“Are you going to offer me fealty, minor bear?”

The Bear-man, his bear-side completely lost with his defeat, got to his knees. “Not tonight, wolf.” He slapped the floor with both hands and laughed, shaking his head. “But I will buy you a drink.”

Lucas smiled and offered his opponent a hand. The Bear-man took it, and clapped Lucas on the back as he moved to stand.

I stood there, flushed at their nakedness, wondering what I’d just seen. And then I remembered Gina outside, and that I was definitely where I did not belong, even less than I had mere minutes ago. I dove out through the crowd of weres pushing in to congratulate Lucas, and made it to the bathroom, hopefully unseen.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Asher picked up on the second ring. The background wherever he was sounded like the background where I’d just been. “Hey, it’s me,” I shouted into the phone.

“This is a surprise. Hang on.” The background noises, wherever he was at, lessened. “Let me guess—the single nurse needs a house call?”

“Um. In a manner of speaking.”

“In that case, your wish is my command.”

I thought about asking him for inappropriate things—then briefly remembered the naked men I’d just seen and Gideon’s parts at home. I really didn’t need any more random genitalia in my life, and Gina and I needed to go. I closed my eyes, and the words spilled out. “My wish is to come over to where you live—” Asher gave a malevolent chuckle as I continued“—with a drunken co-worker. Who can’t go home. And I can’t go home either.”

“Dare I ask why?”

“There’s no more room at the inn. It’s a long story. Can I tell you when I get there?” I bit my tongue so I didn’t add a please.

He paused to consider things, then told me his address, and I committed it to memory. “I’m downtown right now, though—”

I thought I might know the club he was at. “We’re even downer-town. You’ll beat us.”

“See you there, then.”

“Thanks, Asher.”

* * *

I went back to the Gina and the bar. “We have a plan now. Let’s go.” I started to pull her gently off her seat.

“I don’t know why I did it. I could have just gone through with it. I loved him. It wasn’t his fault—” There were three more empty glasses in front of her, and I gave the bartender an angry look. He saw me and shrugged. “I could have gone along with things. If I’d just stayed strong,” she went on.

Denial. I doubted Gina would make it through all the stages of grief in one night, but I wanted to get her out of here before she hit any more of them. “Come on, Gina.”

We were lurching as one through the growing crowd, and now our fellow bar patrons were looking at us smugly. I glowered back at them. Then the back door opened and the crowd from the fight surged in.

The bear and the wolf led the way, in their human forms, now with clothes on. Lucas wore a tank top, totally inappropriate given the the weather outside. Beside him was the Bear-man, still with a cauliflower ear, and behind them both, Jorgen. I started hauling Gina away faster, hoping we hadn’t been seen.

“Edie—” I heard a voice call from behind me. Gina started to turn around, and I pulled her closer. We were so close to the door. “Edie, wait—”

There was silence behind us, and the were-bouncer I’d seen outside blocked the door. He didn’t need to have changed to be menacing. I looked behind me. If Lucas was the one who’d sicced those girls on me earlier today—my mind ran through options. I had my silver-buckled belt on. I could—Lucas reached out a placating hand.

“Hey.” He was smiling, the first time I’d seen him look happy since I’d met him—although I realized that was less than forty-eight hours ago. “Why are you here?”

Lucas was close enough that I could see his tattoos. One arm was prison-style, dark and faded, the other Japanese-sleeved, expensive. He was glazed with sweat and still breathing a little rough. Jorgen stood by his side, radiating displeasure at me.

“I just came to get my friend.” Everyone in the room who’d been pretending to ignore us finally stopped pretending. Being the center of attention was unnerving. It felt very much like being prey.

Gina swung forward and lunged for Jorgen. “Do I still smell like a consort to you now, asshole?”

Even though the bouncer was still blocking the way, I tried to haul her up the first stair. Gina fought to concentrate on Lucas, or on one Lucas out of the many I bet she saw. “I hate you,” she said, pointing her finger at Jorgen. “And you,” she said to Lucas, moving her finger down the line, “and you and you—” Gina took control of herself and took a step up of her own accord, using this small leverage to wave her hand like a fervent preacher and include the entire crowd. “You’re all assholes! All of you men!”

