Lily smiled at Noah as he sat a plate in front of her, most of her attention still on her laptop. The gala—although, really, it was an auction, so she shouldn’t sugarcoat it by using their name for it—was set to begin soon, and there was a good chance the website would get shut down. She was still finding buyer names, so she hadn’t wanted to stop for any reason, but Noah insisted she at least multitask and eat dinner.

He’d been really good about letting her work without interrupting her. They arrived back at B&B almost two hours ago, the place deserted except for Tarun. The bar was closed until more Enforcers came back to help run it, and Tarun was in Blake’s office, working on the books.

She learned that most of them had parts to play at the bar. Blake was the bartender, Liam was the cook, and Noah and Luke were the bouncers. Noah said Dmitri and Damara traveled a lot when they weren’t on missions, so they were away more often than not, but they still helped with the business when they were there.

When they walked in, Noah helped her get settled at a table and then carried their suitcases upstairs. Once he was back, he got a look of mischief on his face as he told her Liam never let anyone cook in his kitchen, but he wasn’t there to stop him, so he was off to cook dinner.

Honestly, she felt a little nervous for Liam. It wasn’t a side she’d seen much of, but she knew from Brandon that Noah was a bit of a prankster. Liam would probably come home to find salt in his sugar container.

Noah put his own plate next to hers on the table and called for Tarun to let her know dinner was ready as he picked up Lily’s glass. Distracted for a moment as she watched him walk back to refill her Coke, she ran her eyes up and down his big frame, lingering on the play of muscles under his shirt, and then on his ass. A shiver of heat danced down her spine as she watched the firm globes move, and she forced her gaze away, her eyes falling on her plate.

Her eyebrows rose as she took in dinner. It was chicken alfredo, the chicken blackened perfectly, cooked with tomatoes and broccoli. He walked back just as she took a bite, unable to wait, and she looked at him with surprise.

“This is amazing. I didn’t know you could cook.”

“Thanks. I don’t know how to cook very many things, but I practiced with that one a lot when I first started learning. I don’t get to do it much anymore, though. Not since I joined the Enforcers. Like I said, Liam won’t let anyone cook in his kitchen, and besides, he’s a better cook than I am.”

She swallowed her bite, nearly moaning in bliss. “Right this moment, I don’t think anyone could be better than you are.”

He smiled as he watched her fork another bite into her mouth. “You like it that much, huh?”

Nodding enthusiastically, she looked at her laptop again, frowning when she typed a command and got an error button. Dread welled up inside her, and she quickly entered the website’s address into the search engine, cursing as she saw the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Noah asked, glancing over.

“The website’s been removed. I’d hoped that they wouldn’t take it down until after the auction was over, just in case anyone else wanted to buy a ticket. I don’t think I found all the names.”

“Lily, baby, you found twenty-five names. You did amazing. And maybe there will be other info on the laptop you got from the car that can fill in any gaps.”

“That’s true,” she replied, casting a considering glance at the other laptop sitting on the bar.

“I know you want to get started, but at least finish eating first. Please? I even made dessert.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You bake, too?”

“Well, no. I didn’t technically make it, but I did find Liam’s homemade ice cream in the freezer, and I was planning on putting it in a bowl for you. That counts, right?”

Chuckling, she shook her head as she closed her laptop and pushed it aside. “Sure.”

Tarun walked in, smiling at them as she took a seat. “This looks great, Lily.”

Noah frowned at her. “What makes you think Lily cooked it?”

“Um, well—because I know you. You never cook.”

“Because Liam won’t let me use the kitchen.”

Tarun eyed him and then took a bite. Her next look at him held blatant disbelief. “No way did you make that.”

Lily laughed. “He really did. I’ve been in here working.”

Noah cocked an eyebrow. “See? I think I’d like an apology.”

“I’m sorry, Noah. It’s very good,” Tarun replied, her tone long-suffering.

Suppressing a smile, she took another bite. They’d been eating in silence for a bit before Noah spoke again.

“By the way, if you guys use the kitchen, stay away from the sugar and salt.”

Lily choked on her laughter. “I was just thinking you were probably in there switching things around.”

