by Diana Seere
The offices seemed to be empty. She relaxed slightly, glad to have a few moments to compose herself before seeing Eva. She sat down at her desk and logged on to her computer.
She stared at the screen and tried to remember what she’d been working on before the trip to Montana. A new DJ for Saturday nights in the lounge. Telling the facilities crew about a flickering light fixture behind the bar. Deciding on a new hand soap fragrance for the women’s bathrooms.
Rolling her eyes, she leaned back in her chair and turned to the window, imagining Edward grinning at her in bed, a sheet draped over his thighs just a little too low to cover the good parts.
“Good morning,” Eva said. “I wasn’t sure you’d be able to drag yourself away from, ah, bed.”
Feeling her face warm, Molly grabbed the keyboard. She’d intended on groveling and trying to explain where she’d been, but now it was obvious that Eva had figured it all out on her own. She might as well just get back to work. “I was researching a new hand soap fragrance for the women’s restrooms. How do you feel about lemon verbena?”
Eva strode over and placed a fingertip on the edge of Molly’s desk. Her nails were painted a rosy beige, only slightly darker than her skin. “Why would you think lemon verbena would be a good choice?”
Molly looked up into Eva’s serious face. The woman had a way of making Molly question her own name. “I don’t. I hate lemon verbena. Obviously.” She did a quick search on her computer for soap fragrances. “But lavender is too old-fashioned for the Plat, don’t you think?”
“Lavender is a classic scent,” Eva said.
“And so, so perfect for the Plat,” Molly agreed quickly, turning back to her computer to buy a few billion gallons.
Eva placed another hand on the desk. Her perfectly manicured fingertips showed no signs of having worked a day in her life. Was she actually rich like Edward, only pretending to need money like a normal person to pass her days?
“Molly.”
“I’ll have it sent overnight.”
“We should talk,” Eva said.
The discussion with Edward about keeping her job had been for nothing. Eva was about to fire her anyway.
“I didn’t know that my blood could be used to hurt people,” Molly said. “Especially shifters.” Now that she’d been with Edward, she couldn’t think of shifters as being something other than people. They were people with other facets to them, that’s all. Furry facets.
“This isn’t about that.” A shadow over Eva’s shoulder shimmered into view. Because Eva wore her usual navy suit, Molly hadn’t seen the dark cat silhouette at first. But it was there, slender and sleek, its amber eyes a perfect match with the gold earrings hanging from Eva’s ears.
“I was going to continue working on the data analysis I started in Montana, but I couldn’t find the laptop.”
“That’s all right,” Eva said. “You got the project started. We’ll take it from here.”
“Is it because I got romantically involved with a Stanton?” Molly asked. “I thought it would be all right because he’s not a member of the club.”
“Is what because you’re involved with a Stanton? Assuming you still are, that is.” Eva’s mouth wasn’t smiling, but something warm touched her eyes.
“I am. Very much so,” Molly said. “I thought you were firing me.”
“The only person wanting to terminate your employment here,” Eva said, “is you.”
“Me? Why would I want to do that?”
Eva’s left eyebrow arched.
“Just because I’m dating a well-off guy doesn’t mean I’m going to quit my job and assume he’ll support me for the rest of my life.”
“You understate matters,” Eva said. “You are more than dating, and he is more than well-off.”
“His brothers might be.”
“Every Stanton is richer than you can imagine. Each one of them leveraged his or her generous inheritance into colossal fortunes.”
Molly frowned. “He told me he had a trust fund. But he still has a job as a forest firefighter.”
“He’s a seasonal volunteer firefighter who spends the rest of the year nurturing his portfolio of stock, bond, and real estate investments.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Molly said. “And besides, how could you know so much about his private life? He never comes to Boston.”
“Edward told us at the Gathering that you can see us. You can see me now. Truly see me.” Eva leaned back slightly. “You know why.”
Molly’s gaze darted over to the shining black cat over Eva’s shoulder. “Shifters know everything about each other?”
