“Want my umbrella?”
“What about you? You still have to get to your car.”
“Well, why don’t I walk you to the bus? We can share the umbrella.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jules come out of the office they shared. She smiled. “Sure, okay. That would be really nice of you. Thanks.”
“All right. Let me just grab my stuff.”
Jules paused in the hallway watching the exchange. Kaylee was avoiding looking at him. Freddie reappeared with his briefcase and his umbrella, and the two of them went out together. Jules shook his head and went out to his car.
The rain made the traffic crazy, and it took Jules a little longer than usual to get to the warehouse. Traffic must have been bad for Jane too, because she was just pulling up as he was. They both made the dash inside, huddling under the meager overhang while Jane punched her access code in.
“Go—shift,” she said, shoving him inside.
It took too long to strip the wet clothes off, and by the time he was naked he was shaking. Partly it was the chill—the warehouse was not heated—and partly it was the exertion of resisting the change. He took a deep breath and let go of the bear.
His change swept over him fast and painful. Bones shifted, fur sprouted, muscles expanded, nails turned to claws, his whole face changed shape. He screamed in pain, and halfway through the sound changed to the bellowing of an angry bear.
Jane was waiting near the edge of the room, Jules could just see her before his vision blurred. He didn’t think the bear would hurt her. She smelled of the clan and safety and familiarity, but he would be grumpy when the shift was done.
Fully a bear now, he lay still on the cool cement floor sucking in great heaving breaths. Finally, he stood and stretched. Jane had found a chair and was seated in the corner looking at her phone. He made a questioning noise and she looked up. He nodded, huffing, and turned away.
A smell caught his attention and he went to investigate. One of the large barrels across the room appeared to be the source of the smell, and he knocked it over. He rolled it and banged it until he finally got the top off. Inside was some raw meat. In human form, he’d have been repulsed by the idea of eating raw meat, but the bear didn’t have the same compunctions. And the bear was hungry from the shift.
It was getting late by the time the bear began to settle. The shift back was slower, but that made it easier on him. Fully human, he stood naked for a few minutes, his back to Jane who was still looking down at her phone. He shuddered. The pins and needles feeling would take a while to fade yet. He pulled this clothes on anyway.
“Want to tell me what that was about?” Jane said. “Because I missed a workout at the gym for this.”
“Girl troubles,” Jules said. It wasn’t completely a lie. Kaylee’s attitude today, bubbly and bright in the morning and then cold all afternoon, had made the bear even more restless. “And I couldn’t reach Remy. And my boss is a womanizing jerk. And I got soaked this morning. I was so wet my shoes were squeaking.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I am sorry, and I do appreciate you doing this. I owe you for this, big time.”
“Look, Jules, it doesn’t happen so much anymore, but with The Human Order breathing down our neck you need to know. Generations ago, if a werebear or werewolf couldn’t control the beast they were killed by their alpha or their clan chief. I know you had a rough start, but you need to get the bear under control before it causes too much trouble for the rest of us. Remy’s been covering for you, but he can’t do that for forever.”
“Don’t worry, Jane. It’s getting fewer and farther between again. I’ll get it under control and I’ll keep it under control this time. No more pills from quack doctors. No more shortcuts. I won’t put the rest of you at risk.”
Her smile was thin. “That’s good to hear. Come on, I’m tired. I want to go home and sleep for a week.”
The program on her home computer was out of date and the computer was slow, but that didn’t stop Kaylee from fooling around with design ideas for her future business card. There was a gentle knock at the door even though it was open, and her mom said, “Am I interrupting?”
“Not really, just playing. What’s up?”
“Your sister came home looking down today, but she won’t talk about it.” She didn’t have to mention which sister. Even Kaylee had noticed Cora’s less than cheerful attitude at the dinner table.
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“Thanks.” She walked off down the hall and a moment later Kaylee heard, “Tony! You’d better empty your lunch kit before bed!”
“Okay!”
Kaylee shook her head. She went one door over and knocked.
“Changing!” came the muffled reply.
“I’ll wait,” Kaylee said.
When the door opened, it was fourteen-year-old June who smiled up at her. “Yes?”
Kaylee smiled back. “I’m not looking for you.”
“I love you too,” June said and looked over her shoulder. “Cora, don’t worry, it’s Kaylee, not Mom.”
Cora appeared over June’s shoulder, her face sullen. “I don’t want to talk.”
“Come to my room anyway. June, go to bed.”
June stuck her tongue out and disappeared back into the bedroom.
In Kaylee’s room the two sisters sat on the twin bed. They looked a lot alike since they both took mostly after their mom. Their hair was naturally curly but manageable and they wore it about shoulder length, though Cora’s was a few inches longer. Cora preferred brighter shades of eyeshadow than Kaylee and dressed in teen-angst punk clothes, while Kaylee had already shifted toward a more casually professional wardrobe. They were about the same size now, in clothes and shoes, and for a moment Kaylee mulled over the idea of stealing Cora’s killer black heels the next time she had a date.
“What is it?” Cora said.
“Mom set me on your case,” Kaylee answered honestly. “You know she won’t stop hounding until you cheer up or tell someone what’s wrong. At least if you tell me and I tell her ‘she’s fine,’ she’ll believe me and let you be angst-ridden in peace.”
“I’m not angsty,” Cora muttered.
“No, you’re seventeen.” Kaylee sighed. “God, seventeen sucked balls. I had acne like you wouldn’t believe, and this guy, Kyle, he followed me everywhere, it was so creepy. I had a crush on Matt—I think everyone did—and he probably didn’t even know I existed. So I didn’t even try for him, I dated Jeff instead. That was a total mistake.”
“Enough!” Cora said, laughing. “I get it.” She took a deep breath. “There’s a party on the weekend and a bunch of my friends are going, but I know there’s going to be beer and other booze and probably pot too. I just— I think about Dad and the way he gets when he’s hooked and I get scared. What if I get hooked? What if I get mean? But I can’t tell my friends that. They won’t understand. They’ll just keep pressuring me into trying something or sleeping with someone.”
“When is this party?”
“Saturday night,” she grumbled.
“Well then, you can’t go because you already have plans with your totally awesome big sister, and you can’t reschedule because how often does your older sister offer to foot the bill for a night out? So tell them to have fun at their dumb party because you have better plans.”
Cora studied her sister for a moment. “Are you really going to pay for the evening? Don’t you have a student loan and shit?”
“Sure, but I have a job too, and what good is having a job if you can’t go out once in a while? I’ll just pack a sandwich for the next week like a loser instead of grabbing lunch out.” She wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Cora, you’re worth it.”
“Thanks, Kaylee. Look, just don’t tell Mom okay? She already doesn’t like my friends.”
“I’ll tell her you just need some Kaylee time and leave it at that. Now make sure June actually went to bed.”
“She didn’t,” Cora said. She hopped off the bed and hugged her older sister. “Thanks for understanding, Kaylee.”
It was about an hour later, when the sounds of tossing and turning had finally died down, that Kaylee made her way to the kitchen to deliver her empty glass to the counter. Her mom was at the kitchen table working on the daily crossword puzzle in the paper.
“I need a five-letter word for a type of curvy letter. I thought it was ‘cursive’ but that’s too long and it needs to start with an ‘e.’”
Kaylee sat down and took a glance at the squares her mom was pointing to. “Esses,” she said. “More than one ‘s’—it’s a trick.”
“Huh, and I thought it was some sort of font style or something.”
“Nope, but glad I could help anyway.”
“You were home pretty late last night considering what time I went to bed.”