Tarun’s eyes went wide. “What did you do, Noah?”

Shrugging, he took a sip of his drink. “Just played a little prank on Liam, is all.”

Tarun smiled as she shook her head. “He’s never going to let you back in the kitchen again.”

“It’ll be worth it to see the look on his face.”

Someone banged on the front door and Noah stiffened as Lily jumped. They all went quiet as they looked out, but no one was there. A half a minute passed and then they saw a fist bang on the door.

“Come on, I know y’all are in there. I saw you. Why are you closed, anyway?”

Noah cursed as he relaxed. “It’s just Skylar. I didn’t know he was back in town yet.”

Tarun nodded. “I meant to tell you he came by earlier, not long after Blake and Luke left.”

Exhaling heavily, Noah pushed his chair back. “I better go let him in. Lily, I apologize in advance. Skylar’s sense of humor is a little dirty, and his jokes are all dick related.”

Her eyebrows rose, her curiosity piqued further as Tarun muttered, “A little dirty? That’s like saying water’s a little wet.”

Noah unlocked the door, letting the other man in. He was tall, with dark hair and bright blue eyes Lily could see the color of even from the distance between them. They walked to the table and Skylar looked at her curiously.

“Skylar, this is Lily. Lily, Skylar.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Skylar said, reaching out to shake her hand. Looking at Noah, he lowered his voice. “Is she your—”

“She is.”

Lily narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, her trusty antenna going up. Noah answered that way too quickly, not even letting Skylar finish his question, and she was dying to know what he’d been asking.

“Damn. She’s enough to make my—”

“Don’t even think about finishing that,” Noah warned him with a glare.

That time, it didn’t take a genius to figure out he’d been about to say something dirty. Not after what they told her a few minutes before. Tarun snickered quietly, and Skylar turned to her with a smile.

“Good to see you again, Tarun—” with a loud gasp, he backed up quickly, almost bumping into another table. “Is that chicken? Tell me you’re not eating chicken!”

Lily’s eyebrows twitched as she glanced at Noah and Tarun. Skylar looked horrified, but she wasn’t sure why. Even if the guy was a vegetarian, his reaction seemed a little extreme.

Noah exhaled as he repositioned his ballcap. “Skylar—”

“I thought you guys were friends. But friends don’t eat other friends. Not like that, anyway.”

What the hell? She glanced at Noah and Tarun but neither seemed as lost as she felt. Tarun caught her glance and leaned in.

“Skylar’s a chicken shifter.”

She felt her eyes pop open wide, sure Tarun was joking. But no one laughed, and Skylar began pacing, his movements agitated.

“Yes, I’m a chicken shifter, and my so-called friends were eating my family.”

Noah rolled his eyes when Skylar’s back was to him. “They were just chickens and nothing but chickens. They weren’t shifters, and they’re not really related to you.”

“Would you say the same if I was eating a lion?” he challenged, spinning around with a glare.

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, his expression pained. “No, but there’s a difference—”

“Oh, of course you’d think so. Top of the food chain and all that. But chickens aren’t cocky enough to think we’re the kings of the animal world.”

Tarun rolled her eyes, and Lily glanced over at her. Dick reference number one, Tarun mouthed.

She furrowed her brow, trying to piece it all together. Dick and cocky were too different words, with different meanings—ohhh. She thought she understood. Roosters. Cocks. Cocky. It all tied together. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to cover her amusement.

Skylar was worked up, and it wasn’t that part that was funny to her. It was the thought of the cocky references when he was literally a rooster. Lord.

Honestly, she was fascinated by all this, but she thought maybe it was a conversation best had without her shamelessly listening in. Standing, she paused and smiled hesitantly as everyone looked at her.

“I have some work to get done,” she said softly, pointing to her laptop. “I’d better get started on it.”

Tarun stood as well, grabbing the discarded plates. “I’ll just, uh, get these out of here and do the dishes.”

They both turned to walk away, and Lily stopped at the bar to pick up the other devices. She looked over at Noah, smiling as he winked at her while Skylar’s back was turned. Unable to resist, she mouthed, Have fun with the cock, smiling even wider as she walked to the archway.

