"You'renotstupid," Reid said immediately, with more force than he'd intended. "And this is exactly what I do. You'll be safe with me."
The last five words came out like a vow.
Cody blinked, and for a second, something flickered in his expression. Recognition, almost. Not of the mate bond because humans couldn't sense that, but of the certainty in Reid's voice.
"Okay," Cody said, and some of the tension eased from his posture. "Thank you."
Reid wanted to touch the man. Needed to. Just a hand on his shoulder, confirmation that Cody was real and here and safe. Reid could feel his control fraying at the edges and his fingers twitched. He locked the instinct down tight.
Instead, he turned sharply toward the truck. "Let's move. We need to get on the road ASAP.”
“Okay.”
The next five minutes were a special kind of torture.
Reid loaded Cody’s luggage into his truck before he opened the truck’s rear door for Cody—and when he climbed in and his scent flooded the enclosed space, Reid had to grip the door frame hard enough to dent the metal.
He was losing his mind.
This was a client.
This was the worst possible scenario.
How in the hell was he supposed to act professional with his fated mate when all he could think about doing was getting Cody on the nearest flat surface so he could do unspeakable things to him.
Reid rounded the truck, slid into the driver's seat, and started the engine. In the rearview mirror, he could see Cody settling into the back seat, looking around at the modified interior.
"This is… tactical," Cody said, taking in the reinforced panels, and the communication equipment.
"It's safe," Reid corrected. "Nothing is getting through those panels."
Their eyes met in the rearview mirror.
The impact of that gaze—exhausted, grateful, and trusting—hit Reid like a physical blow. His chest tightened, and his bear settled just a fraction.
Reid tore his eyes away and focused on driving.
The ranch was a few hours away from the airstrip. Reid had to lasthoursin an enclosed space with his mate, fighting every instinct that screamed at him to pull over and—
No.
Reid had survived war zones, assassination attempts, and a bar fight with six drunk werewolves. He could survive ninety minutes inside a car with his handsome and incredibly sexy mate.
Probably.
Behind him, Cody's heartbeat was a steady rhythm that Reid's bear matched automatically, seeking synchronization.
Reid white-knuckled the steering wheel and drove.
Chapter Four
Reid
It was late afternoon by the time they arrived. Reid’s ranch was the perfect safehouse. Remote and defensible, it was somewhere he could stay indefinitely if he needed to. The main house was set back from the road by half a mile of gravel driveway and surrounded by open pasture that made covert approach nearly impossible. Trees framed the pasture, but they were far enough away that they couldn’t be used to get anyone near the house undetected. There were mountains in the distance, a big sky overhead, and silence. It was one of Reid’s favorite places in the whole world.
He parked near the front porch and took thirty seconds to lock down his control before getting out of the truck. Apparently, thirty seconds weren't enough.
When he opened Cody's door, and Cody made to get out of the truck, their faces were suddenly close—closer than would have been deemed appropriate. Those blue-green eyes went wide, and Reid realized he was crowding into Cody's space, his body automatically positioning itself between Cody and the world.
