“Why? All he told me was that he died.”
“Yeah. It’s Toby’s story to tell.”
“Then it can’t be good.”
“It’s not.” Cody turned on the radio, probably trying to signal to me that the conversation was over.
I used the break from conversation to formulate a plan. I had no idea what messed up stuff I was dealing with, but my sister was apparently part of it. Maybe if I played my cards right, I could get to her. My gut told me Toby had been telling me the truth when he said he wasn’t dangerous to me, but that didn’t mean I was going to listen to him blindly. I’d stay alert and find a way to get to Vera. Whatever the Blackwell estate was, I hoped it wasn’t some crazy prison with a torture chamber. I’d play along if I needed to. Maybe those acting classes in high school would pay off.
Cody’s phone rang again. He turned off the radio. “Hello. I’ll ask her.” He turned back toward me. “Are you hungry?”
“Are you really asking me that?”
“Toby said to make sure you ate something.”
I laughed. It was the uncontrollable “I’m in over my head” kind of laugh.
“Hold on. Talk to her yourself.” He must have hit the speaker button because Toby’s voice came through the receiver. “You okay, Casey?”
“Never better.”
“Sarcasm. That’s a good sign.” His voice was tense, but I could tell he was trying hard to put me at ease. Considering my hands were tied behind me, and I had no clue what I was in for, nothing was going to put me at ease.
“What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know. All hell has broken loose here. I’ll get to you as soon as I can.”
I needed answers. “What are you?”
“I can’t talk much now, but I promise to tell you everything later.”
The brush off wasn’t going to fly. “You’re a bird shifter?”
“Well, our shifter form is a hybrid. I don’t turn into an actual hawk.”
“You just sprout giant wings.”
“Pretty much.”
“Any other skills I should know about?”
“Strength, speed, agility, sexual prowess.”
“Toby!”
He laughed. “I had to lighten things up. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and I’m sorry. I should have protected you.”
“Toby.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“Of course not!”
“I’m holding you to it!” I must have been losing my mind.
Chapter Seventeen
Toby
There is something incredibly satisfying about hand to hand combat. Without weapons getting in the way, it lets adversaries fight each other the way they were meant to. Winning takes speed, strength, agility, and brains, and it requires you to summon inner strength you may not have realized you had. That being said, there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing.
I tossed another wolf across the otherwise deserted street. If the witches hadn’t already earned their keep for The Society, they did that night. There’s no way we could have cleaned up that kind of chaos without messing with human minds. I’m not sure what people thought was happening, but clearly the growling and screaming on the street wasn’t garnering any attention.
“You’re actually kind of good at this,” Jared yelled from somewhere behind me. Was it possible the guy had a sense of humor?
“Yeah. So are you.”
He laughed. “I’m the best. Don’t pretend you didn’t know that.”
“I figured the stories were inflated, like everything else about your breed.”
“I’d love to hear those stories but it looks like we have more company.”
I turned in time to watch another four bears barreling down the street. More grizzlies. Black bears were fairly easy, but the grizzlies were far worse. They had more upper body strength, and if you weren’t careful, they’d knock you over before you could react. Lucky for me, Pterons have good reflexes and I’d managed not to get knocked around too much.
The bear who initiated the attack, and had the personal interest in Casey, disappeared sometime during the early waves of attacks when I didn’t have the time to chase after him. I’d find him eventually, but until then, I had my hands full. I was glad to have Jared and Owen there. As strong as my men were, two extra well-trained Pterons wasn’t something to scoff at.
As the bears approached, I flew sideways to dodge the head on attack. I swiftly rammed them from the side. Jared seemed to have the same idea. The bears were more vulnerable on their sides.
Reinforcements arrived right as the fourth round of bears and wolves appeared. I nodded in greeting to Tom and Tim. It was about time they got their asses there.
We took down that line and another before the meek shifters realized the futility of a continued fight. The wolves retreated first, with the bears on their heels. I sent Tim and Tom after them. I’d let them take care of the low lifes.
“Do you think our friend here is ready to talk?” Owen kicked the human body of a bear who had been there in the very beginning. He was the only one other than the ring leader who had survived from that first group.
“I don’t know.” Jared stepped closer to the body. “Let’s find out.” He stepped on the shifter’s chest. “Are you ready to talk yet, ass**le?”
Our prisoner grunted.
“In English please.” Jared pushed his shoe in harder.
“Move. Foot.” He struggled to talk.
Jared moved his foot. “Talk.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you don’t have a choice.” I leaned down over him. “What do you want with the girl?” I didn’t like describing Casey that way, but I wasn’t using her name in that kind of company.
“You mean besides f**king her?” He grinned as best he could despite his busted face.
I got rid of the smile with my sneaker. “I’ll ask you one more time.”
He grunted. “It’s our business, not yours.”
“Everything is our business.” Jared moved to his other side. We had him surrounded.
“Get ready for a new way of life. The Pterons are going down.”
“Answer the damn question. Why the girl?”
“Because we want her.” He swiped at me with a knife and drew blood in a line along my chest.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Jared looked at me. “You think we’re done here?”