“Did I wake you when I came in?”
“No. How was dinner?”
“Really good. Jules can actually cook. I was surprised. I guess I shouldn’t have been though, it was just him and his mom, and he lives alone now.” She shrugged.
“Sounds like you two have a lot in common.”
“Yeah.”
“Now you sound mopey. I thought things at work were going well. And I thought you and Jules were getting along very well.”
The tone behind ‘very’ made Kaylee blush. “Mom!”
“Drinks, dinner, a few late nights. What’s a mother supposed to think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to think. Honestly, Jules is a nice guy and he respects me. I thought, after last night, that maybe we were headed towards something romantic. Then stuff happened today, and I don’t know anymore.”
“Start at the beginning and let me see if I can help you make sense of it.”
Kaylee told her about work, about Freddie’s hanging around and his awkward compliments that made her feel creepy-crawly. She talked about her work, how she felt respected and valued. She talked about chicken wings at the pub and kissing him in the parking lot. She mentioned the kissing on the couch at his apartment but glossed over the steamier details. As it was, her cheeks were burning by the end.
“All that in just two weeks, huh?”
“Well, I haven’t been seeing anyone in close to a year,” she said with a weak shrug of her shoulders.
“I’m not judging. Chemistry is chemistry, and it sounds like the two of you have it. So, what’s the problem?”
“I overheard him on his phone today. He was talking to someone named Jane. He told her he really needed her tonight and something about the ‘usual time’ and that she was the best.”
“And?”
“And!? That sure sounds like a girlfriend to me!”
“Really? Because it sounded more like a chiropractor. Or a therapist. Okay, maybe not a therapist, but physio maybe. Someone he sees regularly for something important.”
“Girlfriend. Sex,” Kaylee said stubbornly.
“So, you’re going to give up without knowing more? Kaylee, if he’s playing with you then he’s an asshole and you’re right to stop any non-work related contact with him. But he’s given you rides, made you dinner, respected you personally and professionally for two straight weeks. And it sounds like you’ve taken the lead physically, so maybe you at least owe it to him to find out who this Jane is and why he needed to see her so badly before you kick him to the curb.”
Kaylee just sighed.
“And Kaylee, I don’t ever want to hear that you’re alone with this Freddie with a door closed.”
“Freddie is my boss.”
Her mom just shook her head. “I know that type all too well. Don’t do anything to give him any ideas. Please. Bad enough you’re on that bus twice a day. Bad enough I got two more sweet girls in high school. I don’t need anything more to worry about!”
“Fine, I’ll do my best. Okay?”
“How’s Cora?”
“Fine. She’s fine. We’re going out Saturday night, just us two. I think she just needs some time away from school and school friends. The pressure to be a certain way just builds sometimes until you want to crack. She needs a break.”
“She’s lucky she has you. I don’t know how you survived without an older sister.”
“I had you.”
“Don’t you try buttering me up,” she laughed. “It won’t work. Not unless you plan to do the dishes for me.”
“What’ll that get me?”
“A ten to help pay for your girl’s night on Saturday.”
“Deal.”
Jules dropped everything just inside the door, kicked off his shoes, and flopped on his bed with a groan. It was late. He was tired. He had work in the morning. He still had no idea why Kaylee was upset, what to do about it, or if he was even supposed to do something about it. He pushed himself up and turned on his computer.
There were no new emails, which was a good sign. Maybe the guy is gone. Maybe I’ll never hear from him again. That would be nice. He didn’t really believe it though.
His cellphone rang and he went to dig it out of the pile at his door. Remy’s name and number were on the screen. “Hello, Remy.”
“Jules, I’m sorry, I forgot my cellphone at home this morning and was out all day. Did you get to the warehouse?”
“Yeah. Jane came and supervised. She needs a promotion.”
“I wish it worked that way. You were doing so well this month—what happened?”
He looked at the computer, took a deep breath, and said, “I sort of have the start of something going on with this girl at work, and I might have botched it and I don’t know how. Girls are a mystery to me.”
“Is that all?”
Still looking at the computer Jules said, “Yes, Remy.”
“All right. Oh, I’m to extend an invitation to you for dinner this weekend.”
“Dinner?” He turned and started pacing the apartment.
“At Brock and Gia’s.”
Jules paused. “Let me guess, Gia requested you invite me.”
Remy chuckled. “Something like that. When are you free?”
“Had plans Friday, but she cancelled—so I guess anytime.”
“Good, because Philippe is only free on Friday.”
“So, this is clan business? No outsiders?”
“Apparently. Who would you invite? This girl? Is it serious?”
“No, it’s not. Just want to be clear, just in case, you know?”
“Let me know if it turns serious and I’ll talk you through how to tell her.”
“You’ve never told.”
“No, I haven’t. But it’s something my father explained to me before he retired. Since Brock didn’t need to put the information to any use, good or bad, and neither Jane or Philippe show any signs of settling down, I might as well teach you.”
“And you do show signs of settling down?”
“Watch yourself.”
“Yes, sir.”
The display of dominance was only half play, and Jules was careful not to cross any lines. Remy was fair and kind, as far as clan chiefs went, but he was still the boss and his bear would not let any shows of disrespect stand without asserting his dominance again.
“Get some sleep, Jules, you sound rough. Call me tomorrow if you’re still feeling unsettled, otherwise I’ll see you at Brock’s for dinner.”
“Oh, time?”
“Just come straight from work.”
The line went dead so Jules hung up.
Kaylee came in the back door Friday morning, her mother’s warning about Freddie ringing in her ears, and honestly, she didn’t want to cross paths with him. She noted that Jules’ car was already parked outside, so she started running over what she would say to him again. She’d only been rehearsing it silently in her mind since she left the house that morning.
She walked into their shared office to find two steaming mugs of coffee waiting on the desk. And cinnamon buns. She looked at Jules. He actually appeared embarrassed, which looked silly on such a big man.
“What’s this?”
“I owed you for yesterday. And you seemed upset when you left, so I thought cinnamon buns would make it better.” He was giving her a puppy dog look.
Her resolve crumbled along with the rest of her anger. “Yeah, sorry about that.” She took a deep breath. “My plans got rearranged this weekend. I’m free tonight if you still wanted to do something.”
He frowned. “Can’t. Remember my friends I mentioned, the ones that got me through school?”
“Yeah.”
“One of them called last night. We’re having a bit of a reunion tonight. One of the guys, his wife is pregnant.”
“Congrats,” she said automatically, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Jane was going to be there too.
“But I’m free tomorrow.”
“Sorry, I made plans with my sister tomorrow. She needs a break from the teen scene.”
“Hey, that’s okay,” he said quickly, picking up on her sour tone. “This isn’t the last weekend we’ll ever see. Why don’t we try again next weekend?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a half-hearted shrug. “My plans from tonight are up in the air, and I don’t know when my friend will want to reschedule.”
“We can play it by ear then.” He smiled at her. “Is everything okay?”
“Sure,” she said. “What are we working on today?”
Jules’ one-bedroom apartment was small even by one-bedroom apartment standards. Brock and Gia’s house was an old-world mansion built by someone in Brock’s family generations before and carefully maintained. The Tandell family was old money, and now they had a mega-million-dollar corporation that had multiple branches and investments, keeping their bank accounts full. Jules had been over a few times when he was younger, but the house had always intimidated him. He preferred hanging out at Remy’s, a modest two-bedroom bungalow in the gray zone between the inner city where Jules grew up and the pretty suburbs where muggings and such were just a myth.
