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Holt swallowed again. “Maybe I’ll just… get Seb to come with me. Just in case. Seb?” he called, voice a little shrill with panic.

Long moments later, Seb appeared around the corner, looking a little flushed but otherwise as stoic as ever while he adjusted his tie. “Yeah, boss?”

“I’m firing Frank and Beans. They’re in that room there.” He pointed, already inching behind the big werewolf. “If you could just… go in first.”

Seb looked down the corridor. He shrugged. “Sure.”

When he started walking down the hall, Holt took a few seconds before dragging his feet after him. He glanced back to cast Taylor a desperate, loving look, as if he thought this was the last time he’d ever see him.

Seb strode through the door and vanished. Before Holt could even reach it, he was coming back out with a slight frown on his face.

“They’re not in there.” He held up the cover of an air duct vent. “And this had been removed.”

“Oh god, they’re in the walls?” Holt shuddered, looking up at the ceiling fearfully.

Taylor and I did the same. I even helpfully tilted Dan’s head so he could look up too. Just figured he might appreciate it.

“What do you want me to do, boss?” Seb asked calmly as he propped the cover up against the wall.

Holt looked like he had no idea. His face was frozen in panic.

Eventually, Taylor spoke up. “Maybe Dan should go home until we’ve…” He glanced up at the ceiling worriedly again. “Found them.”

“Yes.” Holt nodded and strode back down the corridor. “Absolutely. Go home, Dan. I’m sorry this happened. I’ll call you when it’s… safe.”

“I’m going too,” I heard myself blurt, clutching Dan’s head protectively. I flushed when Holt and Taylor exchanged a quick look. “They might’ve got upstairs. They might be waiting in the parking lot or something.”

“True.” Holt’s brow creased. He gestured at Seb, who was waiting patiently. “Well, Seb could go up with Dan. But…” He trailed off, eyeing us—well, me and Dan’s head—with a hint of intrigue.

My blush intensified. “We’re actually neighbours, so… I can make sure he gets home safe.”

Holt’s brows shot up in surprise. “You’re neighbours?”

“Yes.” I lifted my chin defiantly. “So I’m going to go with him. I wouldn’t put it past them to hide in his car or something.”

Dan groaned softly. “Don’t say that, kitten.”

“Kitten?” Holt asked with even more interest as heat rushed to my cheeks.

Clearing my throat, I shuffled past Taylor. “We’ll go get, uh, the rest of Dan and then we’ll go.”

“Alright. Sounds good. Great plan. Don’t worry about a thing, Dan. We’ll find them,” Holt called as I walked away. Then I heard him excitedly mutter to Taylor, “Oh my god, babe, did you hear that?”

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Dullahan Can’t Handle the Heat

Rafe

We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together.

And it was… nice.

Really nice.

When we pulled up in our respective driveways and got out of our cars, Dan still seemed tense and irritated and slightly embarrassed. He thanked me, then said he was going to rinse his mouth out with vodka a dozen times and take a shower. To try and get the dick off his cheek.

After he’d gone into his house, I hesitated on my driveway for a few moments, then made a decision and got back in my car. An hour later, I was back at home with two carrier bags waiting on the kitchen island, one full of snacks. After changing into sweats and an old tee, I grabbed a few more things before picking up the bags and leaving my house.