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Sanjay watched as Jake left the bakery, feeling a sense of loss now that his presence was gone. Sanjay let out a deep breath, knowing that he needed to focus on his bakery, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Jake, his warm smile, and the way he made Sanjay feel. Sanjay had never felt so comfortable around someone he had just met. Which was weird since Jake was a wolf. Sanjay shouldn’t feel comfortable. He should be scared out of his mind.
He spent the rest of the day baking, trying to keep his mind off Jake. He made a batch of his famous chocolate chip cookies, hoping that the scent would bring him some comfort.
As he bit into one, he thought about their earlier conversation and the promise of a hike. Sanjay had always loved the outdoors, and he couldn’t wait to explore the trail with Jake.
As he sat down to take a break, Sanjay’s phone rang. He picked it up, expecting it to be a customer, but instead, it was Jake.
“Hey,” Jake’s voice was soft and gentle. “I was thinking about you.”
Sanjay smiled at the sound of Jake’s voice. “I was just thinking about you too.”
“Oh yeah?” Jake asked. “What about?”
“Hiking.” Sanjay looked up when the bell above the door jingled. Reese had already left for the day, and it was just Sanjay there.
In walked Trenton. Sanjay’s pulse quickened as he stared at the hyena shifter, in all his evil glory. “I have to go, Jake.”
“Is something wrong?” Jake asked.
“I have to take out the trash.” Sanjay hung up, stood, and tucked his phone into his back pocket. “What do you want, Trenton?”
“What I want is for you to keep your nose out of my and Dario’s relationship,” he snarled.
“Dario’s my best friend,” Sanjay snarled right back. “We both know you’re a piece of shit, Trenton. What you need to do is stay away from Dario. He’s too sweet for a scumbag like you.”
Trenton took a menacing step closer to Sanjay, his eyes flashing with anger. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, little gazelle. Dario and I have a connection, and nothing you say or do can change that.”
“The only connection between you two is your fist to his body,” Sanjay spat.
Sanjay’s heart raced as he stared down Trenton, who was now just inches away from him. He could feel the tension in the air, and he knew that he needed to be careful. He couldn’t let Trenton get the best of him.
“Stay away from Dario,” Sanjay repeated, trying to keep his voice steady.
Trenton’s lips curled into a sneer. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll pay someone to fuck you up.” Sanjay regretted the threat as soon as it left his lips. He wasn’t a violent man, but clearly Trenton was.
Trenton’s face contorted in rage, and before Sanjay could react, he lunged forward, grabbing Sanjay’s shirt and slamming him against the wall. Sanjay’s head hit the wall with a sickening thud, and everything went black.
When Sanjay came to, he was lying on the floor of the bakery and Trenton was gone.
He groaned as he sat up, his head throbbing and his vision swimming. He touched his fingers to his head and winced at the pain.
Dazed and disoriented, Sanjay picked himself up off the floor and stumbled over to the counter. He grabbed a rag and pressed it to the back of his head, trying to stop the bleeding. He couldn’t believe what had just happened.
His first thought was to call Jake, but Sanjay didn’t want Jake to think he was using him as muscle. That wasn’t a great way to start things off with him.
Instead, he called Dario and told his friend what Trenton had done.
“He put his hands on you?” Dario sounded shocked and angry. “The bastard is pissed because he came by earlier and I refused to open the door. I told him that you and I talked. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him that.”
Maybe Dario shouldn’t have, but Sanjay wasn’t going to stand by and watch his friend get abused. Still, Sanjay didn’t want Trenton’s wrath aimed at him, either.
Now Sanjay was thrown back in time, to when he’d been dating Matt. How Matt had thrown Sanjay against countless walls, how he’d hurt Sanjay in more ways than Sanjay could count.
“You did the right thing,” Sanjay finally said, though his headache argued otherwise. “Don’t let him in. Don’t answer his calls. I know this is hard for you, but I’m proud that you’re standing up for yourself.”
“I’m sorry he did that to you,” Dario said. “I’m not so wishy-washy over him when he hurts my best friend.”