They ate in the kitchen, all of them up on the bar stools around the kitchen island. Gia and Connie, the Tandell’s housekeeper, had been so busy in the nursery that neither had had the time or energy to cook for six and had ordered Chinese. There was a bottle of wine nestled between the takeout containers, and Brock and Jane each had a beer on the go. Gia was sipping a water but was eyeing the wine.
“I didn’t drink a lot before,” she said, “But I would kill for a glass of wine right now.”
Brock leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Soon.”
“While I appreciate Chinese on my day off on Brock’s dime,” Philippe said. “What’s the occasion?”
“We had an ultrasound appointment this week,” Brock said, “And the doctor had some concerns. Since I’m out, the doctors realized the baby might not be exactly normal by human standards and was hoping for some information on werebear births.”
“Concerns about what exactly?” Remy asked.
“The baby is too small,” Gia said. “They’re not sure it will be big enough to survive when I reach full term.”
Jules glanced at Gia. It certainly explained how the already tiny woman had stayed so small this late into her pregnancy.
“I guess the doctor is wondering if that’s normal. I know I am.”
They all looked at each other and shrugged. Except for Jules. “Actually,” he said. “It’s completely normal. I was tiny when I was born. My dad always called me the runt of his litter.”
They all turned to stare at him. He wasn’t quite as big as Brock or Philippe, but he was bigger than Remy, if not in height then at least in the shoulders. All of the men were bigger than Jane. It was hard to imagine that this tall, broad-shouldered man had ever been small, that any of them had ever been ‘the smallest.’
“I was small,” he repeated. “My mom said I ate like nothing she’d ever seen before. She used to get into these fights with my dad over money. He didn’t believe her when she told him how much I was eating, how she needed more money to feed me. How could something that small eat so much? Of course, that was before anyone knew I was a werebear. Hell, I think that was even before my mother knew my father was a werebear.”
Remy shook his head and muttered, “Jackass,” under his breath.
“If you were so different from his other kids, why didn’t he put two and two together?” Gia asked.
“My half-sisters aren’t that much older than me. For all I know, he thought they were bears and I wasn’t. His oldest turned twelve and—nothing. Then the youngest, same thing. By the time I was twelve, I was a good two or three inches taller than the next tallest kid in my class and big enough that the kids took to teasing me for being fat. That year I shifted. Thank God he had enough sense to warn my mother that it might happen. She called Remy’s father and they loaded me up, brought me to the warehouse, every one of them straining against the moon’s call until we were safely inside.” He shrugged.
“Why isn’t this common knowledge?” Gia said.
This time Remy spoke up. “My parents probably know, but they’re away on a cruise and won’t be back until a few days before full moon next week. We don’t talk to Jules’ dad. Brock’s parents are gone. Philippe’s parents are gone as well, and Jane …”
“Gone,” she said. “Canada’s a scary place to grow up a bear. Here a bear on the loose is a rarity, something to take pictures of and point at. In Canada, if you shift at the wrong time and place someone will shoot you. And they’re damn good shots.”
Gia put a hand defensively over her stomach. “We are not moving to Canada.”
Brock kissed her cheek. “It’s too cold there,” he said. “And my job requires that I stay.”
“Good.”
“Thing is,” Remy went on. “Bears are naturally solitary animals. They only really come together during the heavy feeding season in the autumn, and even then it’s more like they put up with other bears being closer than usual because they’re all looking for food. Mother bears only keep the cubs around a few years, and then they’re on their own. The werewolves are different. They marry younger, have more kids, and spend more time with the pack, even the children. They are communal—we are not. When you add to that society’s shift towards smaller families and both men and women waiting until later to have those families, and young people moving half a country away from their parents in search of work, well, that affects the generational connectivity of the clans.”
“No one thinks to record this stuff?” Gia said.
“Our history has always been oral. Then there is nothing for the humans to find that way,” Remy said.
“Jules,” Gia said in her sweetest voice. She’d used that voice on Brock in their hearing, had even used it on Remy a time or two. Jules was glad he didn’t live with her. “I know your mother has very little contact with the clan, but would she be willing to talk to me? She might be the only one who can answer some of my questions about what to expect with this baby.”
“I’ll ask her,” Jules said, knowing better than to argue. “You know if she agrees to this she’ll start chasing me for grandkids.”
“How much longer do we have to wait to meet this kid?” Philippe asked.
“Three months,” Brock said. “This is the home stretch.”
“Excuse me,” Gia said, slipping off her stool. “This little cub likes to tap dance on Mama’s bladder.”
As soon as she was out of earshot, Remy said, “There is, of course, the small matter of a baby shower to deal with.”
“I thought Gia’s mom was doing that,” Jane said. “Because I’m not. And don’t make me the de facto babysitter either.”
“You’d have to arm wrestle Connie for that job,” Brock said. “And don’t count on you being a werebear to give you the edge. That kid is going to grow up thinking Connie is its grandmother.”
“Not a bad thing,” Remy said. “And yes, Mrs. Carosa is throwing a baby shower, but I doubt that any of us will be invited. First of all, we aren’t out, so aside from myself, a low-level employee of the Tandell Corporation, there is no real connection between any of us and Gia. Second, I think Mrs. Carosa partially blames the werebear community for her husband’s imprisonment.”
“The guy was a jerk,” Jules said. “No offense Brock.”
“None taken.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for this baby to come out,” Gia said as she returned. “I think I’m kind of happy he’ll be small at birth. I can’t imagine getting much bigger than this.”
“Just text us,” Jules said to Remy. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Just text me and I’ll be there,” Jane said. “But that’s it.”
“Humbug,” Philippe said.
“Ass,” Jane shot back.
“What did I miss?” Gia said.
“Clan stuff,” Remy said. He smiled at her. “How’s the nursery coming along?”
Gia didn’t need any more urging than that. She talked for the next hour, almost nonstop, without letting anyone else get a word in edgewise—about the nursery, the clothes, the baby-and-me yoga program, the prenatal classes, and everything else baby related. And somehow, she still managed to eat her fair share of the Chinese.
When she was finally winding down and the takeout containers were empty, they all pitched in and did a quick tidying up of the kitchen before heading out to their cars.
“Hey, Jane, hold up,” Jules said. He unlocked his car and reached inside, coming up with a 2x3 cardboard folder. He tossed it Frisbee style and Jane caught it between her hands.
“What’s this for?” She held up the gift card.
“For the rescue this week.”
“Yeah, this makes up for it. Next time I’ll charge more.”
He laughed as she disappeared into her car. Of course, he also knew she was serious.
Remy, who had stayed behind to discuss something with Brock, jogged over. “Jules,” he said. “I wanted to catch you before you left.”
“You caught me,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“This girl. The one that’s got you in knots. Is she safe?”
“She’s not a reporter and she hasn’t asked any questions about werebears. It’s never once come up in conversation. As far as she knows, my only connection to you and Brock is that you helped me out with my schooling. And she doesn’t have your names, either, so Brock being out won’t cast suspicion on me.”
“That means she’s not a threat to the clan. But is she safe for you? Jules, is she going to cause you problems with your bear?”
“I don’t think so. It’s just that awkward stage where we don’t know if we even have a thing yet. I’ll tread lightly and go slowly and all that. I’m getting better, okay? Philippe is talking to Patrick. There might be a connection through the pack to a head doctor who can help me out.”
“Keep me up to speed, okay?”
“Sure thing boss.”
Jules sat at his desk staring at the computer screen. His cellphone was sitting next to the mouse. The words on the screen were simple enough, the message short.
