Page 28 of Jacob Michaels is Trouble

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Don’t you think I’d recognize local boys, Andrew?” I quipped. “Even if he were lying, I’d know if the guys looked familiar. These guys were bigger than any of Jason’s—even in human form—and they weren’t from around Point Worth. So…where is your fucking pack? They in town for a visit?”

Andrew chewed at his lip.

“What do you want me to burn first?” I asked, sitting back nonchalantly. “I can start with anything that I think looks super important.”

I reached to grab a stack of papers off of Andrew’s desk. When he reached out suddenly to grab my wrist to stop me, I didn’t jerk away or react with violence. I just looked up at him, waiting to see what he would do.

“Don’t.” He pleaded. “Please. This is my fucking job. I can’t lose it because you’re a fucking psychopath.”

“Pot meet kettle.”

“I’m not a psychopath.” He sat back, his long fingers sliding from around my wrist. “I’m a werewolf.”

“Tomato, tomato.” I shrugged.

“You mean tomato, tomahto.”

“No.” I chuckled. “I really don’t. They’re too interchangeable for that.”

Andrew squinted angrily at me.

“Look,” I sighed, leaning in even more, my ass barely hanging onto the edge of the seat, “I don’t give a shit what you and your furry brethren do when it doesn’t involve me. I don’t care if you’re bathing in other people’s blood under the light of the full moon and getting your rocks off to it, either. What you guys do has absolutely no effect on me whatsoever, puppy. But…we were attacked. Lucas got bitten by one of these assholes. I want to know who they are and why they are here if they are not part of Jason’s pack. That simple.”

Andrew stared at me impassively.

“Or I burn this fucking building to the ground with us in it.” I sat back with a sigh, my ass squeaking against the leather of the cushion.

Rolling his eyes, Andrew sighed. “They’re Jason’s people, Rob. He’s finding new members outside of Point Worth, obviously. I know for a fact that my people are not anywhere near here, though I would rather you burn me alive than tell you where they are.”

“He’s recruiting elsewhere?” My head fell back in frustration. “I should have thought of that. Could-a saved me from having to look at you.”

“I’m surprised you and Esther Jean hadn’t thought of it,” Andrew said.

“Fair enough.” I relented as I rose from my seat. “Of course, you could have saved both of us a lot of trouble if you had just said that when I first asked. So…you’re still a major douche.”

Andrew glared up at me as I stood before his desk.

“Have a nice day, Andy.” I gave him a half-wave as I went to turn towards the door.

“I guess,” Andrew’s voice stopped me, “the question you aren’t asking that you should be asking is why they’re attacking you and Lucas, right? I mean…shifters usually only care about business that involves shifters. Neither one of you is a shifter, are you?”

Turning to look at Andrew, one of his eyebrows was raised, questioning.

“That’s yet to be seen,” I said. “I know I’m not. Lucas did get bit, though.”

Andrew smiled.

“Your boyfriend is not going to be a shifter.”

My brow furrowed deeply as Andrew snickered to himself, very confident in what he had just said.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, pretending I didn’t know what he said was the truth. “He got bit by one of those ass—”

“Everyone in Point Worth knows about those people.” Andrew shook his head, amused. “There’s no point in pretending that he has to worry about something like a bite, Rob.”

“Those people?”

“The Barkley’s.” He replied. “But…if shifters are acting out of the ordinary…that is a concern, isn’t it?”

I swallowed hard. Apparently, not everyone knew about the Barkley’s—whatever that meant. A million questions spilled into my head, but I didn’t have the first clue as to whether or not I wanted to ask them of Andrew. Nor did I know how to ask those questions. Anything I asked or said would only give him more information about my family and Lucas’. Something in the way Andrew was looking at me and smiling let me know that he knew more than he ever let on. In fact, I was beginning to think that he wasn’t actually afraid of me burning down his building at all.

“Go fuck yourself, Andrew,” I said simply.

“Close the door on your way out, Rob.” He winked.