Trouble Comes in Threes (28 page)

“Well, hell. What’s Brier doing here? Surely he’s not on Tal’s work crew.”

It didn’t take long to figure out he was doing little things—but nothing major. He was doing a whole lot of nothing. Around the shop, we called it busywork. Even though he was working, he was tracking my movements. It finally dawned on me Brier was here because I was here. He was helping since he was on site, but his main job was to watch me. I knew Remi had been guarding me, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the other betas. From the things I’d heard, they weren’t too thrilled with my presence. So, I stayed out of his way and didn’t speak to him.

It was a beehive of activity with Tal right in the middle, directing it all. I wanted to drag him off to a private spot for half an hour… or more. Around noon, everyone broke for lunch. Tal and I went back to the house to eat. Dolf was there, along with Remi.

“Hey, you two. Remi and I are taking your truck to that shop I told you about, Kirk. We’ll be back soon. There should be guys coming to do the security cameras. How are things going at the site?” Dolf asked.

“Good. Busy. No rain and warm weather forecasted for the next week.” Tal walked to the refrigerator. “You want a ham and turkey sandwich, Kirk?”

“Sounds good. Mustard and lettuce, please.” I picked up a clear pitcher. “Is this the sweet or unsweetened tea?”

“Your sweet tea is in the blue one,” Dolf said, kissing Tal, then me. “Okay, I’m off. Remi and I will be back shortly.”

We told him good-bye and finished lunch. Tal grabbed a plastic bag, threw some snacks inside it, and we returned to the site while Dolf finished his errands. That afternoon, I stood off to the side watching Tal and someone looking at plans. They didn’t need me, so I wandered around, trying to stay out of the way. As I meandered along, I noticed a guy off to the right of me carrying a shovel and walking off toward where the trucks were parked. I peeked at him, not wanting him to know I was watching him.

There was something about him, something familiar I couldn’t put my finger on. He wore a ball cap pulled down low, brown hair curling madly under it. I couldn’t really see his face. His clothes were bulky, but from looking at his hands, I’d bet he was skinny. What was it about him that was driving me crazy? I’d bet my shop I’d seen him, and not long ago too.

“Hey, Kirk? Could you come here?” Tal held his plans in one hand. “Just got a quick question.”

“Sure.” Maybe I could get Tal to introduce me to everyone. I glanced back at the guy, but he had disappeared. With a shrug, I joined Tal.

The rest of the day passed quickly. We took another break in the middle of the afternoon and ate again. They weren’t kidding about needing to eat more, I’d found. Tal stopped for the day before dusk. We returned home, Tal dustier than me. I didn’t know much about construction, but one of the guys let me help on the smaller things. As long as he was there, I didn’t worry about messing anything up.

All in all, it was a good day. I might not have done half the work Tal’s crew did, but I had done some. Having a hand in creating my shop felt damn nice. Tal and I showered, dressed, and came downstairs. Dolf still hadn’t made it home, and Remi’s car was still here.

“Wonder where they are?”

“I could call him and see what the holdup is,” Tal said. “I guess having the cameras installed didn’t work out today.”

“Looks like. We’ll give him a few more…. Ah, there we go. I see headlights coming down the drive.”

Tal and I watched as Dolf’s truck lights flashed through the front windows. He parked in the drive. Remi and he left the truck, walking to the front door.

I looked at Tal. “You know, I bet Dolf’s tired. I’m not a great cook, but I could—”

A hair-raising, deranged scream cut me off. The wailing anger brought chill bumps chasing over my body. “What in the
fuck
was that?”

Tal eyes glowed that bright blue, and an increasing loud growl worked its way out of him. “That was—”

“Shit!” A blur of darkness, and something launched itself at Dolf. The piercing, grating screams echoed through the house, even though they were outside. Cringing, I gritted my teeth. Oh, that sound was painful. Nails on a chalkboard had nothing on this. The sound was insane.

