Rook shuts the door to the office about the same time as Alpha Toth says, “Please have a seat.”
He waves to a set of wingback chairs in front of his desk and moves to sit back down in his own chair. Rook encourages me to sit in one of the guest chairs and takes the other. There’s a grave tension in the air. “I’m sorry,” I say, my heart kicking up with anxiety. “What’s this about? Was I not supposed to come here? Wulf said it would be all right.”
Rook chuckles. “You’re not in trouble, Nora.”
Alpha Toth is still wearing a grim face, so I’m skeptical of Rook’s reassurances. Not that I don’t want to believe I’m safe with Wulf’s brother—he obviously thought I would be, or he wouldn’t have let me go off with him—but my track record with underworlders isn’t the best.
“I’m not being kidnapped, am I?” I ask. “Or being forced into a mate bonding of some kind?”
Both men’s jaws fall open when they realize I’m serious.
“Of course not,” Alpha Toth sputters. “Why on earth would you assume something like that?”
“Um, because that’s usually what happens when I find myself unexpectedly alone with strange underworlders.”
Neither man has a response to that.
“Well…” Alpha Toth continues to gape at me, openmouthed like a fish, unsure how to proceed. He clears his throat and shakes off his shock. “I assure you, you are safe here on my lands. We mean you no harm. In fact…”
He shoots Rook an unsure look and grimaces when Rook nods. “Miss Jacobs,” Alpha Toth begins, “the pack needs your help.”
That is so not what I’m expecting that I sit back, blinking at both men. “I’m sorry, what?”
Toth and Rook exchange another glance. The alpha rakes a hand through his hair and then meets my eyes with a grim look of determination. “One of my wolves, Maya Forsythe, was one of the underworlders you rescued last month.”
I nod, remembering the name, and can’t help my smile. “That’s right. Maya said she was part of the Huron River pack.”
“My third in command, actually.”
My eyebrows hit the ceiling. I knew wolves weren’t a sexist lot—their hierarchy is purely based on dominance—but I hadn’t realized Maya was such a strong wolf. Though, she’d been weak at the time from all the magic and silver used to keep her subdued. “Awesome. I like her. Tell her hello for me.”
My comment breaks the tension, and Alpha Toth chuckles. “I’m sure she’ll find you before you leave here today. She’s been wanting to thank you personally.”
I nod. “I’ll make sure I find her, then, but…what does she have to do with me now?” Maybe it’s rude to cut straight to the chase, but I can’t help it. I hate not knowing what’s going on.
Alpha Toth sighs. “She told me about you. She mentioned you were an extraordinary human, though she didn’t know exactly how you’re different. But she knows you have strong power and unique gifts. I’m hoping…that since you used those gifts to find Maya and the others, you might be able to use those gifts to help me with a different problem as well.”
I sit up in my chair. “Are you missing more pack members?”
“Money, actually.” He grimaces. “Someone in my pack is ripping me off.”
The anger in his expression tells me this isn’t about the actual missing money. He’s glaring when he looks at me again, but he’s not glaring at me. He’s just pissed. Supremely pissed. “Miss Jacobs, if this is something you can help with, I’d like to hire you to find the wolf or wolves who would dare betray their pack.”
I’m stunned. I can’t believe he’s asking for my help. I know I’ve garnered a bit of a reputation in the underworld, but I had no idea it was as some kind of supernatural detective. “Mr. Toth—Alpha Toth…I don’t know what to say.”
“What are these powers you have? Is this something you could help me with?”
I think about it. I’d have to mentally vet the pack members somehow, which would be difficult without admitting what I can do, but not impossible. And I might be able to pick up imprints if they have some kind of accounting office.
I don’t necessarily want to get involved in pack business—that could be hazardous to my health. But it felt good last time to be able to use my gifts to help people. And Maya and Wulf, and even Rook, all seem like very good people. Wulf is a great boss, he’s loyal to Terrance, and he offered to help me, even though he hates coming home. Of course I’d want to help his pack.
“I might be able to help,” I finally say. “But it’s not a guarantee.”
“What are your gifts?” Alpha Toth asks, leaning forward in his chair. His eyes are hopeful. “What powers do you have? How can you help?”
I cringe. “I like to keep my gifts to myself as much as possible. I’d become a target if people knew what I can do, but just know that they’re a sort of psychic-based set of gifts. It’s not an exact science, but it can be helpful. If we could handle this very discreetly, I wouldn’t mind doing what I can for you. I’m talking it-can’t-leave-this-room, secret. I’m not exactly Supergirl. If your pack were to find out I was investigating them, and getting all up in their business, well, that could get ugly very quickly.”
Rook and Alpha Toth share another grim look. “Agreed, Miss Jacobs. It won’t leave this room. You have my word.”
