Page 48 of Defiance
Rob grimaced. “That must suck. I heard Paul’s team welcomed him in their own special way. Not that I can blame them, I guess.”
Logan bristled, couldn’t help it. It didn’t matter that Rob didn’t know the truth about what had happened. Thankfully Aaron answered before Logan said something stupid.
“It’s not ideal,” he said, a smile appearing as he added. “Would you like to spend hours watching Paul’s unit train?”
Rob grimaced. “Nope.” He checked his watch. “Shit, I’m going to be late.” Pulling them both in for a quick hug, he lowered his voice to little more than a whisper, “Be careful. Rumour has it Simon’s not happy the three of you aren’t locked up.” Stepping back, he gave their shoulders a squeeze. “I’m going to organise a unit night out soon. It’s been way too long since we were all together.”
“Sounds good.” Logan smiled, genuine. His unit were close, and Rob was right. It had been too long. Logan sometimes tended to keep to himself too much, always afraid of letting something slip about the CEG. But if things headed in the direction he, Jacob, and Aaron were aiming for, then they were going to need all the allies they could find. If they could trust anyone in their pack, it was likely to be people in their own unit.
They couldn’t afford to let their closeness slip.
“Pick a date and let us know.”
“Will do.”
They watched Rob leave and stepped onto the elevator. As the doors silently slid closed, a sliver of panic crept up Logan’s spine. Why was Michael in with Jacob? Did he share Simon’s opinion? Was everything about to go to shit?
Aaron nudged his shoulder. “You’re not alone. Remember that.”
Logan willed himself to relax, because Aaron was right. He wasn’t alone. This time he had his best friend right alongside him. As selfish as he felt for dragging Aaron into this, he was so fucking relieved not to have to lie to him anymore. Having someone whoknew, someone on his side, settled his wolf more than he could describe.
“Thank you,” he whispered, a moment before the lift came to a stop and the doors opened.
As soon as they entered the main office space Logan sensed the difference in the atmosphere. The usual chatter subdued by the presence of their alpha. He and Aaron garnered a few curious looks as they made their way to Jacob’s office, their fellow shifters no doubt wondering what they’d done now to warrant Michael’s presence.
Join the club.
With the door shut, Jacob’s office was soundproof; whatever he and Michael were discussing, no one else was privy to. Logan caught Aaron’s eye. “Ready?”
“Nope.” He offered Logan a wry grin. “Shall we turn around and go home?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” His laughter died off quickly as he imagined the look on Michael’s face. A pissed-off alpha wasn’t something he fancied dealing with any day of the week.
Logan pressed the buzzer on Jacob’s door and waited, nerves getting harder to suppress the longer the seconds dragged on. Finally Jacob rose from his seat and let them in.
Michael had moved to lean against the wall behind Jacob’s desk, facing them.
“Sit.” Jacob closed the door behind them, the soft click sounding awfully loud in the sudden silence. “What did you want to see me about?”
Thank fuck they had an actual question about Cole and not something CEG related. Logan had assumed they’d be meeting with Jacob alone when he’d texted they were on their way in to see him. He was usually more careful than that.
Michael’s presence was a stark reminder of how dangerous assumptions were. As alpha, he could spot a lie far easier than most. Senses heightened from both his position in the pack and years of training.
Jacob raised an eyebrow when neither Logan nor Aaron spoke. Clearly no one was going to explain Michael’s presence, so Logan cleared his throat.
“Sorry, it’s kind of a sensitive topic. I was thinking of the best way to phrase it.”
Logan cursed inwardly as Michael’s gaze zeroed in on him, interest piqued. At least they wouldn’t have to wait long to get an answer. “Cole has asked if he can have Nick Cox design his pack tattoo?”
Jacob stared at him as though he’d lost his mind, and Logan began to second guess his decision to come here. He should’ve just told Cole no. If he got Aaron into trouble for this, he’d never forgive himself.
Jacob opened his mouth no doubt to shut them down, but Michael beat him to it.
“Nick Cox?” He frowned a little before his features smoothed out. “I assume that’s someone he knew from before.”
“Yes, Alpha. It’s his best mate.” Logan wanted to bite his lip or fidget in his seat under Michael’s scrutiny but he forced himself to remain still. “He’s a talented artist.”
“So is West.” Michael countered.
