“Mind your own business, wolf.”
The office smelled like coffee. Inside, Andrea raised her head from a small laptop sitting on top of paperwork spread on her desk. “What took you so long?”
“Good morning to you too, sunshine.” I dropped my bag by my chair.
Andrea tossed an envelope at me. I glanced at it. The Order’s shield logo marked the top left corner. Uh- oh.
“What is this?”
“It’s Shane,” she growled. “He wants me to ‘cease my efforts’ to get my weapons, because they are currently being used to apprehend real criminals.”
Ha, I thought it was something dire. “He’s just jerking your chain. If you want, I’ll get Barabas to draw up a letter with his lawyer credentials on it. We’ll send it to the Order and you’ll get your weapons back. Shane can’t hold your property.”
“I know that. I’m still pissed off. It’s your duty as my best friend to be outraged with me.”
“I’m outraged!” I snarled. “That bastard!”
“Thank you,” Andrea said.
Ascanio cleared his throat. “Consort? May I put him down now?”
I turned. He was still holding Grendel, who seemed to be enjoying it, judging by the way he kept licking Ascanio’s shoulder. Behind him, Derek was trying to choke off a laugh.
“Yes.”
Ascanio set Grendel on the floor.
Andrea peered at Derek. “What are you doing here?”
“I hired him,” I told her.
Andrea’s blond eyebrows crawled up a fraction of an inch. “And him?”
“Him, too.”
Andrea pointed at Ascanio with her pen. “How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
“He can’t work here. He’s too young.”
I shrugged. “The legal age for employment is fourteen.”
“Yes, with the exception of hazardous jobs.”
“He will be an office helper. How is that hazardous?”
“Kate! Would you like to go outside and look at the bullet holes in the pavement?”
“He isn’t a full-time employee. He’s an intern.”
Andrea looked at me for a long moment. “I don’t think you understand this whole business thing. Clients produce money. Employees cost money. We want fewer employees and more clients, not the other way around. We don’t need teenage bouda sex fiends as interns.”
“How do you know he is a sex fiend?”
Andrea looked at me like I was mentally challenged. “He is fifteen and he is a bouda. Hello?”
Good point. I nodded to the boy wonder and the sex fiend. “Pull up some chairs.”
When I came back from the kitchen with a carafe of coffee and four mugs to pour it into, everyone had gathered around Andrea’s desk.
I opened the file with the case and ran through it. By the time I finished, Derek was frowning. A crazy glow lit up Ascanio’s eyes. “Do you think people will try to kill us?”
“Yes.”
“Cool.”
Cool. Right. “There is a freezer in the back room with de Harven’s body in it. Go and examine it. Look at his face and memorize the scents. After you do that, walk through the office so you know the layout.”
They took off.
“What’s eating you?” Andrea asked.
“I had a fight with Curran.”
“What about?”
“He’s managing me.”
Andrea raised her eyebrows.
“He maneuvers events, taking away my choices until there is only one possible solution to a problem. It pisses me off.”
“That’s what alphas do.” Andrea grimaced. “I got a note from Aunt B last night.”
Warning, warning, spiked traps ahead. “And?”
“She wants to meet. For a ‘nice chat.’”
I knew exactly what this chat would be about. Andrea was a shapeshifter, and no shapeshifter could exist within Atlanta without becoming a member of the Pack’s furry horde. Before, Andrea was a member of the Order, and the boudas kept her secret. Now she was unattached. Andrea would have to make a choice: enter the Pack and become one of Aunt B’s boudas or move. After her childhood, Andrea would rather cut her arm off than become a bouda.
“I’m not going,” Andrea said suddenly.
Aunt B wouldn’t just let it go. Of all the alphas in the Pack, two gave me pause: Mahon, the Pack’s executioner and the head of Clan Heavy, and Aunt B. Screwing with Aunt B was like sticking your hands into a meat grinder. She was all sweetness and cookies, and then giant claws came out and people’s guts ended up as garlands on the chandelier.
“It’s a courtesy,” I told her. “She’s letting you come to her on your terms. You blow her off too many times, and she’ll have you brought to her.”
“I know.” Andrea locked her teeth. Right. No intelligent life there. Arguing about it would just make things worse.
The two shapeshifters trotted back and took their seats at the table.
I explained about Chernobog, Adam’s last name, and the fact that he likely had ties to a Russian community.
Andrea frowned. “A sacrifice gives the priest a magic boost.”
I nodded. “It only lasts a couple seconds, but yes.”
“Could he grab Adam and his doohickey, and teleport out?”
Now there was a thought. “If he was a really, really powerful volhv, probably. But why would the volhvs need Adam?”
“I don’t get it,” Derek said. “Why can’t we just go to talk to them directly?”
“When I was a merc, I took a job to guard a man. He had stolen something from the volhvs, and I kept them from killing him. They won’t talk to me or anyone associated with me.” I paused to make sure I had their attention. “Volhvs throw around heavy-duty magic. Once we start asking questions, they will be on us like white on rice. We need a security protocol in place.”
I looked at Derek.
He pushed away from the edge of the desk. “From this point on, we’re on high alert. We leave together, we arrive together. This office is a small fortress.” Derek pointed at the door and looked at Ascanio. “While in the office, that door stays locked. The back door is reinforced with a metal grate. That door stays locked and barred at all times as well. We do not open the doors unless we know the person on the other side and they smell right. If you have to leave, let someone know where you’re going and when you will be back, unless it’s an emergency.”
The phone rang. I picked it up.
“Kate?” Ksenia’s voice said. “Evdokia says meet her at John White Park. I’d run, not walk, if I were you.”
“Thanks.” I hung up. “I have an audience with the witches.”
“We divide and conquer.” Andrea rose. “Derek, you and I need to dig into de Harven’s background. His house, his neighbors, history, everything we can get.”
“What about me?” Ascanio asked.
“You hold the fort,” I told him.
“But . . .”
