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“Oh damn, so there’s a child involved?”

Blake inclined his head. “Potentially. We don’t know for certain that it’s his. None of his family knew anything about a partner—they thought he’d been single for quite some time. But that’s not to say he hadn’t kept them a secret. Especially if they weren’t part of the Roma pack.”

Pember hummed and took another swig of coffee.

“I’m going to go in early to check on his blood work.

Unfortunately, Maya said there wasn’t much blood actually left in his body.

” Pember shuddered, picturing the alpha’s shredded heart laid out in the examination tray.

“So Wallace sent off the liver and vitreous humour samples for testing. We can’t do them in-house. ”

Blake ran his tongue over his teeth. “Vitreous what?”

Pember chuckled. “Eye jelly.”

The alpha’s nose wrinkled.

“But what about you?” Pember continued. “How’s your—” He tapped his chest, feeling himself turning red again.

Blake smirked and licked his bottom lip. “All good, but I had no idea working with you would be an occupational hazard.”

Pember took another sip of coffee to try and hide how the blush lit up his cheeks.

“Anyway,” Blake continued. “What time are you going in?”

Pember shrugged. “Soon. The blood results should be ready in a couple of hours.”

“Want a lift?”

“Oh, well… only if you don’t mind. But shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Shouldn’t you?”

A small grin tugged at the corner of Pember’s mouth. “Touché.”

“Tut tut, Sergeant. That’s how rumours start,” Samantha drawled, leaning back in her swivel chair and propping her feet on the rusty heater.

She smirked, her sharp mouth pushing up her cheeks to create crow’s feet around her eyes.

Pember stared at the floor as he followed Blake through the empty waiting room.

“And that’s how you ended up on desk duty, PC Evans,” Blake replied, tapping his badge to the electronic keypad. “Too much gossiping. Not enough policing.”

The other alpha shrugged and popped a piece of gum into her mouth. “I’d rather sort out neighbour disputes anyway. Less paperwork. And besides, it’s amazing what you find out by working front counter.”

Blake’s jaw tensed as he held the door, fingertips brushing across Pember’s lower back when he stepped through. “Yes, I’m sure calculating who owns what patch of lawn makes for riveting work.”

Samantha shrugged again, her red lips peeling back over her fangs. “You should try it. Early start, early finish. Plenty of time with the wife. Oh wait, I forgot you’re only married to the job these days.”

Samantha’s tone sounded playful, but it was edged with malice. The comment made Pember’s skin go cold. “H-hey,” he said, sidestepping Blake and knocking Samantha’s feet off the rusty metal heater. “I’m taking this. Lab’s freezing again.”

Without giving her a chance to protest, he tucked the heater under his arm and marched down the corridor towards the forensic unit. Thankfully it hadn’t been on, or he might have singed his armpit hair.

Samantha shouted a string of swear words behind him, but he just kept walking until the door slammed shut.

Blake was at his back. “Didn’t anyone tell you, never piss off the receptionist?

” he said, knuckles brushing the nape of Pember’s neck as they walked.

“Your post will probably start going missing now.”

“ Well ,” Pember huffed. “Shouldn’t be such a… such a bully.” Blake chuckled, holding open the door when they reached the lab.

Pember muttered under his breath before stuffing the heater into one of the PPE lockers. “There,” he said, brushing his hands together as though he’d just achieved world peace. “That’ll teach her.”

Blake grinned and tilted his head. “You’re quite cheeky, aren’t you?”

Pember shrugged, partially returning the smile. “Better to cause mild but lasting inconvenience than fight a battle you’ll never win. Rule one of being an omega.”

As the fire door slowly closed, the light from the corridor began to diminish, and Pember realised they were standing very close in almost total darkness.

“Oh,” he said, reaching for the light switch but only finding Blake’s rock-hard stomach.

“Sorry—the switch is here somewhere.” The more his hand moved, the more of Blake’s dress shirt became acquainted with his palm.

“Shit, sorry ,” he said, pushing past him and feeling around on the wall. The alpha chuckled in the darkness.

“There!” Pember said, finger finally clicking on the light.

Turning around, he found Blake standing right behind him, his chest almost flush with Pember’s face.

Heat shot up his spine—the type that made his head fuzzy and his knees weak.

As his eyes trailed up Blake’s torso, he finally understood just how tall the man really was.

The top of his head only just reached Blake’s chin, and his shoulders were several inches broader than his own.

Blake stared down at him with a playful smile, making Pember’s Adam’s apple bob.

