Page 62 of Something Handsome This Way Comes

“Pembrooke!”

Officer Hobbs hurried up the lane, one hand clutching the brim of her hat while the other pumped furiously at her side. By the time she reached them, the dwarf was red-faced and breathing hard.

“Pembrooke!” she huffed. “Please tell me you⁠—”

“We’ve captured the culprit,” Grievance answered. “A baby Glaceryn with a case of the sniffles. It has been taken care of.”

Hobbs stared at him. Then released a breath so enormous her entire body seemed to deflate.

“Thank goodness. I’ve been so busy with safety preparations for tonight I almost forgot to check in with you.” She planted her hands on her hips. “But you got the blighter, huh? Good. Won’t have to worry about children breaking their necks slipping on ice tonight.” She pointed between them. “Thank you. Knew I could count on you two.”

“Same time next year?” Milo asked as a joke.

Hobbs laughed, wagging a pointed finger at him. “Don’t you go jinxing us now. Not unless you want another beastie boyfriend.”

“No, thanks.” Milo’s cheeks immediately went pink. “One is already more than I can handle.”

Grievance grinned and reached over to pinch his mate’s ass. Milo squeaked.

Hobbs groaned. “All right, keep it in your pants, boys.”

Milo slapped Grievance’s hand away. Grievance put it right back.

“Thank you again,” Hobbs continued, pointedly ignoring them. “Oh! Are you coming to this afternoon’s firework safety briefing?”

“Uuuuuuh…” Milo stalled, panic flashing in his eyes as real words completely abandoned him.

“We have to care for the Glaceryn,” Grievance answered smoothly. “We are very busy keeping up with a baby dragon.”

Hobbs blinked. “You kept it?”

“She took a liking to us.”

“And babies are a lot of work,” Milo added quickly.

“Don’t I know it.” Hobbs arched backward, pressing a hand against her lower spine. “I’ve got three little trolls ravaging my house. Well, as long as you’re keeping that frozen beastie off my streets, I’ll give you a pass on the meeting.” She tipped her hat. “Happy Pumpkin Festival, boys!”

“Happy Pumpkin Festival!”

They watched her disappear around the corner.

Milo released a long breath.

“Thanks for stepping in. She asked about the meeting, and my mind went completely blank.”

“I will go to great lengths to avoid another one of those.”

“You hate meetings more than I do.”

“I hate sitting in small chairs while Hobbs explains obvious things.”

Milo snorted, and Grievance nodded toward the crate.

“Now let us get these to the idiot baker and the vampiress. I have words for them.”

The Wicked Whisk was chaos.

Rowen stood behind the counter with flour streaked through his magenta hair, frosting smeared across one cheek, and the expression of a man who had consumed enough coffee to kill a lesser creature.