"Fine." Dougal straightened. "I . . . miscalculated my grip for a second." No way was he going to admit he'd lost control. Angus might reconsider putting him in charge here. Or refuse to let him go on missions.
Fortunately, Angus seemed more interested in watching the monitors than speculating on his wee accident.
"Where's Roman?" Gregori scanned the monitors, searching for his boss.
Angus pointed at a hallway where Roman was walking with Jean-Luc. "They're on their way to the party."
"I'll give him a call." Gregori punched a number on his cell phone, then asked Roman to head toward Abby's lab in ten minutes.
Meanwhile, Dougal located a broom and dustpan in the small closet. If this was going to be his office, he'd start taking care of it now. He swept up the last of the broken glass and dumped it into the litter bin.
"I wonder what they're talking about." Angus turned up the volume on the monitor showing Abby and Leah.
"We found out last night," Abby said, smiling and patting her stomach.
"Wow," Leah replied. "Congratulations."
"Och, man." Angus turned to Gregori. "Ye're going to be a father?"
Gregori grinned. "Yep. You bet your little plaid skirt."
Angus rolled his eyes. "The puir bairn."
With a laugh, Gregori punched Angus on the shoulder. "I knew Abby wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. She's so excited."
"Congratulations," Dougal told him. His gaze shifted back to the monitor just as Leah glanced over her shoulder straight at the camera. His hand flinched, the fist tightening around the handle of the dustpan.
"Are we being watched?" Leah asked.
Hell, yes. He winced at the dents he'd left in the metal handle. Why was he reacting so strongly? She wasn't Li Lei.
"Maybe," Abby replied. "We have excellent security."
"Can they hear us?" Leah asked.
He turned away, feeling a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping. As he returned the broom and dustpan to the closet, he spotted a half-empty bottle of Blissky on the top shelf. Just what he needed. He set the bottle on the desk, then fetched three paper cups from the sideboard.
When Abby explained about the bombing a few years back, he glanced at the monitor just in time to see Leah's wide-eyed reaction. Damn, they had no right to drag her into this world. She looked so young. Early twenties, perhaps. There was a fragile innocence to her features, an innocence about to be crushed.
He poured Blissky into the three cups. "How about a wee dram?"
"Great idea!" Gregori lifted his cup in the air. "To our beautiful wives!"
"I'll drink to that." Angus grabbed a cup and downed the contents.
Gregori shot Dougal an amused look. "Or in your case, a future beautiful wife."
Dougal snorted, then looked at the monitor and found Leah staring at the camera as if she could see him. His heart stilled. Another itch skittered along the length of his tattoo, and he shrugged his right shoulder.
"I know the world is full of weirdos," she said softly.
Och, lass, ye have no idea. But she would be finding out soon. He had a sudden urge to teleport straight to her and take her away, far away from a world of vampires and shifters and demons. But how could he protect her from the weirdos when he was one of them?
"Cheers." He tossed back the Blissky and let it burn down his throat. He deserved the burn.
"Welcome to my lab." Abby opened the door and ushered Leah inside.
Angus moved to the monitor that showed the lab and turned up the volume.