I grabbed for her and pressed her to me. The room filled with a pregnant pause. Had anyone at County made a code for what to do when your co-worker was going to get you killed?

Booming laughter began nearby. I opened eyes I hadn’t realized I’d closed, and saw Lucas grinning from ear to ear. “She does have a point,” he said, looking out at the crowd of gawkers himself. “Half of you are dogs.”

“And those that aren’t are bitches!” someone else yelled from the back of the room.

There were snickers all around, and I could feel the tension in the room defuse. Lucas closed the gap between us. “Need some help?”

“Yes. Please.” Anything to get out of here faster.

Muscles rippled up and down his arms as he picked up Gina and pulled her up into a fireman’s cradle, like he was off to carry her over a threshold. Her chin lay on her chest, and if she was going to throw up, I prayed for her to wait until we’d gotten outside and nearer to my car.

* * *

“I’m parked nearby—” I led the way out. Lucas followed, and luckily Jorgen stayed behind.

“What was all that about?” He hefted Gina’s weight easily—not that she wasn’t thin, but he had no problem carrying her.

“A lover’s spat. Nothing personal, I swear.”

“I know.”

I stopped, and he almost ran into me. “You do?”

“Sure we do. The second I found out you were caring for my uncle I asked around. She may fraternize—but she’s damn good at what she does.” He looked down at the woman he carried. “She couldn’t fall in love with one of us if she didn’t love us all a little bit, I suppose.”

I started walking again, quickly in the cold. “And what did your background check tell you about me?”

“Like Jorgen said. You’re the one the vampires employ.”

“That’s not true,” I said as we reached my Chevy. Gina was snoring. I unlocked the passenger door, and Lucas set her gently inside. “There’s just the one. She needs my help, but only for a little bit more.”

“You are compelled?” he asked me as I rounded my car.

“No. She just needs my help.”

“And you are good at helping people.”

“Like a fucking Girl Scout.”

He gave me a wolfish grin over my car’s hood. “What an interesting image.”

I snorted, unlocked my door, and sank inside. I leaned over Gina to buckle her seat belt and reached to close her door. He held it open.

“Where are you taking her?”

“Someplace where she can sleep it off.”

“Take good care of her.” He stood and made to close Gina’s door.

“Lucas—” There was nothing about him that gave the vibe he’d sent attackers after me earlier. If he had, wouldn’t he have let the patrons of the bar off their leash, so to speak? He ducked down to peer inside. The winter air was misting off his skin, and beneath his tattoos moved muscles that could have torn my car’s door off. “I was attacked this afternoon. By two were-women.”

His eyes narrowed, making his red-brown eyes look like angry embers. “When? Where?”

“The Woodbridge Mall. At five P.M., or thereabout. One of them wore a fur-lined parka, the other didn’t. That’s all I know.”

“Viktor,” Lucas growled. Anger washed across his entire body. I could almost see it flow over him, the water of humanity parting to let the wolf show through. His hand clenched around my car door, and I realized that between that and the dent I’d probably just hit my deductible. “How did you survive?”

“I hit one. With silver. She might still have a scar. And then a friend of mine showed up—a vampire friend.” Calling Dren a friend was stretching things, but I was smart enough to know that if this was a were-ploy, it would be better to seem like I had protection. “Are you sure it was Viktor?”

“His pack and mine have a long history. He can’t get to me, and now he can’t get to Winter, but you’d be easy—”

“Nothing personal, but I don’t even know you. Why would he attack me?” I interrupted.

“You know me well enough. He’ll do anything to stir up resentment before the full moon.”

“If I’d died, I’d be a little more than resentful,” I said.

He snorted and shook his head. “We need to put guards on you, Edie.”

“No way.”

“My pack owes you. For my uncle’s life, such as it is.”

“I—I don’t trust you,” I blurted out. His anger seemed real, and I wanted to trust him, but I also wanted to trust everyone, and that instinct wasn’t wise. “I want to, but I can’t.”

His eyes measured me, I could almost feel him weighing my resolve. He released my car door and took a step back. “I’ll find out who they were, Edie. As soon as I can. I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.” I nodded and put my keys into the ignition, waiting for the engine to catch and turn over before reaching for the door.