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I woke up with a start as the sun streamed through the windows that Sean cleaned last night. Leave it to Sean to throw himself into cleaning. I don’t know how they torture those jarheads on Parris Island, but most of them are forever warped with a cleaning fetish. Even for him, Sean threw himself into this cover project with more enthusiasm than I expected. 

It was quiet, too much so; I wasn’t used to sleeping in a place that’s this white bread normal. I was used to the hubbub of foreign cities, exotic smells from local foods, and the syncopated rhythms of cultural music. The rattle of lawnmowers, birds chattering outside my window, or the aroma of coffee wafting up the stairs from below was unfamiliar to me.

Though… Coffee.

Now that was a singular motivation to pull my ass out of bed. 

“Hey, Alpha,” said Kyle sunnily as I stumbled into the kitchen. “The coffee’s on the counter, and the food’s on the way.”

“Oh?” I said pouring a cup.

“Yeah, Vivian went into town for groceries.”

“What?” I growled. “You let her leave to go into public places?”

“Calm down, Jean Luc. Daniel is with her.”

I glared. Jean Luc was what he called me when he wanted to get me riled. He knew I hated all things Star Trek, and apparently I was the only person on earth that did. Or so he tells me. 

“Still.”

“Still, nothing. Drink your coffee, and I’ll give you a sit rep.”

“I did an eval of the property. Weird shit here. Some of the plumbing is damaged, as if someone deliberately fucked up repairs. Daniel will get that fixed today. I’ve rented a truck so we can haul supplies.”

“For a man complaining about the money you’re leaning hard on the company card.”

Kyle grimaced.

“The budget got blown when you rented that private charter. I don’t know why you did that. The commercial jet left only two hours later.”

“You checked that.”

“I did.”

“Seemed important to get here.”

“Yeah, Sean said the same thing.”

“So, here’s the list of repairs that need to be made.” 

Kyle slid the pad to me, and I glanced at it.

“What’s the cost for supplies.”

“Viv’s paying for that.”

“Out of the money we gave her.”

“Are you getting ill over this? Because it was your plan. Plus, we have to sleep somewhere, it’s cheaper here than a hotel, and we’ve slept in worse.”

I rubbed my jaw. It was my plan, but something irked me about this whole situation, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. My nostrils flared as I became aware of a faint but distinct odor. It unsettled me, and my wolf paced within as if I should pay attention to it.

“What’s that smell?” I said.

“What smell?” said Kyle staring at that damned pad of his. 

I don’t know. It seems to be everywhere. Maybe it was indigenous to this house, the conflation of wood, linoleum, paints, and food seeped into a structure over a hundred years old. 

“Never mind. So, I take it no sign of the cartel or threats against Vivian?”

“Not so far. I’ve checked with security at the airport and no one suspicious hit their radar.” He shrugged his shoulder. “There is a good amount of gang activity in this state though, so the LI might send some of the local soldiers.”

“Don’t call them soldiers,” I growled. “They don’t deserve that dignity. They’re thugs.”

“Message received Alpha. So, I’m thinking that in this town where only 2.7% are Hispanic anyone blowing into town matching that profile will stick out like a sore thumb. We should have one of us run errands on a regular basis and keep an eye out on Main Street.”

“Check,” I reply. 

The back door opened and Daniel walked in hauling bags of groceries. Vivian followed and that scent wafted in with her. Oh hell, it was her that gave it off. Instantly my wolf strained to get closer to it, and I growled again.

“Okay, Boss?” said Daniel.

“Don’t call me Boss,” I snarled.

“Get him another cup of coffee, F.K. One cup isn’t going to do today.”

“Oh?” said Vivian as she pulled her grocery items from the bag. “Did you sleep okay, Lucius?”

The solicitous tone in her voice, like she cared, did funny things to my insides. It had been a damn long time since any woman cared, not since Aleesha.

Suddenly, I wanted Vivian to care.

Nope. Not happening. I didn’t care how attractive she was, though her curves had me downshifting to navigate them. I was all-too aware of how my pack was crowding her. Sean touched her back as he moved to put away some groceries. Daniel pushed him away from her, and Kyle watched all this with overt interest. I could practically see Kyle’s inner wolf pinning back his ears. 

And Vivian? Her face flushed with all the attention. Her eyes shone with that special look of a woman interested in a man—only they shone that way when she looked at each of us. 

Oh, hell no. 

This could get messy fast with these guys competing for one woman. I wouldn’t let Vivian, as attractive as she was, destroy the cohesion of my unit. We’d worked too hard to build what we have. 

“F.K., Sparks, I’m sure you have something else to do than get into Miss Vivian’s way.”

Daniel frowned. “I’m just helping her so we can get breakfast on the table. Here, Sparks, peel these potatoes.” He shoved a bag of potatoes into Sparks’ hands. 

“The whole bag?”

“Yes.”

“Damn,” he muttered. But he sat at the table and pulled out a switchblade to do the job. 

“I’ll handle the toast,” said Kyle.

And like the well-trained unit they were, breakfast was on the table in forty-five minutes. It was complete with toast, potatoes, bacon and eggs—all while I glared at the lot of them, thinking about assassins and team members distracted by a female. I saw we needed to finish this mission up quick and get on to our next job. 

That fate of my pack depended on it.