When they arrived at the house, everyone was there except Jen, who didn’t get off work for another hour.
They gathered in the kitchen as Cindy and Olivia handed out plates and drinks. There were pizza boxes on the counter and a thick stack of napkins. He kissed his mate and grabbed a slice of sausage and mushroom and one of buffalo chicken.
“Jen said she’s eating at work, that’s why we’re not waiting,” Adam said as they all found seats at the table.
“How did the shed building go,” Myra asked before taking a bite of her slice.
“It certainly looks great,” Bill offered. “It will look even better when I’ve painted it barn red.”
Thomas growled. “It’s not a barn, you can’t paint it red.”
“There’s no rule that says barn red is only allowed on barns.”
“It’s in the name!”
Everyone burst out laughing, and Thomas picked an olive off his pizza and threw it at his mate.
“How was school, Tasha? Anything fun and exciting today?” Adam asked.
“No, but Mom did tell me that you said the Changs decided they’re going to move here. I’m super excited about that. Can you give them my cell phone number so Blaire can text me? I’m bummed they’re not coming until summer, but at least we’ll be able to have fun before school starts.”
“Absolutely,” he promised.
“When does Latisha get here,” Joe asked. “Next month, right?”
“That’s her plan right now,” Myra confirmed. “Adam and Jonas volunteered to drive out to meet her. One of them will drive her moving truck back. She’s going to fly.”
“Awesome,” Tasha said, her mouth full.
Olivia gave her a look that had Tasha flushing.
“If you guys want company, let me know,” Robert said. “I wouldn’t mind that road trip.”
“Any word from Becky and Soo?” Candace asked.
Myra nodded. “They’re really hoping to make it work, just worried about the job situation. I told them there was no rush, the invitation was open, it doesn’t have an expiration date.”
They ate pizza and chatted about everything except the situation at hand. Jen arrived shortly after they’d cleaned up and they regathered at the table.
“Okay. Here’s what we know,” Adam said. “Federal agents worked with our deputy, and showed up at the truck stop late this afternoon. They took the files and computers and sent everyone home, telling them not to come back.”
“So none of the working employees were held?” Joe asked.
“No, they didn’t seem interested in anyone who was at work,” Olivia answered. “As the manager, I’m the one they gave the warrant to. They asked me to call everyone into the diner, checked people’s names off of a list as they identified themselves, and then told us all we could go.”
Robert was sitting next to her, and he patted her arm. “That must have been distressing.”
“It probably was for the other employees,” Olivia said. “For me, it was a relief, because it was awkward knowing something was wrong, something like this was going to be happening, but needing to act like everything was normal.”
“Yeah, that had to have sucked,” Bill said.
Olivia just nodded. “Of course, now I don’t have a job, but that seems crass to think about after all that’s happened.”
“Not at all,” Myra assured her. “We will definitely work on that. As for the rest of this nastiness…I spoke to Jose, Brenda’s alpha. I had filled him in a few days ago, with what we knew and what was happening as far as the investigations. When I called to let him know of today’s events, he said he was ready to bring Brenda in. Then he called back to let me know she had confessed to skimming money from her clients for years, getting into deep financial trouble herself and screwing Cindy’s parents and another client—not a pack member—in order to get herself out of it. She’d hoped by leaving town and coming to a tiny pack, that she’d escape discovery.”
“What does our being a small pack have to do with anything?” Candace asked.
“Hierarchy, I would bet,” Adam answered. “She figured she’d be higher up here than fourth.”
