Page 59 of Wolf Blood

"They would kill me or return me as soon as I devolved," I said. "And Iwoulddevolve. Rhone would follow me, though."

"Probably."

"If I went, I could get the guy you needed, and Rhone would protect me until I devolved to the point that they returned me."

"It seems likely."

I glanced at Maverick, but he was staring straight ahead.

Bloom would actually castrate him if she found out about this conversation.

"She's doing better," I said. "Making friends. Establishing herself with your pack. You guys seem more solid now, too."

"We are," he admitted. "And she is."

"It would be better if I devolved permanently away from the pack, too."

"I'm not allowed to talk about that."

"But it would be, if I did. We both know it."

He sighed. "She would still fall apart. I don't know how Rhone would react now, either."

"You can't know everything."

"He thinks you're doing better."

"She doesn't." I handed him my phone. "Pull up the location."

Maverick didn't take the device.

"She loves the investment company, Mav. She can't lose it and me at the same time. It has to go back online, fast."

There was a long pause before he took the device. "You'll need to leave tonight, after he takes you back to the tower, to buy yourself time."

I nodded.

He handed the phone back, and I saved the location before slipping the device into my pocket again.

"You're about to have another problem. Sorry," I said, unapologetically.

The second elevator dinged just as Rhone came back to us. His expression was tight.

"Oh my god," Bloom breathed from the other elevator."Ozzy?"

Mav shot me a look that said,"Seriously?"

I shot one back that said,"You should've told her."

Maverick strode over to her while Rhone grabbed me around the waist and walked me deeper into the elevator. "You're going home."

"Wait for Bloom," Mav called out.

"I'm staying," she said, though she sounded ill.

"Just give them a minute," I told Rhone."I'm not on the verge of devolving right now."

He jerked his head.