“W-well, anyway. I’ll let you know about the blood results. And don’t forget about tonight. If you stand us up, I’ll tell Val you’re teaching Cherry swear words.”

Blake barked out a laugh. “She already swears.”

“Yeah, but Val’s too deaf to know that.” A small smile curled the edge of his mouth.

Blake coughed and slipped a leather pouch out of his coat pocket, pushing his glasses over his nose and snapping the case shut. “See you later,” he said, before stepping around Pember and exiting the lab.

Pember’s breath shook as he turned on the rest of the lights, illuminating the lab under the stark LEDs. It was a welcome distraction from the thundering in his chest and the uncomfortable tightness in his trousers.

Stupid alpha mumbo jumbo. Stupid, sexy glasses.

The blood chemistry analyser was still flashing orange, which meant it wasn’t quite done.

Resigning himself to the wait, Pember ambled to the kitchen and clicked on the kettle.

Grabbing a pack of disinfectant wipes from the cupboard, he cleaned down the worktops and cupboards, then pulled an ancient-looking mop and bucket from the cleaner’s cupboard.

He washed all the floors, including the lab, before deciding the cups and mugs needed reorganising, so he pulled all of them out and stacked them by size.

“Morning,” a quiet voice called, and Pember spun round to see Maya loitering by the kitchen door. “You’re here early,” she said, jaw uncharacteristically tight.

He nodded. “Y-yeah, I wanted to be here when the results came in.” Checking his watch, he realised it was only 6:45 am. “What’re you doing here?”

Maya raised an eyebrow. “Same as you. Wanted to check on the results from the rape case.”

“Oh! I’d almost forgotten about that.”

Maya hummed, shaking her head. “Of course you did. Something more glamorous came along, right?”

Pember’s mouth fell open. “I… I… Oh my God, no. That’s not what I meant at all. ”

She held up a hand. “It’s alright. I’ve seen how chummy you are with the sergeant. Tracks that you’d want to impress him.”

“What?! That’s not true. He’s my neighbour and we both…” Have raging insomnia? Have skeletons in our closets? “We both want to do a good job.”

Maya hummed. “Really? At least you get a free ride, I guess.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving Pember wide-eyed and feeling like the rug had been pulled out from under him.

What the hell?

He was about to run after her, but the way her long braid slapped the doorframe suggested he shouldn’t. Maya’s words cut straight to his heart, making tears well in his eyes.

Did she really think he’d forgotten all about a rape victim just because something better came along? And hadn’t she been the one who told him to put up a wall?

“Maya!” he called after her, but when he stepped into the lab he found she was already gone. That really made his eyes water. “Shit,” he muttered, pulling on his lab coat.

Drifting over to the analyser, he watched as the counter ticked away and the guilt turned to nervous anticipation. “Maya?” he called again, certain she would want to see the results.

When no response came, he flicked on the monitor and stared at the West Newton Constabulary logo flickering across the screen. He was elbow deep in passwords when Maya finally re-entered the lab holding a stack of papers and test kits.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, letting out a breath and resting the items on the table next to his elbow. “I was a bitch just then.”

“N-no, you—” The sheer relief made Pember’s legs turn to jelly. “You weren’t.”

“I was.” She patted his shoulder and wound her braid into a bun at the back of her head. “I was kinda jealous, to be honest. With you, Wallace and Duncan working the murder, I was… feeling left out, I guess. You’re only doing your job.”

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t forget about the rape victim, I just—you’re right, my mind has been elsewhere.”

Maya grinned and turned on the computer next to his. “So you are shagging the sergeant?”

Pember went bright red at that. “What? No! Oh my God, no! Is that what people think?”

Maya smirked and sucked her teeth. “Yeah, kinda. It’s common knowledge around the nick that he split up with his wife last year. Rumour has it he was cucked by some bloke from a different police force. Shacked up with his baby and everything.”

Pember waved both hands in front of her face, almost clamping them across her mouth. “Please, May, don’t tell me anything else. It’s none of my business, and to be honest, it’s none of yours either.”

Maya let out a sharp laugh. “No? Alright, if you insist.”

He had a mind to spill his coffee down Maya’s lab coat. He wouldn’t, of course, but he wanted to. Maya must have sensed his annoyance as she glanced between him and the computer screen. He only looked up when Wallace and Duncan came bustling into the lab.

“Good morning, my favourite colleagues!” Duncan said, takeaway cup in one hand, the other clapping Pember across the shoulder.