Later that night, Lara waited for Seth to arrive at her home. He was supposed to be here at seven and she’d just barely made it home. She was too damn tired to change. She kicked off her shoes and sipped a glass of red wine. She’d worked straight through lunch, trying to prove her worth to Mr. Hartley. She should have cancelled the meeting with Seth, so she could work long into the night, but she’d promised.

A promise was a promise.

Someone buzzed the doorbell. She put her glass of wine down on the coffee table and got up.

She opened to Seth who held a large manila folder. “Hi, Lara.”

“Hey, Seth. Come on in.”

He followed her inside. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you looking into Seth’s case.”

“Sure.” She yawned. “Would you like a glass of wine or beer?”

“A beer would be great. Have you eaten?”

“No, I didn’t have time.”

He smiled mischievously. “Cora suspected that. She’s bringing over dinner.” He glanced at his watch. “She should be here in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, let’s look at your brother’s file.” She motioned toward her antique kitchen table. “Go ahead and set it there while I get you your beer.”

Seth sat at the table and opened the file. “I have the court transcripts and police reports. Griff gave me a list of witnesses who were present.”

Lara read Griff’s interview first. “Looks like he saved two kids and a dog.”

“Yes, he did. But it was never presented in court. His damn attorney didn’t bring it up.” His bitterness brought her out of her weariness. There was more to this then she thought.

“Why not?”

“Shit, if I know.”

Someone rang the doorbell.

He grinned. “Dinner’s arrived. By the way, Cora brought a friend.”

Lara groaned inside. Entertaining someone wasn’t on her agenda, but she hid it with a friendly smile. “Great.”

She opened the door and gasped. Adrenaline whipped through her, waking her up. An older woman with dark hair and a white streak down the middle held a pie. It wasn’t just anyone. It was Gerri freaking Wilder.

Cora held a large bag and raised it up. “I brought Italian from Amici’s. Your favorite Italian restaurant.” She tilted her head. “I also brought Gerri Wilder.”

Gerri lifted her pie. “I made a cherry pie. I hope you don’t mind me coming over.”

Her stomach growled for joy, but her nerves were on edge. Gerri freaking Wilder was here. For such a powerhouse, she was shorter than Lara expected, but then again, dynamite came in little packages.

Lara found her voice. “No, not at all. Please, come on.” Shit, what if Mr. Hartley found out that Gerri was here? She could kiss her job, her promotion all goodbye. This day was snowballing into a disaster.

“Thank you.” Gerri slipped past her. “Hello, Seth.”

“Gerri.” He lifted his beer. “Would you like a glass of wine?”

“That would be lovely.” Gerri placed the pie on the kitchen counter. “Is that Griff’s file?”

Cora leaned close to Lara. “Don’t look like that. You know you’ve been dying to meet Gerri.”

Lara shut the door, refusing to argue. Her gut balled up in to a tangled pretzel. That had been true, but her livelihood was at stake.

Without word, she headed to the cupboard. “I’ll get us some plates and silverware.”

Gerri set at the table and flipped through the file. “Cora says you work for Buckley and Hartley.” Something in her voice upped the uneasiness in her gut.

“Yes, I do.” She frowned. “Why?”

“What do you think of Mr. Hartley’s policies regarding shifters?”

“I don’t agree with it, but––”

“But what?” She took a sip of her wine, her gold eyes glowing.

Lara stiffened. “I am up to being a partner and––”

“You don’t know much about Mr. Richard James Hartley, do you?”

“Gerri.” Seth glanced nervously between them. “I don’t––”

“Hush.” The one word was soft but echoed like a howling wolf.

Lara’s heart beat wild. Gerri wasn’t someone she wanted to make mad. “I don’t know anything about his personal life, if that’s what you mean.” She put the plates on the table.

Gerri closed the file. “He’s head of PASS.”

Lara lifted her eyebrow. “Pass?”

“PASS stands for Pureblood's Are Superior Sovereigns.” Gerri helped Cora bring out the takeout of spaghetti, meatballs, sausage, garlic bread, and salad.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Lara mumbled.

“It’s not.” Cora refilled Lara’s wine glass.

Gerri scooted Griff’s file toward Lara. “PASS’s goal is to wipe out, or rule, all the shifters.”

Lara frowned, thinking of Mr. Hartley’s many rules. Was it possible? “Are you sure?”

Gerri nodded. “I’m sure.” She took another sip of her wine. “Graystone Manor was an apartment home of shifters. Many of my friends lived in that apartment building.” Her voice drifted off.

Lara forgot about the food and moved the file away from the aromatic Italian food. “Are you saying that as head of PASS, Mr. Hartley had the apartment building deliberately torched?”

“Yes, I am. There have been other places, homes, condominiums, warehouses…all owned by shifters. In one of the condominiums…” Gerri’s voice choked and tears glistened in her eyes. “…an entire family of wolves were burned alive.”

“How horrible.” Cora looked at Lara accusingly, as if wondering how could she work for a monster.

