anyone could convince her, you could, Kitty. I should have looked out for her better, if we had all just looked out for her—' Shaun rested a hand on Becky's arm, quieting her.
I hadn't realized how much T.J. had been a buffer between me and Carl. How much his presence had saved me from some of Carl's ire. Another debt I owed him, that I could never repay. Jenny hadn't had someone like T.J. looking out for her.
From the first, Rick had told me that the pack wasn't healthy. A pack needed balance. Checks and buffers. Everyone needed to take part, to share in the responsibility. Carl had cowed everyone, and subsequently, had collected all the power. He couldn't carry it all by himself.
She continued. 'It's like we've been waiting for something to give, waiting for something to break, to shake things up. We've just been waiting for a chance to bring him down.'
'And you think that chance is me,' I said.
'It'd better be,' Shaun said. 'Or we're all dead.'
Frustrated, I said, 'Why are you guys putting so much faith in me?'
Becky didn't even have to think about it. 'We all saw what happened to you in Washington, D.C. And you came through. You're strong. I've been listening to your show. I can hear it in your voice. You're a natural leader. We've been waiting for someone to follow.'
I wasn't ready for this. I just wanted to get rid of Carl, I didn't want to take over the whole pack. Right?
I took a deep breath. This was one of those moments where everything might change. I felt the tracks of my life curve in a new direction. 'If you guys believe that, then you need to believe that I can't do it by myself. I need your help.'
Becky ducked her gaze. 'It'll come down to a fight. We'll have to fight, we know that.'
I shook my head. 'Not if I can help it. I'm not that good in a fight. I'm happier using wit and guile.' I braced, waiting for a snappy remark from Ben. He only raised an eyebrow. In respect of his refraining from commenting, I refrained from kicking him under the table.
'Here's what I'd like you to do,' I said. 'Call up everyone from the pack you think you can talk into leaving. Or at least into not standing with Carl when the time comes. We need allies, and you know the pack better than I do now. The more defectors we can get before a fight, the better off we'll be.'
Shaun grinned. 'I'd love to see Carl standing there all alone, when he thinks he has a ton of backup.'
'I don't want everyone to leave right away,' I said. 'Once they leave, they can't go back. But if they stay, they might be able to let us know what he's up to.'
'Or give him a false sense of security,' Ben added.
'They'd have to be really careful,' Shaun said. 'Carl and Meg would both pick up on it if they thought someone was turning on them.'
'Then maybe it'd be better for them to just leave. I don't want anyone to get killed because of me. Anyone else.'
'Don't worry about us,' Shaun said.
'We're going to need help before it even gets to Carl and Meg,' Ben said. 'We're expecting them to go after alternate targets. We'll need help—'
'Alternate targets?' Becky said, her brow furrowed.
'Probably Kitty's family. We have to make sure they don't get hurt.'
Becky set her jaw, and Shaun nodded with new resolve.
'Thank you,' I said. 'Have you guys had enough sleep? Are you okay with keeping watch today?'
'We'll be fine. Don't worry about us,' Shaun said.
I dropped Shaun and Becky off at the KNOB parking lot. 'We'll call if we see anything,' he said, before leaving. They left together in Shaun's car.
Almost, it felt like a plan. Ben and I headed back to the freeway.
Some research into wolf behavior—wild wolves, not the lycanthropic variety—suggests that the alphas of a pack aren't necessarily the strongest, biggest, and toughest wolves, contrary to conventional belief. Instead, the leaders were sometimes the wolves best able to keep peace. They were the most diplomatic, the ones most able to negotiate compromise and organize the pack into the most efficient unit for hunting prey and raising young. The alphas were the ones who were best able to keep more members of the pack alive.
This was a theory I chose to embrace. Carl was undoubtedly the strongest, toughest wolf in this pack. But the pack wasn't healthy. He wasn't keeping his members alive.
I had to believe I could do better.
We had one more stop before we could go home. We met up with Dack at the bar on Colfax. Or rather the parking lot of the bar, since this time of day the place was closed. It looked plain and derelict in the morning light.
He was alone, driving the SUV that Charlie and Violet had been driving last week. When we arrived, he was leaning against the hood, arms crossed, staring out at the world through a pair of aviator sunglasses. He looked tough and worldly.
'What's the story?' I asked, getting out of the car.
