“Because you’ve been moping around about Allie long enough. She moved on. So should you.” Just the mention of Allie’s name made my chest tighten. Getting over an ex-girlfriend is hard, but try getting over her when you work for her fiancé.
“I don’t get it, man. You could have any girl you want. You live in a f**king penthouse for God’s sake, yet you never date.”
“You wouldn’t get it.” I went for a jump shot, using only a quarter as much effort as I’d use if it were just me in the gym.
“I wouldn’t? If you were still into her, why did you dump her to begin with?” Emmett’s sneakers squeaked on the polished wood floor.
The side effect of having a witch erase your friend’s memory is that she might erase more than you want her to. It isn’t something I’d have ever agreed to if I thought there was another choice, but the other option was a one way trip to the morgue for both Emmett and his girlfriend.
“She dumped me, man.” I caught the rebound and took another shot.
“Oh? Really?” His blank stare backed up my discovery that every memory he had involving Allie was now a little mixed up. I felt guilty about messing with his memories and holding him and Jess hostage, but in the end, things worked out for the two of them. Besides, it was either kidnap them or let my grandfather destroy the girl I loved. I couldn’t sit back and allow that no matter how much I hated treating my friends that way.
“Yes, really. She dumped me, and now she’s engaged. I’m allowed to be pissed.” I tossed the ball to Emmett.
“Pissed. Sure. But not pathetic. Come over. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just because you’re getting ready to propose doesn’t mean the rest of the world wants that bull shit.” Falling in love once was bad enough. I had no intention of doing it again.
“Will you come or not?” He went for a shot but missed the basket.
“I’ll come.” I caught the rebound and easily tossed it through the net again.
“Cool. You need the address?”
I smiled to myself. I knew the address since I was the one who found the apartment for them. Neither of them seemed to think it was odd that they were paying a fraction of the price they should have to live in that kind of place. Messing with people’s memories seems to be fraught with side effects. “I’ve got the address.” I may have kidnapped them for a little while, but I was paying them back in the only way I could—with money.
“Awesome. Jess is inviting a bunch of her friends from school. Maybe one will catch your eye.”
“Doubtful.” If I was looking for a girlfriend, it wouldn’t be a college girl. One of the benefits of dropping out of Princeton was avoiding that crowd. Agreeing to the party aside, it wasn’t my scene anymore. I’d never pictured myself the drop out type, but I couldn’t live in Princeton and work my job in New York. Something had to give.
I sensed my cousins before I saw them. I’d always had stronger senses than other people. Even before I really understood what I was, I knew where the trait came from. My mom’s family.
“What do you two want?” I took another shot without turning around. I could have whispered and they would have still heard me.
“We’ve got a problem.” Tim sat down on the bottom bleacher. He was the older of the two and the more talkative. Tom never said much. I’d kind of inherited the henchman when I took over for my grandfather, but they came in handy—sometimes.
I let Emmett grab the rebound, and I joined them by the bleachers. “What’s the problem?” I knew it had something to do with the attacks, but I didn’t know what.
“The count is up.”
“Fantastic. Same signs?” I spoke as vaguely as possible. Emmett’s mind may have been toyed with, but that didn’t mean he was completely dumb.
“Yeah. We can’t keep ignoring this.”
He was right, whether I wanted to admit it or not. “Give me ten. I need to shower.”
“No prob, boss.” Tom and Tim stood up at the same time and headed to the exit. “Meet you at the office.”
“Is everything okay, man?” Emmett set aside an empty bottle of water he’d gulped down in less than a minute.
“Yeah. It’s just work stuff.”
“They work you to the bone.”
“They pay well.” The excuse sounded believable to my own ears.
He dribbled the ball. “That’s something. So we’ll see you tonight?”
“I’ll be there.” I nodded before heading into the locker room. Surprise, surprise, it was time to go back to work.
***
At least my office had a good view. That’s what I told myself when I dragged my ass into work every day. That way I could pretend I was just like every other sucker out there, going to work just so I could pay the bills. But that wasn’t me. I didn’t have a normal job, and I had enough money to pay my bills for the rest of my life. I’d inherited my grandfather’s position and taken on a new one for the king, otherwise known as the guy who stole my girlfriend. Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled with the situation, but it wasn’t the kind of offer you turned down. Besides, my nature wouldn’t let me. The drive for power was in my blood.
“So what’s the update?” I took a seat at my giant mahogany desk. It was way too big and old fashioned for my taste, but updating my office wasn’t a priority. I still hadn’t even gone back to Princeton to pack up my dorm room. There wasn’t anything I wanted from it. The only personal mementos I had there were pictures of Allie and my mom. I didn’t particularly want either.
“They’re moving outside the city.” Tim paced the room. “We’re not going to be able to hide them anymore.”
“And we’re sure it’s shifters? There’s no other explanation?” I knew the answer, but my life would have been much easier if it had been a different one.
“Yes. You know it as much as I do.” He leaned one hand on a bookcase. His brown hair appeared almost red in the late day sun that was spilling in through the window.
“How big is this? Is it just one wolf pack or several?”
Tim paused for a beat. “It’s also bears.”
“Bears?” I asked with genuine surprise.
“Yeah. It’s got to be them. That’s the only explanation for what happened at Forest Hills.”