“Gavin is proud of his baby brother’s success and has mentioned it to me. Edward may like to keep his achievements to himself, but his siblings are proud of one another.” Eva snorted. “As a Nagy, I find their pride to be more than a little annoying, but I’ve done well enough for myself to be forgiving. I don’t envy them.”
“Unlike your cousins.”
Eva braced both palms on the desk and leaned closer. “Yes, quite unlike. Now that you’re One with Edward, this poisonous envy extends to you.”
“One with…” Molly felt herself heat all over, her heart pounding.
“Yes. He made that obvious at the Gathering. Obvious to everyone. Molly, I don’t think you appreciate the danger you’re in.”
“Of course I do! I haven’t even been home in days because some thief is out for my blood. Literally!”
“I’m beginning to suspect this isn’t only about your blood.” Eva looked away, her face twisting with uncertainty. “I’m afraid there might be something worse about this than simple greed for Gavin’s serum.”
“What do you mean? What could be worse than that?” Molly stroked her arms, fighting a rising panic. “I’m filled with a substance that bad people want but that I kind of like totally need to survive. Do you know how creepy that is? How terrifying?”
Eva reached forward and placed her hand over hers. “Of course. Forgive me. I don’t mean to add to your anxiety. I should keep my mouth shut.” She rose and walked over to the window, staring out on the dark-gray morning. A wet snow was falling, the kind that would thaw and freeze, make the roads dangerous, and guarantee everyone in Boston had a miserable commute that night.
Molly’s thoughts turned to Montana, and she smiled. The open space, the mountains, the fresh air, the clean, powdery snow, the famous big sky. It would be nice to spend more time there. Lots of time. Perhaps even most of the time. But what would she do? She couldn’t just sit around all day.
“As I told Edward,” Molly said, “I like working. I like having a job. I need being around people and making them happy. I’m sorry, Eva, but if you want to get rid of me, you’ll have to fire me.”
Laughing, Eva turned away from the window. “Oh, Molly. I don’t want to get rid of you. I quite like having you around.”
“Then that’s settled.” Molly turned back to her computer and completed the order for the lavender hand soap.
“I was trying to make it easy for you to resign,” Eva said, “but you’re not letting me.”
“Nope. I’d miss you too much. And Carl. You’re my family.”
Eva’s eyes looked suspiciously misty. “Speaking of Carl, he was complaining about that light behind the bar again. Perhaps you could go see him and resolve his problem?”
Molly jumped up. “My pleasure.” She was stepping out the door when Eva called out.
“Molly, one more thing.”
“Yes?”
The cat over Eva’s shoulder seemed to darken and solidify, no longer in shadow. “Be careful. Don’t trust anyone until we’ve figured out who’s behind the theft. Not the members, not the staff.”
“Not even you?” Molly joked.
The cat’s eyes gleamed. “Not even me.”
After dropping Molly off at the little boutique on the eleventh floor of the building so she could retrieve something suitable to wear, Edward had walked to the private lift t
hat took him down to the Novo Club, bracing himself. The press of his palm against the understated wall panel was a bit stronger than it needed to be.
She would be safe, Gavin had assured him in their flurry of texts this morning. The building was heavily guarded.
Trusting his brother, Edward had relinquished her to her work, amused by the pleasure her little room filled with clothes seemed to bring to Molly. Fighting his growing anxiety, he descended down into the subterranean club with a steely determination.
He’d found love again.
He absolutely would not let it be lost.
Whatever plans the shifter world had for this dangerous time, he knew his own focus was quite simple:
Protect Molly at all costs.
The lift doors opened into emptiness, the dark stone and gleaming wood ethereal and silent. The meetings must be taking place in back rooms.
“Sir? This way.” Morgan’s sudden appearance should have made him jolt, but he’d anticipated it, stroking his beard, smoothing it, the gesture soothing. He’d dressed in casual clothing that Manny had procured for him, khakis and a business shirt, no tie.
