Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
We took that office down to the studs.
Did we need to take it that far to get the stench out? Probably not.
Did we need to take it that far emotionally?
Absolutely.
It was early afternoon, and Cecil was out at the dumpster with Fennel, happily—and safely—torching the remains of Floyd’s drywall. The rest of us were gathered in the dining room, Mason sharing a few ideas he had about restructuring the office as an employee lounge.
In fact, the man had ideas about nearly everything, including a kitchen and dining room remodel.
He glugged half a water bottle then gestured to the wall facing Main Street. “Floyd had the windows covered so the place would be more secure. I say we uncover them, have them spelled like Williams’s windows, and open this place up.”
“Great idea.” Esperanza had found a clipboard somewhere and begun taking notes after Mason had voiced his first few ideas.
Dylan nodded. “Wolves like sunlight.” He surveyed the rest of the room. “We also like the outdoors, so maybe we put in some plants, too—living things, you know?”
“We’ll need to upgrade the filtration system,” Esperanza said.
“Yes, and yes.” Mason nodded at her clipboard. “Write those ideas down, too. Make a note to consult the alpha and the degenerate out back for ideas on which plants to include. They’re the experts.”
I would’ve argued that Cecil wasn’t a degenerate, but it was a hard assertion to defend. My partner definitely had some depraved ideas.
“Pothos don’t mind the indoors,” I said. “Jade plants aren’t a bad choice. A pretty succulent like echeveria is tolerant of all kinds of conditions. Don’t set them on the table, though. Plants don’t like it when people pick at them.”
“Got it.” Esperanza scribbled down the names.
Mason peered up at the vaulted ceiling. “Speaking of filtration, half the vents in this place don’t work. We need to call in an HVAC specialist. I’ve got a wolf in mind. He does good work.”
“Sounds good. And boring.” I leaned against the table where Ronan and I had eaten breakfast and folded my arms over my chest.
“Blunt.” Ronan laughed.
“Blunt and true. So, now that all the files, paper and electronic, have been shredded and torched, how about I bow out of the day-to-day of this place and leave it to you three?”
Dylan and Esperanza deferred to Mason, who shrugged.
“Sounds fine,” he said. “We can have it running in a month, if you approve the expense, Alpha Lennox.”
Never would I grow accustomed to being called Alpha Lennox with genuine respect by Mason Hartman. Not in a million, billion years.
“Do it,” I said. “Hire Esperanza and Dylan for now and bring back the people you all approve of when the place is ready. Pay a fair wage and hire enough people so that Esperanza isn’t doing ten jobs on her own. You know how much the pack has in its accounts better than anyone, Second.”
“Sounds good.” Mason took Esperanza's clipboard and pen and scrawled a few things down before handing it back to her. “I’ll bring in a shifter team to get the work done. They work fast.”
“Not Bjork Greasyfingers, though, right?” I asked.
Everyone except Ronan looked confused.
“She means Brock Greer,” he said.
“I hope not,” Esperanza said, then covered her mouth.
Dylan nodded. “Yeah. That’s not a good idea.”
“I wouldn’t hire that wolf to build a doghouse,” Mason said. “He does shoddy work, and he was one of Floyd’s goons. Frankly, I think he should be forsworn from the pack, but that’s your call, Alpha.”
To be forsworn from a pack was painful for all involved. The pack felt the loss, but it was spread evenly over all shifters, diluting the trauma. However, the wolf being booted out felt it acutely. It was the sort of pain that scarred a person for life.
It would be better all around if he just left. As long as an alpha leader and pack member agreed to part, there was no emotional kickback.
“Let’s hold off on that,” I said. “I’m not ready to start an internal war just yet.”
Mason nodded. “Agreed. The plus side is he’s easier to monitor from inside the pack. Williams here told me what happened outside his pub last night, so I’m watching Greer more closely. I’ve always had him in my peripheral, he just slid a little closer to the crosshairs today.”
When I’d asked Mason to stop calling Ronan by Floyd’s surname, he’d obviously taken me seriously.
I hadn’t even accidentally made it an alpha command, although I’d felt strongly about it when I mentioned it.
Which begged the question, what the heck had made me command Mason today?
It wasn’t like I really cared where his shoes were made, I’d just been annoyed that he was playing coy about it.
I shrugged the question aside and tuned back into the conversation, which was everyone talking about Bobby Greedypants and his treatment of me last night.
“…knows who his Alpha is now. She sent his ass walking home.” There was evident pride in Ronan when he said it, which made me feel all warm inside. “But she shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of treatment from her own pack.”
