“What gave you that idea?”
“I don’t need sarcasm right now, country boy,” she snapped. Toni took a breath. “I’m going to see if I can talk him out.”
“Make it fast. After a while, even people in Jersey are gonna notice bear claws through a limo roof.”
Deciding not to comment on the wolf being Mr. Obvious, Toni leaned into the limo.
“Hey, Bert,” she said, keeping her voice soft and soothing, like when she had to talk Cherise down from the roof of the house where she’d gone after panicking because the FedEx guy asked her to sign for a package. “Hey. It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
“I’m not going. You can’t make me go.”
“No problem.” She slowly, carefully leaned over, her hand stretching out to gently take his. “I just need you to retract those—oh, my God! Not the face! Not the face!”
Ricky didn’t manage to catch Toni when she fell back out of the limo door, but he did stop her head from hitting the pavement. He took that as a win.
“Are you all right?”
“Do I still have my nose?”
“Yep. Not even a scratch.”
“Then I’m fine. Help me up.” He did, easily lifting her to her feet. The She-jackals sure were small. Compared to She-wolves anyway.
Toni wiped off the back of her jeans, her focus on the bear in the limo, which allowed Ricky to take a nice long look at her cute little rear.
“Stop staring at my ass, freak.”
“Hey!” The limo driver stormed around the vehicle. “What the hell? What’s he doing to my car?”
“Don’t panic.”
“Panic? Who’s going to pay for this?”
“Can we worry about that later?” Toni demanded as she tossed off her sling, grabbed hold of the bear’s leg, and began to pull.
“We can’t worry about this later! I’m responsible for this car!” The driver crouched down and glared at the bear. “I knew I shouldn’t let a bear into my car. Tacky, flea-bitten, honey-obsessed bastard!” The mountain lion driver hissed at the bear, and Bert roared back.
That’s when the cops took notice of what was going on. “We need to go,” Ricky pushed.
“I said I’d get him on that plane. I’m going to—”
Ricky shoved the She-jackal into the car, hoping she’d be okay since she landed face-first on Bert’s chest. He slammed the door closed and caught hold of the mountain lion by the back of his neck.
The cat hissed as Ricky walked him back to the driver’s side of the car. “Get in and drive, tabby.”
Ricky slammed that door shut, then walked around the front of the vehicle, waving casually at the cops coming closer. He opened the front passenger door and slipped inside. By the time he closed the door, the cat pulled into traffic and headed off.
“So where are we going?” the cat demanded. “And who’s paying for my car?”
By now Toni had crawled forward until she could knock on the glass between the front seats and the back of the limo. The cat lowered the window and Toni leaned in. She gave the cat an address Ricky didn’t recognize.
“He’s not getting on a plane,” Ricky reminded her.
“I’ll figure out something.”
“And my car?” the cat screeched, making Ricky bark at him, which made the cat hiss back and Bert roar.
“That is enough!” Toni bellowed, silencing all three males.
“Everybody just shut the fuck up right now! And I’ll pay for your goddamn limo, so shut up about it already.”
“Can I get that in writing?” the cat muttered.
Toni’s dark brown eyes locked on the driver. “I will unleash this bear on you,” she warned, her voice low. “So don’t test me.”
Letting out a breath, she turned and dropped into the seat beneath the window.
“You’re not giving up, are you?” Ricky asked her.
“No. I’m not giving up.” She took a deep breath. “But I do wish I was home dealing with the devil I know . . .”
Coop didn’t know how Toni dealt with this on a daily basis. The arguing. The crying. The yelling. The death threats. And those not fighting were instigating. For instance, the twins. Not even four yet, they insisted on tossing out inflammatory suggestions in any language they knew, which turned out to be a lot more languages than Coop had realized.
Cooper had always known his big sister had shielded him from a lot. As always, her concern had been keeping his focus on what he loved. His music. He clearly remembered when he was six, Toni yelling at their house cleaner because she was running the vacuum while he was practicing at the family piano. The housekeeper had never taken Toni very seriously, because all she ever did was follow their dad around and go to a regular school. When the housekeeper had ignored her, Toni had picked up the vacuum and thrown it against the wall. Then she’d screamed, “I said my brother is practicing!”
From that day on, Toni established her position as protector of the family. Their parents provided money, food, love, and support for their kids, but Toni handled the teachers, the schedules, the logistics, the arguments, the neurotic and oftentimes illegal behavior . . .
Cooper always knew it, but it didn’t hit him until he was forced to drag Zia and Zoe off Kyle, their tiny little fists pounding his face, their sharp little puppy teeth trying to chew his nose off. Who knew such adorable little girls could be so angry? So very angry.
As the girls redirected their rage at Cooper’s neck and chin, he looked to see if his father could help, but no. He couldn’t. He was holding Oriana back from throttling Troy.
The yelling and arguing was so bad that finally, Jackie stormed into the room.
“What the hell is going on?” she demanded, hands on hips.
“You can’t tell?” Paul asked, Oriana swinging wildly in his arms.
“Well, where’s Toni?”
“She’s at the job interview.”
“She’s not back yet?”
