Jace frowned. “So the only thing going in our favor is the fact that no one knows about the dead toms. Which is only because we’ve been burying them.”

My father cracked one knuckle as his gaze skipped from Jace to me, then back to Jace. “That’s true, but it’s not the only thing we have going for us. Faythe, would you like to tell them in your own words?”

Um, no. My words had done enough damage for one night. I shrugged. “Be my guest.”

Every eye in the room shifted from me to my father. Though they’d been sitting right outside the office, they hadn’t heard a word said inside, thanks to the solid oak door and concrete-lined walls, which gave my father a measure of precious privacy I’d envied on more than one occasion.

“Well, it seems that Faythe’s human boyfriend—former in both respects—is somehow involved in the outbreak of stripper disappearances.”

I don’t know what kind of reaction I expected. Maybe gasps and startled exclamations. But the reality was rather anticlimactic.

“Uh, Ethan already told us that part,” Vic said, shooting a sympathetic glance my way.

“Wait,” Jace said, and I saw the light go on behind his eyes. He’d been the only one truly listening, because they’d all expected to hear old news. “Did you say ‘former in both respects’? Meaning he’s no longer human?”

I nodded silently.

And then came the anticipated drama….

“What the hel—?”

“How is that even poss—?”

“So he knows abo—?”

But it was Parker who hit the proverbial nail on the head. “That’s waaay too much of a coincidence. He was dating a werecat, then three months later he shows up as one?” The others stopped talking one by one, now listening to Parker. “Do we know who did it? It has to be someone connected to Faythe. She’s the only common denominator.”

I’d forgotten how smart the guys real y were.

“Yes, we know who did it.” My father paused, watching me. “Faythe.”

Everyone turned to stare at me expectantly. They thought he was calling on me to answer the question, like a teacher in a third-grade classroom. But he wasn’t, and at first no one seemed to understand. And this time, Ethan was the first to catch on.

“Faythe?” He stared at me from his spot on the rug next to Jace, disbelief written al over his face. Then confusion settled in its place.

“You infected him?”

“It’s complicated, and we don’t have time to explain right now,” my father began. “So let me just say it was an accident, and leave it at that.”

“An accident?” Ethan obviously had several more questions—as did everyone else—but the Alpha’s word was final, so he closed his mouth and frowned. I had no doubt he’d ask me for details later, in private.

One hand on the back of our father’s armchair, Michael took over the discussion, to bring the topic back on track. “We’re assuming Andrew’s actually responsible for the disappearances, rather than just involved in them. And while we’re outlining worst-case scenarios, I’ll venture to guess that the women are all dead.”

“Okay,” Vic said, jumping on the calm-and-professional bandwagon.

“What’s the plan?”

“We find Andrew. We apprehend him, subdue him, and find out what he knows about the tabby, if anything. If he doesn’t know anything, we watch the last strip club he visited and wait for her to show up. Then we take her. Case closed.”

“I don’t suppose lover-boy happened to mention where he was headed?” Jace asked, tugging on one frayed tassel from the edge of the rug he sat on.

“As a matter of fact…” I smiled hesitantly, and every disbelieving eye in the room focused on me. “He’s coming here.”

“What on earth for?” Ethan asked, just as Parker cried, “Is he suicidal?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “He probably wants some kind of confrontation with me. Acknowledgment.” Which I understood, oddly enough. “Doesn’t matter, though. All we have to do is sit back and wait for him. Right?”

“Out of the question,” my father said, and the calm finality in his tone took me by surprise. “We are not going to let this mess land on our doorstep. We can’t afford that kind of attention, either from the human authorities or the rest of the council. We have to find him before he gets here.”

Damn. So much for the easy way.

Vic frowned. “Okay, so where do we start?”

“With the phone calls,” I said, and my father nodded, showing just a hint of a proud smile. “We know that Andrew and Dan Painter called from the same place this afternoon.”

“We do?” Ethan interrupted.

“Yes. Both messages contained what sounded like explosions and propeller noise.” I went on, heedless of the confused looks around me.

“We also know that Andrew is headed this way from Leesville, Louisiana, where he took the last stripper. So he and Painter—and presumably the tabby—are probably somewhere between here and there, in a town with…a bunch of gunfire and helicopters?” I ended, my pitch rising in question. “Hospital choppers, maybe? Did you guys see anything on the news about explosions?”

Vic, Owen, and Parker all shook their heads.

Rapid-fire tapping broke the silence. “Give me just a minute here….”