The Deputy and His Enforcer (Kincaid Pack #3) - Kiki Clark Page 0,76

cool during that call, but that was… impressive.”

Marcus waved the words off, organizing the paperwork strewn across his desk from the hour of work he’d managed to get done before the call. “Practice. Is Rick in the library?”

“He and Kai are on their way back from town. They went to Momma’s for lunch,” Jamie said softly, his voice completely lacking any hostility for the first time in weeks.

“Will you please let him know I’m waiting for him when he gets back?” He glanced over as he put his computer to sleep and shoved his phone in his pocket. When Jamie nodded, he continued. “And can you please contact the secretaries of each of the Council members who voted not guilty during McAllister’s hearing and set up a virtual meeting with each, except Kincaid? Make sure they’re video calls though. I want to see them, not just hear them.”

“Yes, of course.” Jamie’s light eyebrows were furrowed as he watched Marcus. “What are you thinking?”

Marcus sighed as he headed for the door, Jamie darting out of the way and following him partially down the hall until Marcus answered. “I’m thinking that the Council might be the least of our worries.”

Hours later, Marcus was tired and drained in a way he’d never been before, and he had a feeling he knew why: he hadn’t heard from or seen his mate since he’d slipped out of bed, and he and his wolf were feeling stressed and worried. All he wanted was to curl up next to Robson and let his strong arms wrap around him and protect him from the outside world.

But his pack needed him to be strong.

So when Rick clapped a hand on his shoulder after hours of discussion and debate between him and the pack Enforcers and asked Marcus if he was good, Marcus firmed his chin, straightened his shoulders, and nodded.

Because he had to be.

Rounding the corner of the hall that led to the kitchen, he was so caught up in going over his orders and worries that he didn’t notice the out-of-place scent in the air until he pushed the kitchen door open and stuttered to a halt. Sitting at the booth tucked into the corner of the room and surrounded by Beth, Kai, Jess, Samantha, and Kieran was Marcus’s mate.

He thought he was imagining things for a moment until Robson threw his head back in laughter at something Kieran said and spotted Marcus, his face splitting into a wide, intimate smile.

“There you are, cariño.” Robson’s smile dimmed a little as he took in Marcus’s face. “You okay?”

Kai and Kieran exchanged glances, but it was Jess who blurted out, “I doubt it. He got a creepy villain call earlier.”

Robson’s eyes narrowed, and he laid his palms flat on the table like he was going to push himself up and crawl out of the booth if need be, but Marcus shook his head slightly. “It’s fine. I just need something to eat.”

Beth popped up and started bustling around, muttering about silly boys not stopping to feed themselves proper meals while they worked. He smiled a little, his head ducking down at her fussing and warmth filling him. Beth might have technically been Vanessa’s mom, but she made a point of mothering them all, and Marcus definitely didn’t hate it.

Before he could figure out if he wanted to squeeze into the booth or go back to his office and invite Robson to join him when he was done socializing, Samantha was elbowing Kieran next to her and giving her brother and Jess a significant look.

Clearing his throat, Kieran scooted out and stood. “Is Bennett upstairs still?”

Marcus nodded. He’d left his alpha and second-in-command in the library, still discussing tactics for handling the threats they could see… and the ones they couldn’t.

Kieran squeezed his wrist as he slipped past, the show of support oddly soothing even though it wasn’t something they’d ever done for each other before. Brow furrowed, Marcus stared after him, wondering what he’d meant by it.

“Yes, we need to head off too,” Kai said, not bothering to hide his grin as he, Samantha, and Jess stood as well. Once his back was to Robson, Kai met Marcus’s eyes and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Jess to cackle and Marcus to blush furiously.

They left, and he shook his head in exasperation when he heard Jess ask Kai if he and Robson had mated yet. Tuning them out, he focused on his mate, who was smirking at him, arms stretched across