I’m surprised he agreed to that one so quickly. Reading the suspicion on my face, Alpha Toth grimaces again. “We’d prefer discretion as well. Having a traitor in our pack is a dangerous thing. It’ll be seen as a huge weakness. Not only would that cause trouble within our own ranks that could lead to mutiny, but it would catch the attention of neighboring packs as well. Unfortunately, a hostile takeover isn’t outside the realm of possibility for something like this.”
Damn. And I thought I had problems. No wonder he was reluctant to ask for my help. He’s putting a shitload of trust in me right now. I can’t leave him hanging. “Okay. I’m in, then. I’ll do everything I can to help.”
“As far as compensation, you can have the money you recover, and if you don’t find—”
I hold up a hand. “I don’t need compensation. I don’t want to be paid for helping out a friend. I’d feel skeezy.”
Alpha Toth sits up in his chair and arches a single brow. It’s the first truly alpha-looking move I’ve seen him make. “I didn’t realize you considered us friends.”
My lips twitch, but I fight my smile. “I don’t. But Wulf is my friend, and you’re his pack.”
Surprise lights up Alpha Toth’s face, and Rook grins a huge, knowing smile that makes me groan. “Stop, dude. Stop right there. Wulf helped me get free from Henry a month ago when the vampire asshole tried to keep me as a pet. He’s also giving me self-defense lessons. I owe him. I told you there’s nothing romantic going on between us.”
Rook’s smile grows even more annoying. “So you say.”
“Ugh. I do say. You do realize that this guy right here”—I point to Alpha Toth—“and Wulf were watching you teach me those moves in the gym earlier with that same shit-eating grin, right? And that Wulf only let you take me on a tour because he thinks you’re interested in me, and he was letting you make your move?”
Rook’s smile drops into a frown as he thinks back on what I’m saying. When he realizes I’m right, he looks to his alpha to confirm it. The man gives him a sheepish shrug that makes Rook curse. “Aw, man. I really thought there was a chance. I mean, he brought you home.”
I laugh. “Yeah, he really didn’t want to do that. But, look, I swear, stop planning my wedding to your brother.”
“Mating ceremony,” Alpha Toth corrects with a smile.
I roll my eyes. “Mating ceremony, then. Whatever. It’s not happening. I don’t date. Sorry.” I think about the task I need to do and add, “I do need to snoop a little, though, so I will still take you up on that tour of the compound, especially if you have, like, a specific financial office where someone is most likely to steal the money from you.”
“We have an accounting office,” Rook offers while Alpha Toth cringes again. “I’m sorry, Miss Jacobs, that’s confidential pack informa—”
“Alpha Toth. Dude. I don’t want to learn your financial situation. I don’t even care what it is. Obviously, your pack isn’t strapped for cash. But I do my thing by touching stuff. If you want me to help, you’ll have to give me some trust.”
Alpha Toth turns his frown to Rook. “Did…she just…call me…dude?”
Rook’s lips twitch as he says, “I think so, sir.”
“Sorry. Alpha Toth, sir, whatever. Can I poke around in the accounting office or not? You can both come with me if you need to.”
Alpha Toth blinks at me several times before making the decision to trust me. “Very well, let’s take a field trip.”
Our field trip ends two doors down and across the hall at a room aptly labeled accounting. Alpha Toth raises his hand to knock, but I stop him. He pauses, watching with curiosity. “Before we barge in and make your accountant suspicious, when’s the last time someone took money?”
“There was another payment moved last night.”
“Oh, perfect.” I grin at their curious looks and grab the handle of the door.
My guess is that if someone was sneaking into this office to steal from the pack, they’d be pretty worked up while breaking in. I might be able to pick up an imprint off the handle. “Catch me if I fall,” I whisper as I’m sucked into a vision.
The only lights on in the building are the nighttime emergency lights. It’s hard to see much, but a tall, muscular man with brown hair and shifty brown eyes glances both directions down the hallway as he pushes a key into the lock on this door. When the lock turns, he wipes sweat from his brow and holds his breath as he slips into the office, immediately relocking the door behind him.
“Whoa.” I sway on my feet as I come out of the vision, and immediately Rook’s arms are around me, holding me steady.
“You okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine. Nasty side effect. It’ll get a little worse the more I use my gift, but it’s worth it.” I pull myself out of his grip and lower my voice just in case there’s a wolf with exceptionally good hearing on the other side of that door. “What does your accountant look like?”
Alpha Toth’s eyebrows raise, but he answers the question. “Short blonde woman.”
“Voluptuous curves,” Rook adds, earning a look from his alpha. He lifts his shoulders. “What? It’s hard not to notice a shape like that.”
