Free Blind Salvage by Shannon Mayer

up and start a pissing contest. But did it have to be right now with me and Alex?
    Liam let go of my hand and I flipped the chicken wing to Alex. Submissive, he might be, but I would be damned if I treated him like a second-class citizen. Liam snarled and stood. I followed him and put myself between him and Alex.
    “This isn’t a pack. Not like your wolf wants it to be. I won’t have you treating Alex like shit.”
    Liam closed the distance between us so that we were nose to nose. Taking me right back to our early days with him as my nemesis instead of my lover and mate.
    “I don’t treat him like shit. I treat him like the submissive he is.” Liam’s whole body quivered with suppressed emotion. I was putting my money on ‘pissed’.
    “Not around me you won’t.” I stepped back, and Alex wrapped his paws around my calves.
    “Sorry Boss, Alex waits.” He pushed the chicken wing across the floor to Liam’s feet.
    Well shit. I hadn’t expected Alex to side with Liam on this. Before I could say anything else, Dox rapped his knuckles on the bar. “Rylee, you’ve got a phone call. You can take it in my office.”
    “Who the hell knows we’re here?” I snapped. The bar patrons closest to us backed away. Yeah, I was being a bitch, but I didn’t like seeing Alex get treated like he wasn’t good enough. Especially not by Liam.
    Both werewolves followed me, Alex at my heels and Liam moving up to my side. Not that anyone was standing in my way.
    I strode through the bar and down the short hallway to Dox’s office, all the while doing my best to ignore the growing ache in my ribcage. The office was neat and tidy, though everything was sized up for his larger-than-life build. His desk and chair were made of some sort of high polished dark wood that was almost black except for the soft swirls of caramel here and there. I slid around the desk and sat down in the chair, my feet dangling, barely brushing the floor.
    “We need to talk about Alex,” Liam said, leaning across the desk, his hands flat on it. Alex peeked up over the edge of the desk, then moved to mimic Liam.
    “Yuppy doody, Alex is good wolf.”
    I didn’t answer, but instead picked up the old school phone lying on the desk.
    “Who is this?”
    “Me. Who the hell do yous thinks it was going to be?”
    I let out a sigh of relief. Of course, Charlie knew to call Dox’s place if he couldn’t reach me. As my middle man with the parents of lost children, the brownie needed to be able to get a hold of me, or at least get a message to me via one of my friends.
    “What’s up?”
    “Yous going to be at the big blue ox’s place for a bits?”
    “Yes, at least another day.”
    “Good. I be sending a parent to yous. I’ve done me best to puts them off, but now that yous be back, yous can deal with them.”
    I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair. “What are the particulars of the salvage?”
    “Nope, I can’t tell yous. They said that yous need to be hearing it straights from the father.” His voice sobered. “And I’d be making sure that yous and me do rights by them. I think they be holding your bird hostage.”
    My jaw dropped, and I scooted forward in my chair. Liam leaned over the desk, eyebrows furrowing. Right, of course he could hear everything.
    I licked my lips. “Eve? They have Eve?” She must have flown straight across again, instead of hopscotching like she’d said she would. Damn it, she just had to prove herself, no matter the cost.
    Charlie let out a sigh. “Yes, theys don’t be calling it hostage per se. Buts they does be saying they will be ‘caring’ for her until yous bring their kidlet backs to them.”
    Damn it all to hell and back. “Charlie, are they threatening her?”
    He clicked his tongue several times. “I think they would kill her if yous don’t be bringing the kidlet back to them. I’ll do what I can, but all I can do is stay with your bird. Right now she’s in your barn, so easy enough for me to