She got where Skylar was coming from now. Cock jokes as a double entendre were fun.

Noah silently snorted with amusement over Lily’s parting comment as he watched her disappear from sight, and then suppressed a sigh as he turned back to Skylar. The Enforcers all kind of tolerated the chicken shifter. It wasn’t that he was a bad guy. He wasn’t—although they could all do without the cock jokes.

It was just that he wanted to be an Enforcer, and none of them thought he was cut out for it. But nothing they said could dissuade him, and he constantly tried to get them to let him into the crew.

“Is the work your mate’s doing Enforcer related?” Skylar asked, his eyes narrowed on the archway.

Fuck. He couldn’t lie, because Skylar would know immediately, but damned if he wanted to admit the truth. “Come have a drink with me, Skylar. Tequila’s your drink of choice, right?”

Skylar regarded him suspiciously but followed him to the bar, where Noah started pouring them shots. Shifters couldn’t get drunk, unless they drank a shit ton of alcohol—like seven or eight bottles within minutes—but, for the most part, they enjoyed the taste.

And Noah wasn’t sure how it was for other shifters because he’d never asked, but the burn of liquor always seemed to calm him in a weird way. Maybe it was a placebo affect or whatever. He didn’t know, but he hoped it did the same for Skylar.

They clinked their glasses together and downed their shots. Noah shuddered—tequila wasn’t his favorite by far, and he wasn’t used to it—and then looked at Skylar.

“The truth is, Lily showed up out of nowhere last week. I hadn’t seen or talked to her in years, not since I left the Marines. She was the wife of one of my friends who died on my last deployment. She came to check on me and got suspicious, and she followed us down to the meeting room and listened in.

“When she was caught, she volunteered to do some hacking for us. She heard us discussing how we needed someone with that skill. Blake agreed to let her do it, and he sent her with me to try to get some intel on the group we’re trying to take down.”

Skylar held up his hand. “Wait, wait, wait. Your mate is your dead Marine buddy’s widow? This is the kind of shit you see in a soap opera.”

Noah cocked an eyebrow. “You watch soap operas, Skylar?”

“What? N-no. Okay, maybe Days of Their Lives. But only when nothing else is on.”

He’s been joking, but okay. Skylar watched soaps. Who would have guessed? “Yeah, that’s the gist of it. I didn’t want to take her on the mission, but she refused to be left behind. And we needed her skills.”

Skylar looked at him with a serious expression. “I could contribute too, you know.”

“What’s your gift, Skylar?”

“It’s nothing important.”

“That’s why you can’t help. An Enforcer’s biggest contribution is their gift. Not to mention fighting skills.”

“I can fight.”

“Maybe, but without knowing what your gift is, we can’t accept you into the crew.”

Skylar exhaled, shoulders slumping for a moment before he straightened with a nod. “Fine. But one day you guys are gonna need my help, and I’m going to expect an apology from each one of you for eating chicken before I agree.”

Noah nodded back at him. “When that day comes, you’ll get one.”

“I have just one more question,” Skylar said as he stood up and opened his arms. “Does this outfit make my cock look big?”

He groaned, dropping his head to the bar. “And you’ll have to stop with the cock jokes.”

Skylar slapped a hand to his back. “Never. You know you all secretly love them.”

Noah’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen, immediately answering it when he saw Liam’s number. “What’s up?”

“The auction’s over,” Liam replied in his thick Irish accent.

Eyebrows raising, he looked at his watch. “Already? It didn’t last long.”

“It started earlier than the website advertised, but even then, it only lasted an hour. Now everyone’s leaving, Fernandez included. They came for Damara and are taking her with them.”

He frowned. “How is she?”

“She’s fine. They tied her up and injected her with shit so she couldn’t shift, but they didn’t hurt her. Yet. Her telepathic link to us is still open, so we’re hearing her thoughts, and we put a tracking device in her shoe before she left for the festival. Hopefully they’ll let her keep her shoes so we can follow.”

“Did the buyers leave with the women?”

“That’s just it,” Liam replied, and he could hear the frown in his voice. “They all left as alone as they arrived. And Damara hasn’t seen any of the women. We’re not sure what’s going on.”

