Chapter Twenty-Five
Eoin
Hagen tsks, but he’s grinning. “So violent. What did he say, anyway? One minute you were just freaked out, and then the next you were freaked out and mad. We got here just as you transitioned to homicidal.”
I don’t want to admit that I got mad just from realizing the guy has a thing for Dáithí—as Caolan said, it’s not reasonable—so I mutter, “He said he has a shot with Dáithí.” Then I wince.
That doesn’t sound reasonable either, when I say it out loud.
Before Ari can make another smartass comment, I continue, “Were you watching me? What the fuck?”
“From the surveillance room,” Ari confirms cheerfully. “Someone has to keep track of how you’re doing to tell Dáithí later.”
“You’re supposed to be managing the team while I’m here.” Not that the team needs to be micromanaged, but if he’s closed away in the surveillance room—which is mostly a closet with the backend of the CCTV equipment and a couple of monitors—then he’s not exactly accessible if they do need him.
He holds up his phone. “They know how to reach me, and I only left the office twenty minutes ago. I’d be gone longer for a meeting.”
True, but…
Hagen smirks. “Still the same old control freak. Don’t worry about your team—worst-case scenario, they know where to find you. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t been taking turns to come out and spy on you.”
I’m sure they would, which is why I forbade it on pain of being assigned to do background checks for the rest of the year.
Ari opens his mouth—probably to say so—but reconsiders and closes it when I narrow my eyes.
He’s still dealing with the aftermath of the last background checks I assigned to him.
“Unlike you, they have better work ethic than that,” I tell Hagen, making him laugh out loud. We both know there’s nothing wrong with his work ethic, but when you were roommates with someone for hundreds of years, you’re allowed to casually insult them. It’s an unwritten law.
“How have things been going?” he asks, and I scoff.
“You’ve been watching, so I’m sure we all agree that I won’t be replacing Dáithí full-time.”
“That’s not the point of this task,” Caolan reminds me.
“I’m still not sure what the point of this task is.
” I’ve been trying to understand it, but the best I’ve come up with is that it’s testing my commitment to do anything to prove myself to Dáithí, which doesn’t seem like something he’d agree to.
He’s not shallow like that, and he takes his job seriously.
“That’s okay, we do.” Ari still sounds way too cheerful. If he keeps this up, I’m going to tell Erik that we want to expand the collaboration plans. “Is the phone supposed to be flashing like that?”
I glance down at the phone, which has lights flashing on all four external lines and several internal ones.
“Shit.” I check that my Bluetooth headset is connected, then jab the button for one of the external ones.
The people who work here can get off their asses and come see me if they need something.
“Welcome to the DEA. How may I direct your call?”
Ten frustrating minutes later, there are no external calls waiting and most of the internal ones have dropped off too. Bonus: I only accidentally hung up on one person. It’s not my fault that the Transfer button is right beside the End Call button. That was a stupid design choice.
Slumping back in the chair, I turn my attention back to my friends, who are still standing around like we don’t all have actual jobs. No wonder Dáithí’s so quick to pull out the spray bottle—I would be too, if I had to sit here every day while other people loitered in my space, being annoying.
Speaking of, where is the spray bottle? It’s not in its usual spot on the desk. I open a couple of drawers, but it’s not there either. Dáithí must have stashed it somewhere for safekeeping.
Too bad.
“Do any of you need anything? If not, go away. There are shockingly few people here right now, and I have to get through more things on the list while I can.”
“Huh,” Ari says. “I guess it’s true that people who are in relationships start to sound like their partners, because that’s something Dáithí would say.”
I flip him the bird. There are some things I’ve learned since coming to Earth that are incredibly useful.
“Do you need anything?” Caolan asks seriously… though he has his phone out and appears to be taking notes. Based on my experience so far today, I doubt they’re positive.
“No, I— Wait. Do any of you know how to make the big printer work?”
Caolan takes a step back. “Not me.”
“Fuck, no,” Hagen agrees, and Ari just shakes his head.
“Great.” I check my notes for the number I need, then make a call.
“Candice? It’s Eoin. I need help with the printer, please.
” Saying it feels like accepting defeat, but thousands of years of combat experience have taught me that sometimes, you need to assess a situation and cut your losses.
I’ve already spent fifteen minutes trying to make that damn machine do its job, and I’ve exceeded my very limited knowledge on the subject.
It’s not likely that I’ll get it working on my own, and any time I spend trying will be wasted while people and calls wait out here.
I might not be out to get a full-time receptionist job, but Dáithí runs this place efficiently, and I refuse to tarnish that reputation completely.
The marketing team will get the reports for their meeting, and people who enter or call the DEA will be greeted and assisted.
I’m going to manage this if it kills me.
Candice promises she’ll be up in ten minutes, and I thank her before ending the call. There’s still nobody new waiting, no more calls, and I realize with a whole lot of relief that I’ve reached what Dáithí calls “the midmorning lull.” Thank fuck.
