AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The last time I didn’t take a threat seriously, a bunch of us ended up trapped in a warehouse, getting mystery drugs pumped into our veins,” I said. “I don’t really think it’s a good idea to be too flippant about it. I’d rather prepare for a threat that never comes than get complacent and put everyone at risk.”
Travis nodded. “Yeah, fair enough. So, how are we going to prepare for this one? Don’t you think guards at the door will make people nervous?”
“Sure,” I said. “But we can keep things together by making sure the people in attendance are all people who have RSVP’d. Throw out party crashers. Keep things exclusive.”
“Yeah,” Travis said with a nod. “That sounds like a good call.”
“Now, you got this all covered down here? I want to make sure I get on my list of shit I have to do so I don’t wind up running late tonight,” I said.
“Yeah, I got it handled. I’ll make sure everything’s clearly labeled so no one mistakes fundraiser stuff for pack stuff.”
“Alright, good. Take inventory, too. We’ll cross-check it the day before in case someone gets sticky fingers,” I said, patting him on the shoulder.
I went to take care of the day’s needs. Mostly making sure that the kids were learning the wrestling skills that were appropriate for their age and playing nice with one another. I checked in on a couple new recruits who’d heard about us through the grapevine and made their way over to us. We were starting to finish up some of the individual rooms, which families got first-priority access to since they had children or needed privacy as mates. Things like that.
I knocked on the door of one of the women, and she approached, speaking through it.
“H-hello?” she said, her nerves clear in her voice.
“Hey, it’s Cole, the pack leader. Someone told me this morning that one of your outlets is sparking. Do you feel comfortable letting me in to take a look at it?”
“Oh. Um, yeah, give me just a second,” she said. I heard the rustle of some things on the other side of the door, and I smiled to myself.
“You don’t have to clean on my account,” I said. “I have a five-year-old son. Believe me, I can take it.”
“It won’t be but a minute. I just don’t want to look like I’m not appreciating all your hard work,” she said. “I mean, it’s already enormously kind that you’ve given me my own room for me and my baby girl.”
“Alright. No rush, then,” I said.
I waited for a little while, hands hooked in my pockets as I looked around at nothing in particular. After about five minutes, the woman opened the door. She was young, maybe nineteen. Beneath the new clothes we’d given her was the swell of a full, pregnant belly. She was due to pop at any second if her waddle was any indication. She smoothed her hand over her stomach.
“I’m sorry, I know I’m probably being paranoid about the outlet. But I’m so scared that once the baby comes, that’s going to be a fire hazard,” she said.
“No need to apologize. You’re doing us a favor, honestly,” I said. “In a little while, we’re going to have some inspections coming up, so the fewer quirks like this we have, the better. And…forgive me, remind me your name? It’s not that you’re forgettable or anything, just that–”
She laughed and shook her head, dismissing my stammered explanation. “I know you guys are busy. I certainly can’t keep up with all the names I learn, and I definitely don’t expect you to do it,” she said. “It’s Lelani.”
I heaved out a little breath and nodded. “Thanks, Lelani. Let me take care of this and get out of your hair.”
She gave me a smile and nodded, moving aside to let me into the small room.
I stepped in and walked over to the outlet where her handheld vacuum cleaner was. We’d lent her one after she complained about the dust flaring up her allergies. I figured she’d been trying to plug it in when the outlet sparked.
I knelt down next to the outlet and pushed the plug into both of them, trying to replicate the issue the best I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t doing it, so I was having a hard time figuring out what the problem was.
“When you first did this, did you maybe have wet hands or anything like that?” I asked. “I can’t seem to get it to replicate the issue.”
“I’d just taken a shower. Would that really cause it?” she asked me.
I turned to look up at her and smiled. “Yeah, you’d be surprised. When I was a kid, I made the mistake of trying to mess with a pre-lit fake Christmas tree and almost made my fillings light up because my mom had just shampooed the carpet.”
“Oh! Okay, that makes sense. I’m so sorry, you probably think I’m a total idiot.”
“Not at all,” I said, standing up. “All that said, if you notice it sparking again, just holler for me, and I’ll come check on it. If I’m not around, Travis knows his way around being handy, too, even though he’s a bit of a jokester.”
“Alright, thank you,” she said.
There was a bit of an awkward moment of silence. She was standing a little closer to me than usual, I realized. Close enough that I couldn’t really squeeze past her to get out of the room without pushing her out of the way.
