Or at least that’s what Alyssa told herself. They went back upstairs while Alyssa considered suggesting Vic eat a brownie. Anything to counteract the effects of the tap water. But the moment they stepped into the laundromat, they both drew up short. Simon stood in the door frowning at the foam that covered a third of the floor. Beside him loitered Joey the accountant, as he unsuccessfully tried to hide his smirk.
The moment she entered, Simon’s gaze snapped up to hers. She felt her face heat in embarrassment and her belly flutter in lust. Clearly, she’d turned into a teenage girl. Fortunately, any tendency toward girlie giggles were rapidly killed as he scanned her from head to toe in the most clinically detached way possible.
“You’re all right.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah.” She cut a glance at Vic, but he was already grabbing the mop, his face hidden as he spoke.
“The water is tainted,” Vic said, completely deadpan.
“I believe I told you that.”
“Actually,” Alyssa cut in. “I texted that to him, but now we know for sure.” She sighed. “And we’ve got Ms. Turley locked up downstairs. She’s not a threat. In fact, she’s high as a kite and as happy as someone who looks very doglike can be.”
“Wolf DNA,” Joey said, his tone filled with disgust.
Simon didn’t appear to hear the sneer as he nodded. “We believe that whatever is in the water activates shifter DNA. If you don’t have enough, you just feel sick.”
“You get the Detroit Flu.”
He nodded. “If you have more, then it activates and you become a kind of hybrid.” His gaze was on Vic who stiffened, but didn’t comment.
She started to move a washing machine over so that Vic could mop up all the foam. “What if you’re already a shifter?”
Surprisingly, it was Vic who answered, his gaze coming to rest Simon and Joey. “You get amped up, don’t you? I mean, I’m already a…a hybrid, but this is like bad E. I feel like I could go ten rounds against Ali. And I really, really want to.”
Simon watched her brother, his expression flat. And the longer he held Vic’s gaze, the more her brother flushed. Then suddenly her screwup of a sibling straightened into military correct posture, his shoulders back and his head lifted.
“I was an idiot, sir! I won’t disobey orders again.”
“See that you don’t. Now clean up this mess.”
Alyssa thought that her brother would argue, but he nodded sharply. “Yes, sir!” This must have been how he was in the army, and she had to say that the look was good on him. Meanwhile, Simon turned to Joey who was inspecting the empty tin of popcorn.
“Thanks for the ride, Joey?—”
“Your mate’s a drug dealer and yet you want to shut down our operation. Don’t you think that’s a bit hypocritical?”
Alyssa stiffened. She’d already pegged Joey as one of those holier-than-thou pricks who sneered at the poor. He probably had roots in a slum worse than this neighborhood, until a little bit of money and education had pulled his family out of the gutter. But instead of extending a hand to help a neighbor or a cousin, they focused on how much better they were than anyone else. And that set her back up.
“I run a laundromat, asshole—” she began, but Simon was there before her, rounding on the smaller man and stepping so close into the guy’s personal space that Alyssa feared another brawl.
And yet when he spoke, he kept his voice coldly matter of fact. “She is not my mate,” he began. “And do not equate cannabis with what Nanook sold. They are not the same.”
“They’re all?—”
“And do not interrupt.”
Joey shut his mouth, but it was pulled into a sullen pout.
“The time for discussion is past.”
“And when exactly was that?” Joey challenged.
“You made your case this afternoon. I have considered it and found it lacking.” His tone made it clear that he found Joey lacking as well. A sentiment that Alyssa cheered. “You may go now.”
Joey took a step back, but he was shaking his head as he moved. “You’re not in Hicksville anymore,” he sneered. “This is a mistake.”
“Then it is mine to make.” Simon glared down at the smaller man. “I expect a progress report by eight a.m. tomorrow.”
