Toni tapped her fingers against Novikov’s arm. “You better go.” Novikov responded by viciously growling. “Don’t worry,” Toni replied, as if she understood his nonsensical noises. “I’ll talk to them.” Novikov bared a fang and Toni’s smile grew. “I promise. Now go. You don’t want to miss your flight. And have fun tonight. Relax. You deserve it.”

Novikov finally nodded and carefully placed her on the ground. Then he glowered at Ric and Cella and roared. Loudly. Thankfully, because their offices were underground, there were no windows to break. Novikov started to turn away, stopped long enough to look at Cella and say, “Tell Crush I’ll call him tomorrow at seven p.m.”

“Will do.”

Ric still didn’t know how the incredibly cool and good-natured Lou “Crush” Crushek and Novikov had become friends. Because Ric really liked Crushek. And he hated Novikov. So it all seemed so wrong.

The hybrid patted Toni on the shoulder and walked out. She followed him into the hallway. “Make sure you have your ID,” she called after him. “You’ll need it to get on your flight. And I already told your driver not to bother you with too much chatter, but even if he does speak to you when you don’t want him to, tip him anyway.”

With her eyes still staring down the hallway, but keeping her voice low, she said to the rest of them, “He won’t tip him, but I already did just in case. I’m thinking Bo considers ‘hello’ and ‘do you need anything, sir?’ to be too much talking.”

She was exactly right about that.

“I also couldn’t get him a regular flight to Chicago at the time he needed, so I booked him a private one.” She lowered her voice even more. “I had to charge it to the team because I didn’t have his card and the company’s card was in the bobcat’s desk—which you may want to move. It seems kind of dangerous to have that there if there are any foxes working in your office. Now I figured charging Bo Novikov’s personal flight to the team would piss you off, Ric”—and she was right!—“so I contacted the Sports Center in Chicago and let the stadium manager know that Bo was going to be in town to see his girlfriend’s derby game or bout or whatever they call it. We discussed it, and he’s going to set up a promo thing for hockey fans. I warned him, though, that Bo wouldn’t like that, but apparently the hockey fans like the abuse, so the manager still thinks it’s a good idea. This way you and the team will get some good PR. Plus, his being at that derby thing will bring attention to his girlfriend’s team, which if I remember correctly, you also own.” She shrugged. “So I figured it all kind of balanced out in the end. And this makes it a tax write-off.” She continued to focus down the hallway for a fewmore seconds before she let out a sigh and walked into the office. She smiled at them.

“Anyway—”

“Wait,” Ric cut in. “Before you go on . . . why’s your arm in a sling?”

“I have one word for you, Ulrich,” Toni stated flatly. “Mom.”

“Oh.” Ric nodded. “I see. So Novikov didn’t—”

“No, no. Not at all. I was just trying to help.”

Ricky Lee Reed suddenly ambled up behind Toni. Reed, like Dee-Ann, ambled rather than walked and seemed to take life as it came. Unlike his brothers, who had a little more drive. Yet Ric always felt the middle Reed brother treated Dee-Ann more as a big sister than as someone he hadn’t yet nailed, which made Ricky Lee more likable to Ric than the other Reed brothers.

“What are you doing here?” Dee-Ann asked the big Southern wolf.

“Keeping an eye on Miss Antonella here.”

“Good job when that Novikov is carrying her around like a load of Momma’s laundry.”

“I asked if she needed me to get involved and she said no. You and Ronnie Lee always go on and on about letting females make their own decision—”

“Shut up,” Dee drawled. “Before I find another use for Big Betty.”

“Wait.” Toni looked back and forth between Dee and Ricky. “How do you two know each other?”

“Dee-Ann has always loved me from afar but she knew she could never have me.”

“Betty,” Dee threatened.

“We’re Packmates,” Ricky clarified.

“Huh,” Toni said. “You’re the first member of the Smith Pack I’ve met since Dee-Ann mated with Ric.”

“She’s ashamed of her poor wolf kin, so she hides us from all those rich Van Holtz friends of hers. We’re not invited to Washington for all those fancy dinners and get-togethers they have. Not even her own cousins, Bobby Ray and Sissy Mae, are invited. Off our little Dee-Ann goes, just leavin’ the rest of us behind . . . sad and alone. Ain’t that right, Dee-Ann?”

“What’s sad is that my momma stopped me from burying you in our backyard like I tried to when I was ten. Had a hole dug for you and everything.”

“Lord, you are so your father’s child.”

“And nothing makes me prouder. Ain’t my fault your daddy’s scared of him.”

“My daddy ain’t scared of nothin’. Especially Eggie Ray Smith.”

“Anyway,” Ric cut in to the sibling-like bickering, “you were saying¸ Toni? About Novikov?”

“Actually, this is kind of interesting. Who’s Eggie?”

“Antonella.”