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“Got it in one.” Pinky leans back in her chair and links her fingers over her stomach. “What’re you going to do about it, wolf?”
Ignoring the question, he asks, “What’ve you heard? I assume you have more of a bead on the L.A. shifter population than I do.”
She shrugs. “The main concern is that a shifter prince in our midst will expose us all.”
“And you agree with that?” I ask, annoyed at Pinky for thinking such a thing about Keenan. “He would never out another shifter.”
She looks at me with compassion. “I know you think that, but there are other ways of outing shifters than deliberately.”
“It’s a risk I’m aware of,” Keenan says, stroking his beard. “I’m treading lightly. I’ve only recently discovered how many of you are out there.”
“More than you can imagine,” she says, her tone hard. “We don’t all have lovely wolf cities and a royal family to return to. Some of us are the last of our kind and the human world is the only place left for us. But if you out us, we’ll lose the only home we have left.”
Her impassioned speech leaves me stunned. Pinky is usually so laid back, the consummate beach bum. I take her hand. “Pinky… are you the last of your kind?” She nods and I launch myself at her, climbing into her chair and hugging her. “I didn’t know! I’m sorry I never asked.”
She laughs, tugging at my arms and swiping at tears. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal,” I say insistently. “I knew your family was gone but I had no idea how truly alone you are. The last of your kind… oh Pinky.”
“Dragons are extremely rare,” Keenan says, his sympathetic gaze on her.
She nods, blinking rapidly. “It’s possible there’re more out there, but I’ve never seen one. As far as I know, it’s only me.”
“It’s not only you. I’m your dragon bestie at heart, which means you’ll never be alone. I’ll roar at anyone who threatens you. I’m really good at roaring.”
“You are,” she says with a watery laugh, laying her head on my shoulder. “Just be careful, Ness. Not everyone is as good as you think they are.”
“Oh, I know all about villains. I played King Richard the third in a Shakespeare in the park production.” I jump up from the chair, nearly toppling her. “Time to stop being so serious.”
We spend the rest of the evening by the fire, roasting marshmallows, laughing and cracking shifter jokes.
Chapter 21
Something’s Gotta Give
KEENAN
Vanessa grins at her stunt double, Jessica, and mimes lifting her hand in slow motion. Jessica, wearing the same costume, makeup, and hair, does the same as they mirror each other. Vanessa cackles and high fives her.
We’re in the makeup trailer, Jessica and Vanessa getting touchups while Stelios prepares the stunts for their next scene.
I tear my eyes from Vanessa as Rachel pushes the door to the trailer open and pops her head inside, her clipboard under her arm, her expression serious. “Keenan, can I talk to you?”
“What do you need?”
“Let’s talk outside.” She opens the door wider as I step into the warm afternoon air.
I follow her, positioning myself at the door of the trailer in case Vanessa needs me. She treats her stunt double and the makeup artist like long-lost sisters so I can’t imagine anything happening.
Rachel launches in. “It’s about the accidents.”
“I thought we were done with that,” I say, my tone hardening. Part of the deal in my agreeing to bring Vanessa back to set was the accidents needed to stop.
“We are,” she assures me, “but we never found out who was causing them. The police couldn’t trace them to a source, but I’ve narrowed down a suspect list.”
She hands me a sticky note with five names on it. I don’t recognize any of them except one. Hailey Whitmore. The actor who left the film.
Frowning, I hand it back to her, but she shakes her head. “Keep it. I need a favour.”
