Page 228 of As The Shifter World Turns

We cleaned up and went back to lug some more stuff. This time it was easier. Everything pretty much could be carried by one person. It was a ton of trips but they were pretty fast and aside from a few boxes of books that were packed too full, everything was easy to manage.

“Dad, I’m going to start unpacking.” Toby set a box on his bed. “If you need more muscles, call me.”

“I’ll do that. But I think we have the heavy stuff all moved over.” Micah had called him Muscles. He was going to be Muscles forever now.

“How are you holding up?” I handed Neil some water. It was tepid, but given all the dust stirred up by moving and our sweaty bodies, it still felt amazing going down.

“Good. Anthony and I got all the things from 2B I needed. That feels good. I think we really only have the kitchen and the bathroom left.” Which was a ton, but progress.

“It will be nice to sleep in our own bed in our new house.” I brushed a piece of dust off his face.

“Or we can go to a hotel and not have to make the bed or unpack when we are done.” I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. It didn’t sound like a horrible plan. Getting things over here was one thing. Getting them here and then unpacking them? That was quite another.

“Let’s see where we’re at. I bet Toby is unpacked before our bed is even made.” I downed the rest of my water.

It was nearing four when we got everything moved over, which I thought was really good time. Of course, my body shouted at me that it was past midnight.

“I guess I’ll head out,” Anthony said. “Unless you want me to clean the bathroom or something.”

I couldn’t tell if he was looking for an excuse to stay or if he was being nice.

“You don’t have to. You’ve done a lot already.” Neil leaned into my side.

“I know but I—” He was cut off by his phone ringing. “Just a second.” He took it out of his pocket. “Crap. It’s the bank.”

He answered the phone and it didn’t take long for his face to go pale. Money problems sucked. Only when the phone dropped to the floor, something felt off.

“Anthony?” Neil bent down and picked it up. “Was that the bank?”

Anthony shook his head.

“Do you know who it was?” Neil set the phone down and led Anthony to the couch.

Daire stepped out of the master bedroom with Micah, broken down boxes in hand.

“Is he okay?” Micah asked me. I didn’t know and I just shrugged.

“It was the same. The same as the others,” Anthony finally said. “They don’t say anything but there’s music in the background. Always a different number.”

“Did you tell someone?” Neil was sitting beside him, giving him comfort and I just stood there feeling helpless, not sure what to do.

“The police say crank calls aren’t illegal and even if they were, the number is spoofed so they can’t track them.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Not sure why this one bugged me. Maybe because it’s the real name of my bank, but I need to chill.”

Chill wasn’t what he needed. Vigilance was.

Eventually Micah and Daire took him home, Daire promising to add extrasecurity to his place. Anthony needed more than some cheap cameras and bolt locks. He needed to get this asshole to stop. It would be much easier if they knew who it was and could get them arrested.

If I were boiling down what I hated about my mate’s job, it was this. The safety issues. I’m sure he thought it was connecting with others, but really it wasn’t. It was knowing he could potentially let another fucked up person into his world, one that would do him harm.

We went to work unpacking, neither of us wanting to talk about what had happened. As predicted, Toby was done first, Ivor promising to help him pick out new curtains to fit the room.

We weren’t planning on unpacking it all, but we needed at least the bedroom done.

“Want help, Dad?” Toby stood in our bedroom doorway. “I’m really good at it.”

I started to say no, but Neil cut me off. “Can you grab my red duffle? I think it got put in Charlie’s room. Can’t miss it. Bright red like a fire truck.”

“It’s my makeup and work clothes, but it’s locked,” he said after Toby ran off to fetch it. “And it will help him feel useful.”

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