Page 35 of Brock’s Mate

“So he sent you to look for me?”

“Not really. DB and I thought we’d just take a walk through the spirit world, and see if we could find you and make sure you didn’t come down on the trouble side of the equation.”

“Well, I’m sure as fuck not getting any dick kisses.” Not that he wanted them. This wasn’t about that.

Disagree, said his wolf. If you’re going to break your promises, we should at least get dick kisses.

Brock resisted the urge to facepalm.

Instead, he told Nick about Desi, the rogue alert, Jered, DiSantos, and the fake IDs.

Nick pursed his lips. “Well, fuck. You had a busy night.” He thought about it. “And you don’t know if this DiSantos is working for Jered or the Enforcers?”

“Or both. Or someone else,” Brock said. “I’m debating calling my old contacts in Special Projects to see if they know anything, but I don’t want the Council to find out about Desi.”

Nick gazed levelly at him. “Because…?”

“Because what if the Enforcers do have some black op going with the dark wolves? And even if they don’t, you know what they’ll do to her.”

“Take custody of her and hire you back to help her?”

Brock looked away. “They might give her case to someone else.”

“Which is what you wanted when you quit, wasn’t it?”

“Shut the fuck up.” But there was no heat behind his words; Nick was right. Brock sighed. “Yeah well, this one landed in my lap. I feel responsible.”

More silence. That was Titan’s trick—Nick had obviously been spending way too much time with the big guy.

Brock said, “I’m waiting for you to say, ‘You always do.’”

“I wasn’t going to say that. I didn’t even know you before you quit working for the Council.”

“You were still going to say it.”

Nick grinned. “I think you’re hearing an echo of the voices shouting in your head.”

“Fuck you.”

“So I guess that means you’re going to keep Desi here and try to help her learn to control her wolf?”

“I guess so.”

“Are you going to tell Brandon?”

Brock said, “Why do you think I brought her here instead of home? I don’t want to drag Brandon into this. My license is only good when I’m working under the Council’s orders, so technically what I’m doing is illegal. You know he’ll tell me to bring her to the territory, and then he’ll be responsible if I fuck it all up.”

He rubbed his hand through his hair. “I have this habit of fucking things up even when I’m trying to help. I just don’t want to let anyone else down.”

Nick said, “I’ve never heard anyone say you let people down.”

Brock snorted. “You’ve never been to Silverlake. I’m a failure—the kid who was magic, who could heal anyone and befriend any shifter animal, even the fucking Darkwing Dragon. And then I grew up to be a hot mess with a wolf who’s six inches from rogue, who can’t even help himself. The kid who saves everybody turned into somebody people have to be saved from.”

He was surprised to hear the bitterness in his voice.

Nick said quietly, “Then why this one? If you really don’t trust yourself, then why her?”

Brock shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t seem to walk away. And she’s been hurt enough. The thought of anyone or anything hurting her more…” He couldn’t even stand the way that felt. “I just have to, okay?”