Loving Styles [Brac Village 12] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Lynn Hagen Page B

gripping his tools tighter in his hand.
    Nine damn days around his mate and Styles was starting to open his eyes to the possibilities around him. He didn’t like change, not in the least. Change had always brought something bad with it. Styles was sick of bad things.
    But this was Robby. How could change be bad with a man who was good to him? Styles was pulled from thought when his cell phone rang. It was sitting over on the bench. He set the ratchet down and grabbed it, pressing it to his ear.
    “Hey, Styles, it’s Kenway. Did you take my head baker again?”
    “I dropped him off a little while ago. He should be there.” Styles remembered the man after Robby and his pulse quickened. “How long ago did he leave?”
    “That’s just it,” Kenway said. “I didn’t even know he was gone. He usually tells me when he’s taking off with you.”
    Styles gripped the phone tighter, his mind racing. “Was the door to the alley open?”
    “Uh, yeah,” the man replied. “How did you know?”
    Styles headed out of the bay door in the back, going straight for his bike when he heard something that sounded like a trash can was being knocked over. Turning in the direction of the noise, Styles walked up the side of the building, his eyes landing on a pair of feet. “I found him.” He tossed the phone down and dropped to his knees. Robby was lying there, holding his gut and staring up at Styles with fear.
    “I tried to make it to you,” he whimpered. “He took me by surprise. I tried, Styles. I really did.”
    “Calm down,” he said as he gently pulled Robby’s hands away from his stomach. Styles stopped the quick inhale of breath when he saw the man’s shirt saturated in blood. “Let’s get you inside. We’ll deal with everything else later.”
    He scooped Robby from the ground with ease, carrying his mate back into the bike shop. He knew what Robby had to do. The man needed to shift in order to heal. “Dagon!” Styles shouted as he laid Robby on a cloth-covered sofa in the back. It was a ratty grey couch that had seen better days, but it was serving its purpose now.
    Instead of Dagon answering the worried shout, Tryck appeared in the back part of the shop. Styles did not need this right now. He didn’t want to deal with Tryck Santiago and his smart-ass comments. In the mood Styles was in, he’d deck the guy.
    “What happened to him?” Tryck looked enraged. His expression was murderous as he glanced from Robby to Styles.
    “What, do you think I did this?” Styles stood, swinging around to face the man. “Do you think I stabbed him?”
    It took a momentary pause for Tryck to answer him. Styles was ready to lay into the guy until the man spoke. “I don’t think you did this. You need to make him shift.” His eyes flashed back over to Robby.
    There was a minute trace of anger in the man’s tone.
    “I got this,” he said as he turned back around. “Tell Dagon that the bike won’t be ready on time.”
    “Don’t worry about the bike, mi hermano perdido ,” Tryck said. “Just take care of your mate.”
    Brushing Robby’s hair aside, Styles patted his mate’s cheek lightly. The guy had passed out. That wasn’t good. If he lost too much blood before he shifted, Robby could die. “Hey, Robby,” he said as he continued to pat the man’s cheek. “Wake up.”
    “You are being too gentle,” Tryck snarled. “Wake up, Robby!”
    Styles growled at Tryck who merely shrugged. He was about to go off on the man for screaming at his mate, but then Robby’s eyes fluttered open. His skin was turning paler, his eyes duller.
    “I need you to shift,” Styles said softly. “You need to heal.”
    Robby licked his lips before he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “But you hate wolves.”
    Was the man serious? He was willing to die in order not to let his wolf free? Styles couldn’t believe the sacrifice his mate was going to make in order to stop Styles from going apeshit. “Shift, damn it,” he