Man, he loved that laugh. Seb pushed to his feet with Hudson's help, then pulled up his pants, his grin wide. "Yeah. What is it Dex says?" Seb snapped his fingers. "That's right." He turned around and lifted his shirt. "Who's got the booty? I got the booty."
Hudson let out a bark of laughter. "Oh good Lord. You've been spending far too much time around that man. Next thing you know, you'll be leaving a trail of gummy bears in your wake."
"Hardly. Doesn't make my statement less true, though," Seb said, fastening his belt.
Hudson snickered and shooed him. "Get out of my office, you scoundrel. And no more flashing your arse at me."
Seb headed for the door. He looked at Hudson over his shoulder. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
"Get out," Hudson ordered, the gravity lost when he chuckled. A thought seemed to occur to him, and he hurried over. "Wait. How's Julia?"
Seb was touched by Hudson's concern, but not at all surprised. Hudson was always asking about his parents, even if he didn't ask Seb specifically. Usually Hudson sent his love through Ethan, who then passed the message on to Seb to give to his parents. "She's okay. It's been a bit of a tough week."
"Thomas?"
Seb nodded. His dad had his good days, not so good days, and days where his mom cried herself to sleep. Those were the hardest for Seb. She tried her best to hide it from him, but he could tell when he spoke to her on the phone or came by to check on her. Most people assumed the Hobbs boys got their strength from their father, and although Thomas Hobbs was stronger than most and had obviously passed the trait on to his tiger Therian sons, they'd inherited their strength of heart from their mother. No matter the hardship or heartache she encountered over the years thanks to her husband's condition, she never gave up on him, never turned her back on him, and never stopped loving him.
"Do you think...?" Hudson worried his bottom lip with his teeth. "Do you think it might be all right if I called her?"
Seb blinked at him. He quickly snapped out of it. "Yeah, I think she'd love that."
Hudson's smile was radiant. "I will, then. Thank you."
"Okay." Seb gave him a wink. "Have a good day, Lobito."
Hudson shook his head as he walked back inside. "Be safe, Sebastian."
Well, at least Hudson hadn't asked him not to call him that. His knee was still killing him, but it felt less awful. Seb couldn't keep from grinning as he walked down the hall.
Back in Unit Alpha, his fellow agents busied themselves as he walked by, doing everything to avoid eye contact in case he had something to say to them.
When he reached his office, it was his turn to avoid eye contact. He took a seat behind his desk and logged into Themis. Seb didn't have to see Dom to know he was gr
inning like a dope. Dom was the kind of guy people noticed when he walked into a room, either because they heard him or because his presence demanded attention. At over six foot two and almost two hundred pounds, Dom had a square jaw, full lips, and hooded, hazel eyes with long, thick lashes. His eyebrows were dark and his brown hair short and tousled, adding to his roguish look, his expression always one of boyish mischief.
"You're welcome."
Seb grunted. "You're asking to get that smug look knocked off your face."
"Whatever," Dom said with a snort. "It went well. You were smiling like an idiot."
"Only idiot here is the one sitting across from me."
Dom gasped in mock hurt. "Ooh, ouch. You wound me, bro."
"If only," Seb muttered, but then his earpiece beeped, and Spark's voice came over the line.
"Seb?"
"Yes, Lieutenant."
"Would you come to my office, please?"
"Of course." The line went quiet, and he stood. "I need to go see the lieutenant. Could you check on the team? Lee hasn't submitted his report yet, and I want to make sure Zoey hasn't convinced Brianna to lock him out of his desk. Again."
Dom gave him a salute, and Seb headed out into the bull pen. Why couldn't Sparks have called him before he'd made it to his office? All the sitting and standing was doing nothing for his knee. At the end of Unit Alpha, he took a left and found Sparks's office open. He walked in, surprised when she put the room into privacy mode.
"That's new." Sparks's office had always been secure with no need for additional security measures. This didn't bode well.