Never Too Late (Fever's Edge #7) - Lynn Hagen Page 0,3

Shane live through it?

* * * *

Alejandro had never been so uncertain in his life. Was his mate telling the truth, or had he been in on the craziness? That wasn’t what shook him the most.

He’d found his mate.

And his mate could possibly be a criminal.

Now what was he supposed to do? Alejandro had stepped in the way when it looked as if Ben would grab the short shit. That had been pure instinct, but now that they were alone, what?

The only thing Alejandro could do right now was take Shane home. It was getting late, and Alejandro was not only hungry but the heat had been getting to him.

“Can we stop to eat?” Shane asked. “Nearly dying has made me work up an appetite.”

“Or profiting off selling people.”

“I didn’t do that!” Shane crossed his arms and huffed as he stared out the passenger window. “Every family has a black sheep, and that was Damien. I’ve spent my entire life keeping him out of trouble, and this is what those efforts got me.”

Could Alejandro believe him? Was his mate really innocent? That was one of the problems Alejandro had had as a sniper. He constantly second-guessed himself, overthinking everything.

Part of him wanted to believe that his mate wasn’t a bad guy, but another part wasn’t willing to risk giving the human the benefit of the doubt.

“Until I know for sure, you’re sticking to me like glue.” Alejandro parked in front of Bent Spoon and got out. “Just remember, if you run—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shane got out and headed toward the diner door. “I heard you the first time you threatened me. My memory isn’t that bad.”

How could someone be so sexy and infuriating at the same time? Shane was a lot shorter than Alejandro, with dreamy blue eyes and mahogany hair. He had a pert nose, a mouth on him, and damn if Alejandro wasn’t turned on.

But he had to maintain his distance until he knew his mate hadn’t been a part of what had been going on. Alejandro had seen the condition of the men when he’d arrived and scouted things out for Rourke and Phillip, the reason they’d been there in the first place.

Some of the vampires had appeared emaciated, their features sunken and their skin paler than usual. The shifters hadn’t looked any better. It had twisted Alejandro’s gut to see them in such deplorable conditions and had fueled his anger.

At least Ben had rescued them. Alejandro didn’t want to think what would have happened to the prisoners if they hadn’t been found.

“Sit anywhere you like,” Felix said as Alejandro and Shane entered the diner. The blond waiter always smiled at Alejandro whenever he stopped in there to eat. Alejandro had a feeling the human had a crush on him but was glad he hadn’t explored that any further.

“It smells so good in here.” Shane pressed a hand to his stomach as Alejandro looked around for a booth. He took the one closest to the kitchen and sat with his back to the wall so he could watch the door.

Not that Alejandro was expecting trouble, but he was military trained, and some habits never went away.

“So, are you like my babysitter now?” Shane picked up the menu and glanced at it.

Alejandro thought his mate was a strange little ducky. He hadn’t even flipped out when he’d heard Maverick and Panahasi discussing nonhumans.

Did Shane have prior knowledge about them because he’d been in on their sale? Was that why he didn’t freak out?

“More like your prison guard until I figure out what I’m going to do with you.”

When Felix came to their table, Alejandro ordered an iced tea.

“I’ll have the same,” Shane said. “I would also like a corned beef sandwich, some fries…” He continued to look over the menu. “Oh, and some fried mushrooms with ranch dipping sauce, a side of waffles, and three sausage links.”

The guy was as skinny as a rail. Where in the hell was he going to put all that food?

“What?” Shane asked when Alejandro simply stared at him. “I eat when I’m nervous, and you make me very nervous.”

Felix furrowed his brows.

“Our first date,” Alejandro said in way of an explanation. “I’ll just have a burger and fries.”

When Felix walked away, Shane leaned closer from across the table. “My prison guard? Well, if you stopped seeing me as a suspect, we would get along much better.”

Alejandro entwined his fingers on the table. “Well, if everything suspicious wasn’t pointing your way, I wouldn’t have