She opened her mouth to argue, but then bit her lip. “I guess I didn’t think about it.”
He’d been a bear for the last ten months, but even he’d heard of the water disaster in Flint, Michigan. “No more water,” he said. “You don’t drink this at all.”
“Um, okay. We’ve got a few more bottles of your special water. Is it okay to wash the dishes?” She looked to her bathroom. “And what about the shower? You’ve been here a couple days now. Are you just now noticing this?”
He pursed his lips. She had a point. “Hold on,” he said as he crossed to the bathroom and flipped on the shower. It didn’t take more than ten seconds for him to smell the taint in the steam. It was thick enough to make him choke as he turned it off. “That wasn’t there yesterday,” he said. “Whatever it is, it’s new.”
“Oh goody,” she drawled as she plopped her hands on her hips. “Look, it’s impossible to function without using the water. Are you sure—”
He cut her off. “I’m sure.” He kept his voice firm, though inside he was questioning. The UP had beautiful water and besides, he’d been a bear. What did he know about crappy city water? Except he couldn’t bring himself to change his mind. That water was bad. “We’ll mention it to Kennedy—” He cut off his words as an electronic chime sounded from the office. And continued to sound, along with a steady buzz. He looked to the room with a frown.
“That’s your phone,” Alyssa said. “Sounds like you’ve missed a few calls.”
He nodded but he didn’t move. Damn it, he might remember how to answer the phone, but he couldn’t read to figure out how to get his messages.
“I got it.” She went back into her office and again, he followed her. “What’s your phone code?”
Numbers he could remember, so he told her and within a moment, she was scrolling through his messages.
“Do you want the oldest or the newest?” Then before he could answer, she snorted. “They’re both from a guy named Carl. I’m guessing he’s that alpha you mentioned. He’s left about a dozen—”
“Call him back.”
Carl Carman was his alpha, or had been his alpha before he’d killed Nanook and taken over the Griz. Either way, Carl should have been his first phone call after he woke up. And after his fight with Nanook. And maybe first thing this morning. So it was no surprise when the man came on the phone practically vibrating with fury. Alyssa had put him on speaker, so Carl’s voice filled the space with booming threat.
“What the hell, Simon! What the hell are you doing?”
“Hello, Carl,” Simon said, his voice deepening at the sound of aggression. He deserved it, he knew, but that didn’t stop his grizzly from growling deep inside him. “I’ve been busy.”
“Busy? Busy taking over Detroit?”
“Yes.” And fighting Vic and making love with Alyssa. And a host of other things that flashed through his mind.
“Don’t you think you should have talked to me first?”
“There wasn’t time. Nanook was trying to murder a cop. It was the only way to…” Keep Alyssa alive. “To calm things down.”
“Violent overthrows don’t usually quiet things down.”
“It has for the moment.” He hoped.
“Fine. You calling about the Detroit Flu? I’ve been watching the news and that video from the hospital looks awful familiar.”
Simon frowned. “I haven’t seen—”
“I have,” Alyssa interrupted. “It was someone changing. Just like Vic.”
“Who’s that?” Carl abruptly demanded. “Identify yourself!”
“She’s my assistant,” Simon said, a growl coming through his tone loud and clear. He did not like anyone talking to Alyssa with anything but respect.
“Assistant? Just how long have you been in Detroit? You’re supposed to check in with me once a month, and it’s been—”
“Ten months. Yes, I know.”
“Ten fucking months! What the hell were you doing?”
Simon thought about lying. The last thing he wanted to admit to anyone was that he’d been a bear all those months. That amount of animal time was unheard of. Anyone who lasted that long stayed furry. The fact that he’d come back was both unusual and grounds for a deeper inspection into his psyche. Humans didn’t live wild without going native…and crazy. In fact, if Alyssa hadn’t shot him, if it hadn’t been a matter of survival, he probably wouldn’t have ever come back to human. Which meant that it would have been Carl’s job to hunt him and kill him.
