It truly was a new world. People were simply helping out because it was the right thing to do. There were a lot of crappy things about this new world but also a lot of really good new ones. Like the fact that if she got hurt, she could go see the supernatural healer and get healed without having to worry about going bankrupt or going into debt. Insurance wasn’t a thing right now, simply getting medical care when necessary was. So yeah, she could get on board with that.
“What’s that look?” Anthony asked, coming up to her.
“Hold on.” She answered the call on her radio and headed toward the stairs.
Anthony fell in step with her. He’d transferred back to her crew for the rest of the week, but hadn’t told her why. She knew that both of her brothers had gotten into some sort of trouble the other night, but neither of them had opened up to her and she didn’t want to push.
When their mom had died, she’d taken on more of a maternal role with them. She’d actually taken it on when their mom had gotten sick, helping them fill out college applications, being there for Anthony when he “came out” as bisexual, though no one had been surprised. In general, she’d just tried to make sure they were okay. “So what’s up?” she asked.
“Nothing. You just look stressed. How can I help?”
“Everything’s good. I promise. I’m just trying to get some small things in order.” She gave him a sunny smile, ignoring the worry burning low in her belly. If they couldn’t get what they needed for the next few floors, it would slow down everything. Which meant the people on the wait list for housing would have to wait even longer and she hated that. People were already in a sort of holding pattern, displaced and afraid, and she wanted to make sure they had a warm, safe place to lay their head at night.
“You sure? We didn’t really talk about what happened last night.”
Meaning when their douchebag of a sperm donor had shown up. She definitely didn’t want to talk about that, and never at work. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she said as they headed down the stairs. “He was just showing up looking for a favor. It’s not like he cares what happens to us.”
“I wish I’d punched him,” Anthony grumbled, flexing his fingers.
“Hey, where’s this coming from?” Anthony had always been more of a lover than a fighter.
He shrugged, grinning. “He has a punchable face.”
She giggled slightly as they reached the bottom floor. “I’m not going to argue with you there, but he doesn’t deserve any space in our brains. I’m going to do my best to forget he ever stopped by.” She didn’t like thinking about him; he brought up too many painful memories. And he certainly didn’t deserve her time or tears.
“What the hell?” Anthony murmured as a shout went up from the parking lot.
She hurried across the gravel, sliding her sunglasses on to block out the bright sun, Anthony hot on her heels. A small circle of shifters had gathered and once she pushed her way through the group, she found Logan, a big bear shifter she recognized from her friend Zia’s crew working on the complex next door, and Mitch, a human male on her crew, facing off with each other.
Zia was on the sidelines, wearing her own hard hat—a purple one—as she looked up at Logan, the bear shifter who drove her crazy. “We need to—”
Avery took the whole scene in and hurried over to Zia’s side. “What’s going on?”
“This asshole stole my Makita.” Logan looked directly at the human male who was trying to stand his ground, but Avery could see the fear in his dark eyes.
If Avery didn’t know Logan, she would probably be afraid too. He was likely six foot five inches, maybe taller. But he was normally so jovial and kind to everyone. “Why do you think he stole it?” She’d seen Logan’s brushless rebar tying tool—and was jealous of the expensive piece of equipment. Avery shifted slightly so that she stood directly in front of the human. She knew without a doubt that Logan would never hurt her, but she wasn’t so sure about Mitch. He was new to her crew, had been put on last week. She didn’t know him.
Zia shifted with her, using her body as a block.
Logan frowned but some of the tension in Avery’s shoulders eased as he looked down at the two of them. “I saw him take it. He thought he was being sneaky, but I came back from my break early. He’s a shitty thief.”
Annoyed, Avery turned around and faced Mitch. “Give it back.”
“You’re just going to take his word?” Anger flared in the human’s dark eyes as he took a menacing step toward her.
But she’d worked with men for most of the last decade and she was not worried about this guy. He was all bluster. So she took a step toward him, hands on her hips. “Yes, I am. I’ve known him for years. Give it back now and get the hell off this job. One of King’s people can place you somewhere else, but you don’t work for me anymore.” She had a feeling King would be very, very pissed about the stealing.
“You stupid bit—”
Faster than she thought possible, Logan somehow moved her and Zia out of the way and smashed his fist into the human’s face.
Avery winced at the crunching sound. That had to hurt.
“Holy shit,” Zia murmured.
Heart beating fast, Avery stared at the groaning, crumpled human on the gravel lot. Holy shit was right. Blood covered his face and the front of his shirt.
“That’s enough, Logan,” Zia said quietly, placing her fingers gently on his forearm.
The bear shifter stilled, though his body was still vibrating with anger as he stared at the human.
“That’s right, listen to your bitch,” the human said as he spit out blood, shoving to his feet.
Okay, it was actually impressive that Mitch could even stand up at this point. And he wasn’t shouting in pain, though she knew he had to be in a lot of it.
Logan started to take another step toward the guy but Avery slid in front of him and held up a hand even as Zia clutched onto his forearm. “He’s not worth it. He’s done for. He won’t be working in any area around here again.” Because she would make sure of it.
Logan leaned around her to glare at Mitch. “If you call Zia or Avery any name again, you’ll have to worry about more than my fist in your face. And I do listen to everything my female says. I’m not sure why you think that’s a bad thing, to listen to the most beautiful woman in the world. You’re a thief and a fool.”
Zia groaned and mumbled something under her breath.
“All right, show’s over!” Avery snapped out. Just then Mikael appeared as if out of nowhere. She’d sent him on a run to grab supplies—because she trusted him and had needed a little space from his hovering. But he was back and his dragon was in his eyes now, all smoky gray rage. She didn’t even have to tell him what to do, he simply grabbed the human by the back of the neck and started dragging him off the jobsite.
Everyone started dispersing, thankfully, getting back to work.
“Logan,” Zia murmured, nudging him in the stomach—though Avery doubted he could even feel it.
“Princess, just tell me what to do and I will do it.”
Zia scrubbed a hand over her face. “Please go back to the jobsite and finish the drywall. And stop calling me princess.”