“We’re in Michael Jenner’s house,” Wyatt replied.
My other eye opened, and I stared. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I guess your meeting made an impression. The Assembly is considering what you told him, and we should know their decision tonight.”
Good, that still gave us time to decide how to handle the mass-meet at Park Place. I glanced briefly around the small bedroom—definitely a guest room, with its plain painted walls, simple curtains, and abstract watercolor in lieu of personal photos. Even the furniture was the generic sort you buy to fill a room, not add style. The bed was against the wall, the door angled away and propped half open.
He was still watching me when my attention returned, as though terrified he’d blink and I’d disappear. I had no intention of teleporting again for a long time. Not until my body stopped throbbing. My wounds would heal, as they always had—fast, because of my Gift. A Gift not everyone shared.
“Not that I’m complaining,” I said, “but what the hell are you doing out of the hospital?”
Wyatt smiled, fingers still gently stroking my cheek. It was distracting in a nice way, but his anger simmered just below the surface. “About an hour after I spoke to you the last time, I was moved to another room and was livid that no one would tell me where you were. Then I got a call from Kismet, telling me you were in the factory when it caught fire and that it went up so fast she never saw you come out.” Something passed across his face as he recalled the memory of that moment.
I reached up and threaded my fingers through his, then drew his hand down to hold it against my chest. I almost asked if he knew she’d been lying, or at least creatively excluding the truth. Instead, I squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue.
“I got a little upset,” he said with a chagrined smile. “No one would tell me what was going on, so I signed myself out. Phineas found me outside the hospital. He said he’d gone back to the factory hoping to catch up with you when you got your information from the gremlins. He had you wrapped in blankets in the back of a van. You were so … I didn’t think you were alive, at first. We ended up here. Jenner called a doctor he trusted.”
A doctor? I looked past him, down the length of my blanket-covered legs. I wiggled my toes and found them working. Nerve endings twitched and smarted. “Were they broken?” I asked.
“Both of them, in several places, plus your left kneecap. The doctor had a time resetting those bones so they’d heal straight. And you were having trouble breathing all night from all the smoke and chemicals you inhaled.”
“All night? How long have I been out?”
His lips pressed together. “It’s Sunday, about noon.”
Holy shit, I’d been unconscious for more than a day! My deadline for saving Rufus was looming closer and closer, and Aurora could have given birth by now. Who knew what was going down with Call and his cronies?
“Fuck,” I said. “Park Place last night—”
“Nothing happened.”
I blinked, confused.
“Kismet had people watching it. No one went into or out of that building last night. Whatever was supposed to happen was probably moved.”
Because Phin had tipped them off. Told Black Hat we knew about Park Place. Shit, shit, and dammit all. If I hadn’t been so utterly exhausted, I probably would have hit the wall in frustration. Our last lead was gone. Unless I managed to track down the recently relocated gremlins. The problem was the Black River docks covered more than a mile of waterfront, and I didn’t have the time or resources to search it all.
He bent at the waist and pressed his forehead to mine, our noses nearly touching. Inky black eyes gazed into mine, his coffee-scented breath warm on my face. I couldn’t imagine mine smelled that great, but he didn’t wrinkle his nose or pull away. I drew strength from his nearness, glad to have him by my side again. We made a better team than solitary players.
“So much happened the day before yesterday,” I said quietly. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Phin filled in some of the details. He’s got a hell of a story to tell, too.”
“He’s still here?”
“Downstairs with Aurora, I think.”
My head jerked in surprise and, forgetting how close we were, we banged our noses together. Wincing, Wyatt sat up, and I tried to follow, heedless of my smarting legs. “Aurora and Joseph are here?” I asked.
“Just this morning. Apparently, the stress of being forced from your apartment sent Aurora into labor. The were-cats took her to a private clinic and informed the Assembly, who then told Jenner.”
“Who told Phin.” I gazed at him in wonder and dread. “She had her baby.”
“A healthy baby girl, and she’s already the size of a one-year-old.”
Joy over the safe delivery was demolished by an impending sense of doom. “But my bargain with Phin was good only until the baby was born. What happens to Rufus now?”
“Nothing yet.” Phin’s voice surprised me, and even Wyatt jumped. Phin stood just inside the room, his body half hidden by the door. He had a healing burn on his left cheek and a serious crease to his forehead. “Welcome back.”
I swallowed, tormented by enough conflicting emotions to choke an empath. He had stabbed me and left me for dead. Allowed Belle’s cronies to attack and drive me out of my apartment. He’d also given me top secret information about his people. Oh yeah, and he saved my life. Again. I wanted to hug him tight and punch him until he cried.
“You have every right to be cross with me,” Phin said when I didn’t speak.
“Cross?” I repeated. “Cross doesn’t even begin to cover it. You stabbed me in the gut and tossed me into a fucking Dumpster.”
“He … what?” Wyatt asked. He started to stand. I grabbed his arm and kept him still as a familiar flush crept up his neck.
Phin ignored Wyatt, his blue eyes never blinking. “I won’t ask your forgiveness, Evy, but when I tell you what I learned, I believe you’ll agree the risk was worth the outcome.”
“You’d better have one hell of a story.” I settled back against the pillow, still clutching Wyatt’s hand. He remained seated, a silent sentinel. Phin stepped into the room but kept his distance.
“You recall the man in the black hat?” Phin asked.
I nodded.
“His name is Snow, and he’s a low-level member of the Kitsune Clan, who are—”
“Wait, I know this one!” I’d heard the word “Kitsune” before, referencing an animal. Now what was …? “Foxes. They’re were-foxes, right?”
“Correct. Snow has been actively recruiting for someone who wants to create a … well, for lack of a better term, an anti-Triad organization. A sort of nonhuman enforcement group to go after the Triads who punish indiscriminately.”
Wyatt snorted. “They’ll end up going after all of us.”
Phin pinned him with a hard stare. “Your people have a long history of punishing whomever they wish, as long as those punished are weaker than you. The Triads are out of control, and my people are beginning to fight back.”
I thought of what he’d said in the Green Apple diner, about wanting to join the Triads. Policing his own kind. I could see how such a group might appeal to Phin, even if its existence scared the shit out of me. “Who’s he been recruiting?”
“Mostly Therians, but there are some vampires and a few half-breeds. I never thought I’d see the day when the two stood in the same room and didn’t try to kill each other.”
Ditto that. “How many?”
“Around sixty, so far.”
Twice our numbers, although our training gave us an advantage in combat. “I don’t guess the man he works for is named Leonard Call?”
Phin’s head twitched sideways. “How did you hear that name?”
“A little birdie told me.” I briefly outlined my conversation with Isleen, including her woman on the inside. “If he’s been building this force for a month, we’re damned lucky we finally got wind of it. With our own numbers so low, a sneak attack would have devastated us.”