“Two hundred dollars by the end of the weekend or the video is on the Monday morning early edition on every station.”
There was a new email address to send the money to.
His right hand reached out slowly and closed over the mouse. A few clicks and a few keystrokes later he was looking at his bank account. He had rent to pay yet that month, plus food. He couldn’t afford to be skipping meals, or the bear would take over and go looking for food on his own. His paycheck had just come in, but even so his account was lean.
He took a deep breath and set up the transfer. Moving the mouse, his finger hit the side of the phone. He looked down at it and the guilt welled up inside him. He knew he should be calling Remy, not sending this guy more money, but he couldn’t bring himself to pick up the phone.
“I’ve got this under control,” he said to the empty room, but there was a knot in his stomach and it was getting tighter.
It was raining again. Pouring. It started around two that afternoon. It was Tuesday and the tension between Kaylee and Jules was only now lessening. They both heard the thunder and looked up. They each saved every file they had open on their systems, just in case.
“I didn’t bring an umbrella,” she said. “And the bus was late yesterday because of construction. It’ll probably be late all week.”
“Want a lift home?”
“I’m a little out of your way.”
“I know that. I’ve driven you home before. I don’t mind, Kaylee.”
“All right. It beats waiting in the rain.”
They worked a little longer, the sounds of the rain muted by the concrete walls. When it was time to go, they made a mad dash out the back door to his car.
“Thank God for those little fobs,” she laughed as she slid in. “No more waiting in the rain for the door to be unlocked.”
“You’re not old enough to remember cars with manual locks,” he said.
“Sure I am. My siblings, not so much.”
Traffic was ugly and for the most part they didn’t talk, but at one point their conversation turned to Kaylee’s college classes. She was ranting about textbooks and other costs when Jules jumped in.
“Wait, you have the latest edition of Design Thinking?”
“Yeah. Damn thing cost me thirty bucks. I used it I think twice. Why?”
“That came out after I graduated, and I don’t have thirty bucks to drop on a book. Freddie’s too cheap to buy book-based resources for the office, so I’ve had to do without.”
“Want to borrow it? I can’t sell it because my profs might decide I need it a third time, but you could have it until I need it back for classes.”
“Really? That would be great. I heard there’s a whole section in there on customers and clients.”
“Yup. A very big section. Why do you need that? You’re great with customers.”
“I have some ideas for the shop, but Freddie thinks he knows best. If I show him that the ideas are supported by current market research and published in current design handbooks, he might be willing to listen to me.”
“You need to start your own shop,” she said. “It sounds like Freddie is an idiot.”
“Freddie is an egocentric jerk, but he’s great with clients, especially the bigwigs. I’m not so good with the face-to-face stuff.”
“That’s too bad. Your face is nicer to look at than Freddie’s.” The words just popped out, and she immediately looked out the window so he wouldn’t see her blush.
He almost said, ‘you think so?’ but thought better of it. Instead, an awkward silence hung in the car.
“Uh, I can grab you that book if you have a minute to wait,” she said as they pulled up to the curb in front of her house. “Or I can bring it tomorrow.”
“I have a minute,” he said. “It’ll give me something to read tonight.” And help me keep my mind off compulsively checking my emails every two minutes.
“Okay, hold on.”
He got out of the car.
“What are you doing?”
From the back seat, he produced a spare jacket. He came around and held it up, a makeshift umbrella.
She laughed and climbed out of the car. They ran together, her mostly covered, him not covered enough to make any difference, up the steps and under the cover of the old porch.
The door opened before Kaylee could reach it, and an elegant woman stood in the doorway. She was wearing black slacks and a white shirt, probably what she was required to wear for work. Her black hair was trimmed in a style similar to that of First Lady Michelle Obama’s. Like Kaylee, she wore subtle makeup that added to the intensity of her eyes.
“You’re early,” she said. “I was just on my way out.”
“You’ll need a jacket and an umbrella,” Kaylee said. “Uh, this is Jules, from work. He gave me a lift home so I wouldn’t have to wait at the bus stop in the rain. Jules, this is Frannie, my mother. I’ll just grab you that book.” She slipped in past her mom.
“Thanks for giving her a lift,” Frannie said, holding out her hand.
“It’s no problem,” Jules said. “I remember bussing. It’s not a lot of fun on the best of days.”
“I like the look of you,” she said, smiling. “Kaylee’s got good taste.”
He looked down, embarrassed. “Uh, thanks?”
“Who’s there, Mom?” The face that appeared over Frannie’s shoulder was a younger version of Kaylee, only she was taller than Kaylee and their mom by a good six inches, and was wearing blue eyeshadow. He couldn’t imagine Kaylee in blue eye shadow.
“Kaylee’s friend from work.”
“I’m Cora,” she said.
“I’m June,” said another voice, and a girl thirteen or fourteen wiggled in beside Frannie. “Tony’s around here somewhere?”
“Tony?” Jules asked politely, turning his attention to the youngest as she was probably the safest at this moment.
“My younger brother,” she said. “He has homework. Are you Kaylee’s boyfriend?”
So much for safe. “Uh, not exactly, no,” Jules said. “But I am a friend.”
“Not exactly?” Cora said, arching an eyebrow.
“Here’s the book,” said Kaylee. “Excuse me. Can I get to the door?”
Frannie turned. “Girls, back to your schoolwork. And if you don’t have schoolwork there’s dishes. Kaylee’s in charge. I’m off to work.” As the younger two departed, Frannie grabbed her coat and boots from the closet beside the door. She stepped out past Jules and yelled, “And get to bed on time!” She smiled up at him. “It was nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he said. “Did you want a lift to work?”
“No thanks!” she said. “It’s only a few blocks, and the walking is good for my heart.”
Before he could argue that her heart could manage one car ride on a rainy day she was marching down the stairs. He shook his head, but he couldn’t help smiling.
“Sorry about that,” Kaylee said.
He turned back to her. “They’re interesting,” he said, grinning.
She appeared to relax a little. “Here’s that book.”
“Thanks.”
“Uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. I have to help Tony with his math.”
“Yeah. Have a nice evening.”
“You too. Enjoy the book.”
The next day there was a familiarly-shaped, paper-wrapped “parcel” standing upright in a large vase of water on Jules’ desk. Kaylee eyed it hopefully, but Jules said nothing about it. All day she kept glancing over at it, trying to imagine what sort of flowers were hiding inside, and all day Jules pretended it wasn’t even there.
As they were getting ready to go for lunch she finally said, “Flowers?”
“Yup.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“They’re not for you,” he said with a laugh.
Probably for Jane, she thought bitterly. The rest of the afternoon when she glanced at the flowers, it was with resentment.
At the end of the day he scooped the flowers out of the vase and said, “Come on, I’ll drive you home. I’m headed that way anyways.”
“Something to do with the flowers?”
“Yup.” He was grinning.
Damn him. “Fine,” she said. “At least I don’t have to bus.”
He set the flowers on the back seat, which was good, because if he’d asked her to hold them she would have “accidently” squished them. He was chatty, which was strange for him, and she was staring sullenly out the window, replying only when she absolutely had to. It didn’t seem to faze him—he just kept on talking.
They pulled up in front of her house and he got out of the car.
“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” she said.
“I’m not.”
He got the flowers out of the back seat and followed her up the porch steps. Frannie was at the door in her work clothes when they arrived. “It’s not raining today,” she said by way of greeting.
“Huh, would you look at that,” Jules replied.
Frannie grinned. “Borrowing another book?”
“Nope. Just dropping these off.” He handed her the flowers.
