Chapter 54
It’s great that my record’s been cleared and all charges were dropped last week, but being back at work is exhausting after all the time off.
I’m glad I’m back to a full paycheck, though.
That should take some pressure off the guys trying to cover everything.
Cedric brought donuts this morning to celebrate my return.
But I think that was more for him than me.
The boss has been on his ass about being healthier since he gained twenty pounds last year when he did his physical.
I’ve been talking to him about getting a membership at the gym, but I might talk to Teddy and see if they can do a group rate or reduced company rates to see if we can try to get it covered by work.
After all, you need cops who stay in shape.
I’m already a member as part of Spence’s pack for free, but if the department wants to cover one for me, I won’t say no.
It would take pressure off the big guy that he doesn’t have to work as much if he doesn’t want to.
We were doing fine on finances when he was in college and only Alistair and I were working.
It helps that he’s making an income now too, but it’s not the end of the world if he doesn’t.
Cedric leans against my desk, sipping a steaming cup of coffee from the machine in the break room.
It’s not bad, but thick as mud. The chief is slightly obsessed with caffeine, so he insisted on a decent coffee maker.
Unfortunately, the daily brew depends on who gets to it first in the morning, and when it’s my partner…
well…it’s closer to an espresso—complete with burnt taste—than a regular cup of drip.
He says it puts hair on your chest, though from what I’ve seen, somebody lied to the poor bastard about that.
I like the kid well enough, despite his enthusiasm.
He was a dick last year to Kelly when their pack first met him, but he more than made up for it after all that shit went down with Xan, and thankfully didn’t get his own ass brought up for an internal investigation in the process.
To this day, I’m not sure how much of them closing the investigation was a result of their futile research and how much was just not wanting to deal with this asshole anymore.
He was overly obvious in his attempts at diversion, and he has all the subtlety of a hand grenade.
Still, I appreciate his support and effort.
Loyalty is important to have in a partner.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today, P? Action?
Adventure? Daring rescues? Car chase?” He sounds hopeful, but he should know better.
Almost nothing happens in Oak Flats, and the few things that do need us to step in usually result in somebody being hurt.
Though I do enjoy the various fundraisers and public events. Those are always nice.
“Speeding tickets.” My voice is deadpan, and it’s met with his irritated groan.
“Come on, at least tell me we’re out by the interstate this time.
Nobody speeds through town. Well, nobody but Mrs. Grady, and she’s fucking ninety-five.
It would be like ticketing my grandma. She’d probably yell at me the same way she did with Josh last time.
You know, when he didn’t recognize her car?
” My laugh bubbles free at the memory of my baby brother, bright red from blushing after being told off by the woman who recently retired as a fourth-grade teacher.
I never would have imagined she knew some of those words.
She was such a quiet and soft-spoken lady back then.
I think my poor little bro still has nightmares about that day.
“Sorry, nope, we’re out on the highway headed towards Springfield.
Out by the old glass factory. Word around town is it was recently sold, so I expect some kind of traffic soon for the new owners.
” That perks him right up, possibly in hopes of some nefarious doings, though nothing will compare to the guy who shut it down.
He was in the process of closing it before he was arrested for kidnapping and then died in a home invasion shortly thereafter.
To be fair, he was the one doing the invading, and from all reports, he met with the ugly end of an iguana.
I’ve met the critter in question, and I honestly can’t imagine how that happened.
I mean, it’s half the size of a normal one at best, scrawny little thing.
Like the size of a cat, maybe. Those little suckers can be vicious.
I mean, I’d love to have one like Storm—that was my mom’s cat growing up, but even she could be a mean and spiteful bitch if you pissed her off.
I have the scars on my foot to prove it.
The little asshole used to lie in wait and sink her fangs into the top of it when I would walk by if she was mad at Josh or me.
My partner is bouncing on the balls of his feet now.
“Alright! Let’s go! Investigation! I’m ready…
wait, I gotta hit the bathroom if we’re gonna be in the car for the next six hours.
Then let’s go! Can you grab me another coffee before we head out?
” While that defeats the purpose of his bathroom trip, I agree and get him a refill and snag a couple of bottles of water from the break room fridge on my way.
Spence keeps reminding me that hydration is an important part of being healthy, and I guess some of the shit sticks.
Maybe we’ll luck out and something interesting will happen.
Otherwise, I know that Cedric will spend the entire time streaming movies on his phone, and there are only so many times you can watch Blazing Saddles before you want to strangle someone.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Mel Brooks, and it’s a classic.
But come on, at least mix it up! Gimme some Sherlock Holmes, some Murder on the Orient Express—shit, I’d be happy with a little Maltese Falcon at this point.
I’m partial to a mystery, but I’ll take anything but western comedy right now.
My mind wanders back to this weekend and the little omega and her beta.
I wonder what kind of movies she likes? We’re pretty eclectic at home.
I go for mystery or horror. Spence is a romantic comedy guy all the way, and Alistair mostly watches history documentaries.
Though his guilty pleasure is probably British comedy.
I swear, I’ve seen every episode of Are You Being Served and Red Dwarf ever made.
He doesn’t think that Spence and I know about it, but the big guy figured it out the first time that our packmate left his Meaning of Life DVD in the player.
He doesn’t bring it up because he figures if Alistair wants him to know, he’ll tell us himself.
But the good professor ought to know by now, since we watched every episode of Doctor Who he could find in a mad attempt at relating to the guy.
Of course, then I had to pretend to be surprised by his book choices, since he never mentioned it before this weekend.
Most girls like romance, right? I bet she would watch movies with Spence.
Even my mom, who I got my love of mysteries from, loves romance movies.
From my brief observation, though, Sarah isn’t anything like Mom.
She seems so loud and outgoing, and Mom is quiet and intense.
She will totally give you her opinion, as I learned with my scent match, but she’s rarely so forward with strangers, preferring to stay in the background until she gets to know someone.
Sarah could be good for Spence, give him someone to love.
I really like her for him, hell, I like her for me in a friendly way.
She makes my would-be brother happy and seems like a genuinely nice person.
What’s not to like? Not that we can keep her, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m worried about the big guy getting attached.
I probably should sit down and have a talk with her and Greg about what their intentions are.
I don’t want to risk my boy getting hurt, and while I doubt she would do it on purpose, I think he’s already in over his head.
Plus, she is attractive, and it’s nice to see a slightly more mature omega.
It’s not like twenty-nine is old, but even for alphas society expects us to have a pack and family by the time we’re in our mid-twenties.
It has to be harder for omegas since they’re in the smallest population percentile.
She’s short, but well-proportioned and strong.
I don’t have a thing for muscles like Spence, but I can appreciate the time and care she takes working out.
Hell, she has more discipline than I do with that shit.