Chapter 118
Chapter One Hundred-Eighteen
Harper
Yawning and stretching, I blink awake to find out the room has gotten darker, and the sound has gone from the TV. It’s not like Jay to leave me sleeping on a couch, but I need to admit this one is pretty comfortable. It’s at least five times better than the one in our old living room.
I get up to find I’m alone in the room, but that doesn’t last long.
The bedroom door opens as I start to move around the couch.
Jay comes into the room, holding a finger up to his lips.
Robin must still be asleep, then.
I guess he moved her to bed first.
He closes the door and lets out a breath.
“I see someone has a new favorite,” I joke, with only the faintest hint of jealousy in it.
He gives me a wry smile. “I was just coming to get you, and here you are, awake.”
“I was lonely on the couch all on my own.”
“You were both sleeping on the couch. Robin just woke up before you,” he admits. “A detective called for her, and she got upset. She’s sleeping again now, and I don’t want to wake her.”
“Huh,” I murmur. “A detective called? I assume you mean on the phone?”
I’d hate to think I slept through a house call from someone like that.
“Yeah, she called the landline. She’s going to visit Robin tomorrow in person.”
I straighten. “What for? Is it about the guy who had her working for him like a slave?”
“It’s about her mother. She died when Robin was young. The police have been trying to find her body so they can charge Ivan Hamilton with murder. There’s no evidence to help with that until they have a body.”
“That’s awful!” I exclaim.
I wince the second I realize I just raised my voice.
“Sorry,” I murmur, frowning. “But it’s fucking awful.”
“It is. Robin lost so much. She’s not okay.”
“But she will be,” I assure him. “Because she’s got us, and we won’t let that asshole get away with what he did. Right?”
Jay blinks at me. “Um, yeah. She’s got us, and we’ll help her through it.”
“And by that you mean, we’ll go find the guy and take care of him, right?” I ask, making a slit-throat motion.
“I think you’ve been watching too many gangster movies, Harp.”
“Seriously. Falcon knows where he lives.”
“He’s in prison, for a start. He’ll be charged with multiple offences, even if they don’t find Robin’s mother’s body.”
“Damn. Don’t we know anyone in prison who could gank him?”
“Gank him?” Jay sputters. “No more gangster movies, Harp. I’m serious.”
“Don’t you kind of want to beat the crap out of him?” I ask, a little insulted that it wasn’t his first instinct.
Where’s his inner caveman when you need him?
“Of course I do,” he admits. “He deserves worse. But it’s not up to us what happens to that creep. He’s in the system now. Let’s hope it chews him up until he’s a bloody lifeless pulp.”
“That’s more like it,” I tell him. “I hope he gets a few shankings in the joint, too, before he’s sent to hell to burn for the rest of eternity.”
“Let’s hope,” he agrees.
The sound of the doorknob being rattled makes both of us jump.
“Not it,” I say quickly.
He goes to the door, giving me a flash of his wry smile on the way.
“When are you ever it?”
“First time for everything,” I mutter.
He checks the peephole and unlocks the door, holding it open.
Falcon walks in first, looking like a construction worker or something, in one of those boiler suits that those kinds of guys’ wear.
“What happened here?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at them.
“Work gear,” Falcon says, as he goes to the fridge.
Shayne is wearing the same get-up as he walks into the room.
It’s kind of weird seeing them both wearing what looks like a uniform.
“I don’t know if I’m into this,” I admit.
Shayne laughs with a hint of bitterness. “I’m definitely not into it, so don’t worry. It’s not a permanent thing. We’re done with the fence.”
He unbuttons the top part and shuffles his arms out of the suit.
His T-shirt is drenched in sweat, and his arms have taken some damage.
“Oh my God,” I mutter, going straight over. “Are you okay?”
He shrugs, his expression sour. “I’ll be fine.”
I look at Falcon who’s drinking from a bottle of water, but who otherwise seems to be in good spirits.
“This is weird,” I tell them, looking over at Jay. “Is this not weird?”
Jay closes the door and locks it before he turns back to me.
“What?”
“These two have switched bodies or something.”
Falcon laughs as he sets down the half-empty bottle of water.
“See?” I point out. “Falcon’s all warm and happy inside, and Shayne’s acting like everything makes him moody. They’ve switched!”
“That doesn’t happen in real life,” Jay says, shaking his head.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m showering first,” Shayne says, as he takes off his shoes. “I feel disgusting.”
“Sure,” Falcon says, before he nods at the cart from lunch. “What’s that still doing here? It looks empty.”
“There’s a huge pot of soup underneath,” Jay admits. “And there’s some bread left, too.”
“Did Robin like it?” Falcon asks.
“She did.” Jay pulls back the curtain to show Falcon the pot.
“I’m glad.” Falcon smiles.
This is too strange. I’m not used to our lead Alpha acting so happy.
Falcon’s been so distant and moody for weeks, and he was never exactly super cheerful or positive before then, either.
Is this all because of Robin?
She is pretty awesome.
“She’s sleeping now,” Jay mentions. “I don’t want anyone waking her up.”
“I wasn’t planning on stomping around,” Shayne says, before he dumps the boiler suit on top of his shoes.
“Yeah, well, be extra careful,” Jay adds. “She was upset a while ago. Basically cried herself to sleep.”
“What?” Falcon asks.
“What happened?” Shayne stops in his tracks.
Everyone’s staring at Jay for an explanation.
He sighs. “Long story short, the detective on her case called. She’s coming for a visit tomorrow. Robin thinks she must have a lead about where her mother was buried.”
“Shit,” Shayne mutters. “That’s pretty heavy.”
“It’s a good thing we got the fence finished tonight.”
Shayne rolls his eyes.
“What?” I ask, not getting it.
“I’m beyond done with the fucking fence.”
“Go shower,” Falcon tells him. “Jay can call the kitchen for dinner. We can eat before you turn in for the night. It’ll make you feel better.”
It’s nice to see our lead Alpha taking charge, even in smaller ways.
I guess it’s been a while since he was present enough to do that.
Shayne slips into the bedroom, quiet with the door, but his emotions are still on the negative side as he disappears from sight.
Jay has his phone in his hand within a few seconds, calling in the order for the cafeteria’s lunch leftovers that we already decided on as our dinner choice earlier today. I can tell he’s still worried about Robin, but he’s taking that as it comes.
Falcon is about as calm and content as I’ve ever seen him.
It’s not that he’s the happiest he’s ever been, exactly.
It feels more stable than that.
I’m not sure it’s something I’ve felt from him before.
Kind of strange, but it’s definitely not a bad thing.
I could get used to it, for sure, as long as Shayne gets his smile back too.