Page 80 of Heroes & Hitmen
“Hey, little brother,” he greets, raking a hand through his neatly trimmed dark hair. He’s sitting in Dad’s old office, the view from the window behind him unmistakable. I’ve stared out it too many times while getting a lecture from our old man about behaving like the son of an Alpha– which generally means avoiding trouble, not causing it. Archer looks right at home in there as our pack’s new Alpha, our dad’s mirror image. Black hair, blue eyes, and moral compass calibrated to ‘boy scout’.
“Hey, Arch,” I say, shifting my weight in the driver’s seat of my truck. It’s not the first place I’d pick for this kind of meeting, but Alpha Gage has eyes and ears everywhere, so this seemed like the safest bet. “Still pretending you know what you’re doing running our pack?” I tease.
“Oh, you know,” he replies with a low chuckle. “Same shit, different day. How’s the Windy City?”
“Loud. Crowded. Smells terrible. I’m dying for a run, haven’t been able to let my wolf out since the full moon.”
“What?” He balks, his brow creasing. Arch knows as well as I do that Alpha wolves demand to be let out more often than most.All that dominant, aggressive energy needs an outlet, and running in wolf form always does the trick.
“Yeah,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Hoping to change that soon, though, as soon as I can find some damn free time.”
“Their Alpha keeping you busy?” Archer asks.
“Yeah, with a bunch of bitchwork,” I grumble. “Definitely not what I expected, but it’s only a year, right?”
“Right,” Archer agrees, nodding. The picture on the screen wobbles as he leans back in his chair, rolling his neck on his shoulders. “So, as much as I’ve missed seeing your face, your message had me a little worried. What’s going on?”
“I’m guessing he’s gotten himself in some sort of trouble,” a familiar voice growls from off screen– one I’d recognize anywhere as belonging to my brother’s Beta and our longtime family friend, Nash.
“Tell that asshole to get in frame if he wants to talk shit,” I snort.
“Hold on,” Archer grunts, the camera wobbling again as he reaches forward to set his phone somewhere on the large desk– which it’s still weird to see him sitting behind. Probably always will be. He scooches back in the leather chair, seemingly satisfied, and I take in the new angle as Nash drops into view, perching on the edge of the desk like the judgy bastard he is.
“Happy?” Nash deadpans.
“Ecstatic.” I flash him my brightest shit-eating grin. “Your face is like a sunrise, Nashy. If the sun was always super pissed and had zero sense of humor, that is.”
He rolls his eyes like he doesn’t have time for my bullshit, but he knows he loves me. Probably.
“So,” he sighs, arching a skeptical brow. “What kind of chaos are you involved with this time? Move in on another guy’s mate?”
“Drink too much and wake up butt naked in the woods?” Archer speculates.
“Crash a stolen car?” Nash piles on.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, that wasone time,” I laugh, waving them off. “And the car wasn’t even that nice.”
The three of us fall into easy banter, familiar as oxygen. I lean back in my seat, propping my phone up on the dash and letting the guys’ laughter fill the cab of my truck for a few seconds. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it.Too long.
When the noise finally dies down, Archer gets serious again, jaw set tight and brow furrowed in a way that reminds me way too much of our old man. “So. You said this was important?”
“It is,” I breathe, scratching at the back of my neck uncomfortably, unsure how to even begin. “I’ve gotten myself into a little bit of a… situation here.”
“Of course you have,” Nash replies flatly.
“What kind of situation?” Archer probes, his tone shifting to big brother mode.
I shrug, a grin pulling at the corner of my mouth. “It’s funny, really. There’s this girl…”
Archer throws his head back on a long-suffering sigh. “Here we go…”
“There’s always a fucking girl,” Nash grumbles, crossing his arms like he’s been personally victimized by my love life.
“Just shut up and listen,” I say, chuckling. “This one wasn’t even my fault, I swear.”
“We’re listening,” Nash mutters.
I proceed to give them the rundown of the whole messy story– meeting Miley, finding out about her arranged mating, her psycho dad, and my brilliant spur-of-the-moment lie to save her from his wrath. When I finish, they’re both staring at me like I just suggested joining a cult or something, exchanging nervous glances with one another.
