“Maybe. They looked pretty unhappy.”
“If I’d allowed an illegal sand-claw beast from Alpha-Prime to escape on Earth—that my super rich employer paid a bunch of money to keep—I’d be very unhappy.”
“I should have remembered to ask.” Cam looked at Axel. “Help me getEugeneinto the back of your truck.”
“Wait. What? Whymytruck?” Axel asked, obviously unhappy with the idea of serving as beast transportation.
“Because he’s not going to fit in the back of my SUV. Besides, I don’t want sand-claw beast slobber in my primary vehicle.”
“Like I do?”
“You can wash it out during your next car wash. If even a small drop of that vile substance hits any sort of fabric or upholstery, I’ll have to sell my SUV at a loss or just set fire to it, because one whiff of dried sand-claw beast spit is disgusting.”
Axel rolled his eyes, but didn’t protest further.
Lucy gave Eugene specific commands so he’d follow them and climb into the back of Axel’s truck. Cam pulled out a dark green tarp and covered Eugene for transport.
“Meet me back at the basement area loading dock.”
Axel traded a look with Lucy. “I need to drop her off first.”
Cam looked around the area. “What were you doing out here anyway?”
“Like I explained before, Wyatt brought us here.”
“Oh, yeah? What washedoing out here?”
“Before I shot him with the Defender, he told me he comes out here regularly to chase away the couples parked here with romantic intent.” Axel crossed his arms, his expression disapproving. Lucy wondered if he was thinking about Valene and Wyatt together.
Lucy thought they made a very cute couple. Valene had hinted to Lucy over the past week about having a certain secret someone in her life. To find out it was a human law-enforcement official…how about that.
Cam eyed the two of them, as if trying to judge for himself whether that’s how this evening had come about. Lucy wasn’t about to mention Valene and hoped Axel wouldn’t, either.
“Okay. Drop Lucy off, then go find Wyatt and ensure he has no memory of this beast.”
“I think I should go with you,” Lucy said to Axel.
“Why?”
She glanced at Eugene’s tarp-covered figure. “My father is rather fond of Eugene. I expect he will be very upset about his escape and, maybe more so, his capture and shackling.”
Cam’s face morphed into a mask of determination. “You are welcome to join the conversation, but I am not happy about a sand-claw beast set loose on Earth regardless of your father’s fondness or intent. They are not allowed. Everyone knows it. The folks on the airship all sign documents promising not to bring such animals to Earth. That means that there are also culpable members of the airship staff and I’d imagine Director Patmore had to know or have heard rumors that he ignored. Anything to keep the clientele happy.”
“What will happen?”
“I will be forced to issue a reprimand.”
Lucy mentally sighed. Her father would be highly insulted to be called out for this, even if he was in the wrong. “Be that as it may, I suspect my father will expect special treatment since we are about to be family and all.”
Cam’s expression hardened. “That’s unfortunate.”
Lucy nodded. “So, I’ll go with you and warn him up front. Hopefully he’ll be more gracious.”He’ll be furious. I hope I can calm him down.
“Gracious?”
“Well, someone on staff is likely to lose their job and be sent home to Alpha-Prime because of this.”
Axel said, “That’s harsh, since he shouldn’t have brought the animal in the first place.”
