Emma hung up and Jono tucked his mobile into his back pocket before heading inside the Starbucks. He didn’t know how long Patrick’s meeting would take, but if he didn’t get more caffeine in him, Jono wouldn’t be fit for humanorpreternatural company.
Jono sat at one of the tables near the window to keep an eye on the street for Patrick’s car once he had his coffee. In the craziness of last night and the annoyed mood Patrick had woken up in, neither had remembered to exchange numbers. So Jono drank his coffee slowly and kept his attention on the street. He was almost finished with his Venti coffee when he saw the black car from earlier pull up to the curb.
Downing the dregs of his drink, Jono tossed it in the bin on his way out. He pulled open the car door and climbed inside, nose twitching at the smell of smoke and nicotine, and an underlying electric burn reminiscent of the sort that sometimes emanated from Marek. He wondered about that, especially in the absence of Patrick’s own bitter scent.
“Thought you weren’t supposed to smoke in here? Meeting go that poorly?” Jono asked.
“It went” was Patrick’s short reply as he pulled into the street.
Jono eyed him over the rims of his sunglasses. “I can see that.”
Patrick’s mouth curled in a scowl, and Jono’s attention lingered on his plush lips. He wouldn’t mind seeing them wrapped around his cock. As fun as last night was, it had ended too soon for Jono’s liking.
Patrick gunned it across the intersection on a yellow light. “Can you get me into Tempest?”
“I have keys,” Jono said slowly. “Why?”
“I need to see the crime scene.”
“Police already finished their cleanup.”
“I’m not the police. Can you get me in or not?”
“Yeah, Pat. I can let you in.”
“Good. Means I don’t have to pick the lock.”
Jono lifted his hips enough to pull his mobile free of his pocket and tapped in his passcode. He went into his text messages and pulled up Marek’s name, typing out a message.
Heading to Tempest with Patrick.
The response from Marek was immediate.Mr. Hot Ass better not make a mess like last night.
Jono snorted quietly and would’ve responded except he got a notification in the status bar of another message. He tapped back into the queue and accessed the group chat between himself, Emma, Leon, Marek, and Sage.
Estelle and Youssef called. They want to see the bar, so we’re meeting them there,Emma had texted.
When?Jono texted back.
Thirty minutes.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“What now?” Patrick asked.
“The god pack alphas are coming by.”
“To the bar?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
Jono checked the time. “Close to half past.”
Patrick made an aggrieved sound in the back of his throat and proceeded to drive like a Formula One driver all the way to the bar. By the time he parked in Marek’s reserved spot outside Tempest, Jono had to pry his hand off the dash.
“You drive like a bloody maniac,” Jono told him.