“What are these for?” Frannie said.
“For you. Just because.”
Frannie hesitantly unwrapped the flowers. They were carnations, which were fairly cheap at the grocery store, but they were brightly colored and it was a large bunch. “I’m going to put these in water before I go to work. Excuse me.”
Kaylee turned to Jules. “You bought my mom flowers. Why?”
He shrugged. “If she’s anything like my mom, she loves flowers and doesn’t get them often. She did a good job with you, and she’s doing a good job with your siblings. I guess I just wanted her to know that someone saw that and thought of her.”
“I thought the flowers were for Jane.”
“How do you know about Jane?”
“I overheard your phone call the other day.” She looked away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“Is that why you cancelled on Friday?”
“We never talked about what was going on between us. I just didn’t expect you to already have a girlfriend.”
He laughed. “Oh, Jane will like that one. Or then again, probably not. No. Jane’s not my girlfriend. Most definitely not.”
“Why did you need to see her then?”
“Because sometimes we need to see friends. Sometimes we need the people closest to us, for support, for a listening ear. Please believe me, Kaylee, I have never kissed Jane and I don’t intend to. I don’t buy her flowers unless it’s her birthday, and I only do it then to piss her off. She’s not the flowers type of girl. I have no interest in her at all.”
“Do you have any interest in me?”
“I’d kiss you now just to show you how interested I am, but I think your sisters are watching.”
“The probably are. Are you free this weekend? We can reschedule that dinner.”
“My weekend is wide open.”
“Okay. We’ll go Friday after work, as planned.”
“It’s a date.”
“Are you two finished?” Frannie called through the closed front door. “I have to leave for work. I’ll be late.”
“I’ll give you a lift,” Jules called back. He smiled at Kaylee, and then he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I can’t wait for Friday.”
Blushing, she slipped into the house, past her mom. Frannie eyed him and he squirmed. “I like you,” she said. “But I love her.”
“Understood,” he said. “Do you want that ride?”
“No, I’m not running that late yet. I’ll be fine. Thanks for the offer though. And don’t worry about curfews on Friday. Okay?” She winked and headed off for work.
Jules was grinning as he walked back to the car. Nothing could spoil his week now.
“You’re looking particularly nice today,” Freddie said. Kaylee glanced up from her work. Of course, he had timed his visit for when Jules was out of the room so she was alone.
She smiled and said, “Yes, I have a date tonight.”
“Nothing too serious I hope.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, but you’ll break my heart if you tell me you have a steady boyfriend.”
“Maybe she does,” Jules rumbled from behind Freddie. “Maybe she doesn’t. It’s none of your business. Can I talk to you a moment, Freddie?”
“Uh, sure,” he said. He looked back and tried to smile at Kaylee, but it lacked his usual confidence.
They went to Freddie’s office and closed the door. “How did we get so lucky?” Freddie said. “You’re into her too, aren’t you? I can tell. God, I can’t blame you. Did you see what she was wearing today?”
“Freddie, stop it. She’s not here to entertain you. If you keep this up she’ll report you to her professors and I’ll back her up.”
“I’m being friendly.”
“No, you’re being creepy. There’s a difference. Knock it off.”
“You can’t threaten me, Jules. I’m your boss.”
“You can’t fire me for standing up for someone receiving unwanted attentions from her boss,” he shot back.
“Is she receiving unwanted attention from you?”
“No.” Jules dropped into the chair and ran his hands through his hair. “Freddie, we’re friends. I don’t want that to change. And I sure as hell enjoy working here. I did even before Kaylee arrived. I’m just telling you not to mess this up for the shop, okay? We don’t need that kind of bad press.”
“Fine. No more pickup lines. I’ll keep it professional. But you’re asking a lot, Jules. She’s just so fine!”
“Look from a distance, okay? You’re making her uncomfortable. Just tone it down.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll do my best. Now get back to work before I do have a reason to fire you.”
“Yes, boss,” Jules said with a salute.
“Thanks for the rescue,” Kaylee said when he came back in.
“He’ll leave you alone,” Jules said. “He doesn’t mean to be offensive or creepy.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Sad that I’m used to it by now. I really thought telling him I was seeing someone else would do the trick. It usually does.”
“He can be relentless, I’m afraid. But he knows better than to put the shop at risk. I told him you’d complain to your professor, and that would be bad press for us.”
“You’re a genius. So where are we going tonight?”
“A friend of mine got us reservations at this sweet little comedy club downtown. Dinner and a show. It’s not that expensive or fancy, so don’t worry that you’re underdressed, but it’s popular and pretty hard to get a table.”
“But your friend managed it?”
“My friend is Brock Tandell, so he can manage things most people can’t.”
“You’re friends with the mayor?” she squeaked.
“Yeah. I don’t talk about it much because people usually think I’m bragging and I’m not. He’s one of those friends that helped me get through school. He charges a lot less in interest for a loan than the bank does.”
“Wow.”
“His wife is pregnant, and we’re having a baby shower soon. I’ll ask my buddy Remy, the one who’s organizing, and see if I can bring you along. He’s a lot of fun when he’s not being the mayor. Well, he is now that he’s married. He used to be moody as shit.”
She laughed. “I bet you know all sorts of stories. God, have you ever seen him shift?”
“He doesn’t like talking about that, and we sort of respect his privacy on that.”
“Of course. I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I just can’t believe it. Brock Tandell. He’s like, rich, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. Old money. Big corporation. But still a nice guy. One of the nicest rich guys you’ll meet.”
“Well, so far he’s not messing anything up too badly as mayor, so.” She shrugged. “I’d vote for him if he ran again.”
“He’ll be happy to hear that.”
Dinner was a buffet, and the comedian was an up-and-coming that Jules hadn’t heard of but Kaylee had. He was smart and funny and had everyone in the club hooting and cheering. Jules and Kaylee left arm-in-arm with big smiles on their faces.
“I still can’t believe he said that!” Kaylee laughed. Jules opened the car door for her and she slipped into the seat.
“The night is still young,” she said. “Did you want to go out for drinks?”
“I think I’ve had all the crowd I can deal with,” he said. He was trying to back the car, out but the parking lot was full of cars jostling to be next in line for the exit. He frowned. “And I don’t think I want to deal with any more parking lots tonight.”
“Okay, no drinks. Something else then? I’m not ready for tonight to end.”
“I’ve got beer back at the apartment.”
“Sold,” she said. “If we ever get out of here.”
Traffic out on the roads was moving much smoother than in the parking lot, and they made it back to his apartment without any delays.
She tossed her stuff in the coat closet as he fished two beers out of the fridge. He put a music station on the television, and they settled on the couch. Her face was flushed from the excitement and energy of the evening.
“Now I really have to meet this Brock Tandell,” she said. “That was a fantastic evening. I should thank him in person.”
Jules laughed. “His wife is petite and very pregnant, but don’t underestimate her. If she thinks you’re making a move on her husband she will take you out. She’s surprisingly fierce.”
“You’re not scared of her, are you?”
“Only to her face,” he said. “She finds it funny. I think you should meet her. Something tells me you’d get along with her.”
“Well, she doesn’t have to worry. It’s not her husband I’m interested in kissing.”
He set his beer aside and lightly touched her cheek. Slowly, he leaned in close to her, waiting for her to say stop or pull away from him. When she didn’t, he pressed his lips against hers.
Kaylee wanted to lose herself in the kiss completely. She moved closer to him until their knees bumped, her hand fisting in the shoulder of his shirt. As the kisses grew more intense it only fueled her desire. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to pull her closer. The only way that was going to happen was if she hopped up on his lap, so she did.
