With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

ventured into the living room. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Aubrey’s scent was
    stronger now. It emanated from across the apartment. He followed his nose past the foyer.
    Thump, thump, thump.
    He jumped and slapped a hand to his chest. Good grief, a person would think he was a cat instead of a
    wolf. He shook his head at himself. Remaining still for a few moments, he let his pulse slow and waited to see if the knock at the door brought Aubrey out from wherever he was. It didn’t.
    The rapping sounded again in a more rapid fashion.
    Hurrying to the door, he sniffed. The unfamiliar scent held the blandness of a human male and a sharp
    essence of…nervousness? Should he open it?
    The banging grew more erratic.
    He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
    With Abandon
    “Oh.” A handsome Latino man stood with his fist raised to knock again. His dark eyes widened, and
    the smell of his unease grew. Even though he was only about 5’ 5”, his features proclaimed him older than Matt. His suit was rumpled, like he’d slept in it, and his tie gaped at his neck. Was he someone Aubrey worked with, or a friend?
    “Hello.” Matt smiled, trying to put the man at ease and figure out who he was to Aubrey.
    “Hi, is Aubrey here?” Leaning to the side, the man peered past Matt into the apartment. “Tell him it’s
    Carson. I really need to speak to him.”
    Matt was stumped. What should he do? This wasn’t his house, and he had no clue where Aubrey was
    at the moment. Was he expecting this guy?
    Carson’s shoulders slumped and the smell of nervousness kicked up a notch.
    “Can I tell him what this is in regards to?”
    Carson’s smile was slow to come, but genuine. “It’s a personal matter. I would’ve called, but it’s
    important, and I thought Aubrey would want to talk face-to-face.”
    Matt hesitated for only a second. The man called Aubrey by name and not Mr. Reynolds, so there
    must be some familiarity, right? Stepping back, he motioned for Carson to come in.
    Carson hurried inside and the anxious aroma eased. “Thank you. I hate to interrupt, but it’s
    important.”
    “You didn’t interrupt anything.”
    Carson’s brows shot to his hairline. He looked Matt up and down. “Oh.”
    “I just got up. Why don’t you have a seat on the couch, and I’ll go see if I can find Aubrey.” After
    watching the man seat himself on the sofa and study the room, Matt followed Aubrey’s scent to a hallway behind the kitchen. He hadn’t noticed this area yesterday. He’d seen the open bathroom door, but not the hallway beyond the bathroom. There were a couple more rooms too. Wow, the condo was huge.
    The first room on the left was a weight room with a good view of downtown Atlanta. Well, that would
    explain the hard, toned body his mate sported because judging from his brother it didn’t run in the family.
    The next door was closed. Matt hesitated, wondering if he should knock. Even though the alluring,
    spicy scent was behind this door, there was no sign of activity. He frowned. He didn’t want to disturb Aubrey, but he couldn’t help the sense of urgency Carson had instilled in him.
    With a little scratch of his fingers, he waited half a second before he pushed the door open. Patience
    had never been Matt’s particular virtue, and he wanted to unravel the mystery of Carson’s presence. The room was an office. A big office, or maybe it was a library. Two of the walls were lined with bookshelves, even though they were only about half full of books. The third and fourth walls were graced with floor-to-ceiling windows covered with dark vertical blinds. A desk faced the door. A couch and coffee table were perpendicular to the desk and faced the windows.

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    29
    J.L. Langley
    Aubrey lay sound asleep on the couch, wearing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. He still wore the
    clothes he’d been in last night, with a laptop on the table beside him and a cordless phone on his chest.
    Matt hurried over and carefully lifted the phone. He set it on the table and glanced down at Aubrey. It was odd, but he managed to look older, more mature, with similar features that made his younger brother look like a teenager.
    Gently he rubbed Aubrey’s shoulder. “Aubrey? Aubrey, wake up.”
    Aubrey’s long lashes fluttered a few times then he squinted up at Matt. A slow grin spread across his
    face, and he blinked several more times before opening his eyes half-mast. “Hi.”
    “Good