“It seems like you have this under control,” Caolan begins, but I shake my head.
“Could you wait here for a few minutes? I need to make a personal call real quick. If the phone rings or someone comes, just say hello and ask them to wait.” I got the text earlier, and I only have limited time to follow up before I lose my chance.
The three of them exchange glances. “Okay,” Caolan says at last, coming around the desk and looking dubiously at the phone. “Do I need the headset?”
I point to the handset. “You can use that if you need to—I swear I won’t be long, and I’m not going far.” In fact, I’m not even leaving reception. I grab my cell and hit to dial as I pace toward the elevators.
It’s answered on the first ring.
“Rescue, Bobby speaking.”
“Hi, Bobby. It’s Eoin, returning your—”
“Eoin! Great timing—I was going to give it another ten minutes and then call the next name on my list.”
I blow out a breath. “It’s been a chaotic morning, but I’m glad I got you before you had to.”
“So you want her, then?”
“Yes, please. Your message said she’s healthy?”
“A little underweight, but otherwise fit as a fiddle,” he confirms.
Perfect. “I’ll be by tonight, if that’s okay?
Around six thirty.” The office officially closes to visitors at five thirty, plus a few minutes to make sure everything’s in order for when Dáithí’s back tomorrow, and then I’ll need to check in with my team and make sure I don’t have any time-sensitive emails.
“No problem. I’ll be off shift by then, but Darren will have all the details.”
When I return to the desk, relieved that at least one thing is going my way today, I’m met by three curious faces.
“Sooooo…” Ari raises a brow.
“None of your business.” Has he always been this nosy?
“Dude, you know I love you like a brother, right?” Hagen asks. “Because it’s as your honorary brother that I’m telling you that call sounded weird. Like, call enforcement levels of weird.”
I blink at him, barely noticing as Caolan gets out of Dáithí’s chair and circles back around to the public side of the desk. “What? It did not.” I replay the call in my head. Okay, so… “Only if you have a depraved criminal mind.”
“Or have dealt with depraved criminals in the past,” he counters. “What was it about?”
I sigh and lean against the raised part of the desk. “When I was building the extension to Elsking’s hutch, I—”
“Elsking’s the rabbit Dáithí got, right?” Caolan interrupts.
“Yes. Anyway, I found out that rabbits are pretty social. They don’t always do well on their own, and they usually thrive when they have friends. So I started asking around at a bunch of rescues for them to let me know if they got any rabbits.” I shrug, a little uncomfortable.
Hagen’s mouth has dropped open. “You’ve been trying to find a friend for Dáithí’s pet rabbit?”
“Well… yeah. She doesn’t deserve to be lonely.”
“Um…” Ari screws up his face. “Isn’t it uncool to assume Dáithí even wants another pet? What if he doesn’t?”
I wave it off. “No, that’s fine—I’m the one adopting this bunny.
If Dáithí’s okay with having another pet in the house, she can live with Elsking, but I’ve already got a hutch ready at my place in case he’d rather not.
They can still have playdates. It might be better to start out that way anyway, so they can get used to each other before they have to share space. ”
Caolan’s smiling. “You have a hutch?” He types something into his phone.
“It would be irresponsible of me to adopt a pet without making sure it has what it needs.”
“Let me get this clear,” Hagan starts, shaking his head. “You’re so worried that Dáithí’s rabbit might be lonely that you’re going to commit to pet ownership yourself so they can have playdates?”
Why do I feel like that’s a trick question? “Yeah.”
“Have you ever wanted to adopt a rabbit before?”
“I didn’t know they existed until a decade ago,” I point out. “And I’ve been kind of busy.”
“Have you even had a pet before?” Ari adds. “You haven’t in the time I’ve known you.”
Okay, now I’m feeling ganged up on. “When I was younger I did, but it’s not the easiest thing to look after a pet when you’re a soldier—especially during times of crisis, which it was since before I met you.”
“How long do rabbits usually live?” Caolan wonders, still typing into his phone.
This, I know. “As pets, eight to twelve years. Sometimes longer if they’re thriving.”
They all exchange glances again.
“Okay, what’s going on? Why are you all being weird about this?”
Ari backs toward the security gate, and Hagen looks up at the ceiling, whistling, but Caolan’s still smiling at me.
“We’re not being weird. I think it’s sweet that you’re willing to be a pet owner for a decade of your life so Elsking isn’t lonely.
I just hope you don’t treat the new bunny like a second-class citizen. ”
Hagen’s whistle cuts off, and he shoots Caolan a “what the fuck?” look.
I shake my head. “I wouldn’t do that. If this bunny and I don’t click tonight, I’ll tell the rescue to find her another family.”
The elevator doors open before Caolan can reply, and Candice steps out.
“We’ll leave you to it,” Hagen says. “Signal if you need help.”
Because they’ll be watching. Wonderful.
They exchange greetings with Candice as they pass her, and then she’s stopping beside me with a warm smile.
“Did I hear something about trouble with the printer?”