Popping sounds drew my attention as Tal shifted without stripping. A white cat madly fought out of the pile of clothes on the floor. Fuzzed up and hissing, he jumped between the door and me. Not satisfied with that, he herded me toward a corner. Okay, apparently I wasn’t going any closer to what-the-hell-ever was happening out front. There was enough light from Dolf’s truck headlights for me to see there were three cats fighting. Dolf must not have shut the ignition off. The maddening yowls left me shivering as bodies hit the front door and each other. My God, it sounded like a war zone out there.

It hit me, then. My attacker had just gone after Dolf. Or maybe Remi. Either way, the stupid son of a bitch had now attacked someone who was a shifter and not just a mate. One last terrifying screech, and then there was silence. Way too much silence after all the shrieking that had been going on. What if they were hurt?

“Tal, cutie, we need to check on them.” I tried to step around the white cat in front of me.

He turned, snarled at me, and hissed loudly. Wow. Was this our sweet Omega? Then Tal head-butted me just in case I didn’t get it. Jesus, I certainly felt that. I held up my hands. “Okay, okay. How about I stay here, and
you
go to the door and see if you can tell anything.”

Tal didn’t get a chance to take a step before the door opened. Once more, he crowded into me, back hunched and hissing.

“Tal, it’s okay. It’s just us.”

What an understatement. It was not okay. Remi was naked, with deep scratches on his chest. He had his arm around an equally naked Dolf, who was even bloodier.

“Shit,” I yelled.

Tal’s yowl was even louder.

“I’m fine, really.” Dolf huffed out a disgusted noise. “He got in a few good swipes before I could shift. Another shift or two, and it’ll be even better.”

Suddenly, Tal was standing next to me. “Dolf,” he whispered.

I wrapped my arm around my very pale and shaking mate. “Easy, there.”

“I
am
okay, Tal.” Dolf reached for us. “I’m very proud of you, sweetheart. I saw how you protected our mate.”

“Yes, he did.” I hugged both of them, then stepped back. “Okay, all this naked flesh is getting to me. I’ll be right back.”

It wasn’t the naked flesh getting to me. I rushed off to get them sweats and… and…. God. Dolf needed more than clothes. Hell, so did Remi. They needed to shower—lots and lots of water and soap to get the blood off them… and I needed a minute to convince my stomach to stay where it was. As much as it roiled and my mouth watered, I refused to fall apart or upchuck on these nice, hand-scraped wood floors.

I brought the clothes back to the kitchen and immediately noticed the cuts on Dolf looked better. So did Remi’s. They must have shifted while I was gone. “Here we go. Sweatpants and T-shirts. You both have blood on you, so why don’t you shower? Remi, you can use the guest bath.”

“As long as you both don’t stay in there forever, there’ll be plenty of hot water,” Tal said. I noticed Tal had redressed in his clothes. “You know where the guest bath is?”

“I do. Thanks.” Remi took the clothes and left.

“He’s fine, right?” I asked.

“He is.”

“Good.” Then I simply opened my arms and they both surrounded me, the three of us holding on tightly. “I know we need to talk about this, but not tonight, please. You could have been seriously hurt, and I just…. Tomorrow. We’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Oh, sexy, I wish I could. Tell you what, let me tell my dad. Then give Remi and me time to talk alone. I need to review this while it’s still fresh, and then it won’t be brought up again tonight.”

“I’ll cook while you do that,” I said. “Then we’ll eat and not talk about how a shifter just attacked you. I really don’t want another round of nightmares, you know?”

“I can do that. Then it’s just ‘us’ time.”

“Deal.”

Remi and Dolf went to his office while I cooked dinner. When they came back, we ate, and they didn’t bring up the attack as I’d asked.

T
HE
FOLLOWING
morning was a different matter. Seven in the morning, and all the betas were sitting around my kitchen table, along with Monty, who was in full Alpha mode. Even though several hours had passed, he was still furious. The power rolling off him made me jumpy. They spent the day rehashing the incident, planning what to do and whom to talk to. Good thing there was plenty of coffee. I was also more than a little shocked they included me in the discussions.

