I point to the newspaper I brought with us. “All the directors are listed in this article. They’re also all plaintiffs in the suit being brought against O’Sullivan’s estate.”

She picks up the article. “Well, being cut out of a billion-dollar deal would definitely cause hard feelings. What I’m wondering, though, is why kill him if you’re planning to sue?”

I think of the questions I was going to ask my dad when I read the article the first time. “What if the suit had no merit? Jason said his dad told Laura he’d cost a colleague a lot of money. It seems to me that O’Sullivan was a shrewd enough businessman to have made sure he owned the rights to any marketable formulas his team came up with. So maybe what he did wasn’t illegal, but it certainly would have pissed off somebody who’d expected to share in the profits. With O’Sullivan dead, it’d be far easier to deal with Mrs. O’Sullivan, coerce her to settle simply to avoid a nasty court battle.”

“Laura definitely wouldn’t want a battle,” Jason says bitterly. “Dad’s only been gone a couple of days and she’s already got lawyers checking into how much of my father’s estate I’m entitled to and how much is hers. She’s even contacted my grandparents to see if I can live with them. She wants to get me out of her life as quickly as she can. She’ll want to get this suit settled, too.”

Jamie taps a manicured fingernail against the arm of her chair. “I’m going to call Detective Harris. Jason, I want you to tell him what you told me. He’s already suspicious of some of the things your stepmother said. For instance, the police have determined there were no irregularities with the books at the restaurant. There is no proof that your father and Gloria were having an affair. Now that he’s gone, all she has is suspicion. Gloria certainly won’t testify about it. We won’t get Gloria off this minute, but we can point Harris in another direction. It’s a start.”

Jason doesn’t look convinced, but he does agree to talk to Harris. While Jamie makes the arrangements, I ask him if he wants me to stay. I’m relieved when he says no. I still have business to settle with Sandra, and the sooner I attend to it, the sooner I’ll feel safe in my own skin.

Before I leave the lawyer’s office, I take Jamie aside. I give her my father’s number in case she has questions about O’Sullivan’s dealings with Benton Pharmaceuticals. I also give her the invitation. She recognizes the implications immediately. Then I tell her where Jason spent last night. She doesn’t ask why or if Laura kicked him out, and I don’t volunteer it. Jason is a minor, and she says she’ll make sure he gets home when they’re finished. From her tone, I have a feeling she’s hoping Laura will give her a reason to exercise some legal muscle against her. I do, too.

After that, I’m on my own. Up to this point I’ve given no thought as to how I’m going to take care of my problem with Sandra. I know what I have to do, find that talisman. Maybe Tamara can help.

This time, when I call her, she picks up.

“Anna. I was about to call you.”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Did David tell you he’s cooking dinner for me tonight?”

Not if I can help it. “Yes, but I need to talk to you first. About Sandra’s problem.”

There’s a moment of dead air. “You believe me now?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Is that important? Do you want my help or not?”

“Where are you?”

“On my way to Avery’s.”

“Good. We’ll be waiting.”

CHAPTER 59

MY MOOD IS FAR DIFFERENT ON THIS TRIP TO see Sandra than it was on the first. No fancy dress, no sexual fantasies buzzing around my head like wasps around water. I want two things this time—free Sandra and send Avery to hell where he belongs. Every day I learn more about what it means to be a creature who is not human, and every day I find another reason to hate what I’ve become. If the alternative were not so bleak, if I didn’t have my family and David to counterbalance the evil, it might be an unbearable burden.

What I’m going to do when they are no longer part of my life, I refuse to consider.

My eyes keep straying to the rearview mirror. It’s been two days since Williams’ watchdog and I had that unintentional run-in at Mister A’s. During that time, I’ve yet to spot Tom’s Escalade. Either he’s changed vehicles or he’s been pulled off the case by Williams and I have a new shadow.

Or Williams called off the surveillance altogether. Maybe he thinks it’s no longer necessary to tail me since I won’t be around much longer to cause him grief. One bite from a werewolf, and it’s good-bye, Anna. Something he’s wanted since the beginning. In spite of his lofty rhetoric, I’ve felt his resentment grow. He hasn’t been able to fashion me in his own image any more than Avery could. And like Avery, allowing me to live as I wish is something he can’t seem to accept.

Fuck him.

CHAPTER 60

A VERY’S GATE IS OPEN, AND I PULL THE MUSTANG up to the front door. It’s easier to be here during the day. I pocket the car keys and start toward the door. It opens and Tamara steps out to meet me. She’s dressed in jeans and a tight red jersey knit top. She’s had a haircut since I saw her last. A fresh, feathery style that makes her look more feminine.

Too bad David is never going to get a chance to appreciate the effort.

“Cool car,” she says. “What happened to the Jag?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear? Somebody vandalized it. Looked like it was attacked by a pack of wild dogs. Imagine, in the middle of the day on a crowded street. Shocked the hell out of David and me.”

Her lips form an O of surprise, but her eyes reflect only cold amusement.

“If the stunt was meant to get my attention,” I say, “it worked. Here I am.”

Tamara’s look is cool, appraising. “David doesn’t know what you are, does he?”

“No more than he knows what you are. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m here to help Sandra. Then I expect you and the rest of the pack to be on your way. No dinner date. No good-bye kiss. David is not going to become your mate or fuck buddy or whatever the hell you call males pressed into stud service. It’s not going to happen, Tamara.”

I didn’t plan that speech. The words erupted when I saw the new, improved Tamara and guessed her game plan. As soon as they did, though, I had the stomach-clenching feeling that I’d said too much. Nothing like tipping your hand. Not too smart.

Tamara doesn’t react the way I expect. No heated rebuttal. No threats. No hands-on-hips declaration that I can’t stop her from doing whatever she wants. Her eyes and mouth tighten a bit at the corners. Then the shadow passes and she smiles. “You been practicing that speech?”

“Where’s Sandra?”

She stands aside and points up the stairs. “Waiting for you. She isn’t feeling well. Avery is preventing her from making the change. Do you know what that means?”

I gesture for her to go ahead of me—now that I know the consequences of a bite, I’m not about to turn my back on her. Then, I answer her question. “Yes. He’s hidden her talisman. She’ll die without it.”

She nods. All I see in her eyes now is concern. “I’ve turned this place inside out. I’m hoping since you lived here for a while, you’d know if he had a hiding place. Something I’ve overlooked.”

I do know, and Avery did have a hiding place. Before I share, I want to set one thing straight. “I didn’t live here. Not really. Avery treated me in the hospital after I was attacked. He said he would help me through the transition. He never mentioned a wife. I can’t seem to make anyone understand that I have no interest in his estate. If Sandra wants it, she can have it. I haven’t touched anything, nor had I been in the house before Saturday. Not once since he tried to kill me. Do you understand?”

Tamara listens with her head tilted, her hand on the doorknob to the front door. “There’s only one thing wrong with your story,” she says. “The part about not having any interest in the estate. Not exactly true, is it?”