She smiled, though it seemed forced. “I don’t care about the fire.” She gestured to the empty seats at the table. “Please come in.”

  We did as we were asked, though everyone stayed a step behind me. None of us sat.

  The woman’s eyes flicked to those who’d accompanied me. “I’d hoped for less of an audience.”

  I raised an eyebrow at the people lined up against the wall behind her. “Get rid of some of yours, and maybe I’ll ask some of mine to wait outside.”

  She seemed to deflate. She was nervous about something. Here I’d thought we were in for a lecture about a fire we hadn’t caused. She gestured to the people lining the wall. They all moved away from their posts and toward us. We stepped out of the way, and they all went out into the hall and walked out of sight, save the vampire who’d led us in.

  I found it odd that he’d be the one to stay rather than one of her wolves, but I didn’t voice my concerns. We were no longer in a room full of unknown werewolves. The night was looking up.

  “Your turn,” she stated.

  I turned and looked at Lucy, Matt, Jessica, and Chase. “Everyone but Chase, please go wait out in the hall.”

  Matt and Jessica seemed unsure of their duty, but finally nodded and left the room, followed by Lucy. Soon enough, Chase and I were alone in the room with the woman and her vampire bodyguard.

  The woman looked Chase up and down, displaying increased anxiety. “I’d really rather not have any extra ears on this conversation.”

  I glanced at the closed door behind me, then back to her. “You do realize that all of those werewolves can probably hear us anywhere in the house, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “The room is soundproof. What we have to discuss requires privacy.”

  I nodded at the man standing behind her chair. “As long as your guard remains, so does mine.” So Chase wasn’t exactly my guard. She didn’t need to know that.

  She sighed and gestured for us to take a seat.

  We did, at the opposite end of the table, out of reach.

  “Straight to business then,” she announced, “I have several missing wolves, and I need you to find them.”

  My eyes widened. “First, maybe you could start with an actual introduction. Second, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m not a detective.”

  “My name is Iva,” she explained, then gestured to the vampire behind her. “This is Eric.”

  I waited for her to say more. She didn’t. “Okay, Iva. Now tell me why you think I’m the person to find your missing wolves.”

  She glanced back to Eric, as if searching for reassurance. There was a softness in his gaze, causing me to suspect a less than professional relationship between the pair. Maybe even love. Eric nodded for her to continue.

  She turned back to us. “Eric is skilled at finding information,” she explained. “I know all about your role in taking down the witches that were kidnapping supernaturals last year, and I heard about you eliminating the rogue pack that wanted to defy the coalition.”

  I tried to keep the surprise off my face. It wouldn’t be difficult to find out the information Eric had acquired, but if I took down that rogue pack, it was news to me. I’d been too busy dealing with my grandmother. All I’d done was talk to a few witches.

  “I still don’t understand why you’re coming to me,” I pressed. “Abel has far more resources for this type of thing.”

  She flinched.

  Realization dawned on me. “Unless you haven’t told Abel about any of this . . . ”

  She glanced at Eric again, then turned back to me and explained, “When the first two went missing, I thought I could handle it. It’s my job to protect my pack, and I wanted to find them. Then more disappeared, and more time passed without me finding them. If I told him now, he’d probably kill me for not reporting it right away.”

  I stared at her, so surprised I had no idea what to say. I’d come for a lecture and was getting a plea for help instead. “Just how many wolves are missing now?”

  She sighed. “Seven.”

  I pushed my chair out and stood abruptly. “No way. You need to tell Abel. He’ll be able to find them much sooner than I could manage.”

  “If you want more information about your uncle,” Eric said calmly, “I would sit down.”

  I met his dark, emotionless gaze. “Uncle?”

  He nodded once. “Art.”

  That was news to me. Here I’d been thinking Art was maybe my third cousin twice removed, or something equally distant. Did that mean he was my grandmother Alexandria’s son, just like my dad?

