Page 23 of Crew

“Thanks, Dexter.”

“It’ll be okay.”

Crew smiled. “It has to be. I just got Zara, I need to keep her safe.”

“You will. The herd stands together against any that come against us. We’ve all got your back. See you in a while.”

“Yep, drive safe.”

He turned at the sound of tires on the gravel drive and saw two large vans with the Amazing Adventure Safari Park emblems on the doors.

He called to Ford, Avi, and Grey, who were cleaning up in the barn, and they walked out to greet the males from the park.

Crew hadn’t spent much time at the park, but Neo was Dani’s mate and he came for dinner at Dexter and Nancy’s with Dani once a week, so he’d gotten to know the gorilla shifter well.

“Hey,” Neo said as he got out of the van. “I brought reinforcements.” Two males Crew didn’t recognize climbed out.

“I’m Seneca,” one said, extending his hand. “Normally, I’m working at the burger stall, but when Neo asked Patton to come along to help, I thought I’d flex my semi-mechanically-inclined muscles.”

“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”

“I’m Patton,” the other male said. “I’m fully mechanically inclined.”

Crew grinned. He introduced the herd and thanked them again for coming to help. Patton and Neo went with Ford to look at the damage while Crew and the others began to unload the vans.

“There’s a plastic tub of security stuff from Jupiter,” Seneca said. “He said if you need help with the install to holler.”

“Awesome. I don’t know how to repay the help and everything.”

“Shifters have to stick together, even if we are different kinds. Neo and Dani are mated and Dexter and Khyle are his family, so that pretty much makes the herd part of the park shifters too,” Seneca said.

Crew knew he’d help anyone at the park if he was asked. Seneca was right—shifters helped other shifters. Unless they were assholes like Colton.

Neo, Patton, and Ford joined them, finishing up unloading the vans.

“We’ll stay until the work’s done, which should be finished by dinner,” Neo said.

“That would be awesome,” Ford said. “It would take me days to do this by myself, even with the other guys helping.”

“Happy to assist,” Neo said.

“You can join us for dinner,” Crew said. “Tris was marinating chicken in the fridge; I bet she’s planning to grill.”

“Count us in,” Patton said.

Crew sent a quick text to Tris to let her know they’d be joined by three males, and asked her to let Zara know that he’d be working until dinner.

He really needed to get her a phone.

Especially so he could send her texts whenever he wanted.

Sexy texts.

And she could maybe send him sexy texts too.

Turning his attention to the work ahead, he carried the tub of security gear to the workbench in the barn and unloaded it to catalog what was there. He’d work on the security upgrades while the others got the vehicles and machinery repaired, and then when Dexter and Khyle showed up, he’d get their help with the actual install.

They had enough motion sensors, cameras, and flood lights to put around the farmhouse and storage barn, but he’d have to order more for the livestock barn.

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