There was actual hurt and regret in Payton’s eyes.
“Verbally, it wasn’t fun to be around you.” Pyke opened the driver’s door. “Consider yourself lucky I’m a gentleman, or I might have knocked the teeth out of your mouth for half the shit you said to me.”
“Was I that horrible?” Payton actually appeared stricken.
Pyke hopped into his truck and slammed the door without answering Payton. He wasn’t in the mood for his ex-boyfriend’s shit, and Pyke needed to find Nester.
He drove two more blocks before he spotted his mate up ahead. Nester had his head down, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, and damn it, he didn’t have his jacket on.
It was cold out, and Nester had to be freezing.
Pyke pulled to the curb and jumped out. “Are you trying to catch pneumonia?”
Nester’s head shot up, but instead of looking at Pyke, he glanced around with quick and jerky head movements. “How did you find me?”
“I shot a GPS locator into your arm when you were asleep.” Pyke waved at his truck. “Now get in.”
There was a troubled knit to Nester’s brows as he looked at both his arms. “You did not.”
But his voice lacked confidence. Pyke rolled his eyes and opened the passenger door. “Get in. We have some serious talking to do.”
He wasn’t going to tell Nester that he knew about the killing. Not until he was certain his mate couldn’t run away from him again. Pyke was starving and not in the mood to run on foot to catch Nester if his mate took off again.
“Are your friends still at your house?” Nester rubbed his arms, and Pyke noticed the guy’s teeth chattering.
“No, they’re gone, and you have nothing to worry about. I asked them to keep their mouths shut about you, and they agreed.”
The relief in Nester’s eyes was palpable. He crawled into the truck, and Pyke walked around the hood, climbing in before blasting the heat.
“Put your hands by the vents.” He pulled from the curb and headed home. “I heard about what happened at the motel, but I want you to tell me what actually happened.”
Nester stiffened as he looked away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Pyke sighed. “Please don’t play me for a fool, Nester. Just tell me what happened.”
When his stomach loudly rumbled, Nester pressed his hand against it. “Can I eat first? I think better on a full stomach.”
“Sure. We can reheat the food, but I’ll need to make some fresh eggs.”
“Sorry about that.” Nester hugged himself, and Pyke was dying to pull his mate into his lap and soothe away his worries. He hated seeing Nester so uncertain and afraid.
“No big deal.” Pyke stopped at a red light and watched as a cop car drove past them. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nester shrink down into his seat.
Pyke needed to get to the bottom of this and then talk to the sheriff. He didn’t want his mate on the lam, wanted by the law, even if Arlan had said that Sheriff Copache wasn’t going to arrest him.
There was no way Pyke was taking any chances.
When they were back at the house, Pyke heated the food as he made fresh eggs. Nester sat at the table, his hands curled around a hot cup of coffee, a throw blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
“About six months ago I started dating Scott,” Nester said as Pyke took the pancakes out of the microwave. “It’s like every other story you hear. He was charming at first, real sweet, and then his true colors started bleeding out. He got physical, and I told him it was over.”
Pyke brought the food to the table and filled Nester’s plate. He took a seat and waited for Nester to continue.
“If I’m being honest, I think I still kept dating him because I knew it pissed off my mom.” Nester took a drink of his coffee. “She pretends she cares, but all Norma Jean cares about is herself.”
“Why do you say that?” Pyke pointed his fork at Nester’s plate. “Eat up.”
The pancakes wouldn’t taste as good since they were no longer fresh, but they were edible. With some syrup, no one would be able to tell that they were reheated.
Nester slid the blanket from around his shoulders and let it pool around his waist. “My dad and I were close, and my mother was jealous of our relationship. She always wants to be the center of attention,” Nester said. “She loves the limelight. Her son a killer? She’s probably in heaven, injecting herself into the investigation, trying her best to seem like she cares, but all she wants is everyone’s attention.”
Jeez. Pyke didn’t want to believe that a mother would treat her son that way, but he knew not every woman was cut out to be a mom.
“So, if you and Scott were over, why did you go to the motel room?”
Nester curled his lips in and become very interested in his food. He shoveled forkfuls of pancakes into his mouth, barely giving himself time to breathe between bites.
Pyke decided to let the subject drop, for now. He didn’t want to force any answers out of Nester, and the only way to get to the bottom of things was to earn his mate’s trust.
Pyke just hoped it didn’t take months to achieve that goal. He wanted to clear Nester’s name and start their life together.
But his gut told him there was a lot more to the story that Nester wasn’t telling him.
Chapter Four
It was so easy talking with Pyke. Nester had started to tell him everything but stopped before he revealed the darkest part of what had happened.
He didn’t want Pyke looking at him with disappointment. Nester wasn’t sure why that was so important, but it was.
“What exactly is a mate?” He set his fork down and wiped his mouth. “I know you said it was fate saying we’re perfect for each other, but there has to be more to it than that.”
Pyke looked as if he knew exactly what Nester was doing. Dodging the question, and he would be right.
“Once we’re mated, you’ll—”
“Once?” Nester frowned. “But I thought you said we were already mates.”
Pyke tapped his chest. “I felt it right in here when we met. But our bond won’t be complete until we have sex.”
Nester slammed his fist against his chest, choking on the piece of pancake he’d been chewing. He gasped for air and was thankful when Pyke brought him a glass of water.
“Is the idea of having sex with me that horrifying?” Pyke sat back down but looked as though he’d jump back up if Nester needed further help.
Nester took a moment to catch his breath before wiping at his watery eyes. “No, that’s not it. You just caught me off guard.”
Pyke had said they were meant to be together, and the natural progression would be intimacy. He just hadn’t expected Pyke to be so blunt with his answer.
Pyke gave him a knowing smile, as if he could read Nester’s dirty thoughts. And they were downright filthy.
“Once we’re bonded, you’ll never get sick and you’ll age as slowly as I do.”
“Exactly how old are you?”
“Nope.” Pyke chuckled. “If I tell you, then you’ll only choke again.”
Well, that was cryptic. Nester opened his mouth then closed it. “See, I don’t have any food in my mouth and I’m sitting down, so you don’t have to worry about me fainting and cracking my skull on the edge of the table.”