I laugh to myself and stay on task. “Okay, not her, then. I don’t know if it was last night,” I say, so low both men have to lean in close, “but it was dark, and I never pick up clues more than two or three days in the past. Ever. So…sometime in the last couple nights, a man snuck into this office. It was dark. Everyone was gone. Place was empty. He had a key, but this guy was really nervous. Sweating, twitching, shifty eyes…the whole bit.”
“What did he look like?” Alpha Toth demanded, getting angry.
I place a finger to my lips, reminding him to be quiet. I look over my shoulder to make sure no one is coming down the hall, and both men seem to remember we’re currently sneaking. “He was tallish, had a bit of muscle. Kind of cute. Brown hair, brown eyes.”
Rook sighs. “Well, you just described half the pack.”
I shrug. “I could point him out on sight.” Both men perk up again. “But first, I need to get into that office. We don’t know what our guy was doing in there. We don’t know if he’s the man you’re looking for.”
I wait for Alpha Toth and Rook to make a decision. I’m not sure what they’re debating, until Rook says, “I could pull the fire alarm.”
“No, I think we can be more subtle,” Alpha Toth says, staring at the door. “I have something I could discuss with her. I’ll call her into my office.” He looks at me. “Will ten minutes be enough?”
I shrug. “It should, but I can’t be certain once I get sucked in how long it’ll take to come out again.”
“We’ll come knock on your door when we’re done,” Rook says to Alpha Toth. “Stall, if you need to.”
Alpha Toth nods my direction. “Work quickly, Miss Jacobs.”
I’m a little surprised he’s giving me the trust to snoop. “As fast as I can,” I assure him.
Rook and I back down the hall and duck out of sight to wait for the accountant to leave her office.
“So, you see visions?” Rook asks as he peeks around the corner.
“Sort of. I call them psychic imprints, but it’s basically glimpses of the past, yes.”
“That’s got to be convenient.”
I shake my head. “Not always. I can’t control when I pick up an imprint, and I can’t help what I see. I can’t always pull myself out of the visions, either. The stronger the imprint, the more I’m stuck waiting until it’s over, and the sicker it makes me.”
Down the hall, a door opens and closes. When we hear a knock on another door, Rook peeks around the corner again. “Come on. Time to do your thing.”
I shake my head, chuckling as Rook lets me into the office. The room is tiny compared to Alpha Toth’s office, and overcrowded with filing cabinets along the back wall. It has a small desk crammed into one corner, but at least it’s neat. Toth’s accountant is meticulously organized. I swipe my hand across the filing cabinets on my way to the desk and immediately get pulled into a really strong vision. I groan as I settle in to watch Ms. Accountant get banged up against her filing cabinets.
My knees buckle when the vision ends, letting me get back to reality. Rook catches me and helps me sit in the desk chair. I lean over, moaning lightly and willing myself not to puke.
“What’d you see?”
“A lot more than I’d have liked to.” He waits for me to expand. “Let’s just say you aren’t the only one who’s noticed Ms. Thang’s voluptuous curves.”
Rook rears his head back, blinking at me in disbelief. “Holly’s getting it on in her office? Up against the filing cabinets?” He eyes the cabinets in question with newfound respect. “Whoa. That’s hot.”
I snort. “Not really. What was that? Four minutes total? Five? She totally faked it. I hope her lover is better between the sheets.”
Rook moves to sit on the edge of Holly’s desk, smirking. “So, you get sex visions?”
I roll my eyes. Of course he’d focus on that. “Unfortunately, those are what I get most. Imprints are like emotional residue. The higher the emotions flying, the stronger the imprint. I try to get out of them, but again, the stronger the imprint the more I get stuck.”
“Oh, come on, you don’t like it at least a little?”
“No,” I say flatly. “Now shut up, and let me work.”
Rook frowns, but he moves off the desk and goes to stand silently against the office door. I look around and figure my best bet is the computer. Mouse and keyboard, it is. Moving one hand over each, I instantly know I’ve found what I’m looking for.
Mr. Slim Shady’s hands shake as he slides the mouse over the pad. He clicks on a locked file. When it asks for a password, he unfurls a small paper and types in a long, complicated password. It seems to pull up a list of bank accounts. He clicks the first one on the list and transfers one hundred dollars from that account into one that was also written on his paper. Once the transfer is complete, he continues to go down the list of accounts, doing the same thing with each one. There must be thirty or forty accounts. When he’s finished the whole list, he logs out of the computer and leaves the office.
“Oh, man,” I moan, leaning my head down on the desk. “I’m gonna hurl.”
“Are you okay? You’ve been under for a good twelve minutes.”
“Seriously? No wonder I feel like shit. Damn, that was so boring.”
“Can you move? We need to get out of here.”
“You might need to help me walk, and I might puke on you, but yeah. Let’s get out of here. We’ve got exactly what we need.”