“Wren scared him shitless,” Teddy said. “It was great.”
“Not that it worked,” Wren said. “Teddy offered him refuge for the intel. He didn’t want to be involved, it seemed. Which reminds me—we brought a couple of animals we found there with us. My coworker from the sanctuary will pick them up later.”
“Are they cursed?” Saint asked.
Wren shook his head. “We got there before they cursed them. But they are definitely shaken and need some TLC.”
“Poor babies,” Saint said.
“Speaking of babies,” Wren said. “Where’s Sable?”
“Oh, don’t tell them I said this, but Echo hasn’t left Sable’s side,” Saint said. “They deny getting attached, but I walked past their room and there was definitely a fluffy bed large enough to hold a horse next to Echo’s. So…do with that info what you will.”
Wren chuckled. “Sable finds a way under people’s skin.”
“Okay,” Trace said. “Grab some food and you can head out. Get this shit over with if you can, yeah?”
“Are you not coming with?” Teddy asked.
“Got a case,” Trace said. “Got the call just before I texted you to come down.”
“Ah.” Teddy nodded. “Hope it’s nothing too awful.”
“Nothing I can’t manage. Now get!”
“Yup!” Teddy nodded, fixing himself and Wren some food. He shoved a bag of seeds Wren liked into his pocket then came back to sit, tangling their ankles together as they ate.
They might have been going into the lion’s den, but at least they were heading there together.
Wren
“It looks deserted,” Wren said, looking at the decrepit concrete block in front of them.
Teddy frowned, agreeing with the assessment.
“Well if you were running a shady operation, wouldn’t you want to hide it?” Saint asked reasonably.
“There would still be signs,” Wren said. “Fresh tracks. Noises. Guards. We’ve been sitting here for an hour and even Blu can’t see anything.”
Blu chirped to confirm that, sounding almost huffy about it.
“Maybe the operation is deeper in? Or maybe it’s a work holiday. Drug dealers need time off too,” Saint said.
Wren’s brows scrunched. “Maybe.”
He didn’t sound at all convinced.
“Do you want to come back another day?” Teddy asked. “I trust your instincts. If you think it seems off, then it’s off.”
Wren immediately shook his head. “If those animals we saw in the picture are in there, I’m not letting them suffer a single second more.”
Teddy nodded and took his hand gently. “We’ll be on our guard. Whatever happens, we can deal with it together.”
Wren smiled.
Saint cleared his throat. “That includes me too, right?”
Teddy chuckled as Wren turned his nose up childishly.
