Page 24 of Filthy Fae

“Yeah,” I said in a measured tone. “I’ll call you in about an hour.”

Hurt flickered across Mack’s face, and I could tell he didn’t realize the extent of the danger he was in. The truth was, I had to deal with this plumbing crisis, and I didn’t want to leave Mack alone in the apartment with Darrel today. Not after Mack told Darrel that his worst nightmares had been realized. Everyone Darrel cared about was about to have a big red target painted on their head. Darrel protected. That was who he was, and the fact that he had reined in his wolf this long was a testament to the level of control he had.

I didn’t take my eyes off Darrel until the door closed behind me and Aaron whispered, “He’s gone.”

“Crisis averted,” I said. Going to my toes, I kissed Darrel’s stubbly chin. “Mack is just a messenger—a messenger I love. He’s here to help us, and I would fight to the death to protect him. I’d fight to protect you, too, so you need to pull yourself together. Lance will need an update, and I have to go fix a leak downstairs.”

Finally, Darrel’s skin stopped rippling with fur, but his eyes still glowed with his wolf. “I’ll go with you.”

“Darrel-man, how about I go with Scarlet, and you go update Lance.” Aaron lifted his hands. “I solemnly swear that I will protect Scarlet with my life as I watch her do all the repairs.”

Darrel nodded stiffly, turned on his heel, and strode out of the room.

“Guess it’s too much to ask for one normal morning around here,” I grumbled as I snatched up my coffee and chugged it like the lifeblood that it was. I grabbed a pancake and took a big bite as I rushed for the door. “You’re going to watch me do repairs, not help me?”

“I will help you by feeding you these.” He lifted the pancake plate.

“Leave a couple for Darrel.”

“He’s not going to eat this... stuff.” Aaron cringed, looking down at our extremely chocolatey breakfast. “There’s nothing in this but sugar.”

I rushed down three stories and let myself into Zeezee and Zane’s apartment.

“Flapjack me,” I said twenty minutes later when I was lying on the ground under my old vanity.

From where he was sitting on a step-ladder beside me, Aaron held a pancake to my lips. I’d finally managed to stop the leak and mop up the two inches of water on the floor. The apartment was a disaster. I had very much on purpose avoided thinking about what Zeezee and Zane’s love nest would have turned into. Zane had always kept the apartment immaculate. Zee had lived in a state of absolute chaos. It seemed that when you added the two together, chaos won.

Between the leak and the mess, the place smelled like shit—literally. Aaron had done his best to comb through the mess while I dealt with the leak but had given up with the excuse of feeding me pancakes.

The leak was in the kitchen where a tap was running, and someone had clearly poured so much drain cleaner down the sink that the pipelining had disintegrated. The slow leak had been going on for hours, and water had made its way into the vents, which in turn flooded their downstairs neighbor.

“If you’re waiting for me to finish this, you might be out there a while,” I said through chewing. Just then, the old piping snapped, causing water and a giant hair clot to spray out of the pipe straight at my face. “Motherf—"

“Hold that thought,” Aaron said as he handed me a towel, laughter in his voice. “I’ll be right back.”

I heard the creak of the door, footsteps, and then a mummer of voices. “Aaron, did you leave?”

He didn’t answer.

Bastard. I shoved the joint back together, spitting water.

“Aaron, if you’re still here, can you grab a dry towel and come dry this so I can tape it,” I said, kicking around to find the pile of towels with my foot.

Lance’s perfectly groomed head appeared under the other side of the sink, smirking down at my soaked face. He lowered himself and began drying the pipes, his elbows bumping mine.

“Jane’s here. We have to wrap this up if we’re going to go investigate,” he said.

“Yeah, huh,” I muttered as my wolf growled in appreciation at his touch. Yet again, I managed to look like a drowned rat while Lance was, as always, clad in a bazillion dollar suit.

“I can probably do that,” I said, feeling guilty that he was getting his expensive suit wet for my sake.

“I’m not afraid to get a little dirty,” he said, arching an eyebrow in a way that made my thighs quiver. “I’m also not afraid to go on dates.”

Ouch.

I cleared my throat. “If you don’t mind getting dirty, hold these pipes,” I said, reaching for the plumber’s tape without meeting his eyes. He could probably tell what his nearness did to me. No, strike that. He could definitely tell.

I sighed and wrapped the tape around the pipe. Nothing I could do about it except comfort myself with the thought that if we really were true mates, he was feeling the exact same way.