“Oh, hey. What’s up?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Alice chuckles throatily. “What can I do for you, Mr. Winters?” I know she’s getting a kick out of me calling her for help. Alice is good people, that’s why I had Wes call her to show Quinn around the first day she arrived. “If this is about Quinny’s lingerie size, sadly, I can’t help you. The best I can do would be a guess.”
I can’t help but laugh along with her. “No, nothing like that, I have that covered.” Her comment makes me wonder if Quinn told her about my tearing her pants off, but I don’t think there’s been time for her to share that story. “It is about Quinn though. I have a few things left to do after the shitstorm this morning, and Quinn’s all alone—”
“Say no more,” she cuts me off.
“I don’t like the idea of her being by herself, not after what happened,” I tell her anyway.
“I got her, Evan, no worries.” Her voice is sincere. “She up at Stone’s place?”
“Nah, she’s currently in the lunchroom. Can you give her a call?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Alice, please don’t mention that I asked you to call. I don’t want her to feel like we’re smothering her.”
“I won’t bring it up, but I’m not going to lie to her either,” she states without remorse. I like her even more now. She’s loyal to Quinn.
“That’s all I’m asking, and maybe a heads-up if she does find out,” I negotiate.
She chuckles again. “Bye, Evan.” The line goes dead without a definitive answer.
“The wolf is coming.” Griff tilts his head toward the door as soon as I hang up the phone and slinks into the corner of the room.
Letty knocks on the ajar door and pushes it open so she can enter. Her eyes dart around the room and settle on me. I’m not sure if she even noticed Griff. While his presence is usually overwhelming to most, he has the ability to mask it well when he chooses. I watch her nostrils flare as she scents the room. Even with the door open, Quinn’s scent and the smell of sex lingers in the room. “Hey,” she greets, lifting her lips in a fake smile.
I use my foot to kick out the last chair near the wall for her to sit, and then I take a seat myself, leaving one open chair between us. “Hey, Letty.” She lowers herself into the chair slowly, as if she’s expecting me to pounce on her at any second. “I wanted to clear a few things up about this morning.”
She folds her hands in her lap and looks me in the eye. “What would you like to know?”
“Just run through everything for me from the beginning,” I instruct her easily.
“All right, let me see.” She looks up at the ceiling briefly. “After the meeting, I went to the dorms like you told me to,” she reminds me needlessly. “I’d already checked the rooms, so I was inspecting the doors to see if there was an issue there, and I saw the kids walking up.”
I don’t react in any way. I want to see where she takes this. Letty’s lips flatten into a thin line, and she shakes her head. “When I met them outside, they all looked freaked out. A few started trying to make excuses, but I cut through the bullshit pretty quickly. It was obvious they got locked out.”
She lets out a heavy scoff. “I thought if I took them out to the hangar and questioned them, I could get them to tell me what they had been up to, scare them a little.” I let her keep talking. “When I realized they weren’t going to tell me anything, I called it in. You showed up within about five minutes, and you know the rest.”
I nod and look her over, remaining silent. After a few long seconds, she fidgets in her seat. When I know I have her on edge, I inquire, “What about their phones?”
Letty’s face pinches. “Crap, I forgot to mention I took those from them so they couldn’t try to come up with a story.”
“Where are they? I asked, so I know you didn’t hand them in.”
“I stowed them in the hangar. I’d forgotten all about them until I was on patrol.”
“And now?” I prompt.
“I grabbed them from the hangar, but in my rush to get here I left them in the side-by-side.” Letty’s face actually flushes bright red. The entire story seems way too convenient.
I look down and shake my head, showing my disappointment. “I just don’t see how you left out so many details about so much, Letty.” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. “At any time, you could have told me you were the one who took the kids to the hangar and that you confiscated their phones. It’s sloppy, and you know I wouldn’t have made a sloppy person a unit leader.”
She nods and pushes back her short hair. “You’re right. I haven’t been as on top of things as I usually am,” she agrees, not meeting my gaze.
I’m not done with her yet. I know she’s not giving me everything, but I stand up and move over to the door. “Sit tight while I retrieve the phones. We’re not done here.”