  I sat back down. “I’m listening.”

  “He went missing around the same time as the first wolves,” he explained. “I think the disappearances are connected.”

  I shook my head. “If that’s the case, then your wolves are dead. I found Art’s well-rotted corpse earlier today.”

  That seemed to give Eric pause. Goody.

  “Be that as it may,” he replied, seeming to recover, “I still know why Art was plotting against you.”

  It was my turn to be caught off guard. “How on earth would you know anything about that?”

  “Finding information is what I do,” he replied simply.

  “Except you can’t find seven missing wolves,” I countered.

  He frowned. “No, I cannot.”

  I turned back to Iva. “So you’re proposing I find your wolves before Abel finds out, and you’ll give me information about Art?”

  She nodded once. “And money.”

  I shook my head. “No deal. I’ll find information on my own. I won’t tattle to Abel on you, but you better tell him yourself if you hope to find your people, alive or dead.”

  She stood, desperation contorting her face. “Please, he’ll kill me,” she begged.

  I shook my head again. “Not my problem.”

  Chase, who’d been silent for the entire conversation, grabbed my arm. “This may all be connected,” he suggested. He glanced at Eric. “We could at least pool our resources and try to find Art’s killer along with the missing wolves.”

  I tilted my head at him, digesting his point. I could admit that he had one. “Now why did you have to go and be all practical? I was about to make a dramatic exit.”

  I turned my gaze to Eric with narrowed eyes, considering the proposition. The wise thing to do would be to tell Abel right away and let him handle it. Unfortunately, few would call me wise. “I’m only in town until the end of the week. I’ll help you until then, but I want that information regardless of whether or not we find the missing wolves.” I moved my gaze to Iva. “And, if we can’t find the missing wolves within that time frame, I want you to report it to Abel.”

  Iva rested her face in her palms, but eventually groaned, “Deal.”

  Eric nodded his assent, then moved to a file cabinet against one of the walls. He pulled a small ring of keys out of his pant pocket to unlock the top drawer, pulled out a manilla file folder, then shut the drawer and relocked it. He walked around the table and handed the file to me. “Here is information on each of the wolves, personal details, as well as where they were last seen, and by whom. I have a much thicker folder on Art, which I will relinquish at the end of the week, assuming you truly give this task your full effort.”

  I blinked up at him. “And why exactly do you have a thick file on a demon?”

  He smirked. “He once tried to hire me to kill you.”

  “Oh?” I pressed, still gazing up at him.

  “I refused,” he stated simply.

  “Because I’m just too sweet and adorable to kill?”

  The smirk returned. “Something like that.” He placed a business card on top of the envelope. “Call me if you find anything, or require any other assistance. I’m also aware that some of those accompanying you are from Abel’s pack. I would appreciate it if you did not let them in on this case.”

  I gave him a mock salute, then looked down at the file curiously, wanting to open it, but not really desiring any more time around Eric. Iva still had her face buried in her palms, as if she knew her death was imminent. She might not be wrong.

  I really didn’t think Abel would kill her, but then again, what did I know? I was only familiar with the Abel that was old friends with my dad. Maybe he had a well-hidden dark side.

  Didn’t we all?

  Chapter Seven

  File in hand, we retreated with Lucy, Jessica, and Matt in tow. I didn’t see any of Iva’s other wolves as Eric escorted us out, but there were still plenty of cars parked in the street, leading me to believe they were somewhere else in the house. It wasn’t any of my business though, and I didn’t mind them not saying goodbye.

  Eric left us at the door, and the five of us moved to stand beneath a streetlight. A moment later Allison hopped out of the car to join us, once again leaving Alexius inside. Poor boy. I really should have just left him in the demon underground where he’d be safe. I sighed at the thought. When the demon underground was safer than the human world, you knew you had problems. Big ones.

  “Well thanks for joining us,” I said, looking at Matt and Jessica. “Sorry there wasn’t much use for you. Maybe we’ll see you at the next coalition gathering.”