This was his version of formal in Montana. It would have to do here in Boston.
As Morgan pushed open a thick oak door and nodded, he walked past the servant into an astonishingly large room, with arched ceilings that rose up twenty feet or more. All of the shifters were at a series of modern tables strung together, sitting in thick leather dining chairs.
“How kind of you to join us,” Tomas said, looking over his shoulder. “All alone?” His voice turned nasty, jaunty.
Edward ignored him and took an empty seat between Derry and Gavin. Derry took two long sniffs and just grinned to himself.
“How long have these meetings been going on?” Edward asked Gavin, who answered without looking at him.
“Yesterday it was Asher, Miklos, Tomas, Gregor, and me. Derry and Sophia chose to bow out but returned today.”
“Any resolution?”
His mouth tightened. “No.”
“And this morning?”
Gavin jutted his chin toward platters of pastries and coffee. “We’re just settling in.”
“Good.” Molly had insisted on cooking omelets at Gavin and Lilah’s place. The memory made him smile.
“We know the facts,” Old Jensen said dismissively, his large hand like a catcher’s mitt in midair. “But now we need strategy.”
“Where is Eva?” Florence asked, leaning forward and peering around the table.
“Running the club. Someone has to do the dirty work,” Nero Rosini joked.
Only the Rosinis laughed.
Gavin leaned over and whispered in Edward’s ear, “She’s worried. Thinks this might be an inside job.”
“Who is worried?”
“Eva. She’s working on data mining upstairs right now.”
Upstairs. Edward’s throat went dry. “With Molly?”
“They’re fine, Edward. We’ve got the Plat and the Novo covered with tight security.”
Tomas Nagy glared across the table, eyes bouncing between Gavin and Edward, never looking at Asher. Edward knew Tomas hated Gavin—for obvious reasons—and the past history with Vivien accounted for his anger toward Edward. But the look on his face was new, as angrily raw as the scratches on his nose from the fighting back at the ranch.
Shrouded fury rippled from him, a mix of emotions and vibrations that felt toxic to Edward, as if being in proximity to the man could make him physically ill.
Texting quickly, Tomas took one more look around the room, his face a mask suddenly, wiped clean of emotion. He stood and left the room without an explanation, without a single word.
Edward could breathe again.
And yet…
“Our software systems were compromised,” Gavin declared, suddenly standing and capturing everyone’s attention. “On the day the serum was stolen.”
“Compromised?” Asher asked.
“Hacked.”
“We know this,” Asher replied with impatience.
“The actual security system itself, Asher. Not just the research data.”
“That’s how they were able to get into the lab and steal the serum?” Asher clarified.
“Yes. We’ve patched the weakness in the system, so it can’t happen again.”
“But a sophisticated hacker could find a new way,” Edward interrupted. All eyes were on him.
“Yes,” Gavin grudgingly admitted.
“The lab worker who was injured,” Sophia said, speaking loudly. “Do we know more about him? He is the only human ever to take the serum, correct?” She addressed Gavin.
“Yes, he is. Sadly. We were at the animal trials point when he poked himself with the serum, the needle barely piercing the skin. He shifted, then”—Gavin sighed—“then, for want of a better word, unshifted. It happened rapidly and in a manner never observed before in the shifter world.”
Sophia’s eyes filled with alarm. “And now?”
“We have him in an isolated medical facility with twenty-four-hour care. He is recovering, though the process is slow.” Gavin’s brow tightened with a look of grief that made the room go quiet.
“Can we learn from this tragedy?” Asher asked, breaking the somber mood. “Is there data that could be helpful in going forward?”
“I—I don’t know.” Gavin stumbled with his response.
“I would think,” Sophia replied, “that any scientist who goes through such a horrible ordeal would want some good to come of it. Have you asked him?”
“He cannot speak.” Gavin’s response felt like a knife through Edward’s gut.
The combination of Molly’s blood, biotech research spanning years, Gavin’s singular goal, and someone with an evil streak had brought them to this point.
