Chapter 3 #2
“I heard that as well. They had a few fair bids to begin with, before the bids were messed with. After that, they had to follow the usual route of publicizing and taking bids individually, in person. They finally managed to sell them all, but it was a lot more work than it should have been. Many of those councilmen are no longer there, which is good for everyone.”
“The work that Damon does is amazing. He has asked me to come and work with some of the wardens for a brief. I am considering doing it, but I have been delayed with other needs.”
“I hope you're not saying that I have interfered because the wardens need all the help they can get,” Cally said.
“Not just you, but also the new business that is being started right now. I have offered to send some of my new people in to be trained, and Damon said that even unskilled people can help.”
“Perhaps after our personal relationship is resolved, we could both go and work for a week or two with the wardens. It's something I have done before, and while some of the things that I've seen are unpleasant, the work is necessary.”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had in a while.” He declared.
“You must not get many good offers.”
“You and me in a hotel room for at least a week? You’re underselling your appeal.” He observed.
“Not at all. You don’t realize how hard the job will be. Some regular wardens will be given time off, and we’ll be thrown into the soup.”
“That doesn’t sound as good. I thought we would just be helping catch up on a few cases.”
“Some of the wardens in this area haven’t had a vacation day in a few years,” Cally explained.
“I was sure Cage had a vacation last year. Is Damon playing favorites?”
“Not at all. Cage worked without a day off to push forward the work on the blood drugs, and his mate did too. Other wardens refused to give up their two days off a week, no matter how bad things got.”
“Couldn’t he force them to work?” He asked.
“Of course, but he decided not to do that. It does affect their ability to get promoted and the bonuses they receive. They know that, but they don’t care.”
“They aren’t as committed to their jobs.”
“Clearly, and they don’t care as much as some others do. They still need to get time off, Wardens from Cage’s department will fill in to let them take their leave.” Cally admitted.
“I think I know where this is headed.”
She thought he did. Damon wanted someone to keep an eye on some of the wardens in other districts.
This was the perfect opportunity to do that.
Cally was sure that some of them were alright; they just weren't as dedicated as those who worked with Cage.
Others might have secrets that needed to come out.
Damon had offered to send Harry to them to work on a few difficult cases, but they had refused assistance.
While he could have forced them to take her, he didn't want to put her through the bad behavior that would probably bring out.
It might appear suspicious, but it was far from proving anything.
That case ended up being solved, or so they said.
It was too bad the suspects were killed when they tried to apprehend them.
“Here we are just in time for supper.” He observed.
“That's good because I am hungry.”
They hurried into the house, and the aroma of wonderful food hit their noses. Her stomach growled, and her mouth watered. The table was set, but the meal was placed in warmers. They hurried to clean up and then came back to eat their food.
As they ate, they discussed the attackers who had been constantly hitting either the pack or now, the business.
Neither of them could come up with a decent reason for the behavior of the mercenaries.
Eventually, they would figure out what was going on, but until then, they would have to be careful.
After supper, they were ready to turn in for the night, and he pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss that heated her whole body.
She was tempted to stay with him, but she fought her need and went to her own room.
That sounded easy, but it wasn’t. As she went to bed, she was burning up with need, and her dreams were X-rated.
She got her wake-up call, and after she got ready, she headed to the dining room. The moment she saw him, her body began to feel need. Carlos looked up, and she knew that he was aware of how she felt.
“If you need me, we can take the day off.” He whispered.
“The business comes first. The field work is far behind. There’s no way we can miss work.”
“I know you’re right, but what about tonight?”
“Let’s wait to see how the day goes before we make plans,” Cally suggested.
“Why do you resist me so?”
“I have to be sure it’s right.”
“I think you know it’s right. Tonight, Cally, and you’ll never doubt me again.” Carlos said.
She had a feeling he was right. This was a lot to think about, but for now, she smelled breakfast, and she was hungry.
It was always good, and they ate quickly.
It was time for work, and they headed to the office.
When they arrived, the first thing Cally did was resupply the truck while Carlos got their list. Since they had completed their list yesterday, today's list had extra locations.
“Why do we have more locations today than yesterday?” He asked.
“That is because we did better than expected, and more locations are available in case we do even better today. Necessary to help us catch up as quickly as possible.”
“You’re right, and business must be what we deal with now. Tyne is pleased, and we want him to stay that way. But the workday will end, and then what?”
“Pick a location and let’s go.”
Cally let him drive because he was an alpha male, and they always wanted to be the driver. Maybe it would keep him busy? No such luck.
“Do you think they’ll try again today?” Carlos asked.
“Possibly. We need to watch for it. Whoever is behind this is not going to stop until they are captured or their goal is met.”
“That sounds logical. But since they've been failing so much, maybe they would pause for a little while so they could catch us off guard?”
“That also sounds logical. Maybe we'll gain insight into whoever is doing this when we see which path they take?” Cally observed.
They finished their first location without any problems. The second one was easy because the lines were already laid and matched the ones they would have done themselves.
That moved him on quicker than expected, and they caught the mercenaries completely off guard when they arrived.
Carlos called some of his people in while she began removing some of the mercenaries.
Ten had been sent this time, and even though they won in the end, it was a bit more of a job than expected.
“Are you OK?” Carlos asked.
“Just fine. What about you?”
“I feel good. A fight like that every day would make me feel even better. It would help if there was not so much at stake, though.”
“I understand. A good fight brings out the primitive side, but you don't want to risk losing something that you can't afford to let go.” Cally admitted. “We'd better get to work because we have a big list.”
They got to work on their third location and finished it quickly because they were both brimming with energy.
She didn't think that they would have any more problems for the rest of the day, and they didn't. Only the last location was unfinished; it will be added to tomorrow's list. As a team, they worked together flawlessly and got the job done.
There were no problems and no second-guessing.
Together as a team, they were doing even better than the experienced teams that Tyne had here.
Cally assumed that since he'd had to take volunteers, they hadn't gotten the best teams that he had.
They were still good teams and getting done more than an average team would.
When they got back to the office, they turned in their list and hurried out.
She was super aware of him and nervous about what might happen now.
It wouldn't happen right away, but when they turned in for the night, it would probably be together.
Cally knew it would be wonderful, and she didn't understand why she was so nervous about it.
She could sense his excitement because he was thinking about it too.
Maybe it was the fact that she'd not been intimate with anyone in several months.
Honestly, it had been over a year because it had been before the last time she'd come here.
Carlos said that the same was true for him, and there was no reason not to believe him.
They both seemed committed to moving forward in this relationship, and it seemed so important to her that it worked out.
Her wolf was in the background of her mind, yipping.
Crazy wolf. Pulling into the driveway, her heart that was already beating like crazy seemed to pick up speed.
She was hungry, and her stomach growled, and she hoped that there would be something good for supper.
Cally knew she didn't have to hope because every supper she'd had since she'd been here had been wonderful.
Maybe she was just looking to distract herself from what was coming.
As he stood at the door with his hand on the doorknob, he turned, and instead of opening the door, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a sweet kiss.
There was a promise of something special and something more than just the sex that they would be having soon.
Not quite love, but a strong feeling that would build until it became everything that she needed.
Supper was great, and now they sat eating the dessert and drinking a sweet wine.
“This will be good for you. Wolves should never go this long without sex. They need it.” Carlos admitted.