Page 13 of Claimed By Two Alphas

“Right.” I twisted my lips. “What am I going to do, hold on to you for the rest of the night?”

I spotted Janie looking my way. Her gaze zeroed in on my hand on Delvin’s arm and Delvin’s hand over mine. She rolled her eyes and walked away in a huff. I couldn’t blame her. If roles were reversed, if I saw Delvin and Joshua paying her too much attention and had to pick up her shifts because she was suffering from, I don’t know, bad cramps, I’d feel some type of way, too.

Work situations were tricky when you were dealing with different personalities. Still, she could have talked to me about it instead of going on bitch mode. Thankfully, she was the least of my worries right now.

I yanked my hand away from Delvin, and the bombardment continued. I heard a lot of thoughts but not the one I was looking for, so I moved away from the register, passing tables, as my head started to hurt.

Nothing. No one was still thinking about robbing Bailey’s Bar and Grille. That was the thing about thoughts. Sometimes they were just that. Thoughts, with no true intentions behind them. It was possible someone was just fantasizing about robbing the place. Just picturing himself doing it but planning no real action behind it.

After I made a full round and found nothing, I returned to Delvin, who was still standing by the register, and grabbed his arm. I sighed at the peace and quiet in my head.

“Nothing?”

I shook my head.

“I’ll work the register tonight,” Delvin said. “Let Joshua know what’s going on.”

But I didn’t want to let Delvin go. I liked the dark, quiet space in my mind. I liked not having it intruded upon. All I heard now was the noise surrounding me, not inside of me. Dishware clinking, people talking or laughing, the various televisions with different sports on each one.

There were a lot of people here tonight, and any one of them could be the guy I was looking for. The register was more like a kiosk against the wall. The servers just had to go up to it and clear out their tickets. Most people used credit cards these days. If someone did pay with cash, there was a slot we slid the large bills into. Under the kiosk, there was a locked cabinet. Behind that was a deposit safe. No one could get to the money except Delvin and Joshua. My main concern was someone with a gun, holding it toward one of the servers. If the guy who planned to rob us found out he couldn’t get a huge payday, he might shoot whoever was standing there.

Clearly that was Delvin’s concern, too.

Desperate people did desperate things.

After taking a few deep breaths, I let Delvin go. I crossed the room and went straight to the kitchen, found Joshua in the office, and told him what was going on.

“Are you serious?” He stood up.

“Yeah, that was Delvin’s reaction, too,” I said. We were alone, so I didn’t have to hide what I was saying. “That’s the thing about how this works, Joshua. Maybe the guy was just fantasizing about doing it with no real intentions. People do that all the time. I’m sure you’ve had thoughts that haven’t led to actions, or you’ve had some bad things to say about someone and you just kept them bottled up, not actually saying them out loud.”

“Where’s Delvin? We keep very little money in the cash drawer, in case people need change if they paid in cash. The large bills are deposited directly into a safe, same for the bar.”

“He’s sticking by the register.” I told how, if someone was planning on robbing us, he might shoot a server because there was very little money in the cash drawer.

“How’s your head?” Joshua asked as he rounded his desk. “How are you managing the voices tonight?”

It was so freaking nice to have someone to talk to about this without them being afraid of me. It was such a relief. “I’m managing. I grabbed Delvin’s arm a few times to quiet them when they became too much.”

“Why don’t you take a break in here while I go talk to my brother.”

I thought of Janie. “No, I’m good. If it becomes too much, I’ll just grab one of you.” I walked out before the temptation to stay in the office became too much. Joshua walked out behind me then stormed directly to Delvin, where they talked to each other.

I worked my tables for the next hour, but so far, no one had approached the register. Had I overreacted? I knew most people didn’t go through with what they had rattling around in their head. Wishful thinking. Fantasies. Desires. That was what most people did. No true planning.

Now I had Delvin and Joshua scoping everyone out, watching the place like they were ready for battle.

“Isn’t it time for one of your breaks?” Janie asked after she’d sauntered over to me, the sway of her hips a little too provocative. “You have like… ten, right?”

I blew out a long breath. “About last night…”

God, I hate you. Why are Delvin and Joshua paying you so much attention when I’ve practically thrown myself at them? There’s no way they’re gay. They’re too good-looking and macho. I could rock their worlds if they just gave me a chance. Maybe if you were fired, they would finally pay attention to me.

“Yes?” She looked impatiently at me.

“Thanks for covering for me.” I walked away, telling myself that some people were just petty and jealous. I’d been seconds away from apologizing to her, trying to smooth things between us since we had to work together, but she hated me and wanted Delvin and Joshua. There wasn’t anything I could say that would change her attitude toward me.

I stopped midstride when I noticed a guy standing close to the register, his hand in his pocket, watching Delvin and Joshua a little too closely. Then I moved a bit faster, trying to seem inconspicuous so I could get close enough to read the guy’s thoughts.

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