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CHAPTER3
Dash turned the corner to go to his room, and his mate ran into him and nearly sent them both tumbling down the stairs. He reached out and grabbed Christopher’s arm while bracing his other arm against the wall to steady them both. “What’s wrong? Do you need help?”
“Just needed to be … not in that room with him,” Christopher said, jerking his head back in the direction of their rooms.
“Has something with your mission gone wrong? Or was it personal?” Dash asked.
“Personal.” Christopher sighed. “It’s fine. An argument, nothing more.”
Dash took his mate by the elbow and gently led him back down the hall. “Want to come in? Vent a little?” he asked softly.
Christopher looked back at the room reserved for him and Simon for a moment, but then he nodded. “That’d be nice.”
Dash tried not to grin as he ushered Christopher into his room. His mate didn’t seem as defensive now, and Dash wanted to make sure those emotional walls didn’t go back up. Dash sat in an armchair by the small fireplace and gestured to the one across from it. “Have a seat. Even if I can’t help, I’m a great listener.”
“Are you?” Christopher said as he settled into the chair.
Dash nodded. “Gets lonely out on the road. Highwaymen like to swap stories by the fire, and not just because they think they’ll be betrayed if they dare to go to sleep. You can’t get close to anyone. Trust doesn’t come easy. Honor among thieves only exists in books and legends, for the most part. Loyalty is bought with coin. Rarely with friendship or any form of love. It’s hard to connect with others, so you take your moments when you can.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “It can be exciting, and a skilled thief can live quite well for many years, but it’s not a romantic or fulfilling life. I can’t erase my past, but I’m ready to give that life up.”
“I thought you invited me in here to vent?” Christopher met his gaze. “That sounded rehearsed.”
“I did bring you in here so you could vent, but I’m going to take every chance I get to make my case. I’ll admit to rehearsing most of what I just said at one point or another. Getting you to give me another chance has been in the front of my mind since we last saw each other a few weeks ago.”
“You must’ve been close to have tracked me to Gateshead. We did our best to keep a low profile. We didn’t tell anyone where we were going.”
“I was. Very close. Something kept holding me back each time I thought about approaching you. I could make myself look good by saying I wanted to let you enjoy your friend’s mate vow, but I didn’t know that was your destination until I heard people talking in the tavern.”
“Did that spur you on? Knowing I’d attended a shifter ceremony?”
“Partly, but actually I met Thorne in the tavern. Didn’t know he was the head priest at the time. I saw him again as I was leaving, and I knew who he was then. I told him the truth before I could stop myself. He was very encouraging. Even offered to pray to Jalal for me.”
Christopher chewed his lower lip, looking worried.
“He’s a priest. He probably won’t tell anyone.”
“I’m not concerned about that. I’m thinking of a chat I had with him. He said I seemed unhappy. Not that I looked unhappy but that he sensed I was unhappy. I’m sure he encouraged you because he thought the two things were connected.”
Dash held his breath a moment before saying, “Are they?”
“That’s a complicated question.”
It shouldn’t be.Instead of saying that, Dash decided to take the higher road. “Then we can set it aside. Tell me what’s going on with Simon. I truly am a good listener.”
Christopher sat back and hesitated for a moment, but then he seemed to relax as his thoughts turned back to his friend. “I get frustrated with Simon. He shares everything with me, but he refuses to talk about his relationship with my brother.”
“Some men are like that.”
“But he’s free with his opinions about you and me.”
That had Dash sitting up a bit straighter. “Is he? Do I want to know?”
Christopher sat forward and leaned on the arm of the chair as he glanced at the door. “He’s always been wary and warned me to be careful ever since I first told him about you. I could tell he didn’t like the idea of you coming with us. But just now, only a few hours after questioning me inviting you to join us, he was acting as if we should just go for it. We’re mates, and that’s all we need to know. I marry you, and then you’re set for life and can stop being a highwayman. Problem magically solved.”
“Hmmm. I don’t want to criticize a man who has such wonderful ideas, and I’m glad to have him on my side, but the look he threw me back at the tanner’s shop didn’t send the same message. You’re right to be frustrated. I don’t understand it either.”
“Exactly. He’s been brooding on something today. I think it’s about him and Renn more than about you and me.”
“Renn? That’s your half-brother?”
