Page 43 of Night Call

Without giving her a chance to protest, he tucked the heater under his arm and marched down the corridor towards the forensic unit. Thankfully it hadn’t been on, or he might have singed his armpit hair.

Samantha shouted a string of swear words behind him, but he just kept walking until the door slammed shut. Blake was at his back. “Didn’t anyone tell you,neverpiss off the receptionist?” he said, knuckles brushing the nape of Pember’s neck as they walked. “Your post will probably start going missing now.”

“Well,” Pember huffed. “Shouldn’t be such a… such a bully.” Blake chuckled, holding open the door when they reached the lab.

Pember muttered under his breath before stuffing the heater into one of the PPE lockers. “There,” he said, brushing his hands together as though he’d just achieved world peace. “That’ll teach her.”

Blake grinned and tilted his head. “You’re quite cheeky, aren’t you?”

Pember shrugged, partially returning the smile. “Better to cause mild but lasting inconvenience than fight a battle you’ll never win. Rule one of being an omega.”

As the fire door slowly closed, the light from the corridor began to diminish, and Pember realised they were standing very close in almost total darkness.

“Oh,” he said, reaching for the light switch but only finding Blake’s rock-hard stomach. “Sorry—the switch is here somewhere.” The more his hand moved, the more of Blake’s dress shirt became acquainted with his palm. “Shit,sorry,” he said, pushing past him and feeling around on the wall. The alpha chuckled in the darkness.

“There!” Pember said, finger finally clicking on the light.

Turning around, he found Blake standing right behind him, his chest almost flush with Pember’s face. Heat shot up his spine—the type that made his head fuzzy and his knees weak. As his eyes trailed up Blake’s torso, he finally understood just how tall the man really was. The top of his head only just reachedBlake’s chin, and his shoulders were several inches broader than his own. Blake stared down at him with a playful smile, making Pember’s Adam’s apple bob.

“W-well, anyway. I’ll let you know about the blood results. And don’t forget about tonight. If you stand us up, I’ll tell Val you’re teaching Cherry swear words.”

Blake barked out a laugh. “She already swears.”

“Yeah, but Val’s too deaf to know that.” A small smile curled the edge of his mouth.

Blake coughed and slipped a leather pouch out of his coat pocket, pushing his glasses over his nose and snapping the case shut. “See you later,” he said, before stepping around Pember and exiting the lab.

Pember’s breath shook as he turned on the rest of the lights, illuminating the lab under the stark LEDs. It was a welcome distraction from the thundering in his chest and the uncomfortable tightness in his trousers.

Stupid alpha mumbo jumbo. Stupid, sexy glasses.

The blood chemistry analyser was still flashing orange, which meant it wasn’t quite done. Resigning himself to the wait, Pember ambled to the kitchen and clicked on the kettle. Grabbing a pack of disinfectant wipes from the cupboard, he cleaned down the worktops and cupboards, then pulled an ancient-looking mop and bucket from the cleaner’s cupboard. He washed all the floors, including the lab, before deciding the cups and mugs needed reorganising, so he pulled all of them out and stacked them by size.

“Morning,” a quiet voice called, and Pember spun round to see Maya loitering by the kitchen door. “You’re here early,” she said, jaw uncharacteristically tight.

He nodded. “Y-yeah, I wanted to be here when the results came in.” Checking his watch, he realised it was only 6:45 am. “What’re you doing here?”

Maya raised an eyebrow. “Same as you. Wanted to check on the results from the rape case.”

“Oh! I’d almost forgotten about that.”

Maya hummed, shaking her head. “Of course you did. Something more glamorous came along, right?”

Pember’s mouth fell open. “I… I… Oh my God, no. That’s not what I meantat all.”

She held up a hand. “It’s alright. I’ve seen how chummy you are with the sergeant. Tracks that you’d want to impress him.”

“What?! That’s not true. He’s my neighbour and we both…”Have raging insomnia? Have skeletons in our closets?“We both want to do a good job.”

Maya hummed. “Really? At least you get a free ride, I guess.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving Pember wide-eyed and feeling like the rug had been pulled out from under him.

What the hell?

He was about to run after her, but the way her long braid slapped the doorframe suggested he shouldn’t. Maya’s words cut straight to his heart, making tears well in his eyes.

Did she really think he’d forgotten all about a rape victim just because something better came along? And hadn’tshebeen the one who told him to put up a wall?

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