“That is how she reads,” I snap. “How she checks her mail. How she schedules rides. This is her independence.”
Buff swallows and adds, smaller than I’ve ever heard him, “Her… blindness stuff.”
“Yes, Buff, her blindness stuff.”
Birds scatter, mice and rats scurry.
Froggy looks away, jaw tight. “She’s loaded. She can get another one.”
I don’t answer. If I do, I’ll say something I can’t take back. The silence lands like stone, heavy and final.
We glare at each other, neither of us prepared to be the first to look away. I will stand here all night if I have to. He tookadvantage of the one place she can’t compensate. She deserves better than this.
Buff quietly stands over the tablet like it’s the code to an A-bomb, and for the first time ever, I see Froggy not as my friend but as the person who made her vulnerable.
Eventually, Froggy breaks the silence. “You’re too soft.”
“And you’re too damn reckless.”I snap back, hackles rising.
Buff steps between us. “Okay, okay, okay—group meeting!”
“Buff—” I warn.
“Nope!” he chirps. “Both of you shut up. Because we’re forgetting the main thing here.”
We both turn.
“Getting Jason out of the country,” Buff says simply. “That’s the goal. Whether it’s Canada or fake IDs or… or smuggling him in a crate labeledorganic beef.”
“Please don’t,” I mutter.
Buff puts a hand on each of our shoulders. “We can’t screw this up by fighting. So Froggy, stop being a thief. Jason, stop being… whatever you’re being.”
“I’m being careful,” I say stiffly.
“You’re being involved,” Froggy mutters.
“And you’re being a criminal,” I fire back.
Buff sighs, long and loud and dramatic. “Jesus wept.”
I run a hand through my hair. “I’ll return as the dog. She thinks he went out with Buff.”
“And I’ll go fix the stairs at her back porch,” Buff says. “Maybe add a handrail.”
Froggy grumbles. “Fine. I’ll stay true to what I am. A wolf. Jace, why don’t you be a good dog and return her tablet. Wouldn’t want the blind human vulnerable. But do us all a favor and remember who you are too. That means not getting attached to a human.”
I don’t answer as I shift back into my wolf.
Because the problem is…
I already am.
I pad toward the front door, pawing softly at the bottom.
The door swings open almost instantly.
“Oh!” Violet gasps happily. “There you are! Were you out exploring? Come here. Are you feeling better?” Her hands find my fur with practiced ease, brushing through it gently until her fingers settle on the top of my head. “I had the absolute best time with Human-Jason today. What did you think of the food?”
