“Right.” I walked to the door and pointed at the panel. “This monitors all the doors and windows. Once they’re all closed, you hit the Home button and punch in the code. Five-seven-one-nine-five. You’ll have to use the code manually at first. I’ll get you a fob that you can use to lock and unlock it, though that might take a day or two. Then, it’ll work just like a car. Simplebut effective. If anyone tries to break in, the alarm is loud as hell, you won’t be able to miss it.”
Maddy looked at the panel for several seconds, her brow furrowed. Finally, she swept a hand toward the front door. “Can you tell me what makes this whole place so safe? I mean, the security system is great and all, but couldn’t someone just sneak into the neighborhood?”
I couldn’t help but smile. I liked that she was asking questions and looking for holes in our logic. It meant she wouldn’t just go along with something because I said so. She was a thinker and wanted to know exactly what was going on.
“Good question. You saw the gate we came in through, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What you didn’t see was the guy hidden away, watching the gate.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t see anyone.”
“Exactly the point. We have a rotating guard at the gate. We also have a fence that runs around the entire perimeter of the compound. We’ve got cameras at every entrance and randomly around the property. Someone’s tasked with checking the footage all the time, looking for anything out of place. Now that Javi has proven how serious he is, we’ve got volunteers doing sweeps around the neighborhood and along the fence line.”
“Okay.” Grinning, she held up a hand. “I get it. Lots of security. Sounds safe. So, what comes next? What’s the plan?”
“We need to figure out why Javi is after you. That’s what we need to start working on.”
I walked over to the back door and opened it, inviting her to sit on the deck with me. We settled into the chairs and drank our beers in silence for a few minutes before I broached the subject again. “First things first, let’s talk about your connections.”
“To what?” she asked.
“Shifters. Do you have any background with anyone? Ex-boyfriends? Business partners? Roommates? Anything?”
“None. I didn’t, like, actively try to stay away from shifters. I just never had the chance to get to know any.”
She looked a little embarrassed about the information, which I could understand. Lots of people hated shifters and wanted nothing to do with us. Ending the segregation of shifters had taken a long time, and some people still wished the old laws had never been revoked. Maddy didn’t want me to think she was on the side of the racists.
“It’s okay, I get it. I don’t have many humans I deal with, if I’m honest,” I said. “What about your parents? Could they have gotten into trouble?Maybe your father owes money or something like that? Maybe you’re leverage for Javi to get what he wants from one of your parents?”
Maddy’s eyes almost popped out of her face and a hand went to her forehead. “Oh shit. I haven’t even called my mom and dad. Oh God.”
That was probably something she needed to do. “Go ahead and give them a call. I’d keep what happened close to the vest, though.”
“But shouldn’t I tell my parents I was attacked? Nico, I almost died.”
I nodded, raising my hands to keep her calm. “I know what you’re saying. Still, if your parents aren’t involved, the less they know the better. If you give them a bunch of info, they may become collateral damage. I don’t want Javi going after them because they found out something they didn’t need to know. Plus, if I’m honest, they’d probably demand you go stay with them. Can your parents protect you the way I can?”
Maddy chewed at her lower lip and glanced around the house, then gave a sad shake of her head.
“Good. When you do talk to them, try to get some information out of them. Be subtle with the questions. That way, we can try to rule them out early. I sent a guy to your bar. He’s going to get your cell phone and bring it here. Until then, you can use mine,” I said, pulling the phone out of my pocket.
She took it and immediately dialed her parents’ number from memory. It was impressive, actually. I couldn’t remember my own mom and dad’s number. All I ever did was hit the button that saidMomorDad.
I leaned back to listen to the call. My hearing was ten times better than that of a normal human, and this would give me the opportunity to hear if either of her parents sounded like they were hiding anything.
“Mom?” Maddy said, when the phone stopped ringing.
“Sweetie? Hi. I was starting to get worried. We haven’t heard from you in a couple days. What phone are you calling from? It says unknown number.”
“Yeah, sorry. Things got…uh…busy, I guess. I’m, uh…well I dropped my phone in the toilet. I’m using one of my employee’s phones for now until I get a new one.”
“Ew, that’s terrible. But you said busy. Does that mean there’s a boy?” her mother asked hopefully.
Maddy rolled her eyes. “Jeez, Mom, no. Listen, has everything been okay with you and Dad?”
“What do you mean?”