“She’s now under twenty-four-hour protection.” Mason spoke directly to Ronan. “I’m not sure how much I trust the park’s spell, and even if we can trust it, we both know she isn’t going to stay there, so it makes sense to have someone with her all the time.”
“Agreed,” Ronan said.
“She’s right here,” I snapped. “I’ll have you know my spell is impenetrable. Also, I don’t need twenty-four-hour surveillance. The boys will come with me from now on.”
Mason’s eyes narrowed. “The gnome isn’t reliable.”
I was about to argue when Ronan spoke up. “Cecil might be an eco-terrorist with shady motivations, but he’s loyal to Betty. Anyone tries to hurt her, and he’ll set them on fire.”
“I’ve asked him not to do that,” I said hurriedly. “He’s more reasonable now. He only attacks property, not people.”
Ronan shot a look at the ceiling. Took a step away from me.
“What?” I demanded.
“Hope you have your fingers crossed behind your back because that was a whopper of a lie. That gnome is anything but reasonable, and he has no limitations.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s not? Last Friday, he threw a barrage of hot rocks at me because I asked him to turn down the speed metal. He’s a wild card, and you know it.”
Mason wilted a little. “Fire is my least favorite weapon.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re on my side, isn’t it?
” I snapped. “Everyone needs to stop picking on my partner. His ways are unconventional, but he’s a good guy.
Mostly. Kind of. Like, thirty percent of the time—okay, maybe twenty.
” I glared at Ronan, who said nothing, just watched me verbally paint myself into a corner. “Oh, be quiet.”
On my way out the door, Esperanza very respectfully asked if she could hug me. I held out my arms and said, “Bring it in, wolf.”
Dylan smiled at me over her shoulder, obviously pleased with himself and the situation.
“Glad you stopped by yesterday,” I said, “but don’t ever sneak up on me again.”
His smile widened. “Glad you were cool about reopening Pallás Place, Alpha Betty.”
“The Pack Bar,” Esperanza corrected. For now, that was what we were all calling it.
The three of them stayed behind to plan some more, and I took off with Ronan.
“That was a good thing you did today, Alpha Betty.”
I started at the sound of Ronan’s voice. The ride to the pub had been quiet, and I’d been inside my head for most of it. The boys were in the backseat, dozing in the cat car seat Ronan had picked up for them. Apparently, arson was tiring work, even when it was legal.
“Stripping Floyd’s office to the studs was a selfish luxury.
I loved every second of it.” I leaned over and switched on the radio.
KLXX played "It Never Rains in California" by Albert Hammond, and I vibed along with the music. “Also, you were right. There’s no way any shifter could’ve felt even a little comfortable in there given the way it stank.” I shivered.
“I swear, I could still smell that awful cologne he used to wear.”
“Getting rid of the stench was a good thing, but I was talking about what you did for Esperanza.”
“Letting her wreck the desk?”
“Yeah. How’d you know she needed to do that?”
I told him about her reaction the day before. “She was so fearful she could barely look at the room. Getting her to step inside was a whole thing. Floyd really hurt her.”
“Bastard hurt too many people. But what made you think destroying the desk would help her? Esperanza was a different person after that—lighter. Her posture even changed. I think her spine actually lengthened.”
“I thought about how I’d feel if I were her.” Bile rose in the back of my throat. “Ronan, I saw some photos of her in his private collection. The desk had been … part of it—the abuse, I mean.”
Ronan squeezed the steering wheel so hard I thought it might crack.
“Ease up on that wheel or you’ll have to send the truck into the shop again.
” I patted his shoulder. “I’m angry, too, but we have to remember that Floyd’s dead and the photos and anything else that might hurt people in the pack are also gone.
We even found his cloud service passwords and deleted everything there. No more blackmail.”
“I wouldn’t have thought of that,” he said.
“The desk or deleting the stuff from the cloud?” I asked.
“The desk.” He glanced at me before returning his gaze to the road. “You bring a unique perspective to the pack.”
I shrugged. “Just because the situation is temporary doesn’t mean I can’t do some good while I’m running things. Besides, I know when you take over, you’ll continue my work.”
“Absolutely,” he said.
“Mason, too. As much as he scares me sometimes, he seems to genuinely care about the pack. Did you see how he interacted with Esperanza and Dylan? He was downright encouraging.”
“You do seem to bring out the best in people,” he said, with the slyest of grins.
“I could work in an innuendo here, but I’m going to instead ask why we aren’t stopping at the pub,” I said, as we drove past my Mini parked at the curb.