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I took a deep breath, stretched, and headed down the long corridor. I had Nelly stationed and ready to go when I needed her services. Tim and Tom flanked her to make sure she didn’t act out and mess anything up.
I observed the man. His hair was short, but he had a layer of scruffy facial hair. By the red rimmed appearance of his eyes, he hadn’t slept recently. Some of that was my fault, some wasn’t. I stepped into the room. “Hello, Rhett.” Eric had told me Casey’s cousin had answers. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait.
He glanced up, tugging on where his arms were tied to the chair. I remained in the shadows. There was no reason to give away my identity yet.
“Who the hell are you?”
“That doesn’t really matter.” I watched him. Was he a bear? From first glance, I doubted it. He looked more the nerd than the shifter, but maybe that was all part of it. He didn’t want anyone to know how strong he actually was.
“Like hell it doesn’t. I get dragged back here with no explanation. On what authority can you hold me against my will?” He seemed to see quite clearly even though his wire rimmed glasses were in a broken heap on the floor. I assumed one of my men had broken them, but considering I was almost 100% positive the lenses weren’t prescription, I didn’t worry about it. Shifters tended to have perfect vision.
“Under the authority of The Society.”
He didn’t blink, and his lack of response was a dead giveaway. He knew all about The Society.
“Why? What does The Society want with me?”
“So you’re admitting knowledge of us?” At least he wasn’t going to pretend to be human.
“Yes. I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t already know what I was.”
“You’re a bear.” No reason to beat around the bush.
“What? No jokes about how I’m the smallest bear you’ve seen?”
I smiled. The guy had a sense of humor. Maybe it ran in the family. “What were you doing in Russia?” It hadn’t taken my men long to apprehend Rhett and bring him back. It was all too coincidental. The generous cousin that let her live in his apartment just happened to be away when she’s taken by Murphy? I wasn’t buying it.
“Research. I’m working on my PhD at NYU. I was doing field research. ”
“In anthropology, am I right?” Casey had let that little detail slip.
“Yes. What does that have to do with The Society?”
“Who do you work for?”
“Excuse me? I just told you I’m at NYU.”
I stepped out of the shadows. “No. That’s the school you’re affiliated with. Who do you work for?”
“Toby? I should have known.”
“Glad to know you recognize me.”
“You don’t know who you’re messing with. Just drop this. It’s not worth it.”
“Not worth it?” I felt the anger boiling, and I took it out on the table, pounding my fist on the wooden tabletop. “She’s worth it.”
“Who? Who’s worth it?” His blank expression made me wonder if he was telling the truth. He was hiding something, but maybe he didn’t have all the pieces.
“Casey.”
“Stay the hell away from her!” His voice rose and his face hardened.
“No. I’m not staying away from her. I’m protecting her.”
“Protecting her? I doubt that.”
“Who do you work for?”
“First tell me something. Is Casey all right? I haven’t heard from her since I left.”
“She’s fine.” I hoped she was. I didn’t want to let her go to New Orleans, but what excuse did I have to stop her?
“You still haven’t told me why you brought me in here. Why am I tied to this stupid chair?” He fought against the ropes again.
“Because I know you’re hiding something.”
“I can’t tell you anything. I’m not putting my cousin in danger.”
“Why? Casey’s already in danger anyway.”
He closed his eyes then opened them. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“I can’t protect her unless you tell me everything you know.”
He looked down. “You’re not letting me out of here until I talk, are you?”
“No.” I leaned over him. “And I can make this a lot less comfortable for you.”
He shivered slightly. “They already have Vera. I’m not working for them directly but I have delivered a few messages for Murphy. I want to shelter Casey. Pretending to support them is the best way.”
“What kind of messages? Start talking.”
“It’s going to take a while. Can I get some water or something?”
I needed to do something. He was far too comfortable and relaxed. He wasn’t motivated enough. I kicked the table, pinning Rhett against the far wall. “Does it look like I’m going to give you water?”
He struggled to speak. “Fine.”
“Talk.”
“I don’t know what’s in the messages. I just take them and leave them with someone else. Always someone different.”
I filed away that thought and moved on to another question. “What do they want with Casey? Do they want to use her against the Laurents or something?”
“That’s got to be part of it.” He swallowed hard.
I nodded. Ready for him to continue.
“The Pterons have held the power for years. They’ve ruled at the exclusion of other shifters.”
“Yes, for centuries.” What was he getting at?
“But not everyone is happy about that.”
“No kidding.” I stared him down. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
He sighed with disdain.
I pushed the table harder against his chest. “Tell me.”
“What do you know about shifter genetics?”
“The shifter gene is dominant.” I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard anything else. Reproduction wasn’t something I thought about much.
“But what about if there are genes from different shifter types?”
“The more dominant type takes over.”
“Sometimes, but not always. There are times when this creates non shifter children.” He watched. “Do you understand the significance of that?”
“Yes.” A light bulb went off. Is that why we weren’t supposed to mate with other shifters? Was it out of fear of creating non Pteron children? And what if two Pterons mated? Did that rule stem from the same fear?