talk to you.”
“Okay. Put him on, I love you.”
“Love you too.” He handed the phone over, then slurped up more soup, not certain what else to do. Really, he hadn’t seen Race since they were teenagers. His brothers had scattered to the winds, and he’d been the only one left at home. So this was awkward as hell.
“Hey.” Ryder never looked away from him. “Sure. Yeah, no. My place is more defensible. Uh-huh. Cool. Okay, will do. Holler when you can. Okay, you wanna… Uh-huh. Okay, night, man.”
Ryder hung up and stared at him some more until he started to fidget. Wilder brought over the second sandwich and another load of cheese, and the silence continued until Nolan watched Wilder walk all the way back to the bar.
Then he licked his lips. “So, what’s the deal?”
“The deal is that your brother wants me to take care of you until he gets back.” Ryder cut another piece of sandwich to put over on his side of the table.
