Chapter 4
Major was still outside when Tabitha returned, but she didn’t bother looking for him in case he was busy checking over the property.
She removed the containers from the large bags and set them on the island.
She’d ordered a gallon of sweet tea since Major liked it.
When Craig and Trista entered the kitchen, Trista grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with ice and water from the dispenser on the refrigerator, then took it and her container to the table.
Craig stood at the end of the counter, so Tabitha pushed the container with his name on it toward him.
“That one’s yours. There are sodas in the fridge if you don’t want tea or water. ”
“Are there no real plates in this house?”
Tabitha didn’t want to set a precedent of catering to the asshole, so she pointed to the cabinet next to the microwave while grabbing two glasses.
“Yep. In that cabinet there.” She then got ice from the dispenser and poured Major and herself some tea.
She placed those on the table and put Major’s food at the spot next to hers.
He entered the back door a few minutes later and introduced himself to Trista.
“Miss Bellinger, I’m Major Lazlo.”
“It’s a pleasure,” she replied in a flirty tone.
Tabitha pointed to his plate. “I poured you a sweet tea.”
“Thanks, Tabby.” He sat down and didn’t bother keeping his legs tucked in.
Having Major next to her at the table with his thigh pressed against hers was a balm to her Gargoyle’s fiery attitude.
It was heady, being close to him after several months apart.
Their weekend had been the best of her life.
Sure, the sex was out of this world, but more than that, they clicked, which wasn’t a surprise with him being her fated mate.
They had a mutual love of motorcycles, music, and most movies.
They cooked together as though they’d been sharing a kitchen forever.
It was natural for her to give him her pickles and for him to give her his cole slaw since they’d done the same thing during their weekend when they ate dinner out their first night together.
When Major said they were close, she wanted to expound on exactly how close, but she didn’t think it appropriate.
Since Trista was single, she had every right to flirt with him.
Craig, on the other hand, was married, yet he leered at Tabitha like he wanted to lick the sauce off her thumb.
It made her wonder how he conducted himself away from his wife and if that had anything to do with why someone came after him with a knife.
When Major spoke of the female hitting him, her Goyle rumbled in her head, ready to go to New York and kick ass. Tabitha hadn’t met his twin sisters, but hearing how Nahla had his back, she had no doubt she would love them.
Perry entered the room and grabbed his meal from the island.
He placed it on the table next to Trista before getting something to drink.
Once seated, he said, “Florence will be here later today. She emailed a list of items she wants from the store, but she also said if there are specific requests to let me know so I can get the ingredients for her.”
Craig began prattling off gourmet meals, and Tabitha thought, not for the first time, that the actor was an entitled dick. He stopped mid-sentence. “Shouldn’t you be taking note of my preferences?” he asked Perry.
Perry continued mixing the shredded beef and cheese with his baked potato. “No. Florence is well aware of your requirements as she called Annabelle to ask. I know what Trista likes, so I was asking on Tabitha and Major’s behalf.”
Tabitha nudged Major with her knee. “We aren’t picky, although neither of us care for sushi.” Food was one of the topics they had discussed at length during their weekend.
Craig huffed. “Who doesn’t eat sushi?”
“We don’t,” they said in unison. Tabitha met Major’s gaze, and he winked at her.
Perry swallowed his bite of potato, then asked Craig, “What about Daniel?”
“He eats what I do.” Craig placed his fork on the empty plate and stood from the table. “Trista, we need to work on our lines.”
“I’ll meet you in the den when I’m finished eating.”
Craig didn’t bother pushing his chair in or taking his dirty plate to the sink. “Fine.”
Neither Perry nor Trista said anything to him. Instead, Trista asked Tabitha, “Do you think we could spar later? There’s that one move I was having trouble with, and since I can’t get to Joey…”
“Absolutely. Holler whenever you’re finished going over your lines, and we’ll set up downstairs.” The owners of the house had converted the basement into a gym slash game room, so there was plenty of space for them to spar.
Major rose from the table and refilled his glass. “More tea?” he asked Tabitha.
“Yes, please.”
He filled her glass without seeing if the others needed anything. When he sat back down, he asked Trista, “If you’ve been training with Joey, does that mean you’re doing your own stunts?”
“Only some of them. Jennika, my double, will do most of the action scenes, but there are a few where the director doesn’t want to have to digitally reimage the film or whatever it’s called when they put my face on her body.
