13: Opportunity

DRAKE POV

“So,” Callum says loudly, jolting me out of staring into space and reliving my conversation with Nikki last night. “You think she’s the one, huh?”

I shrug, trying to figure out how to answer him. Nikki and I agreed last night that she’d text me when she got out of her Stats study group this morning; it’s just after 11, and the study group was supposed to start at 8, and I’m getting anxious. How long can a stats study group take?! We’re supposed to meet up once the study group is over, to hang out for a bit during my lunch break, and I can’t focus on anything else. Fortunately, I don’t have any pressing deadlines or major meetings for work today.

“I mean,” I begin after a couple false starts, “I can’t really know for sure, not until we ki—”

“You mean you didn’t do that last night?!” Xander interrupts explosively from the other side of our living/dining area, which we’ve set up as a shared home office. “Man, I figured that if you were gonna miss half the headliner, you’d have to have gotten to at least second base with her, which would mean you’d confirmed she’s your mate, since you’re so old-fashioned about—”

“It’s the right way to handle things,” I growl. I’m having none of his bullshit today, and we’ve had this argument many times before. “Whenever you find your mate, you’re gonna have a lot of explaining to do—”

“I am a man with needs. End of explanation.”

“Knock it off,” Callum sighs irritably. “No one wants to hear this argument again. If you’ve been texting her, though, Drake, I’m sure we’d both like to hear about that.”

“I have, yeah, a bit. We’re supposed to….” Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Her name flashes on my phone screen, and the rest of my thought is gone. “Hang on. That’s her now.”

Freedom has come at last. Idk if I’ll be great company—brain’s a bit fried—but I’m still down to meet up if you are.—Nikki

Absolutely. You’ve earned a break from studying. Easton still? What time? I type back, relieved to finally hear from her and nerves thrumming with anticipation.

“Well? What’s goin’ down?” Callum prompts, golden eyes flashing impatience.

“We’re gonna try to meet up, during my lunch break,” I answer, trying to downplay it, but I know I’m not fooling either one of them.

“Cool, cool. Where y’all goin’?”

“Easton, I think. Gives us plenty of options for food and places to wander—”

“And no privacy,” Xander interjects pointedly.

“Nothin’ wrong with takin’ it slow,” Callum rebuffs him. “Good first date plan, Drake. I like it. And I think Xander and I will also be takin’ our lunch break at Easton today.”

“You’re not trying to horn in on—” I protest. The last things I need are competition or supervision.

“Of course not. But if her friends happen to be there, you’ll want someone to get them out of the way. Even if they ain’t there, I been after a new monitor and mouse for this office setup, and Xander, wasn’t you lookin’ for some new speakers or somethin’?”

“Yeah, for sure. I’m down to get out of the house,” Xander agrees immediately. “Always some good babe sightings at Easton, too.”

“Then it’s settled. When you gotta be there?”

“I’m still waiting for her to reply,” I answer, and as if on cue, my phone buzzes again.

Easton’s good for me. You said you’re taking your lunch break for this, yeah? Noon work for you?—Nikki

“We’re thinking noon,” I tell the guys grudgingly. I’d rather go alone, but Callum raises a fair point; what if Angel and Effie are there? Plus there’s no changing his mind when he’s got that look in his eyes. He’s still not convinced they’re entirely friendly.

“Perfect,” Xander smirks. “That should give you just enough time to look like someone she might want to—”

“Hey, I ain’t seen no ladies that fine offering you they digits,” Callum points out snidely.

“How’s it you already forgot about the babes at Polaris a couple weeks ago….” Xander keeps talking—Callum’s remark has apparently started an inane argument about which of the three of us has the most game—but I can’t be bothered to listen, not when Nikki’s text is still waiting for a reply.

Works for me. Do you like bubble tea? I type quickly.

Her reply comes moments later: I love bubble tea. Is there a place for that at Easton?

Yes. I’ll meet you at the fountain in the traffic circle there, then. There’s a bubble tea stand right by the fountain.

***~O~***

ZOE POV

“Movement alert. All three lycans are leaving the townhouse,” Rika exclaims, waving me into her tech hub. Her eyes are gleaming with amusement and plans in progress as she watches one of the myriad monitors around her. In the early hours of the morning, around the time Sasha went out for her morning run, Rika went to the guys’ townhouse and set up surveillance cameras watching both entrances. The cameras are tiny and solar powered, completely camouflaged in nearby trees.

“I thought Sasha was just meeting Drake,” I respond, mildly confused. I hope that’s the case, anyway. I did not spend most of the morning helping her coax her hair out of those tight braids and into comely, well-behaved onyx waves, not to mention getting her a cute outfit and makeup look put together, for this to be a gang bang instead of a first date. More concerning than that unpalatable possibility, seeing all three of them show up might make her bail. She hates jobs like this, with any sort of romance or seduction angle, and she needs all the help she can get from Rika and me to get in the zone for this kind of work.

“That was the plan. She’s already on location, at this point.” Sasha left half an hour ago. She likes to scope out the area ahead of missions, to make sure she has a way out if something goes wrong. “Text her to warn her. You and I are going to do a bit of work of our own, while we have the opportunity.” As she’s been speaking, Rika’s bounded out of her gothic office chair and started rummaging through drawers and plastic bins of assorted electronic equipment.

Three lycans departing together, I text Sasha before asking Rika aloud, “What sort of work do you have in mind?”

“While the dogs are away, the WASP operatives will play.” She’s pulling tiny cameras and microphones, perfect for covert, camouflaged surveillance, out of her stash and packing them in the messenger bag she used last night. “Anselm wants daily reports on our progress with the lycans, but it’s not realistic for Sasha to go on a date with Drake every day. Hell, even if one of them had been into one of us, it wouldn’t be realistic to have a date every day. But if you and I go into that townhouse while they’re out and set this stuff up, we can have our targets on practically 24/7 surveillance.”

“Solid plan, but we definitely need to bathe in your scent-neutralizing serum first. And you’d better put on your strongest sun protection”

“Of course. Can’t have that cautious observant one sussing our game. We’ll have to move as quickly as we can. But that shouldn’t be difficult, if you’re opening doors and creating power supply tap-ins for me.” She grabs a bundle of copper wire from another bin and thrusts it at me.

“You know I’ll do anything for you. And anything to spare Sasha more headaches on this job.”

“Right, right. Well, I think that should be everything we could possibly need, plus a few extras.”

“Then let’s put your serum on and get over there. The sooner we’re in, the sooner we can be out and on call in case our third needs a rescue party.”