  Matt held up his hand to stop me. “Sorry, we’re with you for the duration. At least until Abel is sure nobody is going to murder you like the other demon.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “So what, you’re . . . bodyguards?”

  He shrugged. “Actually we’re college students, but we were the only ones available to send since we’re all on Spring Break.” He looked to Jessica. “Though some of us would have preferred to remain by a nice swimming pool for the duration.”

  I sighed. “I’m guessing I don’t have the power to counteract Abel’s direct orders?”

  “Nope,” he replied. “We are to obey you, but not if you tell us to leave.”

  I snorted. “Abel said that specifically, didn’t he.”

  Matt grinned. “He seemed to think you’d try to send us away the first chance you got. He was basically right.”

  I turned at the sound of footsteps to see Chris trotting across the dark street. I wanted to argue, but I was also tired, and dying to look at the file away from prying eyes. “We’re staying at the Gentle View Hotel,” I conceded.

  Matt rocked back and forth on his feet, from heel to toe, with his hands in his pockets. “I know. We stopped and got a room on our way here.”

  If I kept sighing I was eventually going to hyperventilate. “Lovely,” I grumbled. “I imagine we’ll see you there.”

  “You imagine correctly,” he said with a wink.

  “Whatever,” Jessica grumbled, rolling her eyes at Matt. “Can we go?”

  “Yes, please,” Chris growled, remaining in the shadows.

  With a wave from Matt, they departed back in the direction Chris had come from.

  “What a cheery bunch,” Chase observed. “At least they procured their own room.”

  I glanced down at the file in my hand. “Yeah,” I muttered, “at least there’s that. Let’s go.”

  As we moved toward the car, Lucy asked, “Is anybody going to tell me what the file folder is for?

  “Shh,” I whispered, not sure if Abel’s wolves had gone out of hearing range.

  She promptly obeyed.

  Not asking questions, Allison climbed back into the driver’s seat. Chase and I resumed our seats in the back with welcoming kisses from Alexius. Lucy got in last as Allison started the engine, flipped on the lights, then pulled out onto the dark street. The car’s dash flashed 11:30. Lovely. It was going to be a late night if I planned on going through the entire folder, which I did.

  Chase glanced down at the folder in my lap expectantly.

  I shrugged. May as well start now.

  Lucy turned in her seat as I flipped on the dome light. “Now will you tell me what’s in the folder?”

  “Information on seven wolves,” I explained, peering down at the first page. “All missing.”

  “Does Abel know?” she questioned.

  “Nope,” I replied. “And we’re not telling him until the end of the week. Not if we want bountiful information on Art. Iva, the pack leader, wants to find out what happened to them before Abel catches wind of the situation.”

  Lucy turned back around in her seat and sighed. “I wish you wouldn’t have told me that.”

  I lifted my gaze from the paper. “What? Why?”

  She turned around again. Her face held concern. “Because I’m just a lowly pack member, and my Alpha is asking me to keep information from the coalition leader.”

  “But I’m making you,” I countered. “Doesn’t that mean that only I will get in trouble?”

  “Not necessarily,” she groaned.

  Suddenly suspicious, I asked. “Have you gotten in trouble with Abel before?”

  She shook her head. “No, but Lela got in big trouble after the whole Dan incident.”

  My eyes widened. “But Dan was murderous and psychotic, and also dealing with demons. He forced Lela to follow him. It wasn’t her choice.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes at me. “There’s always a choice.”

  That gave me pause. Lucy was making a choice. She had the option of reporting me to Abel for keeping Iva’s secret. I really didn’t think Abel would punish Lucy for something I made her do, but I wasn’t entirely sure. I wasn’t willing to risk it.

  “Maybe we should just tell Abel about the missing wolves then,” I sighed. “We can still look for information on Art on our own. There’s no guarantee they even have anything we don’t already know.”

