Page 49 of Flesh and Fury
“With a name like Binks?” Eoghan chuckled. “That’s kind of a strange name for a human. Sounds like it belongs to a bunny or a hamster. Hmm. Maybe you’re right.” He glanced across the bar and watched the man in question as he set a Mile High Manhattan down in front of a slender woman who appeared to be checking the bartender out.
Binks walked away from her and picked up a busboy’s bin to go and clear the dirty dishes from a table. Oddly enough, instead of setting down the bin and picking up plates and glasses, he pulled the chairs away and one by one, pushed theglasses off the table, watching them as they plunked into the bin before doing another.
“Oh, my God!” Eoghan exclaimed, turning toward his partner. “Did you see that just now?”
Ari grinned as he continued clearing the table in that fashion. When there was one single water glass left, he turned and glanced around the room before sticking his whole hand inside it. When it hit water halfway down, he instantly pulled his hand away like he’d been burned. He glanced around as if nervous before batting the water glass into the bin followed by the last napkin. After he’d wiped the table and repositioned the salt and pepper shakers, he turned back to the bar, taking the box with him.
When Ari turned to him, his mouth was hanging open.
Eoghan reached up and pushed it closed. “You’re catching flies.”
Ari shook his head. “Sorry. It’s just that you don’t see a cat clear a table like that too often.”
“I agree,” Eoghan said, chuckling as he watched Binks serve two other people at the bar, before reaching under it when he thought no one was looking, and patting an ice cube several times until it fell into the sink and landed with a little plunk.
“Huh…we should probably introduce him to Bear.” Ari laughed loudly drawing the attention of several people who were standing at the hostess station. The bar was beginning to fill up since it was happy hour.
They continued enjoying their ales and Eoghan was debating ordering another when he spotted Rana, Andy, Joe, and Alo walking into the alehouse. He raised his hand and waved until they saw him as they both slid off their barstools. He watched Ari throw money onto the bar and then met the shifters halfway.
“Hi, everyone,” Eoghan said as they shook hands all around. Rana smiled warmly at them as Andy returned their greeting with a little more formality. Joe and Alo gave Eoghan and Ari bro hugs and slaps on the back which was nice. But most important of all, he felt at home with all these shifters.
“We made a six o’clock dinner reservation, so we have a few minutes to sit at the bar,” he said, looking at his watch. “Whatever you prefer.”
Rana exchanged a glance with Andy. “What would you like to do, Andy?”
He sniffed the air and Eoghan was pretty sure the yellow which flashed behind his eyes meant that he liked what he smelled. Now that Eoghan thought about it, the scents of roasting meats coming out of the kitchen were very appetizing. He realized that he was also hungry. After all, he and Ari had worked up a hell of an appetite in bed that afternoon.
“I’d just as soon sit and order dinner if that works for you all,” Andy said.
“We could do dinner,” Joe said. “I’m as hungry as a bear.” They all chuckled as they walked over and waited for the hostess to pick up menus.
“Please, follow me,” she said, smiling and heading over to a six top table near the wall in a quiet corner, exactly as Ari had specified when he made the reservation. He liked to sit with his back to the wall in public situations whenever possible. It was an old Special Forces thing that he still practiced to this day.
Once they were all seated and had menus, their hostess left them to make their choices. He and Ari ordered the appetizers Binks had suggested and then each ordered steaks cooked medium rare. Their dessert choices looked incredible as well but with the appetizers and a twelve-ounce ribeye withall the trimmings, he really wasn’t sure he’d be hungry after his hearty meal.
He watched their new friends glance over the menu as he replayed the conversation he’d had with Priest when they’d called to update her. She’d told Eoghan to let the shifters know that everyone who planned on joining them to gather their numbers and be prepared to meet in Flagstaff in a weeks’ time when they’d commence operations. She’d hedged for the first time about the mole, saying she had a lead and hoped to have a solid answer as soon as they got back to L.A.—long before they all got together in Flagstaff.
For the first time since everything had happened, Eoghan felt positive that there would be an end to this bullshit, so he and Ari could go back to simply solving cases and helping out folks the way they’d done in Tahoe only a couple of months ago. When they’d returned from Joe and Alo’s reservation after the case with Riversong concluded, they’d received a letter from the opossum by way of their chief. She, Jack, and their three children had sent photos from their family reunion once Jack had come home from Folsom, along with pictures in colorful fingerpaints from Morgan, their oldest little girl. Eoghan had pinned it up on the fridge in his place so he could feel happy every time he saw it. Helping people like Riversong’s family and King John Townsend were what he enjoyed most about the job. He only hoped it wouldn’t be too late for Townsend’s vampire clan.
“Have you had a chance to talk to your deputy chief about the next steps?” Alo asked, interrupting his thoughts as if he’d been reading them. They’d all placed their orders and their server had gone to collect their drinks from the bar.
“We’re flying home in the morning,” Ari said. “She wants all of us in Flagstaff for a meeting in a weeks’ time. The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be to defeat Bradshaw’snumbers. Don’t forget, he might be trying to increase them with every opportunity he gets by turning humans into vamps.”
“A week?” Rana asked.
“Yes,” Eoghan said, slightly wary of the concern in her voice. “Do you all think that’ll be enough time to talk to your clans?” he asked.
“A week!” Andy exclaimed. “That’s not very long. I still have to get my tribe together to find out how many will be willing to join us.”
“I know it’s short notice,” Eoghan said, frowning a little as he looked at the panther shifter. “But you know the danger in waiting gets worse every minute. Please help us defeat these vamps before they spill over into your own territory.”
“I’m certain you can make a week work, Andy,” Rana said, turning to her friend. “And if you need my help, I’ll drive back up here from Colorado Springs to help convince them. I’m only an hour away.”
“I would suggest you talk to the elders in your tribe and stress upon them what we’ve talked about here,” Eoghan said.
“I agree. That will be the best approach, Alpha,” Rana said. She reached out and squeezed the younger man’s bicep. “Like I said, I’m here if you need me.”
“Us too,” Joe said, looking up as their server came back with their drinks and began setting them down. Once everyone had one, and Ari and Eoghan had been served their second pale ale since they weren’t driving, Eoghan lifted his frosty mug.