Lara flipped through the reports. “I don’t see anything mentioning an organization called PASS.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” Gerri twirled her glass. “Jason Hartley knows how to cover evidence, how to do payoffs. He has friends in top places.” She gave Lara a hard stare. “By the way, I was at the apartment complex when it burned.”

Lara looked up from the reports. “You were?”

Gerri wiped tears off her face. “Yes. I was visiting my friend, Sandy Mason. I saw Griff save those two precious little girls with no thought of his safety. He was a hero.”

“I’m sorry. Did you see anything else?”

Gerri sighed and shook her head. “No. I can’t say I did. I didn’t see who started the fire. I wished I had.”

“Do you remember anything unusual about that night? Even the smallest thing could make a difference for Griff.”

Gerri scrubbed her face. “No…nothing. I’ve tried to think of anything, anything to help Griff, but I can’t. The police interviewed me, but I wasn’t very helpful.”

Lara frowned. “Did Griff’s attorney?”

“No. I tried to contact him, but he never returned my calls.”

Lara leaned back in her chair and sipped her wine. “That’s surprising.”

Seth finished his beer and slammed it on the table. “I told you he was a douchebag.”

Cora began dishing up everyone’s plate. “If we don’t eat, everything will get cold.”

“How can we eat with knowing that my brother was framed?”

Cora flashed Seth daggers. “Because you’re not going to get drunk on beer, Mr. Seth Reese.” Her cutting voice silenced her mate and he immediately put back the beer he’d taken out of the refrigerator.

The four of them ate the spaghetti, which was more of a fettuccini with its thick noodles. Gerri, Cora, and Seth made small talk about the latest fixer-uppers Gerri had just completed, while Lara cruised the file. She couldn’t believe Griff was convicted on this. There were too many holes and inconsistent evidence. Chills skidded down her back. Griff Reese had been framed. It would take a lot of influence to pull this off. Was Gerri right? Was Mr. Hartley the ring leader in locking Griff away? But why? Why Griff?

Lara looked up from the file. “Gerri. Sorry to interrupt…”

Seth’s eyes shone with excitement. “Did you find something we missed?”

Lara shrugged. “I don’t know.”

His shoulders slumped. She hated dashing his hopes.

“But I’d like to try something. Gerri, are you game?”

Gerri put her fork down on her plate. “Sure.”

“I want you to close your eyes––”

She blinked. “Excuse me?” Her disbelieving voice sent Lara’s heart thumping faster.

“Please. I know it’s been four years, but sometimes people remember things better when they close their eyes…” Lara’s face heated and she returned to the report.

“All right, Lara.” Gerri smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

She definitely didn’t trust her.

Gerri closed her eyes.

“Now, think about that night.” Lara lowered her voice. “It was at night. You were visiting a friend. The fire hadn’t started yet. What were you doing?”

“Sandy and I were drinking a glass of wine. And talking.”

“What were you talking about?”

“I don’t know. We were talking about what we’d done that day. The latest couple I’d fixed up…Then…” Gerri frowned and her eyes flew open.

Seth frowned. “Then, what Gerri?”

“I remembered something, but I didn’t think anything of it. The apartment next to Sandy was empty, but we heard sounds in there…At first we thought it was raccoons or rats. But I don’t think it was. I think something large was scrapping across the floor. I also thought I heard voices.”

“Are you sure?” Lara tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. Otherwise, it would taint the witness.

“I’m a shifter.” Gerri pointed to her ear. “Excellent hearing.”

Lara still wasn’t convinced. “Maybe someone new was moving in.”

Gerri shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Sandy said she’d talked to the landlord and no one was supposed to move in until the following week.”

Cora started picking up the empty dishes. “What was the number of the apartment?”

There were no leftovers. Not a piece of spaghetti. Not a meatball or a link of sausage. She’d forgotten how hungry shifters could be.

Gerri rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know.”

Lara flipped through the file for anyone named Sandy. “What about Sandy’s apartment number?”

“It was two twenty-one, or was it two-fifty?” She gritted her teeth. “Damn it, I can’t remember.”

Lara looked up. “Can you call Sandy and ask her?”

Gerri gave her a distant stare. “No, she died in a car accident shortly after the fire.”

“I’m sorry.” Lara softened her voice, but something was fishy here. Was Sandy getting killed in a car accident a coincidence or was she reading more into this then there really was?

Seth drummed his fingers on the table. “I know someone who would know.”

Cora’s brows wrinkled. “Who?”

Lara closed the file. “Griff Reese. I need to interview him before the parole hearing.”

Seth hung his head. “He’s stubborn. Not exactly the trusting type.”

Lara lifted her head. “Well, he’d better listen to me, because I’m probably the only one who can get him out of there.”

Gerri cast a slow smile across her face then winked at Cora who hid a smirk.

Something exchanged between them. Something secret. Something about Lara.

She squirmed in her seat, but she was too damn tired to find out, and her thoughts were jumbled––trying to sort out how her boss could possibly be linked to Griff Reese, a convicted arsonist.