Monty mentioned he’d already intended to contact the Alphas close by and inform them of what had happened, but now that the heir apparent had been attacked, things were more serious. It irked me, but I understood. I was a human mate. Dolf was the next Alpha.

Monty hoped someone knew of a shifter with a white spot on his ear. He let it leak that hiding the shifter could be considered an act of war. During this, the security guys showed up to install the cameras.

Everyone left, finally, and Tal arrived home. Dolf cooked dinner. I couldn’t help touching him, just a gentle brush of the fingers on his arm or shoulder.

“I’m fine, sexy. I promise.”

If he said that once, he said it a dozen times. And he did really look better, but still. After dinner, Dolf took us outside and pointed out the cameras. Once back in, he showed us how to check the feed in his office. As relieved as I was, I hated this. Until I’d arrived, they hadn’t needed security and… and cameras, and fucking extra guards. Now there was talk of possible war. And if I kept going down that road, I’d be pissed in no time.

Tal brought out a board game, and things were suddenly looking up.

“Hot damn. I love this game. I call the shoe!”

“Awww. I’m always the shoe.” Tal pouted.

“Kirk called it. Want to be the hat?” Dolf asked as he set up the game and dealt the money.

“Okay,” Tal said.

“Here you go, sweetheart.” Dolf handed Tal the hat.

“What are you going to be?” I asked Dolf.

“The car.”

“He’s always the car,” Tal whispered.

“Gotcha.” Next time we played, I was going to be the car just to see what Dolf did. What could I say? I liked poking the bear. Or in this case, the cat. First time around the board, I landed on Boardwalk. With an evil laugh, I immediately bought it.

Tal rolled the dice and landed on a Utility. “Something tells me you’re going to be just as aggressive as Dolf.”

“Who, me?” I asked innocently.

“I’m not buying it,” Dolf laughed as he rolled and moved his game piece. “But I am buying Pacific Avenue.”

Hours passed.

“Ha! Let’s see. You landed on Boardwalk, and that has a hotel….” I checked the card to see how much Tal owed me.

“Whatever it is, I can’t pay. I have hardly any money left and only two properties.”

“Huh. Okay, then, I’ll take your shirt.”

“W-what?” Tal stuttered.

I held out my hand and wiggled my fingers. “Hand it over, cutie.”

Tal shrugged out of his shirt amidst many blushes. A couple more plays, and Tal lost his jeans to Dolf. I managed to get Tal’s boxers and socks.

Tal landed on another of my properties and threw up his hands. “That’s it! I have nothing left, so I guess I’m out.”

I rubbed my hand over my crotch. “You could blow me.”

“I-I-I… seriously?”

I scooted my chair back a little. “As a heart attack.”

Tal’s golden skin flushed as he stood. My eyes hooded, I watched him glide to me, perfection in motion. He dropped to his knees and unzipped my jeans. Out popped my cock, the head already glistening. Opening, he took just the head inside his mouth. I gathered that mass of blond hair in my fist so I could see him swallowing my dick.

A sudden, frantic pounding came from the front door, and a voice yelled, “Dolf?
Dolf!
”

“Oh… fuck me, really?” I groaned. Someone had perfectly awful timing.

“Shit,” Dolf said.

Tal let my cock go, his mouth making a wet “pop” as he released me. I wanted to cry, then smack whoever was outside. “Jesus Christ! Are they trying to break the door down?” I helped Tal to his feet, then grabbed his clothes off the ground. “Here. Get dressed, Tal.”

Tal yanked on his jeans.

“I’m going to answer the door,” Dolf said “That sounds like Aidric yelling out there.” Dolf came hurrying back with Aidric behind him. “We have trouble.”

Tal gulped. “What’s wrong?”

“I was supposed to relieve Heller, but he never showed.”

That explained why Aidric was standing in our kitchen, naked as the day he was born. He must have just shifted.

“Dammit. Did you look for him?”

“No. I waited for him at the designated spot. I gave him ten minutes, and when he didn’t show, I came here. Something’s wrong.”

Kirk

“T
HIS
ISN
’
T
good,” I said.