Page 9 of Assisting the Alpha
“I’ll keep you all updated in our evening meetings. Raj, let me know as soon as those contracts are reviewed and ready to sign.”
“Sure.”
“Kit, I may need your assistance with some deeper searches. I also want you to get the newbie set up tomorrow morning.”
“No probs. Will you be around?”
I shake my head and sit, typing in my password. “Not until later. We don’t have access to the latest crime scene yet, but I want to visit the other locations.”
“What about the pathologist?” Cal asks.
“Might as well wait until they’ve finished with the latest victim and ask all my questions at once.”
Raj stops clicking his mouse and eyes me. “You want to see how the newbie handles body parts. A bit harsh, don’t you think? Those victims might have been friends.”
Four pairs of judging eyes focus on me. I let out a low warning growl. We’ve been a team a long time, and been through a lot together, but my wolf and I are in agreement that they need to remember who’s in charge here.
“I’m not going to make him view the bodies if it’s too much, but the pathologist might tell us more if this kid does his job properly. As will the families of the victims. Keep in mind that if he can’t handle a murder investigation, he’s not who we need working with us on the task force.”
I’m not going to go easy on someone who might be spying on us for his coven. Testing the newbie’s loyalty and reasons for being with us is going to be one of my top priorities. Right alongside this murder investigation.
Because one way or another, I’m determined we’ll win this bid. Our future in this city depends on it.
Chapter Three
AYO
This is possibly the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. The fact that I’ve got less than two weeks left until I’m kicked out of my apartment seems like a very minor problem when staring up at the sleek skyscraper that houses Soldati Security on one of its lower floors. I was impressed when I came for my interview last week, and I’m still in awe of the place. All the glass and chrome provide a sharp contrast to the ancient manor and outbuildings I’m used to.
I head inside with a bunch of other people, mostly humans, and queue for one of the lifts. There are multiple businesses on the lower floors, co-working spaces that can be hired out by the day, week, or month, and flats on the upper floors. Once the crowd clears and I manage to squeeze into a lift, I make sure to press the right button, noting that no one else is going to the fourth floor.
I resist the urge to bounce on my toes and grin like a loon. Suggesting I get a job outside of the coven was the best idea Zaiden’s ever had.
A few people spill out on various floors before it’s my turn. Soldati Security doesn’t take up the entire floor, but they definitely have high-level security in their small part of the building. Their wards are really basic though, and I’m itching to upgrade them. I didn’t want to say anything during my interview since it seemed rude to tell a security team that they’re merely mediocre in magical terms, so once I’m settled in I’ll find a way to offer without offending anyone.
I straighten my navy blue tie before pressing the buzzer by the solid wooden door. I make sure to stand in front of the camera and can’t stop myself from adjusting my tie again. Sighing, I press my palm to my focus through my white shirt and tell myself to calm the hell down. My moonstone pulses back, my magic just as excitable as I am.
A few moments later the door opens, revealing a person in a turquoise jumpsuit with matching stud earrings and nail polish. Their short black hair is swept up on top and buzzed on the sides, and my magic says cheetah.
“Come in, Ayo. I’m Kit. IT specialist and all-round fabulous person. My pronouns are they/them.”
I shake the hand they offer me. “Mine are he/him. Wow, you’re more interesting than anyone I used to work with.” I slap my hand over my mouth, relieved when Kit laughs. “Sorry. It’s hard to filter when I’m this excited. I might have had too much caffeine this morning.”
Kit grins as they close the door behind me, then leads me down the short corridor I remember from my previous visit. “I find it hard to filter on any day ending in a ‘y,’ so I wouldn’t worry about it. Besides, it’s my mission in life to look as fabulous as possible now I don’t have the SAS making me wear that drab uniform.”
They used to be Special Forces? I knew the entire team used to be in the army, but I didn’t realise they werethathardcore.Did I miss that on their website? They should really add that if it’s not there. Oh, wait, maybe they’re not allowed? Official Secrets Act and all that?
Kit sashays down the corridor like it’s their own personal catwalk. “Okay, kitchen, loos, and I assume you already saw the conference room. We all work in this open-plan space at the end. I’ll give you a security pass, which you should keep with you at all times. We prop this door open when it’s just us here, but if we have a client meeting or interviews in the conference room, this door is closed and you’ll need the card to get back in. It works for the main door as well.”
We enter an open-plan office space filled with desks. It’s similar in size and set-up to my old office, but huge floor-to-ceiling windows take up three sides of the room with vertical blinds covering them; nothing like the old stone and tiny windows I’m used to. The air conditioning must be working hard, because it’s cool in here despite the large amount of glass and the blazing sun outside.
There’s no one else here, but half-drunk mugs of coffee and pens litter the space. One desk has several fidget toys on it.
“You’ll meet Ethan and Cal later,” Kit says. “Ethan holds a meeting at the end of every working day because a lot of our work requires us to be out and about, so it’s often the only time we’re all here.”
Kit hands me a card with my photo on it, and I cringe. It’s obvious how nervous I was on the day of my interview because the picture is awful. “You people are evil.”
Kit laughs and hands me a lanyard so I can attach the card. “You should have seen my army ID card. The photo was taken before I came out as non-binary, and I looked so male it gave me gender dysphoria. After I came out and landed on Ethan’s team, he got a new photo sorted for me.”
