“Um, sorry to interrupt, but more food has gone missing in the kitchen and we don’t really know what to do.” He nibbles on his lower lip, eyes darting from me to the floor. “Could you come help us? Please?”
Bloody hell. I swear this place can’t function without either me, Rhys or Theo babying it, otherwise it all goes to shit. I rub my face and bite back a groan. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
The kitchen staff nods and scurries off.
“Food is going missing?” Rhys asks with a frown as the three of us watch the man go.
“Yeah, I noticed it yesterday before—” I stutter to a stop, realising what I’m about to say.
“Before what, Alex?” Theo nudges me, silver eyes dancing with mischief because he knows exactly why I stopped speaking.
I glare at him. “You know what and it’s not important. Whatisimportant is that food is going missing and I have no idea how or why.”
Rhys flicks his gaze between Theo and me, probably wondering what’s going on between us, before shaking his head. “What kind of food?”
“Fresh stuff. Meat we’ve hunted or farmed, mushrooms and herbs that have been foraged, that sort of thing. Although we’ve had a few canned goods disappear too.” My brow furrows as I think back on all the missing items, trying and failing to discern a pattern.
The amusement fades from Theo’s face, replaced with concern and confusion. “Could it be because they’ve gone off?”
“No, it was very fresh stuff. Every item of food is logged with a date, and the items missing are no more than a day old. Nowhere near enough time to spoil.”
“And no one’s fessed up to stealing it?” Rhys asks, frowning.
I shake my head. “Even if they did, it’s a lot of food for one person to take. People would notice if one person was lugging around legs of venison and beef and an enormous basket of mushrooms and herbs.”
He blows out a breath and closes his eyes. “Yet another weird thing happening around here that needs sorting,” he says with a quiet groan.
I pat his shoulder in sympathy. “At least I’ll be the one dealing with this shit, not you.”
“Speaking of shit, Charles and Adam just walked out of the main building and are heading straight towards us,” Theo says, causing the three of us to turn our gazes in that direction.
True to his word, Charles and Adam are striding purposefully towards us, a scowl to rival Rhys’s on Charles’s face while Adam looks exhausted and nervous.
“Fucking hell,” Rhys mutters, raking a hand through his hair. “What’s happened now?”
“Hopefully something easy to sort out.” Theo nudges me with his elbow. “You should go and sort out shit in the kitchen.”
I grimace, even though I know he’s right. “Tell me if you hear anything from the doc and wait until I’m there before you say anything to Ollie.” At least if it’s bad news, I can try to hold her together when she falls apart.
Rhys nods. “Will do. Keep me updated on the missing food. I have a suspicion all of this shit is connected somehow.”
The councillors arrive before I can ask him to elaborate.
Charles opens his mouth to complain about the updated training regimen Rhys put together, while Adam winces. I take that as my cue to leave.
I have my own crisis to deal with.
An Indecent Proposal
Theo
It’s the next day,and after putting out various—metaphorical—fires throughout Haven, we still haven’t had a concrete update from the doc about Andy’s condition. It’s hitting Ollie hard, to the point she’s barely eating or sleeping as we wait for any news.
I’m operating on the assumption that no news is good news, especially with an infection like the one Andy’s battling. But, as shitty as it sounds, I wish we’d have a definitive answer so Ollie can finally mourn and move on. I’m pretty sure Tamsin feels the same from the grim worry on her face whenever she looks at alistless Rachel.
Sitting at the table in the dining hall, watching as Ollie moves the food around her plate with no sign of her eating it, I know this can’t go on any longer. She needs a distraction.
And I know the perfect man for the job.
