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“He knows where Vera is!” Casey’s face flooded with excitement. I really hoped I was making the right decision. She had a right to know, and she needed to find her sister, but I couldn’t let her put herself in danger.

“Do you?” Toby looked at me with a mix of surprise and possibly admiration. “When do we go, then?”

“We?” I hoped he wasn’t including her.

“Yes. You and me.”

“Uh, I’m coming too. Don’t think I’m staying behind.”

“What are we discussing?” Cade made the already crowded aisle feel nearly claustrophobic.

“My sister is missing and Jared knows where to find her.” Casey moved around me. “Jared, please tell the pilot where he’s dropping us off.”

“Dropping us off? First, you’re not coming and second, we have a wedding to be at tomorrow. We’re not going now.”

“The key word is tomorrow.” She tied up her hair like she was preparing to fight or something.

“You think we’re going to rescue your sister before the wedding?” I’m sure my jaw was on the floor.

“I know it. How can I go and celebrate a wedding when I know we’re so close to finding Vera?”

“I’m in,” Cade added casually. “Where are we going?”

“We’re already hours in the wrong direction.” I needed to stall her. We couldn’t do this yet.

“I can get all my men behind us.” Cade surprised me by actually being helpful.

“If we wait until after the wedding, all of the Laurents will help too.” Levi wasn’t going to sign off on anything until after the wedding. He wouldn’t care what I did afterward.

“And obviously the Blackwell’s will.” Toby put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I know you don’t want to wait, but you need to.”

“Two days? We’ll go right after the wedding?” Her voice said it all. She was giving in.

“Yes.” I didn’t hesitate with the answer. As little as I knew about Casey outside of our experience together, I knew how much finding her sister meant. I had two days. Two days to make sure everything checked out, and I could keep Casey safe in the process. Of course, I also had to do best man duties and keep Levi from losing it. Nothing I couldn’t handle.

“Should we call Eric? Do you think he can help us at all?” Casey took a seat on the couch, and Toby joined her.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean? We can’t trust him?” Her doe eyes got bigger.

“He’s being watched. Just like we all are.”

She crossed her arms. “Then get word to him. We need all the help we can get.”

“I don’t disagree. I just don’t want to promise anything I can’t deliver.” Toby looked right at me. He was warning me that I better have a plan. I did, but I wasn’t ready to discuss it yet. And I also needed to remind them of another small detail.

“But this might all be for nothing.”

“Excuse me?” Casey sat up and glared at me.

“They might come to us. Murphy’s been completely silent. That has to be for a reason. They’re planning something. I just don’t know what.”

“Why do you think so?” Cade paced behind the couch.

“Because they know we’re isolated. They know Levi is going to be distracted.”

“Do you think they’d bring Vera with them?” Casey sat back again.

“Maybe, but I doubt it. Even if they didn’t, getting their leader away would make it easier to get to her.” Toby ran a hand down Casey’s arm. I tried to ignore the intimate action.

“Only if they send their leader.”

“You don’t think it would be Murphy himself?” Casey asked.

“Murphy would come, but he’s not the leader.”

“What?” Casey was up on her feet. “What do you mean he’s not the leader?”

“Murphy isn’t running things. He’s working for someone else.”

“But who?” She looked so upset I couldn’t stand it. “Who would he be working for?”

“I’m trying to find out. Whoever it is keeps their identity closely guarded.”

“It better not be anyone else I’m related to.”

I laughed. At least Casey could still make a joke.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Casey

I was tired. I was tired of all the surprises, the lack of control, and my inability to do anything about my life anymore.

“I have no idea what I should do next.” I sighed, not caring that three Pterons were listening. I was also tired of putting on a strong face when all I wanted to do was crumple into a ball.

“What do you mean, what you’re doing next?” Jared asked. Toby and Cade remained quiet. They were the smart ones. I was so angry and upset I was close to transforming.

“I mean what the heck I’m going to do with my life now that I know I’m not human. I can’t exactly go back to what I was doing before.” I’d been so overwhelmed that I’d barely even thought about my future. Could I really just go about living like nothing had happened? Georgina paid my tuition, but where would college fit in? Was I supposed to take on some sort of position? So far, no one had told me anything, and I hadn’t asked. My first plan was to find Vera. After that, I’d have to figure out my next step.

Jared gave me a funny look. “You’re a Laurent. That means you’ll end up down in New Orleans eventually.”

“No, it doesn’t. She doesn’t have to sit around, waiting at her brother’s beck and call.” Toby decided to jump in.

“I’m the only one who’s going to be making decisions about my life. I don’t know what I want to do yet. End of story.” I tried to control my anger. The hardest part of being a Pteron was learning to control your emotions. “Let’s use the rest of this flight to figure out what’s going to happen in the next few days.”

Cade laughed. “And here I thought this would be a relaxing weekend away.”

“Is anything involving The Society ever relaxing?” Toby put his arm behind me, and I settled back against it. I needed the normalcy I got from physical contact with him.

“No. Good point.” Cade took a seat on a chair. “So tell me, how’s Levi doing? Is he ready for the big ‘I do’?’”

“Yeah, but he’s making a big deal about it.” Jared rolled his eyes like it was the most ridiculous thing ever.