13. Niles
13
NILES
When Rigg gave me the highlights of the plan to take down the lab, I was both excited and nervous. There were so many moving parts, and everything had to come together perfectly for us to pull it off.
But we all had a part to play. And mine was to go back to work at On Tap as a bartender so I could hear what lab employees were saying when they got drunk.
Alcohol and poor judgment were in abundant supply, but it was fun to be back in the presence of adults. My coworkers were happy to see me back and working again, but when they found out I was living with a guy, they had some reservations about whether I had fallen into a relationship too quickly. I couldn’t easily explain the mate bond to humans, so I didn’t bother trying.
"Gotta pay the bills somehow." I just laughed at their jokes and focused on every person who walked through the door.
Evenings in the bar were loud, but the energy was fun and interesting. People played pool and threw back cheap drinks, and I soaked in all the eavesdropping I could handle. The regular bartender was about to give birth, so they were happy to take me on for a three-month trial period. That worked for me, because after three months, I’d probably be too tired to be on my feet for eight hours a day anyway.
It was hard work to pour drinks, keep track of tabs, and try to listen to random conversations. But the highlight of every shift was when my mate came in, disguised as a stranger to everyone but me. I could scent him the second he walked through the door, but he was always in a different face, flirting with me and making me laugh at his ridiculous pickup lines.
Tonight, while slinging drinks for an especially obnoxious bachelor party, I saw a familiar smirk in a face I'd ever seen before. The brown-eyed guy at the corner table nursed a beer like he'd never had one, but his eyes never left me.
He was playing “subtle” for once. Usually, Rigg came in hot and heavy to get my digits. But it was just a game we’d gotten in the habit of playing.
"Another new boyfriend, Niles?" Katie said as she passed behind me with a tray of bottles. She gossiped like a grandma at church, but the way she kept glancing in Rigg’s direction, I thought she was jealous of the attention I was getting from different guys every night.
Of course, she had no idea it was the same guy every night. My guy.
"Just keeping my options open." I winked and flipped a glass in my hand, showing off the skills I’d been practicing all week.
I focused on the customers in front of me and told myself that as soon as I got a free minute, I'd go give Rigg a few minutes of my time to really get Katie questioning my lack of morals.
Everything was going well until a drunk alpha dropped onto a stool at the end of the bar, closest to where Rigg was seated. In a voice that was not even close to quiet, he asked, "Who’s the slut working the bar tonight?"
I kept my head down and pretended not to notice, but I could sense Rigg working his way to the seat next to the drunk guy. When I looked up, Rigg was emanating hostility, and I just hoped the guy would keep his mouth shut.
“Joe?” The man grabbed Rigg’s arm and turned him so he spun to face the guy. “How are you alive?”
A few people glanced in their direction, but most of the late-night drinkers shrugged off the outburst. The only people on edge in the bar were me and Rigg.
“Oh, hey, man. I think you’ve had a few too many.” Rigg raised his glass and took a drink, hoping the guy would take the hint, but he didn’t.
He doubled down. “Oh, are you in some kind of protection program? Fuck, man. We thought the lab got you.” He waved me over and asked for drinks for himself and his buddy. “Those kids you ran off with? They were supposed to be destroyed.” He thought he was whispering, but his voice carried several feet in every direction. “Your buddy, the one who helped you get out, I’m pretty sure he’s dead. I just can’t believe you got out.”
Rigg glanced at me and subtly shook his head to signal that I didn’t need to intervene. “Nah, I’m just passing through town. But sorry to hear about your friend.”
“Yeah, I get it. You probably have a new name, right?” The man nodded and leaned closer to Rigg. If not for my wolf hearing, I might not have caught their full conversation. “You know, we still have a bounty out on those kids. A boy and girl, right? They’ve put up a hundred G’s each. If you know where they are, we can split it.”
My heart was racing as I realized he was probably talking about Connor and Lily. Our kids.
Rigg took a deep breath, and I could see he was working hard to keep his composure. “Why would anyone want to spend that kind of money on a couple kids? What’s so special about them?”
I grabbed a glass and a polishing rag and moved closer to them so I didn’t miss a word.
“You probably know more than I do. The only thing I’ve heard is they’re the first to meet the standard. Everything those sick-ass scientists have been working on all these years. Isn’t that why you got them out of there?”
Rigg just shrugged, not confirming or denying what the man was saying. “So, what’s going on these days? Anything interesting?”
The guy threw back the last of his drink and pointed at me for another.
Fine by me. The drunker he was, the more likely he was to give us more information. I slid another drink toward him and grinned. “Here ya go.”
“Well, you didn’t hear this from me.” He leaned back and took a look around the room before coming back toward Rigg. “There’s a roundup planned a few days from now. That’s why I’m back in town. They’re calling in all the guards for training on some new tech they’ve developed. After that, we’re being paid ten G’s per person we bring in.” He gleefully laughed, making my stomach roil in disgust. “Dude, we’re gonna be rich. I can find ten or twenty a day.”
Rigg nodded, and his eyes locked with mine. “You’re all training here in town?"
“Nah, at the convention center in the city.” The guy swayed on his stool, and I started to worry that maybe he was confused and not giving us credible information. “I’m staying here because I’ve got a little side piece I see when I’m in River’s Edge. But Friday, we’ve got the entire building reserved all day because all the big wigs will be there. It’s a whole shindig.” The guy pulled out his wallet but fumbled it, and it fell to the ground.
“Allow me.” Rigg slipped off his stool and bent down to grab the guy’s wallet.
I took the opportunity to offer myself as a distraction. “Is there anything else I can get for you or do you want to close out your tab?”
He leaned forward with both elbows on the counter.
I leaned forward too, laying on the charm a bit thick. “Don’t tell me you’re looking for something else?”
He grinned as if he thought he had a chance with me. “I don’t gotta meet up with my friend for another hour. How about you take a break and we head to the back room?”
“Here’s your wallet.” Rigg shoved the wallet in front of the guy.
I decided to give my mate a break and get rid of the guy. “That’s sweet, but I have a very sexy mate at home.” I placed my hand on my belly and pushed my shirt down so it was clear I had a small bump growing. “And since he knocked me up, he’s been pretty possessive. But thanks anyway.”
I winked at Rigg, and he finally relaxed. “We should let you get back to work.”
I nodded. “Yeah, my shift is almost over, but you guys have a great night.” I walked to the far end of the counter and began closing out. I was beat, and I could tell Rigg was anxious to head out too.
After I clocked out, I went out the back door and found Rigg waiting at the car with the phone to his ear.
“Right. I’m gonna drop him off at home, and then I’ll head over after that.” He nodded and said a few more things before finally hanging up.
My eyes were narrowed when he turned back to me. “You’re dropping me off?” I scoffed and got into the car with a slam of the door behind me.
He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “You know I don’t wanna leave you alone but there will be a lot of heat on the pack. You’ll all be safer at the cabin where no one will find you.” He took a deep breath and pulled out of the parking lot. “You heard what he said about the kids. People are looking for them.”
I wanted to throw up, but that wasn’t a good reason for us to be separated. “That’s all the more reason for us to stay together.” I reached across the center console and held his hand. “Where you go, we go. All together.”