“Why didn’t you do that before?” Malone wanted to know.

“Because knowing I can do it is just as good as doing it. Just like knowing that I can cut your throat while you sleep—”

Ric placed a hand over Dee’s mouth and pulled her down the hall. “Bathroom?” he asked Desiree, who was unlocking Malone’s cage.

“At the end of the hallway.”

They found the room and Ric pushed her in.

“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.

And all Dee could do was shrug and admit, “She irritates me.” Ric opened the first aid kit tacked to the wall and took out some gauze and antibiotic cream. He wet the gauze and began wiping the blood off Dee’s face and her knuckles. Once the blood was gone, however, he still had bruises and cuts to deal with.

“She irritates you? She irritates everyone.”

Dee gazed at him through the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “You know Malone?”

“I hired Malone. She plays on the Carnivores.”

“What the hell did you do that for?”

“Have you seen the way that woman plays?”

“I don’t care how she plays, supermodel. She’s with KZS. Did you know that, too?” He gazed into her eyes and answered with utter honesty, “Of course, I knew.” Dee shoved him aside. “You’re working with them now?”

“They’re not our enemy, Dee-Ann.”

“Like hell they’re not. Maybe you don’t remember when they tried to move on wolf territory, but I sure do.”

Ric scratched his forehead. “You mean in 1832?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. Smiths really don’t let a grudge go, do they?”

“Not unless we’re contractually obligated to like we were with y’all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But we don’t have time for this, Dee.”

“What does that mean?”

“Come on.”

Dee waited while Ric threw out the bloody gauze, slathered some ointment on the worst of her cuts, washed his hands, and took Dee to the main office on the floor: a glass room with a door and a view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the window behind the desk. Sitting at the desk was a black bear sow.

Desiree stood next to the desk and Malone sat in a chair beside another feline. A lynx, who seemed way overdressed for this meeting.

“There you are,” the lynx complained, pointing at her watch. “Have date. Not missing. Let’s move this along, people.”

Ric closed the door and, always the gentleman, began introducing everyone to Dee. “You know Detective MacDermott, and this is her boss Lynsey Gentry. She runs this division of the NYPD. And you know Marcella Malone, and this is her boss, Nina Bugliosi. She’s Cella’ssupervisor, but speaks for KZS as I speak for the Group.”

Dee gazed at him. Cella? He’s calling her Cella now?

“Sit, you two. Sit.” The sow motioned them down and began. “I’ll keep this short because I don’t see a point in making it long-winded. Here’s the deal. These fight rings have popped up all over the city and they’re multiplying. Now, I won’t get into the concern over protecting who we are from the full-humans who know nothing about us. That’s a given, I think. The more important issue is that we can no longer ignore what’s happening to the hybrids in this city and the other boroughs, nor can we continue to try and strike at these small dogfights that we’ve been stumbling across. It’s not effective.

So after talking to Niles Van Holtz, who runs the entire Group from East Coast to the West, and Victoria Löwe who represents Katzenhaft Security in the States, we’ve all decided to join forces.”

“Which means what, exactly?” Malone asked.

“That means we’re putting a small team of our best people on this to get to the heart of where it’s all stemming from. I want to know who’s the money behind this. Once we find the money, we can take it from there. But we’ve got to find the money.”

“And who’s gonna be on this team?” Although Dee already had a bad feeling she knew the answer.

“Desiree will take lead. She represents NYPD and can keep the full-human precincts off you, something she did earlier tonight after the residents of that neighborhood complained, so you should thank her. I don’t know what we could have done if anyone else had found you in that warehouse with all those bodies.”

Together, Malone and Dee looked over at Desiree and sneered, “Thank you.” Desiree laughed and Gentry continued. “To represent KZS, we’ll have Miss Malone and for the Group, Miss Smith.”

Canine and feline scowled at each other across the room. Then Malone roared and Dee barked multiple times, lips pulled back over fangs.

The lynx snapped her fingers in Malone’s face. “Date!” she bellowed. “Was I not clear I have a date? I don’t have time for this bullshit.” She pointed at Dee-Ann. “From you either. So let’s cut to the chase rather than wait for the bear to make her slow, plodding way to it. We’ve already looked at your records, ladies. All three of you are former Marines, and both Smith and Malone have Unit training. So you’re going to get over whatever bullshit issues you have and fix this problem before I get really fucking cranky.” She stood, smoothing down her mini-dress. “Is that it?”

“Well—” the sow began.

“Good. See ya!” Then she was out the door and gone.