He moved around the table and looked me over. “If you need an appetite stimulant, let me know. I have something for that, and it seems to work on all Breeds. Vampires are my biggest customer. Some of the old ones have gone so long without eating that food makes them queasy. Can you imagine?”
“If food makes them sick, why would they want to eat?”
He cleared his throat. “Everyone does business in restaurants and clubs these days. Food is a social activity, and they’re trying to gain people’s trust. Anyhow, let me know if you need a little boost.” He took a package of gum from his front pocket. “Gum?”
“No, but thanks. I’m not a big gum chewer.”
Blue raised her hand. “I’ll take one, amigo.”
He tossed her a stick before shoving one into his mouth. “Call me if you come up with anything. I work with some of these packs. I need to know what’s going on just as much as you do. Have you given any updates to Ren or the other Packmasters?”
I opened the door. “No, I’m leaving him out of it for now. It’s better that way. He’s a good guy, but he’s tight with a lot of packs. They talk, and I don’t want this becoming a topic of discussion while we’re still in the middle of it.”
“Good idea. Well, sayonara, ladies.”
After clearing the table, I returned to my seat and listened to Graham’s car speeding away.
“Raven, we should think about dropping this. We’ve got nothing. You didn’t promise Ren you’d solve it—only that you’d look into it.”
I tapped my finger on the table. “I spoke with a Gemini this morning.”
Her blue eyes widened. “You what? Did Viktor authorize that?”
“Hell no. Christian knows him through a friend.”
“I’ve heard about those guys. Nobody wants anything to do with them. Consulting them for advice, yes. But friends? Lovers? No way.”
“He seemed pretty affable. Real detached though. I can’t explain it.”
She blotted an orange stain on her shirt with a napkin. “What did he say?”
“I think he knew more than he was telling me, but he led me to believe I shouldn’t quit. He said an outsider will give us information, but he didn’t say if it would help the case or bury it. Maybe saving a few lives in the process is what we’re meant to do. We freed a woman and—”
“Almost killed a little girl,” she finished. “I didn’t steal her from the pack.”
“I didn’t say you did. But you had a bad feeling about them. Maybe you inadvertently saved her from a dangerous situation. I’m sure Viktor will speak with the local Council to see what’s going on with the Donners.”
My heart ricocheted in my chest when a vehicle pulled up the driveway. Had someone been spying on us?
“Oh shit. I hope those bears didn’t follow me.” I got up and peered out the small window before releasing a breath. “It’s just Crush. What the hell’s he doing home?”
A ferocious bark sounded along with toenails skittering up the wooden steps.
Blue sprang to her feet. “He has a dog?”
“I gave it to him. Don’t say anything, okay? He knows how it looks with other Shifters, but he needs a guard.”
Crush flung open the door and peered in.
I jutted my hip. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Don’t you hi Daddy me. What the fuck are you doing here in the middle of the day?”
The dog tore inside and bumped the table as it charged me. I sharpened my light to blast it in case it went for my jugular, but instead, it slobbered all over my face and almost knocked me down.
“Get down!” Crush clapped his hands, and the dog obeyed.
Then the bullmastiff sniffed Blue, who didn’t look all that comfortable around him. From what I understood, animals could sense Shifters, but I didn’t know what they thought of them.
“It’s fine,” Crush said on a chuckle. “His tail’s wagging.”
She eased alongside the wall. “I better go pick up Niko. We have a stop on the west side of town, and it’s going to take a while to get there. I’ll talk with you later. Nice seeing you, Mr. Graves. Sorry for the intrusion.”
I gathered up the dirty napkins from the table. “See ya.”
Right on time, Christian’s motorcycle rolled into the driveway.
Crush peered out the window. “Grand fucking Central. What the hell’s going on around here?”
“I just needed to borrow your house for an hour. What are you doing home?”
He walked into the kitchen, his blue coveralls stained in oil and sweat. “I forgot something.” Crush ran the sink water, dunked his head under the faucet, and audibly sighed with relief.
Christian quietly entered. “I see I arrived just in time for the shower scene.”
The dog turned and bared his teeth. Christian lowered his head and stared daggers at the animal.
I rushed around the table and stood between them. “Don’t hurt the dog. He doesn’t know better. Crush, you need to lock him up.”
Crush kept bathing his head under the faucet. “You want me to lock up my guard dog? Then he won’t be guarding.”
When I heard him chuckling, I searched for a leash. The dog didn’t even have a collar on. “Fine. We’ll just be on our way. See ya.”
“Hold on.” Crush shut off the water and dried his head with a dish towel. He whistled sharply, and the dog gave one last snarl at Christian before trotting into the kitchen.
I leaned my back against Christian and gave Crush an apologetic look. “I didn’t mean to break in.”
“You should have told me.” He opened the fridge and bent over. “You know I don’t care. I just don’t like people sneaking around behind my back.”
“So you decided to keep the dog?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you name him?”
“I was thinking about Pickles.”
Christian barked out a laugh. “Now that’s a grand name for a beast like that.”
I frowned. “Pickles?”
Crush finally stood, a giant dill pickle in his hand. The dog gobbled it up before he could offer it to him.
“Don’t feed him those. They’re probably loaded in sodium.”
Christian wrapped his arms around me. “Sounds like a match made in heaven.”
My father shut the fridge door and gave me a stern look—the same one I used to get when I came home late as a teen. “Where the hell’s my chicken?”
“Oh shit. Was that your lunch? Is that what you came home for?”
He sighed. “Never mind. I’ll grab something on the way back. Where’s my hug, baby girl? Or are you too good to hug your old man around the Vamp?”
I broke out of Christian’s arms and gave my father a hug. He wrapped me in his strong arms, water dripping off his head and the smell of oil and sweat filling my nose. The dog began growling again.
“Don’t let your dog eat my boyfriend,” I said quietly.
“I’ll have you know I can snap this animal’s neck in less than two seconds,” Christian remarked.
“Keep it up, peckerhead, and I’ll give him wooden teeth,” Crush snarled.