Shaking her head, she hobbled to the end of the alley. She peeked out, then pulled back. Another mutter. Another check, leaning farther out. Then she came back to us.

“I thought ’e was right ’round that corner, but there’s an ale ’ouse back there. ’e’s inside.”

“Inside?”

I looked at Nick.

We headed up the fire escape Clay had used earlier. Once inside the second floor, I followed his trail to find the vantage point he’d used to watch Zoe and me below. We ended up at a trapdoor over the bar. Prop the door open a crack, crouch down and you had a pretty good view of the patrons below.

Crouching was easier for Nick, so he looked through. When he glanced up again, I knew our fears had been confirmed.

“She’s there with Hull, isn’t she?” I whispered.

He nodded.

“Talking to him?”

Another nod.

“Not being coerced, not held against her will…”

I tried not to be surprised. I really did. Yet, in my gut, I still felt betrayed.

It was almost laughable. Given four potential allies, we’d batted zero for four. First, Shanahan, whom we hadn’t trusted from the start, who’d turned out to be as innocent as Tolliver had claimed-and as innocent as Tolliver himself. Then Hull. Never trusted, but ignored. His story believed; his presence tolerated; his threat overlooked entirely. Now Zoe. Of all four, this one hurt the worst.

“What do we do?” Nick whispered.

“Don’t fight her unless you have to. She’ll heal faster than you can hit. Disable her if necessary. She doesn’t have any special powers except her fangs. If she gets those into you, she can knock you out. Otherwise-not a threat. We disable her and hand her over to Cassandra for trial.”

He nodded, obviously relieved that I wasn’t going to suggest we behead her ourselves. That wasn’t our place…and even if it had been, I wasn’t sure I could do it.

“I think they’re getting ready to leave,” Nick said, scrambling up. “ Hull ’s standing and Zoe’s talking to the bartender.”

“There’s only one way out,” I said. “Get back into the alley we came in through. Shoo Jaime and Rose someplace safe, then find a spot as far down as you can.”

“What about you?”

“No way I’ll get down that fire escape fast enough.” I prodded him toward the exit, still talking. “There’s a window around the corner. I’ll watch from there. Don’t attack if you don’t absolutely have to. We’ll follow them for a bit.”

He swung through the window onto the fire escape.

I grabbed his shoulder. “If we have to fight Hull, remember what I said. Stay out of sight for a bit. Let me draw his fire, wear his spell power down. He won’t killme.”

Nick hesitated-I knew he didn’t like the idea-but he nodded and left.

Control

I FOUND MY WINDOW AND CRACKED IT OPEN, NOT SO much so I could hear-I’d hear through the glass just fine-but so I could yank it open and jump through. A second-story leap was easy enough for a werewolf. It wasn’t something I cared to do when I was pregnant, so if I had a choice, I’d return to the fire escape.

Nick barely made it to a hiding place before Zoe and Hull turned the corner. As they headed into the alley, Hull slowed, chin going up as his nostrils flared. Damn! The alley would still smell of Rose.

After a moment’s hesitation, though, he kept walking. Rose’s stink must have been faded enough that he just dismissed it as a stray “bad smell.” He’d ordered Rose to stay at the hotel, so that’s where she’d be.

“I should call,” I heard Zoe say. “Let them know we’re on our way.”

A shiver raced up my spine. Them? Oh, God, there were more supernaturals involved. Of course there were. Zoe had a whole network of contacts here. When Hull promised to let her in on the “deal,” she’d probably offered the services of others.

Did this mean those others already knew about the babies? I fought a prickle of panic. Handle the immediate threat first.

I’d missed Hull ’s response, but it must have been something like “Don’t bother calling,” because she took her cell phone from her purse and waved it at him.

“This little box?” she said. “Great modern invention. Means I don’t even need to stop walking. No time wasted.”

“Do you really think they need any disruptions right now? Why else would they have sent me?”

Sent him? Was Hull working for someone else?

A figure appeared at the end of the alley. The bowler-hatted man, coming up behind them.

Zoe stopped. “Why send someone at all? Why not just phone?”

Hull shrugged. “Perhaps they couldn’t find your code…your numbers. They don’t tell me such things. Now, please, we have to hurry-”

When Zoe still didn’t move, Hull sighed and turned to her.

“This is hardly the best place, but you’re going to be difficult, aren’t you? No matter. I take my opportunities where I can find them, and I can’t ignore a chance at my last ingredient.”

It hit me: Zoe thought we’d summoned her, using Hull. Why wouldn’t she? The last time she’d seen us, he’d been in our care.

I remembered Tee telling Zoe she was in danger.

The rare ingredient. The one Rose said Hull had come to collect.

As I grabbed the window sash and threw it open, the bowler-hatted man strode toward her, a huge butcher’s knife in his hand.