Page 4

Chapter Four

Y ael had been at work for half the day and was partway through his lunch when Gavin came into the office.

Gavin scowled. "What did I tell you about eating lunch while working? Take a legitimate break, Yael."

Yael turned the laptop around. "I'm looking at books on the internet. And waiting for the Sterlings to get here."

“The Sterlings? Are they having a problem I should know about?” Gavin scowled.

“They're fine. For now.” They probably wouldn’t be when Yael gave them hell for raising a bully for a daughter. “Eryn is having an issue with their daughter. We’re going to clear it up.”

“Do you need my help?”

Yael smiled. “Thank you, but no.”

Gavin shrugged and then leaned into the computer, scrolling with the touchpad. "What is cozy fantasy?"

"It’s fantasy set in a town or bar or shop. The conflict is low angst." Yael read a fantasy romance that had a cozy feel to it. Since then, he couldn't get enough, but he had a budget he needed to stick to. If he didn't set one for himself, he bought every cozy fantasy out there. Thankfully, the genre was kind of new, so it was still slim pickings.

"Some of these are romances." Gavin seemed interested enough that he didn't pay attention to the phone when it rang.

"Don't spend all my money. I'm on a budget," Yael said before he answered the phone.

"Hey, Yael. Is Gavin available?" The sheriff and the alpha were good friends, so he called often.

"Sort of. He has a virtual meeting with Ladon Somerset in five minutes." The alphas discussed business for ten minutes or so, before letting the conversation flow. It wasn’t unusual for the whole Somerset family to take turns catching up with Gavin.

"I have a couple of Dragon Skulls that need a bailout. One of them needs a stern talking to." Mercury said it as if the guy would listen to Gavin. Yael's impression of the Dragon Skulls was that they listened to no one. Hence why Gavin had a fund specifically for bailing them out of jail.

"The cell seems to have a revolving door where that group is concerned." Yael didn't have a good impression of them, but then he'd only ever met Daruss and a couple of others. Maybe someone named Izzy, as well. Both men were rough around the edges, and that was putting it mildly.

Yael had a childhood filled with men just like them. He broke the cycle for himself and Eryn. He intended to keep as far away from that lifestyle as possible, but he would help the alpha with whatever was needed, which was his job.

"I don't know how effective my lectures are." He couldn't even get Eryn to wake up in time to start their day. "But I can come get them and bring them here. They'll have to wait until after Gavin's meeting is over, though."

"It would serve them right to wait even longer. Whether there or here makes no difference to me." Mercury must have been close enough to the cells and the occupants for them to hear his end of the conversation.

"Fuck off, Mercury. I don't need a fucking lecture from Gavin. And I certainly don't need to waste any more time waiting." The sheriff didn’t intimidate whoever spoke, nor were they bothered by being locked up.

Yael didn't know he had partially shifted until Gavin glanced at him with a puzzled expression. Only then did he notice his teeth dropping and his vision was more acute.

Yael shrugged and packed up his lunch. He'd eat it after he got back with the Dragon Skull.

"I'll come." Yael could not help himself. Something about the Dragon Skull’s voice was compelling. He wasn't sure what it was or why, but he had to know who the voice belonged to. Something pulled him, as if he were lassoed and reeled toward the sheriff's office.

He pictured the building in his mind and then inside. He'd been inside when he'd been a young dragonet when his mother had to get his father out of trouble. And then later when his older brother had been arrested. There had been no bailing him out.

Yael took a deep breath and told himself not to think about the past. He wasn't visiting his brother in prison, but bailing out a stranger for the alpha.

Gavin turned the computer back around. "I can meet with the Sterlings, if you want."

Yael shook his head.

“Are you all right?”

"I just went back to the past for a moment."

Gavin nodded. "The Dragon Skulls aren't like your family. They get paid to rescue victims, not victimize people."

"Except for the ones in the sheriff's office?" Yael hoped it wasn't true.

"Including them. All of them were victimized at some point. Except for Daruss and Izzy. They started rescuing people. And besides, they were probably defending someone inside the bar."

“Defending someone?”

“Most likely. Skippy might like a good fight a little too much, but he needs a good reason first.” Gavin nodded toward the office door before taking Yael's place behind his desk.

Yael waved as he left. He grabbed a soda from the fridge before heading out the door.