Page 36 of Irons

“Not for everyone, just the Originals and our top operatives. Of course, their families as well. See if Steph can help you pull it off and since the kitchen isn’t prepared, send a prospect into Clarity for food. I don’t know, ask Felicity what restaurant she thinks could cater it last minute. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”

I internally groaned. “Fine.”

He paused for a few seconds then whispered into the phone. “Wait until you see this chick. Jesus Christ, Irons. I think she might be even hotter than Morgan.”

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “It’s not the first time you’ve seen her.”

“I know but damn, we have to keep Drakos on his best behavior. Blonds are his thing and she’s…Jesus she’s hot.” He whispered, and it was the last thing I needed to hear.

“Alright, I’ll get things ready.” As if I didn’t already have enough to do. Like have a stroke or heart attack as I waited for her arrival.

I stood. “Well, it’s been great, but I have to head back.” I looked at Drakos and Granger as I ended the call. “Let’s head out.”

I went to pay and looked at Mrs. Hoffman. “You don’t happen to make lunch meat trays or something that could feed a large group, do you? We have some new hires coming in and Axton just now asked me to throw together a welcoming gathering. I’d say for around fifty to sixty people?”

Her eyes grew. “I do, and could have sloppy Joe’s and a few cold cut trays with all the fixings ready tomorrow.” She answered as she rung me up.

“Actually, I would need them by around six tonight.”

She paused and looked up at me like I was insane.

“I’ll pay you double your normal price. Triple if you add everything we need, like some side dishes.”

She thought about it for a moment. “I could if I had some help.”

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll send a few people over to help.” I’d rather she made the money than some stranger in Clarity and we had a few prospects that I could send over to help.

I settled my lunch bill and made arrangements with her before leaving with the guys behind me. It was cold enough that I was almost dreading the ride back. Soon it would be too cold to ride at all. I sent Steph and Melissa a text before I got on my bike.

The more time marched on, the more unnerved I became. It wasn’t that I hated the idea of Wrenly being around, it was the threat of past feelings bubbling back up to the surface. I had come a long way, the Army helped build my confidence and Creed’s Lake gave me the sense of belonging I always needed. I overcame the guilt my parents pounded into me, and I no longer stumbled into trouble. All that anger subsided, and I hadn’t felt that monster inside me for years.

Once back at the Community Center, Steph was already at work. Melissa’s job was to keep Morgan away. She needed her rest and we all knew if she found out too early about the gathering she would jump into the planning. Morgan loved entertaining, not just by making us laugh and through her kind heart, she loved feeding us and planning parties. Creed snagged himself one hell of a wife, which did stir some lonesome feelings up inside me. Hell, I think all of us wished we could find what Creed found when he met Morgan, even if we would never admit it out loud.

“Uncle Twabis!” I turned around just in time to see my sweet little angel, Addie, before she jumped into my arms.

“What’s up, kid?” I picked her up and she wrapped her arms and legs around me like a monkey. I gave her a good squeeze then she let go and pushed back to look at me.

“Niko had twaining and jumped from a helicopter! Then Uncle Patwick put his suit on. Niko bit him and knocked him over. It was awesome.” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Niko is da best.”

Her German Shepherd pup was in training and must have propelled from the chopper with a few operatives. Creed was making sure Addie had all the protections she needed, and that dog would kill to protect Addie. She was also going through the typical training we have for our K-9 operatives. Yes, they go on missions and they’re extremely skilled. Niko was spending extra time in training with Addie. Addie is learning sign language and Niko is learning to take commands through sign language and several spoken key words. Addie is also learning how to appropriately use Niko for protection. I was a bit wary about the idea because of Addie's love of everything evil and hatred toward boys, but so far so good. If it were up to Creed they would have three more dogs living with them. One for each twin and one for Morgan, but she put her foot down. She’s too obsessive about cleanliness to have any other dogs in the house. She didn’t even want Niko because she will shed a lot when she gets bigger.

“Oh, so Uncle Patrick volunteered to help during training today?”

She shook her head. “Nope, mommy made him. Mr. Cummings is gone for da week.”

Oh, that’s right, Magnus had a group out on a mission.

“Day got more puppies too!” Her eyes were huge, showing how excited she was about the program. It was my idea to offer a trained protection dog to our DV victims when they left Creed’s Lake. It wasn’t a free service, and they would actually have to pay for the dog with their earnings for adiscounted price while at Creed’s Lake. Not all DV victims were poor either, some just had more dangerous people after them, and a safe house wouldn’t have been enough to protect them. We also provided trained K-9 officers to law enforcement and other private buyers. Creed was a lover to all animals, so every buyer was properly vetted. It was just another way to bring in more revenue to explain our cash flow to the public.

“Where’s your mom?” She better have been at home getting some rest.

“She taking a nap, Mewissa here.” She pointed at Melissa.

“We’re not going to tell mommy about the party yet, right?”

She shook her head real slow and looked very serious. “Don’t wake her up, pwease. Fatass is bitchy.”

I gasped. “Adeline! Don’t say that about your mommy, and let me guess, that’s what Patrick said?”

---