He pushed her sweater down her arms, letting it drop to the floor, and he ran his hands over her bare shoulders. His hands were warm and soft. Her heart was pounding with excitement and desire.
When he grabbed the waistband of her jeans, she grabbed his wrist. “Not the pants,” she said.
He nodded and ran his hands over her body again. He trailed kisses down her neck. He unhooked the clasp of her bra and took one breast in his mouth. Her back arched and she moaned.
They touched and tasted, stroked and caressed. He tugged at the waistband of her pants again, not enough to pull them down, just enough to be a question. “I want you so bad right now,” he said. His already deep voice was husky with desire.
She scooted back, out from under him, breathing hard. He kissed her stomach as it slid by and sat up, reaching for her cheek. She nuzzled his hand and let him pull her close for another passionate kiss.
“I don’t think sex would be a good idea,” she said, still sounding breathless.
He nibbled her ear but refrained from touching her breasts. “Any reason why?” he whispered.
“I don’t want things to get awkward at work,” she said. “And I’m not sure I’ve forgiven you about Jane yet. And I don’t even know what this is between us.”
He kissed her cheek. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay. We’ll take it slow. Every time you draw a line, I’ll respect it until you choose to move it. If I ask questions, it’s only because I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not pressuring you.”
“Are you real?” she said with a short laugh.
“I saw what my father did to my mother. I don’t want to be that asshole. I don’t want to be any asshole. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She rested her hand against his cheek and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Thank you.” She shivered.
He picked up her bra from where it had landed on top of a pile of other clothing items and handed it to her. “Did you want me to drive you home?”
“Probably a good idea. It’s getting late.”
“Your mom did say ‘no curfew.’”
“I know. But I like to help her with the kids on the weekends. I can’t do that if I’m sleeping all day.”
“All right.” He drove her home and walked her right up to the door. “I’ll see you at work on Monday.”
“Yes, you will.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and disappeared inside.
Sunday afternoon the third email came in. Jules stared at the simple text. It was so familiar to him now. He wasn’t asking for a lot of money at any one time, so he probably knew that Jules wasn’t well off. That didn’t mean he had the money though. The car needed an oil change. He needed to eat and keep the roof over his head. This third demand was too soon. He needed time for his next paycheck to come in before he could pay it.
And, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he wanted to pay it anymore. He hit the reply button and typed: ‘Payday not until next week. I can pay, but not until then. Give me ten days. I’ll throw in an extra fifty dollars.’ He was fairly certain the offer of extra money would buy him the needed time to get the money. And to think of a plan.
Even with the moon so close to full, Jules was feeling ten feet high. Two clients had emailed Freddie to praise the work he and Kaylee had been doing, and Freddie had turned around and treated them to lunch on Monday. Today they were flying through the last stages of the web design project.
They were putting the finishing touches on it at closing time, and Kaylee said, “I could go for some wings tonight. You want to get some wings down at the pub?”
“I would love to, but tonight doesn’t work for me.”
She sidled around the desk and leaned on his shoulder. “Oh, come on, you can reschedule, can’t you? We can grab dinner and maybe a movie.”
“I want to, believe me, but I already have plans tonight and I can’t reschedule. Saturday I am all yours, okay?”
“What’s so important?”
“I have a meeting, and it wouldn’t be fair to the other people involved if I cancelled last minute.”
“Okay,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “But I’m holding you to Saturday.”
“It’s a date.” His cellphone rang and he pulled it out of the drawer. Before he answered, Kaylee caught a glimpse of Jane’s name on the screen. “Yup?”
Kaylee could hear the female voice on the other end but not the words.
“No, I won’t be late this time. I’m just shutting down. Okay, be there soon.”
“More stuff for your meeting?” Kaylee said, stepping back.
“Yeah. I’ve got to run. Can you send the finished HTML off to the client for me?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, Kaylee, you’re the best.” He shut down his computer, grabbed his sweater, and hurried out.
Kaylee returned to her side of the desk and sat staring at the screen for a long time. Finally, she said, “I guess you say that to all the girls.” Tears trickled down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away.
When Jules was a boy and just starting to change every month, his mother would call the monthly gathering at the warehouse the ‘teddy bears’ picnic.’ She said it with a smile and a touch of laughter and would have him ready at the door when his father, or Remy’s father, came to pick him up. As he grew older, he began to notice the pain in her eyes whenever she said it. The laughter hid it well for years.
It wasn’t exactly a picnic, but it had something in common with the children’s song. There were certainly wonderful things to eat, and they were hidden in the barrels making the finding a sort of entertainment. They wrestled with each other, bellowing in halfhearted displays of dominance. They were a well-settled clan and everyone knew their place.
Afterwards, they changed back and found their piles of clothes and human possessions. It always made Jules think about the little things—the wallet and the keys and the phone. The bear had no need of them, didn’t see the purpose of them. Sometimes Jules thought the bear was smarter than he was.
“You had fewer changes this month,” Remy said, coming up behind Jules and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you. I know you’ll have this under control in a month or two, no problems.”
“I’ve caused you a bit of a headache, haven’t I?”
“Yes, you have. But the council of clans isn’t breathing down my neck too hard, not once I told them The Human Order had set you up.”
“Do you have a minute tonight?” Jules said. “You and Brock. I need to talk to you guys about something.”
“I’m good,” Remy said. “I’ll check with Brock.”
Jules lingered over buttoning buttons as Philippe and Jane said goodbye to Remy. Soon it was just the three of them left.
“Okay,” Brock said. “Gia just messaged back. She’s going to have a long hot bath, and I’d better be there to help her out of the tub when she’s done. What’s this problem we need to deal with?”
Jules didn’t even try to deny that it was a problem he wanted to talk about. He’d rehearsed a few ways of easing into the subject on the way over but decided direct was best. “I’m being blackmailed.”
“Shit.”
Remy nodded in agreement with Brock’s assessment. “I’m guessing this is over the airport incident.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll need full access to your phone, or email, or however they are contacting you.”
“Email. I’ll give you the password.”
“How many demands so far?” Brock asked.
“Three. I paid the first two and I stalled on the third. I have ten days.”
“Electronic funds transfer?”
“Yes sir.”
Remy was nodding with each new piece of information. “I’ll need your bank information as well. And you’ll want to call your bank and notify them that I will be looking into your accounts. We will need to move fast to try to track this guy. As soon as he even suspects we’re not going to pay him, he’ll blow the whistle.”
“I agree,” Brock said.
“Do you have a backup plan?” Remy said.
“For what?”
“Blackmailers generally don’t go away. This guy is going to ask for more and more money until you can’t pay and then that video is going live. If we catch him we can stop this. But if something goes wrong, that video will go live and you will be out. I’ve seen the video, Jules. It won’t take long for someone to ID you from it—if your name isn’t plastered on it when it hits the internet. What are you going to do if that happens?”
“Hope I don’t get fired,” Jules said.
“Jules,” Brock said. “Why did you wait so long to tell us? Why didn’t you tell us when the first demand came in? We could have been working on this for weeks already.”
“I thought I’d just handle it until I couldn’t—and then the video would come out and that was that. I even debated not paying in the first place.”
“What changed?”
“I think I’m in love.”
They both stared at him. Finally, Remy said, “When did this happen?”
“We got this intern at the shop,” Jules said.
“I’ve got to go,” Brock cut in. “Remy, send me all the info when you get home and we’ll get started cracking this thing. Goodnight, Jules. And I hope this pans out for you.” He waved and jogged off across the warehouse.
