No, he wasn’t. But it still pissed her off. She’d been working without a break from the moment she’d gotten up this morning. And yeah, it was exactly what she’d promised to do, but damn it, she hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to stand beside Simon and take orders like she was his servant or slave.
She wasn’t. She was his assistant, obviously, but she was also something more. Or maybe she wanted to be more. And maybe this back-and-forth in her mind was the real reason she was upset. Because she hadn’t thought it would be midnight, and he’d still be treating her like she was one step up from a computer note-taking app.
Rather than argue with him, she thumbed her phone shut. It was near dead anyway. “I think that’s it for today.”
His eyes narrowed, but not at her. He was looking at Mrs. Garcia as she started directing a small army of cleaners.
Alyssa spoke up. “She knows what she’s doing. And she’ll keep her mouth shut.” Then before he could ask his next question, she answered it. “She also knows how to look for hidden caches better than anyone else I know. And she’ll turn it over.” When he still didn’t respond, she lifted her chin. “You trust me? Because I trust her.” Plus she might have told Mrs. Garcia that there were hidden cameras everywhere, which wasn’t a complete lie. As far as she knew, Nanook had secret devices in the walls. She hadn’t had a chance to look.
“What exactly does she do?Exactly.”
She winced. “She grows and distributes the weed. Has a huge hydroponics setup in her home run by her nephew who is a botanist of some kind. And a niece who cooks. The cleaning crew is legit—run by her daughter-in-law—but it’s not the main source of family income. And I trust her.” At least in this, she did. Mrs. Garcia would absolutely do what was in the best financial interest of her family. And that included not betraying Alyssa in this cleanup job.
“Very well,” Simon said as he packed up Nanook’s computer. Alyssa had already looked at it. It was mostly a porn repository, but there were some potentially important files. It would have gone to the precinct with all the other electronics, but this had been in a secret cubbyhole under a floorboard. Simon had found it simply by sniffing from about two feet away, curling his nose, and pointing.
Apparently, shifter noses were ultra-specific. Which is why he made one last reminder before leaving the place.
“Get rid of the appliances, too.”
She knew. He wanted nothing that smelled of Nanook left anywhere. Which was why she’d also instructed Mrs. Garcia to double the amount of bleach they used. By noon tomorrow, the place was going to be cleaner than a surgical suite.
They descended the stairs to head home, but stopped when they reached Hank. He stood by the front door with his arms folded as he watched everything. She looked at him curiously, but he refused to budge.
“I’ll watch,” he said, his gaze shifting to Simon.
The two men stared at each other for a long steady moment before Simon nodded. That was it. Then he walked straight to her car and climbed in the passenger side. Apparently male communication didn’t require a lot of words.
She had no choice but to get into the driver’s seat and wearily chauffeur Simon back to her place while all the details of the day spun on a loop through her head. Deaths. Drugs. Police. Guns. It wasn’t unusual for life in Detroit, but it sure was a lot for one day. And damn it, Simon didn’t even look tired.
They didn’t speak on the drive, but Simon couldn’t seem to sit still. He spent the whole time popping open the computer before shutting it irritably again. Then he’d look out the window, shifting his large frame in her small car. Then he’d close his eyes only to grumble deep in his throat before starting it all over again. By the time they reached the apartment building, she was ready to scream at him. She’d done her fair share of babysitting. Cranky toddlers were not her forte. Neither were twitchy men who could go furry in the blink of an eye.
When he leapt out of her car before she’d put it in park, she let him go. She needed a moment of silence in the quiet confines of her car. Except a moment later, he pulled open her car door with a huff. “Are you coming? You have to teach me to read.”
She looked at him blearily, seeing the way the light made his brown hair look like a white halo around his shadowed face. She didn’t like the look. Neither did she care for the impatient demand in his voice when he continued.
“You agreed to twenty-four/seven.”
“Silly me.”
“Next time, negotiate smarter.”
She did not like that tone, but she couldn’t argue with the sentiment. Then he leaned in and popped her seatbelt as if she were a child. Next, he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her out. She barely had time to pull out her keys before he was manhandling her away.
She let him get away with it for two steps. Far enough for her to catch her balance and not get clipped by the car door as he slammed it shut. But then she dug in her heels and jerked her arm back. It didn’t work. He was solid as a tree and all she managed was to give herself bruises as he held on. But it was enough to get his attention as he stepped around to glare down at her upturned face.
She spoke first, her exhaustion keeping her from minding her tongue. “What the hell is wrong with you? You should be dropping with exhaustion. Instead, you’re acting like…like…” She threw up her hand, this time managing to dislodge his grip. “Like a bear with a sore paw.”
He’d released her arm, but now he caught her chin. He lifted her face up to his as he leaned in until they were nose to nose. She felt the heated rush of his breath and the trembling restraint in his hand. He wanted to grip her a lot tighter, but was holding back.
“You think this is the animal in me? This is me as an angry bear?” His voice was a low growl, but it was quickly rising in volume.
“I don’t know—” she began, but he cut her off.
“Bears are simple creatures. They eat, fish, and sleep for months. They like honey and chasing a mate. But mostly, they like wandering the woods in clean air and watching the rabbits scurry away.” He shook his head. “I’m not being a bear. This part of me is all human. Bears don’t care about power structures or making money. The males don’t hang together and they certainly don’t swear loyalty. And they don’t strategize on how to kill one another.” He took a deep breath. “I chose to stop splitting myself in half. At the beginning of the fight, I chose to be both bear and human unified into one soul.”
“But that’s good, right?”
He shrugged, but the intensity in his gaze didn’t ease. “We’ll see. I am now an alpha. Bear and human combined. I lead, they follow. I use the power of the bear and the cunning of the man. Combined.”
