Page 140 of Night Call

“Yeah?” Pember said, eyes going wide.

Blake chuckled. “Why do you look so shocked? I mentored Oliver.”

Quietly pulling up the collar on his jacket, Pember held his fingers up to his eyes as though they were glasses. Putting on a deep voice, he whispered, “I’m DS Blake Smith and I hate everyone and everything. Rah, rah, rah, I’m a big scary alpha.”

A string of quiet laughter rumbled around the other detectives, followed by shushing.

Blake cleared his throat, dipping his mouth to Pember’s ear. “Do you mind? I have a reputation to uphold.”

Shrugging, Pember tapped his leg. “Tell that to your pink flamingo socks. Not very alpha, if you ask me.”

Blake tutted. “I’ll have you know they were a gift from a very grateful social worker after I saved her arse during a board meeting.”

“Uh-huh. And what about the hamster ones? In fact, I’m sure I saw a tie with hippos on in your wardrobe.”

Blake scoffed and pressed his fingers to the nape of Pember’s neck. It sent a gentle flutter through his belly. “The socks were chinchillas and the tie was a secret Santa gift from Oliver three years ago.”

“Sure,” Pember said with a smirk.

As they reached the far end of the briefing room, Blake knocked once and pushed open the glass door. DS Vaughan was already sitting at the round conference table, running a hand through her choppy blonde bob. She blinked several times, looking confused.

“Oh, Blake, you were… smiling?”

Blake frowned. “And?”

“It was… traumatising.”

“Piss off, Cait.”

DS Vaughan grinned and pulled out a chair for Pember. “Phew, that’s better. Back to scowling. Take a seat, Mr McArthur, the boss will be with us in a sec.”

Holding up a hand, Pember flushed. “N-no, that’s alright, thank you. I’ll stand.”

Because the car ride to the station was uncomfortable enough, and the plug in my arse isn’t helping.

DS Vaughan raised her eyebrows, gaze flitting to Blake with a knowing look. “Sure, no worries.”

Pember let out a breath and backed towards the door. “I’ll… um… How about I get the drinks from your office? Wouldn’t want Lily’s hard work going to waste.”

Blake nodded, picking up on his intense discomfort at being appraised by the other alpha. Because it wasquite clearfrom the way DS Vaughan’s nostrils twitched that he had Blake’s scent all over him, despite their additional shower after ‘breakfast.’

Scurrying down the corridor, he walked through the CCTV room, then into the exhibits room. He had been in Blake’s office before, but now that he was in a hurry all the rooms looked the bloody same. By the time he re-entered the briefing room, drinks in hand, he was met by a sea of black overalls belonging to the Falkington forensic officers.

Isla was there, her shiny black heels clicking on the laminated floor.

“He’s here!” she said, tossing a bundle of papers onto a nearby desk. She smiled widely and opened her arms. “Pember, right?” She gently placed both hands on his shoulders. “We were hoping we’d see you again. The guys from the lab wanted to meetyou. What you did yesterday, it was… well it was damn near heroic!”

Pember swallowed and shrank back towards the doorway. “O-oh, well, you know, I… someone had to do it.”

She let out a soft breath and smiled. “You’re way too humble. What you did, the way you crawled through that tunnel and took those samples… it’s been the talk of the nick, to be honest.”

A middle-aged man appeared at her side, his dark hair thinning on top. “Freddy Burbridge,” he said, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m the SOCO supervisor over at our lab.”

“Um,” Pember said, glancing around for somewhere to put the drinks.

Freddy waved a hand as another five people crowded around him, each touching and squeezing his shoulders. He felt like The Blessed Madonna with a load of tourists closing in to get a better look.

Looking up through the crowd, he saw Blake leaning against the wall, smiling and nodding.

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