“I mean is that all you have to go off of? You don’t even havethe list of all the petrylle that have been taken, their various places of residence, nothing.”
I stirred uneasy in my chair. “Not to overstep my place, detective, but isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”
An irritated grunt fell between his chapped lips, and he sat forward in his desk chair. “Myjob, Mr. Watson, is tohelp. Not do everything for you. On top of getting assigned to this case from my boss because he has direct ties with Cassandra Tate, I have three other active cases thatalsoneed my attention. I can’t just drop everything. I know this board of yours is new and you’re figuring it out as you go, but I can’t be the manpower. I’m supposed to be the man of the law you bring evidence to. This isyour workthat I’m helping with, not the other way around.”
My first reaction to his words was pure irate fire, furious over the fact that he was being so stale and uncooperative in this matter. But as the reality of what Detective Hudson Rowe said reverberated inside my skull, I realized that he was right. It was my job to find out the details, to gather the evidence with the help of the rest of the board and organize everything we had for the detective. While he was working with us, that was it. With us. Not for us. He was more of a liaison than the steerer of the ship. That job was reserved for me.
Setting aside the mild panic that thought brought up, I nodded and gave the detective a somber expression. “You’re right. I apologize, detective, for forgetting your role in all of this, as well as mine. I’m sorry for making you think or feel otherwise.”
The tiniest beginnings of a smile jerked the corner of Hudson’s lip upward. “None taken.” He brought his computer to a more alert status and started typing in the information I’d given him so he could accumulate what we had so for. “Why don’t we meet in a couple days, after you and the board have had enough time to scrounge for details? How does that sound?”
“That sounds very generous, thank you.”
I’d take as much as possible. I knew this wasn’t going to be a blink and we’d find the missing petrylle thing, no matter how badly I wanted it to be that simple. And we weren’t seasoned detectives like Hudson Rowe. We were just a bunch of people trying to figure it out on the fly, like he’d said.
Hudson slid me a card from the obscured part of his desk, a business card with all his ways of contact littered over them. “Let’s say Thursday morning. My personal cell is on the back. Call me when you think you have enough for me to help build the case.”
“Thank you, detective.” I said, taking the card from him. “I really do appreciate you getting involved in the protection and safety of Orbs.”
“Just doing my job,” He scoffed, but he shook his head before adding, “The way I see it, it doesn’t matter what we all are. Orbs, humans, we’re all people. And the constitution says ‘We The People’. I wouldn’t have agreed to serve my community if it didn’t include all beings that deserve rights under the law.”
This notion from him surprised me, a look of revelation catching me off guard even on my own face. I gave him a warm smile. Perhaps the detective and I were going to get along just fine. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“I’ll look forward to your call.” Hudson stood up and offered me his hand to shake.
“Thanks again.”
I gripped his hand and shook it with vigor before making my way out of the police station.
Now if only I could get through the new sudden cataclysmic crash that I had to compile as much information on the missing petrylle as I could in the next seventy-two hours.
Chapter 15
By the next morning,I wasn’t feeling as panicked to gain all the intel as I had been last night when I’d ordered a pizza and stress-played video games until the wee hours of the night. The board was shockingly good at collecting the details. I was hoping our good luck would continue and we’d be ready to present everything to Hudson by Thursday morning.
We’d rolled in a standing dry erase board so that everyone could see the main points instead of them being housed on pieces of paper that would have to be copied and passed around.
I was on my lunch break, taking a much needed breather behind the closed door of my office, when my phone chimed on the corner of my desk. Chewing through the Caesar salad I’d selected from the order Maxim had gone out and gotten for everyone, I picked up my phone and felt my pulse quake when I saw the recipient.
Wrex.
I almost choked on my forkful of salad, willing it to go down so that I could avert my full attention to my phone. Granted, it’d only been a few days since we’d had sex, and I had decided what I was comfortable with going forward, I hadn’t reached out toWrex myself because I was giving him any additional time he might need after I’d made up my mind. Seeing that he was ready to talk though? My dick was delighted to see as such.
Picking up my phone, I read over Wrex’s text.
Is it safe to assume you’ve had time to think about us?
My half-hard cock stirred in my slacks. For the first time since deciding on what ORBIT’s first case was going to be, I could think about something that was fun. Easy. Simple. Being with Wrex felt like being stuck underwater for an extended period of time and finally coming up for air. And any chance I could get in on something like that, I was going to take it from now on.
Making the best of the moment, I wrote out a response and quickly hit send before I had time to second guess anything.
I have. You ready to meet up to discuss?
When are you available?
Hell yeah, I mentally cheered. I was in. Though my work schedule was going to keep me booked and busy, at least until Thursday morning when we met with the detective, that didn’t mean my nights had to be tied up.Unless Wrex is into that, I thought wickedly.
Tonight too soon?
