The Deputy and His Enforcer (Kincaid Pack #3) - Kiki Clark Page 0,114

at the clinic? What did he say? Were you rude to him?”

If Robson wasn’t one hundred percent confident in his mating, he would have been worried about how concerned Marcus was about the attractive young man. “Barely. He said that he didn’t think I’d get enough magic from your bite for anything to happen, though apparently sped-up healing was one of the ‘hypothetical’ ideas he’d come up with of what could happen.” He rolled his eyes, reaching around Marcus to open the door. “He seemed worried about me being pissed, but I think he was okay once I told him he could come to the house tonight.”

They slipped inside but hurried upstairs to their room before anyone noticed Robson was back. He’d forgotten to have Doc rewrap his arm so his family wouldn’t see his healed scar. Once they were in their room, Marcus snuck into the bathroom across the hall and grabbed the bandages. When he came back, Robson was sitting on the end of their bed, shirt off, arms braced behind him.

Marcus paused just inside, eyes running over Robson’s chest and shoulders. “We should get back downstairs and help your mom.”

“Okay,” he said, smiling when Marcus didn’t move other than to close the door behind him.

Their gazes held for a long, heated moment, Marcus biting his lip. Finally, he took a step forward, holding up the roll of bandages. “Should I?”

His mate was the cutest when he was trying to be serious but his erection was tenting his slacks. “Please. It’s hard for me to do… certain things myself.” He winked as he sat forward, delighting in the blush climbing into Marcus’s cheeks.

He behaved himself as Marcus carefully wrapped his arm over the fresh scar, then tugged him between his legs, planting his hands on Marcus’s slim hips. “Did you talk to Rick today? When are we going to Massachusetts?”

Marcus had made a half-hearted effort to say he’d go by himself to retrieve the charter Gregson had hidden after telling Robson about deciphering the code, but Robson had squashed that idea immediately. Even though they didn’t know for sure that Councilman Kincaid was having them watched, it was a safe bet as far as Robson was concerned.

Scowling, Marcus set his hands on Robson’s shoulders and leaned into him. “We aren’t. Rick thinks it’ll be too obvious if I go anywhere right now.”

He grunted. “I hate to admit it, but he might be right. His evil father knows Wendy was bringing you something, so all eyes would be on you as soon as you stepped outside the territory.”

“Fine, but guess who he wants to go instead.”

Robson almost said Bennett. As the pack’s second-in-command, he was the most logical choice, but that wouldn’t explain Marcus’s attitude about the whole thing.

Oh.

“Jamie?”

“Yes! Because he’s from the same pack Mikel used to be alpha of, so it won’t look suspicious if he visits his family back there.”

While that made sense, Robson had questions. “Rick’s sending his tiny little assistant—who looks like he couldn’t throw a punch, let alone fight off possible attackers—all by himself on a dangerous mission to retrieve valuable intel?”

“Not by himself, no. Also, no shifter is completely helpless. You know that.”

Robson scoffed, pulling Marcus even closer and wrapping his arms around his hips. He had to tip his head all the way back to see Marcus’s face. “A shifter who manages a schedule for a living would be no match for whoever went after Wendy. She barely survived.”

Shuddering, Marcus ran his fingers through Robson’s hair. “You might have a point.”

“Who’s he sending with him?”

“Drake, I think.” At Robson’s surprised face, Marcus smiled. “He’s got a lot of experience in diplomacy, which will be needed with the coastal birds. They can be particular about who comes into their territory. Even though he’ll be with Jamie, since Jamie isn’t technically a member of their pack anymore it could get dicey. Plus, Drake is smart and deadly. Don’t let the missing limb fool you.”

Robson rolled his eyes and pretended to gnaw on Marcus’s side until he was giggling and struggling to get away. He knew Marcus wasn’t really trying to get free since he could break Robson’s hold in a second. “So sassy. Drake isn’t the first amputee badass I’ve known, remember? Is Gabriel going too?”

Marcus froze, then gripped Robson’s face and tipped his head back to see his eyes. “Why? What do you know?”

Laughing, he shrugged. “Nothing. I just… I don’t see Gabriel being any more willing to let Jamie go off