He shrugged and spoke in his round South African lilt. 'Nothing to tell. Nothing happened. The vampires are bedded down for the day, your family's all right.'
My nerves trembled with relief. 'Thank you, Dack,' I said. 'Thanks for watching out for me.'
He almost sounded amused. 'No problem. What's next, then?'
'Waiting. See who jumps first. Keep your phone on, be ready to move when something happens. Maybe you should get some sleep for now.'
'Plenty of time for that later,' he said.
He started to get back in the car, but I stopped him. 'Dack?'
'Yeah?'
I collected stories. That was how I kept doing the show week after week. There were always new stories to tell, each one stranger than the one before it.
'African wild dog?' I said. 'You want to tell me where that came from?'
His smile went crooked. 'Don't know. I've only met one other. The one who turned me.'
'Where is he?'
'I killed him.'
Ah. Right. That wasn't really a surprise. 'So you're the only one?'
'Only one that I know of. Haven't really gone looking for others.'
'And you met Rick how?'
He grinned. 'Rick said you were a nosy one.'
'I talk too much. That's my superpower. I still want to know why the world's only were-African wild dog is here working for Rick.'
Dack had hired muscle written all over him: the well-built frame, the wary stance, the attitude of bullheaded confidence. I recognized it from Cormac. This was a guy you'd want watching your back. If you could trust him.
'Vampires are strong,' he said. 'It's a good thing, having a vampire owe you a favor. You want to be with the strongest.'
'And that's Rick?'
He just smiled.
'Well then,' I said. 'On to the rest of the plan, then.'
With that, we zoomed off in our respective cars and charged up our cell phones. I began to think this might turn out all right.
On the drive home, I dozed and kept jerking awake, waiting for a phone call to tell me something had happened, Carl or Arturo or someone under their orders had struck. When the phone finally did ring, I slept through it. I only woke up because Ben stopped the car.
'I wonder what they're waiting for,' he said, speaking into my phone. I couldn't hear the voice on the other end of the line. It wouldn't be Rick, not during full daylight. After listening a moment, he said, 'We're going to get some sleep. Call if anything changes.'
He looked at me. Bleary-eyed, I stared back at him. 'That was Shaun. No sign of anything.'
'Where is he?'
'Keeping an eye on your sister's place. Your dad's at the hospital, and I figure their security can look after your folks during daylight hours.'
That made sense, not to mention the place would be busy during the day. I hoped Arturo and Carl were still sane enough not to want to draw too much public attention to this.
I ought to go. I told Mom I'd go see her. But I couldn't, not in the middle of this. I didn't want to bring more trouble down on them.
'Cheryl's going to start wondering why strange cars keep parking outside her house.'
'I bet she doesn't even notice.' He handed my phone back to me.
Moving at half speed, I climbed out of the car. 'Ben? Why are you doing this? You keep saying you didn't sign up for this like you don't want to be here, but then…' I trailed off, not sure what I meant. He'd turned out to be good at this, leaping to the fore, keeping me going. What would I have done if it had just been me?
I'd have run away.
'We're pack,' he said. 'Isn't that what you're always saying? We have to stick together.'
That would always be an acceptable answer. That would always be there to fall back on. I wasn't satisfied with that answer anymore.
'Will that be enough to keep you and me together?'
'I hope so.' He walked away.
Slowly, I followed, letting my brain run down so I wouldn't have to think anymore.
Arturo and his vampires couldn't move until nightfall. Carl probably wouldn't make a move until he did, which might have been why he hadn't come looking for me. Maybe they wouldn't strike at all. As the silence drew on, as the calls from my lookouts didn't come, I didn't start to hope. I'd become too cynical for that. Too many blows had undermined my safe little life.
I was trying to nap on the sofa when the call came. I lunged for my phone on the coffee table.
'Yes? What is it?'
'It's Becky.' She sounded breathless, panicked. 'I just got off the phone with Mick.'
'Mick, the short guy with the brown hair?' One of the tougher wolves in Carl's pack.
'Yeah, yeah. He says Carl's on the hunt. He's called in everybody, he's going after you.'
I sat on the edge of the sofa. 'Here? He's coming here?' That would be best. If he was going to go after anyone, I wanted it to be me. I was ready for him.
'No,' Becky said, and I could imagine her shaking her head vehemently. 'He—Mick I mean—said Carl wants to hit you where it'll hurt the most. It's like he's not even pissed off at you, he's pissed
