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Alpha Toth isn’t happy about Nick staying. But since Director West ordered Nick to bring Marie in for questioning—and because Nick refuses to leave my side until we’re sure no more attempts will be made on my life—he allows it. Toth feels much better after Nick promises he’ll let Toth handle the situation however he sees fit. Meaning if Toth wants to hand Marie over to the FUA, Nick will take her off his hands, but if he wants to give her the same sentence she gave Maya and Daniel…well, that’s up to him, and Nick will stay out of it.
Alpha Toth and Rook both frown in thought, but Nick speaks up. “It’s likely she knows. Mercs usually get half payment up front and half when the job is completed. If no one checked in because the job was botched, she’ll know something went wrong. There was a whole diner full of witnesses who saw Nora walk away from the attack and saw us take Dennis into custody.”
I wince. “She may have bolted, knowing Dennis might talk during interrogation.”
Nick nods, agreeing with me. He looks at Alpha Toth and Rook. “Any idea where she might go?”
The two share a grim look and say together, “The apartment.”
Nick heads for his car while I ask the million-dollar question. “What apartment?”
Alpha Toth sighs. “We’ve been trying to trace the missing money since Maya’s and Daniel’s deaths. Maya rented a small apartment out in Ann Arbor. It’s mostly safe from rogues because it’s surrounded by three really strong packs who all use it as neutral territory—us, the Waterloo pack out in Chelsea, and the Island Lake pack up in Brighton. Rogues generally keep to Detroit. We figured the apartment in Ann Arbor was where Maya and Daniel were going to try to make a go of it as packless wolves.”
“Wouldn’t Luna Marie know you’d look there?” I ask.
Both Rook and Alpha Toth grimace. “We haven’t told Marie we know about it,” Alpha Toth says. “It’s just easier to keep her out of stuff.”
Yeah, that’s not hard to imagine. She’s a real piece of work. I smirk. “Can’t blame you there, and it works in our favor.” I clap my hands together in excitement. “All right. Who’s up for a drive to Ann Arbor?”
When we get to theapartment complex in Ann Arbor, Nick flashes something that looks like an FBI badge, and the manager hands over a key. The apartment is a modest one-bedroom. I’m sure it’s very standard for middle-class suburban living, but it makes my old dump in Detroit seem like third-world living. Luna Marie must have stolen alotof money from the pack.
The apartment is empty. Though, judging by the growls of Alpha Toth when we enter the place, Marie hasn’t been gone long. “She wasn’t here alone.”
“Do you recognize the scent?” Rook asks.
He, Nick, and Alpha Toth all wander around the open living, dining, and kitchen area, sniffing the air. “It’s definitely wolf,” Alpha Toth says, shaking his head. “And male. But he’s not pack.”
His eyes are glowing again. We all know what Luna Marie being here with another male wolf means, and Alpha Toth’s wolf does not like being cheated on.
“It’s a little familiar,” Rook says, taking a deeper whiff. “But it’s too mixed with Marie’s scent for me to get a good read on it.”
Nick looks up from a small stack of mail he’s sorting through. “You got anything for us, little psychic?”
I wander the room, running my hands over everything from the kitchen table to the TV remote. When I pick up nothing, I groan. If this was Luna Marie’s secret love nest, chances are there is only one kind of vision I’m going to get from this place. At my grumble, all three men look my direction. “It’s nothing,” I tell them with a sigh.
I head for the bedroom, and Rook follows behind me, chuckling when comprehension sinks in. Alpha Toth walks into the bedroom, takes a deep breath through his nose, and then roars. “That cheating whore!”
He grabs the nearest thing he can find, which happens to be a dresser, and smashes it thoroughly with his fists before throwing it into the bedroom wall, putting huge holes in the drywall. He sheds his clothes and shifts into wolf form, moving to shred the mattress next. Rook stops him. “Wait, Peter!”
The wolf growls and his chest heaves, but he turns his glowing eyes to Rook and waits. “Nora needs the bed. Let her do her thing, and then you can tear this entire apartment to pieces. Promise.”
Alpha Toth snarls but plops his butt on the ground with a huff. He looks at me, and for a moment I forget to breathe. I’m trapped in a room with an angry wolf, and he’s barely containing his temper. In this form, the dominance rolls off him in thick waves. I want to fall to the floor and curl up in the fetal position, but werewolves appreciate strength, so I pull back my shoulders and glare at the alpha wolf. “Stop it,” I say. “I get that you’re pissed, but I can’t do my job with you in here being all alpha I-will-rip-you-apart wolf. Calm down or get out, because I can barely breathe with all the testosterone you’re throwing at me.”
I point toward the bedroom door, showing him which option I’d rather he take. The wolf narrows his eyes and growls a warning at me, but I don’t so much as flinch. He huffs again, but he follows my orders and leaves the room.
“Nicely done, Nora,” Nick says, clapping.
Rook doesn’t join in. He’s frozen in place, watching me with a proud and hungry gleam in his eye, as if his wolf really likes my display of dominance. I stare him down next. “Do I need to kick you out, too?”
Rook’s eyes flash, but he quickly shakes his head and stamps down his wolf. “Sorry. You’re just so dominant. My wolf can’t help himself. I think if you ever turned, I’d have to take back my no dating policy. I think my wolf would claim you whether I wanted him to or not.”
And my curse strikes again. It’s impressive that Rook the man is holding out even if his wolf is struggling with my allure. He must have loved Lilly so much. “You in control now?” I ask, even though I know he is. “I don’t want you to bite me while I’m under. This imprint might take a while.”
Rook smirks. “I’m good.”
“I’ve got your back,” Nick adds, stepping up beside Rook. “You do your thing. I’ll watch out for you.”
That makes me feel better, but I spare the bed another wary glance. The sheets are still a mess. I start at the foot of the bed, hoping to pick up something without having to actually crawl into the place where the dirty action happened. Thankfully, I luck out. I run my hand across the foot of the bed and am immediately sucked into the imprint.
