to Tank at the front and moved quickly to the counter. A few words exchanged with Trick, and Colin scooped up his drink and rushed to the back.
“Should I ask Trick to put up the closed sign? He needs to hear this too.”
“You sure we shouldn’t hear it first?” Alec’s tone was delicate.
“No, Alpha. That’s kinda the point, actually. It’s not private pack business.”
Alec nodded. “Lovejoy, you’re up.”
Lovejoy chugged the last of his drink – iced milk mixed with clam juice – and went behind the counter.
“What are you doing?” came Trick’s offended squeal. “No, you can’t just take over for me! This is my responsibility! It’s my job. Do you even know how to run an espresso machine?”
Whatever Lovejoy replied was lost behind the steaming gurgle of said machine kicking up. Lovejoy did something that mollified the dratsie. Trick came sashaying back to them, carrying his own drink.
“If I get fired for this, I don’t know what I’ll do, you guys. I mean I’m grateful for you taking me in and all, but darlings, you can’t just come to my place of business and take over, all looming studly hotness and lotharios frothing my milk…” he trailed off.
Alec pointed at Colin. “Start talking.”
8
May the Froth Be With You
Colin took a deep breath. A precise carefulness was in his voice when he spoke. Judd knew that this meant he’d practiced what to say into his helmet on the ride over. Judd breathed with him, for reassurance.
“Okay, so when I left class today my mother was waiting for me curbside.”
“What!” barked Kevin.
“Yeah, in this massive dumb limo. Anyway, you’ll never guess who she had with her. Agent Faste and Agent Lenis. Well, and her stylist. But anyway, the SBI are here in town and they’re all up in our business.”
“Fantastic. Are they after her for something?” Kevin sounded more resigned than surprised.
Colin grimaced. “I don’t think so. I believe they’re protecting her or using her for something connected to their current case. They had lots of questions for me. So I figured they were maybe using her to get to me. It wasn’t like she actually wanted to see me or anything.”
That was said for the benefit of his brother. As if Colin were reassuring Kevin that Kevin was still the favorite child. Or at least that Lexi Blanc would have ignored both of them, had she not been ordered to reach out to Colin.
“Anyway, the SBI is in town because they’re investigating something Trick-tangential. Sorry, Trick. And I’m pretty sure it’s the goods those selkies were after. Because, Trick, they really only wanted to ask me about you and what happened Tuesday night.”
“Me?” Trick placed his hand to his chest in a parody of a Southern belle. “Little ol’ me? But why? I don’t have anything. My family hasn’t given me anything. I swear. You can search my car if you like, boys. They can search it if they want to. I mean, seriously, dudes, the SBI is after me? I swear, I haven’t done anything illegal. I’m just a barista!” The little otter was working himself up into a freakout.
Isaac stood and moved over to him. The Omega placed a hand on his upper back and began rubbing in circles.
“We don’t think you’re involved, Trick.” Alec’s voice was soothing, Alpha power behind it. Which meant Alec really didn’t think Trick was playing them false.
Colin said, “But I do think it’s likely your family is involved. The SBI is a pain, but they aren’t that incompetent. I mean, if both the government and the mob are after you, what were your people into, Trick? You left them a while ago, right? And you didn’t register with DURPS here because you were scared they could track you if you went on the record. Right? So your family must be into something not great.”
“Tut tut tut, Trick,” said Max, who used to work for DURPS. He still had a lot of friends there. “You’re an unregistered shifter?”
Trick started wringing his hands. “My family really sucks, Max. They’d come after me. Like seriously come after me. Or at least make contact and want me to do things for them. And I don’t wanna do those kinda things anymore.”
“What do they do, Trick? What did they make you do in the past?” Alec’s tone was firmer, more power to it.
The dratsie crumbled under the weight of Alpha displeasure. He started blubbering and trying to talk at the same time. This resulted in incomprehensible babble.