“Do you think this would be going on if she was here? And can you help rather than bark about our daughter?”
“But what is she doing? Having drinks with Ulrich? Enjoying a casual lunch with that other wolf she met earlier? Lounging? I mean, what exactly is my eldest daughter doing that’s more important than helping her siblings?”
Toni got on the pavement, planted her feet on either side of the door, and with a yelled, “Heave!” she pulled on one of Bert’s legs while the driver stood slightly above her and pulled on the other. Ricky was at the opposite door, pushing the black bear from behind.
But nothing worked. They couldn’t move the bear with his claws dug into the roof.
“I’m not going!” Bert screamed. “I’m not going!”
Toni released him and fell back against the pavement.
The driver stormed away. “This is ridiculous!”
“Calm down.” Toni tried to push herself up but her shoulder gave out. No problem, though. The wolf was there, grabbing her under the arms and lifting her up. “Thanks,” she muttered.
“So now what?”
She sighed. “Let me see what I can do.”
“Where are you going?” the driver demanded as she started to walk off.
“Just stay here with Bert. I’ll be back. And yes”—she went on before the mountain lion could complain—“I’m going to pay for your goddamn limo. Just let it go already!”
“Still don’t have it in writing!” he shot back after her, but Toni ignored him, walking into the Long Island airport that very few people knew anything about. It was a small, shifter-run airport with three airlines.
Two of the airlines handled exotic importing. Zebra, gazelle, cape buffalo . . . these all came in through LoupAir and Mercer Shipping. The only difference was that Mercer shipped frozen carcasses while LoupAir shipped live animals for hunting.
It was Madra Airlines that flew shifters anywhere in the world they wanted to go. Owned and operated by the enormous Madra Wild Dog Pack, Madra
Airlines, a division of Madra Transportation, had been moving shifters between countries for more than a millennium. First in the boats they stole from the Vikings who raided their lands and, in turn, the wild dogs had killed and dined on, and now in, some of the most modern planes currently available.
The best thing about the Madra planes was that they were built for all shifters. From the tiny foxes who liked to steal—they were booked into seats with alarms that alerted flight attendants anytime they stood up; to the seven-foot polar bears that needed more leg and head room—they were put in remodeled planes that were originally built for military transport of trucks and Humvees; to the very demanding lion males—Madra personnel always made sure to seat them away from any cubs and had ample amounts of food on supply for their feeding needs.
That’s why Toni loved Madra. Expensive it might be, but when she had to make sure the entire Jean-Louis Parker clan could get from one place to another in a timely manner and without embarrassment-inducing risks, she spent the extra cash to book them on Madra Airlines.
“Antonella?”
Toni spun around and immediately grinned. “Scotty!” She charged into the open arms of her fellow jackal. “I was so hoping you were working today.”
“Is it Kyle?” he asked with a smile when Toni stepped back.
“For once . . . no. I do need your help, though.” She took his hand and dragged him to the front doors of the airport and out to the limo.
“Holy shit.” The jackal laughed when he saw the bear.
“He’s afraid of flying,” Toni told him. “Can you help?”
“With bears? You bet. Just tell me what needs to happen.”
Ricky waited until the jackal had gone back inside the airport before he asked, “So who’s that?”
“That’s Scotty.”
“Just telling me the man’s name doesn’t really help me understand.”
“He runs the airport.”
“Thought wild dogs run this place.”
“Wild dogs own this company. But they hire other canines. They’re a really great company if you’re looking for work.”
“I’m not. Do you think I am?”
“I have no idea, with you free to follow me around all day.” She suddenly frowned. “You’re not a criminal, are you?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Well . . . you are in the Smith Pack.”
“And?”
That’s when the mountain lion started to laugh. “Oh, come on! Are you really going to be insulted that she asked you that?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Everybody knows that the Smith Pack is either criminals or assholes. Usually both at the same time.”
Annoyed and always protective of his Pack, Ricky Lee stepped closer to the cat. Instantly, the cat stood straight, fangs easing out of his gums.
“Gentlemen,” Toni sighed. “Do we really have time for this?”
Ricky would make time.
“What are you gonna do, Snoopy? Without your Pack? It’s just you and me.”
Toni leaned in between the snarling pair. “Not really,” she said, motioning toward the front doors. Ricky and the cat looked over and saw about ten males in their wolf forms standing a few feet away. Ricky didn’t know any of them, but he knew wolves would always back stranger wolves against cats, because cats just really irritated them all.
That Scotty guy—was he the ex-boyfriend?—came out of the airport. He pointed at the limo. “He’s in there, Craig.”
The wolves trotted over to the limo.
“What are they doing to my car?”
“Tearing it apart?”
“Stop instigating,” Toni told Ricky.
The wolves stood outside the limo for several seconds. Then, suddenly, one of them jumped forward, barked, and nipped at Bert’s legs.
“Hey!” Bert yelled. “Cut it out!”
Another wolf jumped forward, barked, nipped.
Then they all did it, surrounding the limo and attacking Bert from both ends.
“Get off me!” he yelled from inside. “I’m not kidding! Cut it out!”
