“W-what’s up, Pem?” he asked, voice cracking.
Pember let out a breath. “What’s up? Isla told me what happened. She said you and Johnny got hurt.” Pember reached towards him, touching the graze across Taylor’s jaw. “Where’s Johnny? I thought you’d both be home.”
Taylor cleared his throat. “Still at the hospital. They’re checking his arm. It got… it got hurt pretty bad.”
Pember sighed. “Shit. And you?”
“They wouldn’t let me stay.”
“I mean how areyoudoing? But in hindsight that was a stupid question.” Pember let out a strained laugh before getting up and wandering towards the sink. He tore some kitchen towel off the roll and handed it to Taylor. “Wow, this is a serious bit of kit,” he said, turning towards their swanky coffee machine.
Taylor blew his nose, balling the paper up and gripping it tightly in his fist. “Yeah, JP’s family owns a restaurant. We get most of their cast-offs. Neither of us drink coffee though.”
Pember gasped, pressing one of the buttons and making it play a happy little jingle. The poor thing was probably just thrilled to be touched for the first time in eight months.
“Well that is a crying shame,” Pember replied, pressing a few more buttons. “You should still de-scale it though, the pipes get all nasty and before you know it you’ll have a whole colony of micro-organisms living in there. My friend at uni did a study ondifferent pathogens that can show up in coffee grounds and—” He coughed. “Sorry. Sorry. Not why we’re here.”
Taylor laughed a little. “Sometimes I forget that we called you the funny little science guy when we were still at West Newton.”
Pember smiled, slumping into the chair next to him. “I guess there’re worse nicknames.”
Taylor blew his nose again. “There sure are. We came up with some seriously creative names for Blake, but… you probably don’t want to hear them.”
Pember sucked his teeth. “Do tell, so I can take the piss out of him later.”
Detective Dickhead had been their go-to most days. But they’d also enjoyed Commander Cockchafe and Sergeant Suckmyballs. All dick jokes, all peak humour in Taylor’s opinion.
Taylor ran a hand through his hair, cringing at the way it snagged in his fingers. He really,reallyneeded a shower.
“Better not.”
“Spoilsport,” Pember replied, flicking his arm.
“You can have the coffee machine,” Taylor said, jabbing a thumb towards it. “It’s only going to waste here.”
Pember’s eyes went wide. “I couldn’t. That things gotta be worth a grand, easy.”
Taylor shrugged, his shoulders feeling like the weight of the world was pressing down on them. “I don’t…” he began, eyes suddenly heavy. “I really don’t have the energy to care, Pem. I just want JP home.”
Pember’s eyebrows pulled together as he slid a hand across the table. He rested his dainty fingers on top of Taylor’s. “I know. Why don’t you try sleeping in some of his clothes? Or use his deodorant, or pile up some pillows around your bed and just surround yourself in his scent?”
Taylor let out a tired laugh. “No offence, dude, but that’s the most omega thing you’ve ever said.”
Pember waggled a finger at him. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Nest building might be an omega art, but I’m telling you we’re onto something.”
Taylor slowly rose to his feet. “If you say so.”
Pember sighed, pushing back the chair. “Well, anyway,” he said, hopping up, “I only wanted to check on you and—” He cut himself off, eyes darting around as though considering his next few words.
Taylor raised his eyebrows. “And?”
“I wanted to let you know that our lab is fast-tracking Pearce’s swabs. Falkington was going to put it at the bottom of the list because Ru’s in prison and Pearce has no previous convictions, but I managed to convince Wallace that we should look at them.”
Taylor swallowed, wetting his lips. “Yeah?”
Pember’s gaze flicked to the floor before looking Taylor dead in the eyes. “We’ve only completed the initial screening, but… It’s him. He’s one of Ru’s rapists. Sylvester and Benny were separated at birth but it seems like they found their way back to each other when they became adults. Unlike Sylvester, Benny is an alpha.”
Taylor nodded slowly, finding it difficult to muster even a little enthusiasm. “I see, well… that’s good, I guess.”