“Sit,” Remy commanded. “Tell me everything.”
So Jules started at the beginning with the awkward meeting and how they worked well together. He told Remy about the pub, the kiss in the parking lot, cooking her dinner, and the date only days ago.
“Have you slept with her?”
“No. Almost, but no. She wants to go slow physically—because we work together. And because she has an asshole father who has made her wary of guys and relationships.”
“Good, that’s good. I don’t generally approve of whirlwind relationships like Brock and Gia. Worked out for them because they were meant for each other and because Brock and his bear are very stable. You’re not stable, and you’re under a lot of stress. Taking it slow will be good for you too.”
Jules nodded.
“Have you told her?”
“We’re not even officially going steady or anything, so no, I haven’t.”
“It’s not the 19th century, Jules. We aren’t a secret anymore. You can tell anyone at any time without penalty. Tell her. Tell her before the video gets leaked and she finds out on her own. It generally works out better that way.”
“I’ll try. I’ll find some way.”
“Good. The sooner the better. And tell your boss too. This is going to affect his business in a big way, positive and negative. He deserves a heads up.”
Jules was starting to feel like someone was stacking loaded duffel bags on his shoulders, but he nodded. “I know.”
“I will call you as soon as I know something and we’ll go from there. Don’t let this get you down, Jules. You’re doing so well right now. Don’t lose that progress.”
“I’ll try. Remy, I’m sorry I’m such a fuck up.”
“You’re not a fuck up, and the last man who said that got kicked out of this clan. Go home. Get some sleep.”
“Yes, sir.” There was no disobeying a direct order from the Alpha, so Jules shuffled out of the warehouse and went home.
The next morning, Kaylee watched Jules drain his coffee like he was inhaling it. “Long night?” she asked sullenly.
He nodded. “Stayed late after the meeting.”
“Why?”
“To discuss an investment opportunity with a buddy of mine. I need more coffee. Be right back.”
His phone buzzed at almost the same time the door clicked shut. Since he’d left it right beside his keyboard, all she had to do was stand up to see the screen. There was a text message notification. All she could read was the name ‘Jane’ and the first words of the message: ‘Left your coat behind last …”
The tears sprung up in her eyes again even before she’d dropped back into her chair. After a few deep struggling breaths, she went to her purse and dug out her headphones. She almost always listened to music while she was working at home, but she never did that at school and hadn’t planned on doing it here. But today she needed to shut the world out. She already knew what she was doing for the day, and she just wanted to do it. And she wanted to send Jules a clear message that she wasn’t interested in talking anymore today.
She kept her headphones in all day—and for the next few days as well. She spoke to Jules only when work demanded it and tried to ignore the confused and pained expression on his face. She was all too happy when Friday afternoon rolled around and she could leave the office behind for a few days.
Kaylee was doing the dishes after breakfast on Saturday while her brother worked on math homework at the kitchen table. Her sisters were somewhere. She could hear music from their bedroom. Her mom had just answered the phone and walked out of the room chatting away. Kaylee hadn’t caught who was on the other end.
The doorbell rang, so Kaylee dried her hands on the towel hanging from the oven and went to the door. She found Jules on the porch. He was dressed in jeans and a rumpled t-shirt under a lightweight jacket.
“Uh, Jules. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I promised I was all yours today, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I totally forgot.”
“I hope you didn’t make other plans.”
“I—uh.”
“Kaylee, who’s there?”
“It’s Jules,” she called over her shoulder.
A moment later Kaylee’s mom appeared in the door. “What brings you around?” she said. She at least was smiling.
“Oh, I happen to have four tickets to the movies in my pocket, and thought that Kaylee and her younger brother and sister might want to join me.”
“Not me?” Cora appeared in the crowded doorway. She was wearing something snug and short.
“I didn’t think you’d be interested,” Jules said. “But you can have my ticket.”
“Naw, it’s okay. I have plans anyways. I’ll see you later Mom.”
“Have fun,” Frannie said.
Kaylee watched Jules. Jules watched Kaylee. And not once did his gaze move to follow Cora’s exit. Points to him.
“It’s okay with me if June and Tony go,” Frannie said. “If they want to. I’ll go talk to them.”
“What are you doing?” Kaylee said quietly.
“Something fun,” he said. “You seemed upset with me this week, so I thought showing up here for a romantic date might get me slapped. But I promised to be here so here I am.”
“We’re going to a movie?” June said. Her eyes were wide and bright. “I love the theatre.”
“I guess we’re in,” Kaylee said. “Give us a second to grab our shoes.”
After the movie, Kaylee gave June and Tony a few bucks and told them to get a snack from the food court and then come back to the couches the mall provided near the entrance of the theatre. They took off grinning.
Jules had his arm draped over the back of the couch, but it didn’t seem like he was trying the arm drape trick, so Kaylee leaned back and sighed. “That was fun, thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. They’re great kids.”
“Yeah, now. They were brats when we were all younger. The age gap didn’t help.”
“I was the youngest,” he said. “And my half-sisters hated me.”
“Jules, you confuse me.”
“Is that why you were upset all week?”
“No. I was upset about the text message from Jane. What did you forget at her place?”
“Nothing. I’ve never been to her place. And it’s been months since I’ve been in her car. She found my jacket when she went back to clean up after the meeting.”
“So, she was at this meeting?”
“Yes. Kaylee. I am not in love with Jane, and I am not sleeping with Jane. If you met, her you’d understand.”
“What would I understand? Is she ugly?”
“That’s a trick question,” he said. “And it’s not the reason. If I tried to put the moves on her she’d punch me, and she’d probably knock me on my ass. I’ve known her about eight years now, and the only things I know about her are that she comes from Canada and she likes her personal space—a lot.”
“Well, that does make me feel better. A little bit. What was the meeting for?”
“It’s a support group.”
She stiffened.
“Not drugs, Kaylee. I’ve never done anything more serious than pot and only when I was younger. It’s for the anxiety attacks.” It was the best explanation he could offer under the circumstances. The middle of the mall was not where he wanted to come clean about his secret.
She nodded. “Okay.
June and Tony bounded up with sodas and fries. They were still grinning.
“Let’s go window shopping,” June said. “I want to look at all the dresses.”
“Boring,” Tony said.
“There’s a book shop and a video game store,” Jules said. “We can do our own window shopping.”
“Not boring,” Tony said. “Let’s go.”
Sunday. It had been seven days since Jules had received the third blackmail demand. He had three days to come up with the money and make the payment before the video would go live. He was pacing in front of Remy and Brock in the warehouse, wringing his hands.
“The money isn’t the issue,” Brock said. “I can pay it. He has to know that you’re connected to me and that sooner or later you’ll come to me for money. The demands will get larger and closer together to ensure that. He’s probably counting on me wanting to protect you so he can get a bigger payout.”
“And you’ve found nothing?” Jules said.
Remy shook his head. “This guy either works for the cops or the airport. That’s the only explanation for how he got the video in the first place. And both the police and the airport have very high-end cyber security measures in place. For me to hack into that would be hard—and very illegal. Not the sort of illegal that Brock can protect me from.”
“Because trying to stop something illegal is no excuse for doing something illegal,” Brock said. “Which puts us at a serious disadvantage.”
“What about a physical drop?” Remy said. “Could we lure this guy out with the promise of hard cash?”
“He’s insisted on e-transfers the last two times,” Jules said. “Why would he agree to a physical drop now? If I was borrowing money from Brock, wouldn’t he just transfer the money into my account? How do we rationalize this?”