“Good Lord,” Ricky muttered, his annoyance at the cat forgotten as the two stood there with Toni between them and watched. “They’re baitin’ that damn bear.”
“That is so wrong,” the cat said.
Wrong it might be, but effective. Bert suddenly exploded out of that limo, roaring, claws slashing at the wolves. He hit a few, sending them flying several feet.
“Hey, bear,” Scotty said. And when Bert turned, ready to attack yet another canine, Scotty pulled the trigger on the tranquilizer gun he held. The dart slammed into Bert’s neck. The black bear roared and tried to run off, but the wolves kept charging him, pushing him back, blocking him off, until he began to stumble forward . . . back . . . and then down he went like a diseased oak.
Scotty handed off the rifle to some fox standing with him and motioned to the wolves. “All right, gentlemen. Let’s get the bear up and on the plane.”
The wolves shifted back to human and lifted poor Bert up and carried him into the airport. One of them grabbed Bert’s baggage out of the trunk and followed after them.
Scotty stood in front of Toni, his smile wide. “Told you. Easy-peasy.”
“Scotty, you’re the best.”
“I know.” He took Toni’s hand and rested it on his forearm.
“The best part . . . for a little extra, we’ll make sure he gets back the same way. He’ll wake up in New York and not even remember checking out of his hotel.”
“Excellent.”
“Now let’s get this paperwork out of the way.” He led her inside. “Would you like some champagne while we do this? You look like you need it.”
The cat looked at Ricky. “He is so gonna nail her.”
Ricky Lee took off his hat, scratched his head. “You know, cat, you are partly right.”
“About what?”
Ricky rammed his head forward into the cat’s, knocking the feline out completely.
Staring down at him, he said, “The Smith Pack can be a bunch of assholes.”
Ricky put his hat back on and went into the airport in search of Toni.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The limo pulled up in front of the town house and Toni got out. The wolf followed. It was almost seven. She’d gone back to the office and filled Ulrich and Cella Malone in on what had happened. They didn’t seem surprised, but Ric didn’t seem too happy about the fact he’d bought a limo he didn’t need.
After that, Toni left the office and found the wolf and the cat waiting for her. Where the driver had managed to get that nasty lump on his forehead, Toni didn’t know and she didn’t ask. She was just glad that he was willing to drive her home. Why Ricky went with her, she didn’t know, either. If she didn’t have the fever now, she wouldn’t get it. Her shoulder did still hurt but nothing she couldn’t manage. By tomorrow, the pain would be a faint memory.
Toni thanked the cat for his help, reminded him that he now had in writing Ulrich’s commitment to replace his vehicle with one that didn’t have a torn roof from bear claws, and said good-bye. Then she walked up the stairs to the town house, unlocked the door, and went inside.
She’d barely stepped into the hallway before Coop suddenly came at her. “Run.”
“What?”
“Run,” he whispered. “Make a run for it while you can!”
Ricky only had a moment to wonder what the holy hell was going on when they were there, trapping Toni against his chest, which pinned Ricky against the closed door. This was all of them, he guessed. Toni’s parents, the siblings. And they were all yelling. At Toni. At each other.
“Where have you been?” her mother was demanding, one of the twins in her arms.
“Hey!” her father called out, trying to calm his brood while he held the other twin. “Why don’t we let Toni have a few minutes to—”
But his attempt was drowned out by Kyle, Oriana, and another y
oung boy as they threatened each other with all manner of things that anyone under the age of twenty-five should not be saying.
Cooper stood behind them all with another young female, both of them giving their sister what Ricky could only call a “we’re so sorry” look. He knew they meant it, but unfortunately it didn’t really help.
And that’s when Ricky spotted her. Easing out of the library and floating silently down the hall in her all white summer dress that flowed lazily around her ankles, comfortable sandals on her feet, and a beige messenger bag hanging from her shoulder.
She looked very different from her siblings. Her hair was blonder and long, reaching down her back. She moved differently, acted differently.
He couldn’t explain it, but there was something . . .
Toni went up on her toes and said loudly to the girl, “Where are you going, Delilah?”
It was the way they all fell silent that concerned Ricky. It was like they suddenly froze, suddenly aware of another’s presence.
The one Toni called Delilah stopped walking, and Toni’s parents and siblings all turned and looked down the hall. Slowly, Delilah faced them.
“Sorry?”
“I said where are you going?”
With a small smile that seemed permanently fixed, Delilah moved closer.
“Out for a walk,” she said. Her voice was soft and . . . lilting. Not like her siblings at all. She didn’t even seem canine. If he couldn’t smell the jackal in her, Ricky would have assumed she was a full-human. “I won’t be gone too long.”
“I can come with you,” Toni offered.
“No. I won’t be gone too long.”
“What about Cooper? Just to keep you company.”
“No,” Delilah said again. “I won’t be gone too long.”
Her voice never changed. Her attitude never changed. It was like she had one note and one note only.
“Well . . .” Toni dropped back on her heels. “Just be careful then. Okay?”
With a nod, Delilah turned away and headed off down the hallway.
The family stayed silent until they all heard a doorway somewhere deep in the house open and close.