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“You wanted to see me?” Nelly sat on the edge of my desk when I walked into the office. If I had any doubts about her interest before, they were wiped out by seeing her sitting in a barely there skirt and a partially unbuttoned blouse.

“Yes, I did.” I felt my anger rising, but I needed to stay calm. Nothing good ever came from me losing my temper, other than the release of adrenalin I got when I transformed.

“This late at night?” she pouted in a way she probably thought was sexy but actually made her seem childish.

“The way I see it, I have two options right now.”

“Options?” She sat forward slightly.

“Yes. Either I fire you and make sure you never get hired by The Society again, or I get you to make everything up to me.”

“Make what up to you? And I take that option.” She looked half excited and half nervous.

I decided to get rid of the excitement right away. “You ruined things with Casey. I’m going to fix everything, but that doesn’t change the fact that you took away the best thing that’s happened to me in years.”

Her face blanched. “Toby, I can explain.”

“Can you?” I crossed my arms, still fighting the urge to shift.

“She isn’t good enough for you. You deserve better, but you were too blind to see the truth that was right in front of you.”

“Oh, I deserve better, do I? And who would be a better option?” I pretended to mull it over. “It wouldn’t be you, would it?”

“You’d have to be blind to not realize we are meant for each other.” She licked her lips.

“You have to be blind to not realize I’m in love with someone else.” My dad’s warning ran through me, but she needed to hear this. She needed to get over any delusion that we’d be together. Even if I’d ever had interest, which I didn’t, she’d have killed it by sabotaging things with Casey. The act spoke volumes about the person, or rather witch, she was.

“I was only trying to protect you.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“No, of course not.” She stood up without bothering to adjust her skirt. I averted my eyes. I had no desire to look at her exposed skin.

“You didn’t do that for me. You did it for you.”

“Toby, I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry if I mistakenly led you on. I know what it’s like to want someone you can’t have, but that still doesn’t excuse what you did.”

“How can I fix things? How can I make this better?” She actually looked like she might cry.

“You’re going to help me without asking questions.” I needed to get some good out of the mess she’d created with my life. I couldn’t go back and change what happened with Casey in New Orleans, but I could make sure I kept her safe.

“I always help you.”

“This is different. This is going to involve breaking some rules.”

She smiled. “I like breaking rules.”

“I know. And if you want to date a Pteron so badly, why not try Tim? He has a thing for you.”

“Really?” Her excitement at the mention of my cousin’s name gave me the confirmation I needed. She wasn’t that into me. She just wanted to date someone in power. She wasn’t the first.

“Go home, Nelly. I’ll let you know when you’re needed.”

“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

“You better not.” I turned and walked out of the office. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake. I didn’t want to keep Nelly around, but I was going to need a witch. And finding a witch who would keep her mouth shut wasn’t easy to come by.

With Nelly on board, I needed to track down Eric.

***

I checked the number on the apartment before knocking. No one answered at first, so I pounded again.

“What the fuc—” Eric yanked open his door. “Oh. It’s you.”

“We need to talk.” I was all business even though I wanted to laugh at catching the bear drinking some tropical drink. He didn’t strike me as the type.

“And we need to do it now?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“Only marginally.” He held open the door so I could enter. He checked the hallway before closing the door behind us then set his drink down on a side table.

“Afraid you’re being watched?” I glanced around the sparsely furnished apartment. Nothing in the place would let on that it was inhabited by a bear except for the Urusus symbol that hung over the mantle. The bears were a sentimental group.

“I know I’m being watched as are you.”

I shrugged. “Nothing we can do about that. Are you bugged here?”

“No.” He nodded yes. Nice one. Maybe Eric was sharper than I gave him credit for.

“Oh. Good. I really need to discuss the atlas deal with you.”

He pointed to his coffee maker and nodded again. I knew what he was getting at. “What’s there to discuss? We’re not doing it.”

Despite my frustration with having to regroup, there was something fun about a random code conversation. It made me feel like I was undercover. “That’s too bad. We’ll find someone else then.”

“I guess so.”

I headed to the door. “You’re going to regret this.”

“No, I don’t think I will.”

I left Eric’s apartment and walked around for a while. I figured I’d give him a chance to get there first. Eventually, I made my way to the back entrance of Coffee Heaven. I knocked twice, and he pulled open the door. We both checked the alley before I closed the door behind me.

He didn’t bother to turn on the lights as I followed him into the main café.

“At least you were smart enough to figure this out.” Eric didn’t waste any time before insulting me. I didn’t mind. Bears and Pterons weren’t supposed to like each other more than necessary.

“Impressive, huh?”

He pulled down two chairs. They slammed onto the tiled floor. So much for being incognito. “How did it go? How’s she doing? She hasn’t said a word to me.”

I was right about her only coming to me for advice. I liked it. “She’s okay. Just freaked out and confused.”

“What’s she going to do?” Eric paced the dark room nervously. Why’d he bother taking down the chairs if he wasn’t going to use one?

I took a seat. Maybe he’d calm down that way. His pacing was making me nervous. “I called Allie… we’re bringing the Laurents in.”