  “I’m guessing Iva knows just what will happen to her if Abel finds out?” Lucy questioned.

  I nodded. “She seemed to think he’d kill her, but I don’t know. All of this pack law stuff is still mostly beyond me. It seems a harsh punishment for the alleged crime.”

  Lucy raised an eyebrow at me. “If she would have reported it right away, Abel could have used his influence to find the missing wolves. Now they might be dead because what, she was too prideful to ask for help?”

  I frowned. Another good point. “Something like that. She wanted to protect her pack on her own. She seemed to think Eric would be able to find them no problem.”

  “Eric?” Lucy questioned.

  “The vampire,” I explained. “He’s apparently quite adept at gathering information. He claims to have an entire file on Art. He also claimed Art tried to hire him to kill me.”

  Lucy gasped. “He tried to put a hit out on you?”

  I nodded.

  “What if Art had hired someone else, and that someone doesn’t know that Art is dead?” she blurted. “There could be a supernatural assassin after you right this moment.”

  I pursed my lips as a thought came to me. “Or else the assassin turned on Art, and that’s how he ended up dead.”

  “It’s not worth risking,” Lucy countered. “We need that information, and we need to ask Eric if anyone else was hired after him.”

  I shook my head. “We need to tell Abel what’s going on so you don’t get in trouble.”

  “Absolutely not,” Lucy snapped. “I can handle a little bit of punishment, if it even comes to that. I’m not going to let information go when people are trying to kill you.”

  I sighed and leaned my head back against my seat. “People are always trying to kill me.”

  “Not vampire assassins,” she argued.

  I rolled my eyes at her. “We don’t even know if Eric is an actual assassin. Maybe Art was just desperate and reached out to him.”

  Lucy eyed me, her lips set in a firm line. “We’re not taking that risk. We’ll try to find the missing wolves this week. If we don’t find them, do we still get the information on Art?”

  I nodded.

  “Good,” she replied. “For now, we’ll watch our backs, and hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. We’ll need to call Sam. See if he’s heard anything about assassins or the missing wolves.”

  I stared at her like she’d grown a second head.

  She paused, then asked, “What?”

  I shook my head and laughed. “Maybe you should be the new pack leader.”

  She snorted. “I’m not alpha enough, and I’d rather focus on school. Devin is the better choice.”

  I gave her a little salute. “Ma’m, yes Ma’m.”

  We didn’t have time to say more as Allison pulled the car into the hotel parking lot. Jessica, Chris, and Matt all waited outside a small white sedan, parked in the spot we’d previously vacated. Allison maneuvered the car to park next to them.

  I stepped out of the car to stand in front of the trio, tugging Alexius out behind me. “I thought you said you had a room.”

  Matt glanced down at Alexius, but didn’t comment on his presence. “Just wanted to make sure you got back safe,” he explained. “Also,” he typed something into a cell phone in his hand, then looked back up at me, “I just sent you a text with all our numbers.”

  I bit my lip to hide my irritation. Did Abel really have to go around handing out my cell number to people? If I really did step down as pack leader, I’d have to change my number to filter out the calls.

  “Great,” I replied as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I gave the three of them a little wave. “I’m going to bed now.”

  Matt waved cheerfully while the other two just rolled their eyes.

  “Lets go,” I grumbled to my friends as the other wolves walked away.

  I clutched the file folder against my chest while Lucy led the way toward the stairs. Alexius trotted happily beside me, glad to be out of the car. I glanced at Chase as he walked by my other side, lingering on his scrunched brow and pensive expression.

  “Thinking about assassins?” I asked.

  He glanced at me, now smiling softly. “Do you blame me?”

  I shook my head. “No, but no one has tried to kill me since I came back from the dead. I think we’re okay.” I laughed. “And even if I die, maybe the vampire blood will bring me back.”

  Chase stumbled in front of the stairs. He stopped to glare at me. “I’m pretty sure it’s out of your system by now.”

 

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