without a word, presumably to find Miller, and I walked Mrs. Bates and her lawyer out, telling them I’d keep them updated if I found anything else.
Back in my office, I moved to my desk and pulled open the bottom drawer, debating if I should call it a day and break out the whiskey I had stored there for times like the one I’d just gone through.
Just as I reached for the bottle, my office door flew open. I straightened, surprised to find Percy standing there once more. He shut the door behind him then stalked toward me before placing his hands on my desk and staring me down, his eyes blazing.
Shit, had I done something to piss him off during the questioning? I didn’t think so.
“What’s going on with you and Kevin?” he demanded.
“I’m sorry, what?” What the hell was he talking about?
“Are you and Kevin sleeping together?”
That was most definitely not what I was expecting him to say. He thought Kevin and I were sleeping together?
“Are you?” he asked, his face pinched. “Because if so, that’s really unprofessional of you. It could affect the case.”
I wanted to call bullshit on that because it absolutely had nothing to do with the case. And he was kidding himself if he thought that was why he was concerned about it. I didn’t buy that excuse for a second. Unable to resist messing with him, I smiled slowly. “And what if we are? Is that any of your business?”
“Like I said, you could jeopardize the case,” Percy said through gritted teeth.
I laughed and shook my head. “I promise you, I’m professional enough to keep my relationships and my work separate.”
Another growl rumbled in his chest at the insinuation in my answer—or rather, what Percy read into it. His face twisted in annoyance and frustration, and I couldn’t help but laugh again. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost. But I did put him out of his misery.
“No, there’s nothing going on between Kevin and me. And there never will be, if that makes you feel any better.”
Percy blinked, clenched his jaw, and then stood up suddenly. He straightened his suit jacket, not meeting my eyes. “Okay, well that’s good to know. I just needed to be sure. For the case.”
I smiled knowingly. “Right. For the case.”
He narrowed his eyes as he glanced back up at me. “Do you have to be so annoying?”
I didn’t reply, even though I could have called him out then and there. He was obviously jealous, whether he wanted to admit it or not. And whether I liked it or not, I was secretly pleased by that knowledge. I shouldn’t be, but I was. I knew it was because of our wolves and their pull to each other.
But as Percy turned and walked out of my office, I began to wonder if maybe there was something there that might be worth exploring.
7
Percy
“So, I hear you aren’t a fan of Kevin Patterson,” Tuck said, cutting his eyes at me, a smirk on his face as he lifted his beer bottle to his mouth.
“What? How the hell—”
Tuck snickered, spinning on the barstool to fully face me. The knowing look on his face was enough to make me gesture to Ship, Tuck’s new bartender, to bring me another.
“Easton came by the house last night to see Addison, and I heard him talking to Jamie. Apparently, you don’t like the idea of anyone getting too close to your mate, do you?”
A growl escaped me before I could stop it, and I cursed my wolf for being such a jealous bastard. “I don’t know if he’s my mate.”
Tucker just lifted an eyebrow and drained the rest of his beer, obviously not convinced.
Damn. I should complain about people not minding their own business in this small town, but what Tuck said wasn’t wrong, and he’d heard it straight from the source.
“I don’t know he’s my mate,” I insisted. “And as for what happened at Easton’s office…”
It had been three days, and I still couldn’t shake the jealousy, though I blamed it entirely on my wolf and his misguided connection to Easton’s wolf. I’d thought coming out to Tuck It Bar and Grill with my best friend might be a welcome distraction, but apparently, I couldn’t escape this shit with Easton.
“Look, that was just my wolf having some crazy reaction. Personally, I don’t care who Easton is involved with. If he wanted to see someone like Kevin, that’s his business. I just wanted to