“I—”
The kitchen door suddenly flew open and smacked into the wall. Spencer appeared in the doorway, carrying the sturdy paper platter still full of Corey Morris’s dinner.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, clutching a wet plate to be sure I wouldn’t drop it.
Spencer set the platter on the nearest counter top. “The basement is empty. The stray is gone.”
TEN
Titus
“Okay, Lochlan, you and Naveen start at the property boundary and head west into the woods, one on two legs, one on four. Drew, you and Knox go east. Same instructions. If you haven’t found any trace within a mile of the property, call in for new directions. He’s hardly over scratch fever and he doesn’t yet know how to control his urge to shift. That means he should be easy to find, but his behavior will be unpredictable and possibly irrational.” And dangerous, of course.
“What about me?” Brandt shifted his weight from one foot to the other on the wood floor of the office, visibly eager to help. Or rather, to be included.
“I appreciate all your help around here,” I told him. “But you know I can’t send you into the field. You’re too young and too new. You’re not an enforcer.”
“So I’m good enough to set the table, but not good enough to help where it really matters?”
“Of course you’re good enough. You’re just not experienced enough.” But my explanation only seemed to frustrate him further.
“I’m not trained as an enforcer either,” Spencer said from his seat on the edge of the leather couch. “But I’d like to help. Why don’t Brandt and I team up and take a look around the grounds. It’s possible that Morris hasn’t made it off the property yet.”
I hesitated, trying to phrase a careful explanation. “He’s obviously confused and possibly scared,” I said. “And he might still have a low fever. He could lash out without even realizing what he’s doing.”
“We’ll stay in human form,” Brandt said, hope riding high in his voice. “And we won’t approach him if we find him. We’ll call it in. Come on, Titus. Let us help.”
“Fine,” I said at last. “But you stay together, and keep your phones handy. Call me if you find any sign of him.”
“We will!” Brandt took off toward the foyer, his jacket in hand. Spencer signaled his thanks to me as he followed the kid toward the front door.
As soon as they were gone, I sank onto my desk chair with a sigh. Then I moved the mouse around to wake up my computer monitor and began pulling up aerial shots of the property, so I could start marking up a search grid.
When Robyn sank onto the couch in front of my desk, I glanced up, startled. “Now who’s stealthy?” I asked, trying to force a smile when I saw how worried she looked.
“I want to help.”
“I appreciate that, but there isn’t much you can do. You don’t know the property.”
“But I know Corey Morris. As much as any of you do, at least. And I may know his thought process even better, being a recently infected stray myself.”
I nodded. “Valid point. But I can’t send you out there on your own.”
“Then come with me.” She stood, and the determination drawn in the line of her jaw told me she would not be refused.
“I need to stay here, to coordinate communication and draw up a search grid.”
“That’s anoldAlpha’s answer.” She waved off my objection. “The grids can wait, and thanks to the miracle of cell phones, you can coordinate on your feet. Don’t you think we’d both be more useful out there looking for him?”
Without a doubt. But new strays act unpredictably, and if Robyn got hurt on my watch, the council would never forgive me.
If she got hurt, I’d never forgive myself.
“You’re staying here to babysit me, aren’t you?” She sounded almost as insulted as she looked. “I can handle myself. In fact, according to the council, I can handle myself a littletoowell.”
“Against humans,” I agreed. “But you’ve never fought a fellow shifter, outside of sparring, have you?”
She blinked and suddenly looked more irritated than insulted. “No, and I don’t plan to fight Corey Morris. I’m going to look for him. If you want to ‘protect’ me, you’ll have to come with me.” With that, she marched out of the office and down the hall, toward the kitchen.