I don’t understand how they put the movies together, really.
We film scenes out of sequence all the time, and somehow they end up in the right order. ”
Major took a sip of tea. “Tabby would be an awesome stuntwoman. She’s such a badass.”
Tabitha’s Goyle preened. “Eh. I can hold my own. You know who would be perfect at it though? Harlow.” Tabitha’s cousin was a Gargoyle/Gryphon hybrid, but she preferred doing her fighting behind a computer screen.
“Speaking of my cousin, I need to give her a call and see if they have any updates for me.”
“Go ahead and call her. I’ll take care of your empties,” Major offered.
Tabitha squeezed his shoulder when she stood. “Thank you.” She stepped outside to call the Trio, continuing down the dock until she reached the water. Yes, she was leaving Major alone with Trista, but she trusted him. She retrieved her phone and pressed the button for Harlow.
“Hey, Cuz. I was just about to text you, so I’m glad you called. I’m at Anthony’s with Carleigh, so I’ve asked Nikita to look into Brad Campbell for you while we’re out of the office.”
“I’m glad you and C can be there for Tony since I can’t.”
“I wish you could be here. Elle is showing us how to shoot her bow. We have trained with weapons our whole lives, but she is something else. Even your mom is getting in on learning.”
“Rub it in, why don’t you?” Tabitha joked. Mostly.
“How’s it going with Major?” Harlow asked, changing the subject.
Tabitha knew her cousin would bring him up. She, Harlow, and Carleigh were as close as sisters, and they told each other everything. “Other than my Goyle wanting to pounce on him, it’s good. Girl, he showed up wearing a suit. Yum.”
Harlow sighed. “Suit porn for the win. Are you going to tell him he’s your fated mate?”
“Not yet. I don’t want him to feel trapped. I want him to fall for me organically, not because there’s this preconceived notion I have no choice.”
“But you don’t have a choice, Tabby,” Harlow all but whined on her behalf.
“Sure, I do. If he doesn’t fall in love with me for the right reasons, then I’ll deal with it. I’m going to call Nikita. Get in a swipe for me when you all take down Grevolus.”
“Will do. Love you, Cuz.”
“Love you too.” Tabitha swiped off the call, then found Nikita’s number.
“Hey, Tabitha. Here’s what I have on Brad Campbell so far.
He grew up in foster care and was bumped around several houses until he went to live with Sonya and Jeremiah Pritchard when he was fifteen.
There were two other boys, brothers, Vaughn and Toby Mixon, who were also placed with the couple.
From what I can tell, the Pritchards were good people who truly cared for the boys and didn’t foster solely for the monthly check.
After he aged out, Brad left Corona and moved to Springfield, both in North Carolina.
Brad has been in jail a few times, all for misdemeanors, none of them violent.
Vaughn and Toby own a garage and junkyard in Corona, but they have clean records. ”
Tabitha sat on the end of the dock, her feet dangling above the water. Since it was February, the lake was low enough that her feet didn’t touch the surface. “So, no connection between Brad and Craig?”
“Not that I’ve found, but there has to be a reason someone with no past history of violence went after him. Mads and I will keep digging.”
“Thanks, Nikita. Talk soon.” Tabitha disconnected and slid her phone back inside the pocket of her cargo pants. Stylish they weren’t, but they were comfortable and allowed her to move about freely.
“Tabby?” Major called out like she wasn’t already aware of his presence.
“Down here.” Tabitha stood, then turned to check out his approach, admiring the movements of his strong body.
He had changed into jeans, moto boots, and a white tank with a denim shirt unbuttoned over it, the sleeves rolled up to show off the ink on his arms. Her mate was sex on long legs.
His hair was different than a few months ago, but she liked the new cut.
When he stopped in front of her, she ran her fingers through it. “I like it.”
Major leaned into her touch, closing his eyes. “What did Harlow say?”
Tabitha removed her hand before she did something unprofessional like pulling his head down for a kiss.
Because kissing Major Lazlo was something she enjoyed immensely, and it would lead to more.
“She and Carleigh are at Anthony’s getting ready to go after Elle’s sperm donor, so she has Nikita working on this.
She had some info on Brad Campbell, mostly his background.
They haven’t found the connection between him and Craig, but they’re still digging. ”