“You didn’t get it from me,” Brock said. “You borrowed it from your mom and she doesn’t use electronic money transfers yet. And with the deposit delay in the banking system, you can’t get it into the bank in time to make the transfer. Three hundred in ATM twenties. I’m transferring the money to your mom’s account now.” He pulled his phone out.
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to set up the drop near the bank. You and your mom will go to the bank and she will pull the money out. You’ll put the money in an envelope and leave it in a secure, agreed upon location near the back. Remy and Jane will be our undercover. I can’t do that part because I’m the mayor and everyone knows I’m a werebear.”
Jules took a deep breath. “Okay. That might work. But what kind of secure location could we use?”
“A briefcase,” Remy said. “One with a number code on it. You send him the location and the code in the email, and he can watch you take the money out, put it in the briefcase, and leave the briefcase, so he knows you’re on the up and up with him. When he grabs the case, we’ll scoop him up and get some answers.”
“Transfer is done. Call your mom and then send the email.”
“I’ll call Jane,” Remy said. “We do this Wednesday right after work.”
“You look nervous.”
Jules smiled down at his mother. “I am nervous. Should I look calmer? I thought nervous would be a natural thing given the situation.”
“Sure, but you’re making me nervous.” The ATM beeped, and a moment later the money appeared. “Okay, here you go.”
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks Mom. Now go home, please.”
“Don’t need to ask me twice. Good luck dear.” She patted his arm and hurried in the direction of the bus stop.
He shoved the money in his pocket and went to the bench under the tree in front of the bank. He opened the briefcase and pulled out the envelope. The money went in the envelope and the envelope went back in the case. He closed the case and double checked that it was locked. He took the case and went half a block up to the little park area where many of the business people in the area came to eat their lunch or went jogging after work. He passed Remy, who was leaned against a light pole scrolling through something on his phone. Remy didn’t look up.
The drop spot was just off the jogging track, a young forked maple tree growing in the middle of a leafy bush. He looked around to make sure there were no well-meaning joggers or dog walkers who might try to return his ‘forgotten’ case to him and then nestled the case in the bush and walked away. He got in his car and drove in the direction of the warehouse. Brock was waiting there, and Remy would meet them there with the blackmailer as soon as the pickup took place.
Remy was only a few minutes behind Jules, but it was still a tense wait. Remy had the briefcase in hand, and Jane was dragging a skinny blindfolded man out of the car. They sat him down in one of the chairs and pulled the blindfold off.
He blinked at them. “Don’t hurt me. I picked up the case, just like you asked. I never looked, I swear it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The case. You hired me to pick up the case and bring it to the second drop site.”
“Shit. He’s a middle man,” Remy said.
Jules went white. “Kaylee.” He headed for the door in long strides.
“Jules! Where are you going?”
“To Kaylee’s! Brock, call Freddie, tell him I quit. Tell him I’m finally taking you up on that job offer. Tell him to hire Kaylee in my place, she knows all the work we’re doing.” And then he was out the door.
It was rush hour and traffic was working against him. He swore and pushed the car into every available opening, straining against his own rising sense of panic. He finally made it out of the business area and onto quieter side streets. Mindful of kids playing on their lawns, he didn’t speed too much. He slammed the car into park and scrambled out, bounding up the walk to Kaylee’s house.
He rang the doorbell and waited. It was Tony who came to the door. He grinned up at Jules. “Hiya, Jules. Are we going to the movies again?”
“Sorry, Tony, not today. But I hope we can do that again soon. Look, is Kaylee home?”
“Naw, not yet. She had an errand to run after work. She should be on the bus back by now. Want to come in and wait?”
“Who else is home?”
“Me and June.”
“I’ll wait on the porch,” he said. “It’s not raining and I need to clear my head.”
Tony shrugged. “Sure, whatever. I’ll text Kaylee and tell her you’re here.”
He couldn’t protest without raising suspicions so he smiled and let Tony close the door again. There was a single chair just off to the side of the door and Jules dropped into it.
A large group of people got off at the next stop, and Kaylee gratefully sank into one of the newly vacated chairs. She was only a few minutes from home, but she had a heavy bag on her arm—a birthday gift from her and her mother to Tony who would be thirteen in a week. She pulled out her phone. There was a text message from Tony: ‘Jules is waiting on the porch for you.’
She laughed under her breath and texted back: ‘He probably wanted to surprise me.’
A moment later one word showed up on the screen. ‘SURPRISE!’
Now she laughed out loud and shook her head. The boy was sharp, she had to give him that.
“Oh, my God, look at this,” someone said behind her.
“It’s the video, from the airport, I’ve seen it a hundred times.”
“No, look. It’s longer this time. It actually shows him changing. Look.”
Curious, Kaylee searched ‘New Orleans airport bear’ and sure enough a video popped up with the title “NEW! WHO IS THE AIRPORT WEREBEAR?” She clicked the video and saw the usual clip of the bear charging security personnel. Then the clip froze and rewound, this time rewinding past the beginning of the clip. When it started playing again there was no bear, just a man talking to security. He was becoming very animated and then he bent double and began to change. Kaylee put a hand over her mouth as she watched. It looked grotesque and it looked painful. Finally, the bear stood up and the video froze again, going back to moments before the change. Now it zoomed in, showing an enlarged still of the werebear’s human face.
Jules.
Jules didn’t have a lot of friends or a large family. The only humans who knew were his mother, his father’s family, Gia, and Brock’s house staff. More importantly he’d never had to tell anyone his secret before. Brock had. Brock had told a previous girlfriend, Stephanie. That later came back to haunt him, but Jules wasn’t thinking about The Human Order right now. He was thinking about a younger Brock describing the way Stephanie had taken a physical and emotional step back from him for weeks after finding out.
Now, as Kaylee climbed the steps of the porch, Jules saw the distance in her eyes and the way she hung back near the steps, near the escape route.
“You saw it,” he said.
She nodded.
“Shit. I wanted to tell you. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I didn’t think a crowded shopping mall food court was the right place, and we’ve been so busy at work lately. It just didn’t feel like the right time. Anything would have been better than this.”
“Why don’t you tell me anyway? Pretend I don’t know and tell me.”
He took a deep breath and stayed in the chair. He was less intimidating when he was sitting down, and he didn’t want to scare her any further. “Kaylee, I have to tell you something important. I really care about you, so you have a right to know. I’m a werebear. It’s not contagious at all, I promise. You can’t become a werebear, you have to be born this way.”
“So… the meetings?”
“The full moon,” he said. “I was meeting the clan. We shift in a safe place so people don’t get hurt. We’re real bears when we shift, so it’s not always safe for us to be around humans. We don’t make good tourist attractions.”
“The anxiety attacks were a lie then?”
“No. When I get overly stressed or anxious, my bear gets restless. That’s what happened that day. I was being drugged by The Human Order, and it made my anxiety so bad I shifted in public. When the bear gets restless I go to the safe house and shift. But our clan leader doesn’t like us going alone, in case something goes wrong. That’s why I kept calling Jane. She’s a werebear too. She’s a member of my clan. She was meeting me to keep me safe, to keep the people around me safe. That’s all.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay. So far I understand. It’s genetic?”
“Yes. But it’s not one hundred percent certain that a child will inherit the bear genes. Brock and my clan chief both have two parents who were shifters so they both were. Only one of my parents was a shifter.”
“Your mother? That’s why your father rejected you two?”
He shook his head.
Her eyes went wide. “Your father was a shifter?”