Skylar stood, getting his attention as he pointed to the door. Noah nodded and waved, getting up to follow him to the door so he could lock it behind him, but his thoughts were on the dragon puzzle.

“Have you called Blake yet?”

“Just before you. Our orders are to let them leave and then follow. He’s hoping Fernandez and Damara will lead us to the girls.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he exhaled heavily. “Keep me updated too, okay?”

“You got it.”

They hung up and Noah stared at his phone, lost in thought. He didn’t like this—the Enforcers were too broken up, too separated. He understood it was what the mission called for, but he didn’t like it at all. It felt too dangerous, and Damara would be in serious trouble if they found out she wasn’t a dragon.

Something else was going on, too. The auction attendees leaving without any of the women was off. But he wasn’t sure they’d be able to figure it out unless Damara learned something.

Standing, he shoved his phone in his pocket and made his way upstairs. He hoped Lily thought to look in his room for her luggage—he’d forgotten to tell her he put it in there when she went upstairs earlier.

He passed the room she’d used before, satisfied she’d made it to the right room when he saw the door was open, the room dark and empty. He opened his door and there she was, sitting on his bed with her laptop and the one she snatched both open in front of her.

Looking up, she smiled at him as he came in and kicked the door shut. “So… a chicken shifter, huh?”

“Weird, right,” he replied with a half-smile. “Skylar’s the only one I’ve ever heard of. He’s an odd one—in animal and personality.”

“He wants to be an Enforcer?”

Exhaling, he sat on the bed to take his shoes off. “Yeah, but none of us think he’s a good fit. We have to be good fighters, in human and animal form. He might be a good human fighter, but can you imagine a chicken battling a tiger or grizzly? Not just that, but the main requirement is having a good gift, something that will help on missions. He won’t even tell us what his is.”

“I feel bad for him. He seemed to really want to be one of you.”

“I feel bad for him, too, I really do. Cock jokes aside, he’s a good guy. But our job is important, and it’s dangerous. We can’t be screwing up because we’re too focused on making sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“I get it. Too bad there’s not another way you can use him, to make him feel like a part of you. I was just about to come find you, so good timing.”

Turning to look at her, he met her unique blue eyes. “Did you find something on their stuff?”

“Not yet. The phones were burners with zero information except for one phone number each—which was for the other phone. And the laptop’s files are encrypted, so it might take me a while to break into them.”

“So what’s up?”

“I traced each ticket buyer’s info back to their prospective banks. I set up an alert for each account whenever large sums are withdrawn.”

Frowning, he cocked his head as he studied her. “Was that safe? You won’t be caught by the banks, will you?”

She waved her hand as she shook her head. “Nope. Getting into banks is fairly easy. I could be a millionaire if I didn’t mind being a criminal,” she said with a laugh. “Getting into the website was harder than the banks, actually. But I’ve been alerted that four of the attendees withdrew large sums of money at the exact same time tonight. More might make purchases later, but I know four have now.”

“Liam called just a few minutes ago. He said the auction’s over and all the attendees left—alone. And Fernandez and his crew are in the process of leaving. They got Damara ready to leave, too.”

Her brow twitched. “That was fast.”

Nodding, he adjusted his ballcap, uneasiness filling him as he thought about the mission. “He said it started earlier than expected and only lasted about an hour.”

“They must have changed the times,” she mused, biting her bottom lip as she thought, her eyes far away. “Maybe they kept the women at a different location. Men who run the kind of organization Fernandez does would be expecting someone to try to steal the merchandise. Especially when they were auctioned off for the prices the girls went for. One of them was just under a million.”

His eyebrows rose. “A million dollars?”

She nodded, the look in her eyes grim. “Yep. Based on what was paid, I can possibly work up guesses on which women were bought. Some of them sold for less than others’ starting bids.”

“Yeah, see if you can work up possible matches, that way we can try to narrow it down. I’ll call Blake and let him know what you found. And you should probably have those laptops put up by the time I’m done.”

Her eyebrow arched. “Why is that?”

“Because I’m about to have my way with you, and I’d hate to damage one of them in the process.”