“But someday…” Sophia prodded.
“As he recovers, we will debrief him. And yes, we have drawn his blood. Dr. Sam is studying it. He signed a blanket legal release form when he began his employment here. He has no family.”
“You lied to him the way you lied to Molly,” Edward blurted out.
“We’re making the best of a horrid situation and trying to save lives,” Gavin snapped, glaring at Edward. “You are not the only person in this room with someone you love at risk.”
At risk.
Asher paled. “You trust Dr. Sam?” he asked Gavin. All eyes were on the target, who remained steadfast.
“With my life.” Gavin wasn’t backing down.
Asher winced. “I truly hope you do not need to test that statement, Gavin.”
“She has done more for the shifter world than any other human.”
“Only because you ordered her to do so.”
“Stop,” Edward said, his voice low. “You’re both being childish.”
Two Rosinis began whispering furiously with each other. Miklos Nagy gave Edward a silent nod of agreement.
“We can argue until we’re blue in the face about blame. That is nothing but a distraction.” As Edward continued, the door cracked open slightly, Florence appearing, sitting in a seat next to Miklos. “How are we to proceed? Our goal, I assume, is to get the serum back.”
“Too late,” Asher declared.
“Then we need to develop a stronger drug. Or an antidote. The only way to fight back is to be better.” Edward’s words were aimed at Asher, who had repeated that phrase throughout so much of Edward’s life.
Derry’s eyes narrowed. “Fight fire with fire?”
“Fight fire with firebombs,” Edward corrected.
“I already have Dr. Sam working on a version of what you’re describing, Edward.”
Asher cocked an eyebrow at Gavin and slowly took in a breath, ready for an argument.
“In fact, she had a team working on that product long before the serum was stolen. It’s just good science to make certain you can undo the effects of a powerful biological agent.”
“I believe you mean ‘weapon,’” Miklos sai
d softly, with a tone of dread.
“I did not misspeak.” Gavin’s words echoed in Edward’s ears as the tension in the room increased.
“Then the only action we can take is to find the thief,” Edward mused, stroking his beard. Gavin’s comment about Eva made him wonder.
And worry.
For Molly was upstairs right now, working with her.
“Data mining is slow, and the hackers who shut down our systems are sophisticated. But in time, we will find them,” Gavin explained.
“Do we have time?” Asher asked pointedly.
The subway shuddered past, but Edward was prepared for the change in vibration and fortified himself against the assault on his senses. Molly was upstairs, safe. The lifeline between them—whether you called it the Beat or something else—hummed like a high-tension electrical wire, connected and fully distributing the current where it needed to be.
Morgan interrupted the meeting with a fresh pot of coffee and a new tray of pastries. To Edward’s surprise, the trays that had been overflowing with food when he came in were now picked bare.
Or, perhaps, bear. Derry and Sophia had legendary appetites, after all.
Absentmindedly, he plucked a cherry Danish from the offered plate and began chewing, careful to keep crumbs out of his beard. Gavin’s phone buzzed, and he stood, then walked out of the room, whispering intensely about chemical brokers. The mood lifted slightly as the shifters refilled coffee cups, poured orange juice, plucked new treats from the trays, and settled into their own thoughts.
And then quite suddenly he jolted as if stung.
The hum changed, his nerves screaming.
When he looked across the table, he found Asher staring at him with a look of pure horror.
Chapter 25
In the Platinum Club, Molly watched Carl behind the bar for a few moments, glad it was Tuesday. Any other day of the week, her bartender friend came in late with the other waitstaff to serve the night crowd, but today, after his day off, he worked the early shift.
Carl had been working at the club for years before she had, and had showed her around on her first day, making her laugh when a bitchy waitress treated her badly, fixing her the best cocktails at the end of a long day. Sometimes, if necessary, at the start of one. He had a special gift for knowing what a person needed. Whatever Eva paid him, it wasn’t enough.
