I can do that.”
“A few weeks at most, since you’re bonded with Dermot. You movin’ in with him permanent?”
“Um.” Elroy didn’t know how to answer that, ratcheting up his tension. Of course, all that did was increase the throb in his leg, since he’d flexed the muscles.
Reaching over again, Grady gripped his nape. He massaged lightly.
To Elroy’s surprise, his tension faded.
Huh.
“Relax, man. Shifters do things fast. It’s just the way we’re wired.”
Elroy nodded. “Dermot talked about that. Your instinct to please and care for.”
“Exactly,” Grady confirmed. “We can’t please and care for our mate if they’re not even in the same town.” He flashed a knowing grin Elroy’s way. “Don’t fight the pull, buddy. Move in with him and put you both out of your miseries.”
Heaving a sigh, Elroy fell silent. He stared out the window. Trees mingled with the occasional house zipped by out the window, but he didn’t focus on them. Elroy had too much on his mind.
“So, subject change, then.” Grady broke into Elroy’s thoughts. “Your apartment. Whatever you’re expecting, it’s worse.”
Elroy grimaced. “Worse?” He’d thought they would have tossed all his papers about again, so what could be worse. “Like broken furniture and smashed dishes worse?”
Nodding, Grady told him, “There is that, but also other stuff.” His lips pinched into a thin line. “Like someone dumped soiled cat litter and feces on your clothes worse.”
“Gross,” Elroy whispered. “Damn it.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I’m a cat and can’t imagine ever doing that, even to my worst enemy.” Snorting, Grady added, “Not that I have any enemies, per se. My enemies, I just kill.”
Staring wide-eyed at the shifter, Elroy commented, “But aren’t you a detective?”
Grady arched one brow. “Yeah. So?” When Elroy just continued to stare, the cat shifter scoffed. “Ah, I see. Well, you have to consider that my enemies would either also be a shifter, or they would be some asshole trying to kill me for being a shifter.” Shaking his head, Grady stated, “Either way, not someone I’m going to show mercy to.”
“There are people out there trying to kill you because you’re a shifter?”
Well, damn.
Nodding once, Grady pointed out, “There is always one faction or another trying to kill those different than themselves. It’s been like that all throughout history.”
“Ah, true.”
Humans were not known as a tolerant species once a group formed together. Individuals, often, yes. But in a group, they turned into sheep. They would do whatever the shepherd told them to do.
“So, we’ll go in, try to hold our noses, and you can mosey around and see if anything jumps out at you,” Grady offered. “I understand wanting to check on your stuff, but if you want to forget it later, talk to Seb.”
Just the idea of asking a vampire to wipe something from his mind scared the shit out of him. He never wanted someone inside his brain with him. His own thoughts were enough. Besides, if he saw something so horrible he wished he hadn’t seen it, why would he force another person, even a vampire, to have to see it.
So glad I’m bonded with a shifter and not a vampire.
According to Sebastian, when a vampire bonded with their beloved—their term for mates—they forged a mind-link. They could talk to each other telepathically. While cool in theory, how were you supposed to hide things—like Christmas presents or surprise parties?
There’s a thought.
“Do you guys celebrate holidays? Like give each other birthday or Christmas presents?”
“A lot of couples start out doing that, but after a few decades, it normally falls by the wayside,” Grady answered, clearly being honest.
“That’s too bad.”
Grady drove into his apartment’s lot and parked. After he’d shut off the engine, he turned and faced him. “You have to understand, Elroy. We’re around for a long time.” His smile turned understanding. “Eventually, it gets to be tough finding something unique for a partner or something they don’t already have.”
Elroy nodded slowly. “I guess it gets that way with any partner, huh?”
“Sometimes.” Then Grady pushed open his door. “Stay there. I promised Dermot that I’d help you in and out. I don’t want you falling.”
While Elroy felt a little annoyed that Dermot had forced Grady into such a promise, he sort of appreciated it, too. He was still getting used to the crutches. His balance was improving, but he wasn’t certain he could slide out of a large pick-up truck, quite yet.
Grady opened the passenger door, then took the crutches and rested them against the truck bed. “One hand on my shoulder,” he