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“I will.” Sam laughed as he hung up.
Then he got up and went downstairs. Not only had Jesse cooked bacon but there was a plate of toast and fluffy scrambled eggs.
“Just in time,” Jesse said as he pulled two plates from the cupboard. “We need nourishment after the night and morning we had.”
Sam blushed. “I’m starving.”
“I just bet you are.” Jesse winked at him, and Sam’s blush deepened. He set a full plate in front of Sam. “For my prince.”
Jesse was so not the savage Malcolm had said his kind were. If anything, he was more civil than Sam’s father or brothers.
Sam finished his food in no time. It was that good, and he’d been that hungry.
“Glad to see you like my cooking.” Jesse took a drink of his orange juice.
“It hit the spot.” Sam patted his stomach. “I think I’m going to read for a while in my room.” He took his dishes to the sink then rummaged through his bag for the book he’d just started before Jesse had been hired.
An hour into Sam’s reading, his phone rang. It was Gloria’s ringtone. He rolled his eyes and smiled as he answered. “Since when are you so greedy for my attention?”
“Sam, it’s Terry. Gloria’s been attacked. We’re at her apartment, and she’s crying for you.”
Chapter Eight
It had taken a lot of convincing on Sam’s part to get Jesse to take him to Gloria’s apartment. Sam just knew it was all his fault. Who else would have attacked her? Maybe they’d tried to kidnap her to get to him. Terry hadn’t gone into details. Sam had heard Gloria sobbing in the background before Terry hung up. It was one thing to mess with him, but now he was irate that whoever was after him had pulled his best friend into this.
Gloria might be fiery when pissed off, but Sam knew the truth about her, how vulnerable she was. She was insecure because her family had ostracized her because she wasn’t “normal.” Her father had abused her growing up, trying to beat the “devil” out of her.
Anytime Sam thought about that, he saw red. Gloria was such a beautiful person, giving, always thinking of others ahead of herself. She wasn’t the typical catty drag queen. She had a heart of gold, and if anyone hurt her, Sam would be out for blood.
He glanced at Jesse and saw how clenched the man’s jaw was. He wasn’t happy about this, but Sam wasn’t sure if Jesse was pissed that they weren’t at the safehouse or that Gloria had been attacked.
His mate’s fingers were curled tightly around the steering wheel as he gazed ahead. Sam had been so caught up in Jesse claiming him that he hadn’t stopped to think that the wolf was a stranger to him.
That never mattered in their world. Things always happened so fast when finding one’s mate. It was natural for mates to bind their souls without preamble.
But there was a downside to that. Not all mates turned out to be good. Like Anton’s mate. Olivia was a demon and accepted into Sam’s family, but she was the true definition of a bitch and, in Sam’s opinion, made his brother’s life hell.
There was no such thing as divorce in their world. Souls were bound, so breakups weren’t a thing.
What did Sam truly know about Jesse? The guy was good at his job protecting Sam. He was great in bed, could cook, and was considerate and caring.
But Sam knew nothing about what made Jesse tick. Where was he from? How old was he? Did he have a good upbringing or a terrible one? Why did he work for a security firm?
Unfortunately, now was not the time to ask any of those questions. They were approaching Gloria’s apartment building. It was on the corner of a quiet residential street, a five-story structure with beautiful flowers running along the perimeter and four textured stone steps with a riser wall on either side leading to the front door. It really was a gorgeous building.
The first thing Sam noticed was the lack of police. There should have been at least one cruiser outside. Hadn’t Terry called the cops? If not, why? Sam knew how deeply Terry cared for Gloria. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but he knew that Terry would go out of his way to keep Gloria safe.
Maybe he was still consoling her and hadn’t called the police yet. Lord knew Gloria was prone to hysteria, but in this case, she had every right.
Sam had been attacked a lot over the course of the past few weeks and could still recall how truly frightening it was for a stranger to accost you. The one time he had been taken, forty years ago now, had left him mentally and emotionally scarred for a very long time.
That only made him want to get to her faster.
When Jesse parked, he looked around, his features grim. “I don’t like this, Sam.”
It was daylight out, but Sam had the same eerie feeling. His instincts were telling him to stay in the Yukon, but another part of him wanted to get to Gloria. She needed him, and Sam was hesitating at the curb. He could see her third-floor window from where he sat, but the curtains were drawn.
“I’m taking you back to the safehouse. Then I’ll come alone to check on Gloria. That’s what I should have done in the first place.” Jesse was reaching for the gear shift when Sam’s door was yanked opened and he was violently pulled out. Sam shouted and fought, but whoever had him was too strong.
