Hidden Passions (Hidden, #7)(56)

"Lay off the kid," he said. "Liam is entitled to his opinion."

"He's being a f*cking tool. Nate's a wolf, and he's all right."

Jonah wouldn't have made a face if he'd known Evina had just entered the garage.

"Yes, he is," their alpha said, giving Syd's dreads a friendly tug. "All his pack are stand-up people. We're lucky to have this chance to broaden our horizons. Having closer ties to the city's cops can only help us in what we do."

"Sorry," Jonah said, realizing he'd put his foot in it. "I didn't mean to insult your mate."

"We're a team," Evina reminded, drawing on her alpha charisma as well as her motherly patience. "Every one of us needs the others. We can't let this kind of conflict drive a wedge between us."

"It wouldn't be so bad if Chris weren't always on Liam's case," Jonah said.

Evina's brows went up. "It's not my perception that he is."

"You don't see everything," their third muttered.

Evina glanced at Chris, who didn't know what to say. No alpha saw everything. That wasn't how clans worked. "Do the three of us need to talk?"

Chris was willing to if she wanted. He wasn't perfect, but he did the best he could. He knew he was the best cat to serve as beta. No one else had anywhere near his experience. No one else cared as much about all of them--even when they were being twits.

"Maybe we should," he said, trying not to sound like he was sucking up.

Jonah's resentful grimace said the cat thought he was. Chris suppressed a sigh. That reaction was exactly why Jonah couldn't step into his turnout boots.

"You're putting them first," the tiger said darkly. "You both like the wolves better."

Jonah certainly wasn't short on nerve. Chris gave him credit for speaking his mind straight out. What he couldn't do was let the statement stand.

"Whatever you think of me, you're being unfair to Evina--and maybe to Nate as well. Haven't you noticed how much happier she is since she married him? How much more affection she has to give? As for Nate, he cares about us. He's new to our lives, and he's been giving us a chance to get used to him, but you have to admit he treats Evina's cubs as lovingly as if they were his own blood. His whole pack has welcomed Abby and Rafiq. Those wolves are putting us cats to shame!"

Chris's voice had roughened, the topic one that affected him. He told himself he wouldn't be embarrassed about getting emotional.

"Well," Evina said, sounding choked up herself. She pressed her fingertips to the wetness beneath her eyes. Though she was their alpha, the sight of her tears brought out the protective male in her crewmembers.

Syd smacked her lightly on the bicep. "We'll work it out, chief. You know cats are stubborn. We take longer for some things. I, for one, am completely stoked about meeting those dragons. I've got a nephew who'll think I'm a god if I get a picture of me with one."


The tension eased as the others ribbed Syd over this.

Evina watched them a minute longer, weighing if the crisis really was over. It appeared to be. Jonah had returned to soaping the lime green tiger-striped hook and ladder. Chris wouldn't say he looked satisfied, but his manner was no longer challenging.

"You okay?" Chris asked Liam. "You should come to tonight's party. You'll be grumpy if everyone else goes and you miss out."

Liam's head was down. He glanced at his boss sideways. "I'll think about it," he said.

Chris rubbed the omega's back before stepping to Evina.

"Kids," Evina said, rolling her eyes at him. She'd moved to the station's weightlifting corner so they could speak privately.

"Jonah and Liam are close," Chris said. "I don't want to discourage them from sticking up for each other, but--"

"--they're being a pain in the ass right now?"

"I hope that's all it is, and that they'll get over it." If Jonah was gearing up for a challenge . . .

"We haven't done anything wrong," she said, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "Nate is an asset to this clan." Chris smiled, and Evina rubbed the wing of one dark eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I'm partial."

Chris thought she was right to be, which might have been part of the problem. "Did you have a favor you wanted to ask me?"

"You know me too well," she said with a little laugh. "I hope this isn't awkward, considering the timing, but could you give Tony a ride tonight? He's been borrowing Rick's car, and it's in the shop."

"Oh," Chris said, caught flatfooted.

"We can take him if it's inconvenient," Evina assured him. "Nate's Goblinati is just so small the cubs end up climbing all over him. Plus, my car's such a piece of crap Nate hates driving it."

"Not a problem," Chris said.

Evina searched his eyes for doubt. "You get along with everyone. I thought you and Tony might be a good bridge to build, but maybe not if the cats are feeling all Mom and Dad don't love me."

"We shouldn't necessarily coddle their fears."

"No," she agreed, rubbing her brow again. "God, I wish they weren't so uptight about Tony being gay. He's a good man."