Page 109 of Passion and Payback

“Heard, Alpha,” he said, and I rolled my eyes, knowing he was giving me shit.

I sighed. “Stitch...I’m not even in the military anymore. There’s no need for that.”

“And yet you refer to me by the pet nickname they gave me, and you adopted,” he pointed out, not unfairly.

“True, but at least your nickname makes people think of an adorable Disney creation and not some guy who posts the creepiest shit imaginable on their Instagram,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

“And in what particular universe have I ever given the impression I want to be associated with an adorable Disney creation?”

“Probably about as much as I want to be associated with morons who call themselves alphas.”

“Then rest easy. Other people gave you the name...and it suits you.”

“Not really.”

“You know how to take charge of a situation when it’s called for, and you know how to step back to let others have their moment to shine. Others trust you when you’re in charge, and you handle a crisis with ease, and you know how to take it easyand enjoy yourself. If there were ever a better personality to be called an alpha, it would be yours.”

“I...” Getting an outright compliment and adetailedone from Stitch threw me off, and I found myself at a loss for words. “Thank you, Stitch. What has you so sentimental?”

“I believe the better question would be, why are you calling me?”

“Is there a way to speak without being...overheard?” I asked, trying to emphasize the last word without being obvious.

“There is. But you’ll have to let me in.”

“Let you in? Let you in where?”

“To the building.”

I stared at the apartment door, almost expecting a knock, until I remembered I’d have to go downstairs for that. “I...you’re here?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Airplane. And then a car rental. Then a room.”

“I...why?”

“Alpha.”

“I...sure,” I said, thoughts spinning with the implications and confusion before I stepped out of the room. I looked down the hallway to find Hunter in his bedroom doorway, watching me. “I’ll be right back, Hunter. Our...help is here.”

The look of confusion on his face made me shake my head because I didn’t have any answers for him. All I could do was walk through the door, down the stairs, and into the café, scanning it out of habit and relieved to find several pairs of eyes glowing in the dark despite theslightsurprise it gave me. The cats had all made a mad dash, and though I didn’t have the time to check, it looked like all of them were safe.

“Back door,” came Stitch’s voice in my ear, making me jump.

“Jesus,” I said, glancing up at the camera in the corner. “Are you fucking watching...you’re in the camera feeds, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Right.”

Sighing, I made my way to the door to the back alley and frowned, realizing it was already unlocked, which answered how they’d managed to get in. Considering the alarm hadn’t gone off, I didn’t worry about opening the door, as they’d clearly interrupted that.

Opening the door, I ended the call, and my brow rose at the sight standing in the alleyway. Stitch had always looked slightly strange. It was his big eyes, distant yet intensely sharp in a way that never made sense, and the prominent cheekbones on an otherwise narrow face. It always left me feeling like he wasn’t quite of this world and had been dropped off by an elf or some creature from another dimension.

Gone were the clean face and the meticulously short hair of the military. His blond hair had grown out, the sides of his head still shaved, and the top allowed to rest to one side. There was carefully styled stubble on his face, three rings piercing one of his thin brows and one through one side of his bottom lip. A tattoo that would have never passed muster crept up the side of his neck, looking like tendrils of some creature and ending in jagged claws whose points ended on the underside of his jaw.

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