Page 62 of Bound

“Can they do that?”

“Legally? Sure. They can come in my room any time they want.” I crushed a handful of oyster crackers over my chili. “By lunchtime, they seemed bored hearing my kids critique essays for the fourth straight period in a row and decided cafeteria duty was the more pressing threat. Course, no one’s exactly lining up to teach freshman English in a rural town two hours from anywhere and it’s got to be grating that state test scores have risen for my kids every year since I got there.”

August raised his mocha in mock salute. “All hail standardized testing.”

I clinked his mug. “Is Cal coming over?”

“Later. He’s a on a conference call with Brody and Guillermo and then I think they’ve had him talking with Athena.”

“You mean Fallon,” Topher said.

“Right.” August wolfed down another mouthful of chili. “Damn, Ethan. This is delicious. Is this Dally’s recipe? Oh, before I forget, he called earlier and said business was down over at The Spoke, too. Says not to worry. That we need to hang tight and give things a chance to blow over.”

“Blow over?” Ethan deadpanned. “Only Dallas. He’s probably planning out tomorrow’s specials. How much you want to bet we cut the Howlers Mocha so as not to stir up trouble and he’s over there adding a Wolf Lover’s Platter to his menu.”

“Ten buckssays Fancy has already tweeted it out,” Hayden said, then shrugged when I made a face. “What? It’s catchy. Put her next to a pumpkin making sassy eyes and hashtag that bad boy… #whosafraidofthebigbadwolf.”

Grinning, August pulled out his phone.

I grabbed for it. “Death wish? You know Dallas will do it. Brody will have my ass for not smacking the idea down and Lacey will put us allon the no-fly list for cupcakes for a month, right before she breaks out all her fall specials.”

“Because this is all about you?” August said dryly.

“If I miss her Praline Caramel Crunch cupcakes this year—"

“You think the Wolf Lover’s Platter comes with double meat?” Hayden interrupted, typing. “Because I want chicken and ribs. Fancy will back me up on this.”

“Should be triple meat,” Topher said seriously. “I mean, c’mon. Wolves.”

I threw an oyster cracker at him. “Not. Helping.”

Topher waved his phone. “Since it’s safe to assume we’re all in need of a lethal dose of chocolate after the cluster that was today, should I just put in a massive cupcake order at Blair’s when August and I run out to pick up barbecue?”

Hayden leaned over to high-five him. “I knew you got me.”

I kicked her under the bar. “Back off, Crowe. He’s taken.”

Smirking, Topher continued. “We have seventy-two hours to figure out how to get Vlad to agree to take us to Kieran. Ideas?”

“Without the meeting with Guillermo,” I added. “We need outside the box thinking.”

“Cash?” August suggested. “The resistance has to be low on resources.”

Ethan leaned against the bar next to Hayden, who tucked her head against his chest. “Okay, except it’s going to be hard to come up with the funds for a ransom payment without going through the Council. Not in the amount we’d need. We could call Mom. She could probably get it—”

Topher shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”

“—but not in three days.”

Hayden worried her lip ring, staring out at the street, where it was just beginning to get dark. “Why is Vlad so set on meeting with Guillermo anyway? Someone should tell him he’s kind of a dick and will screw his vampire uprising over the first chance he gets.”

August shrugged. “Uncle G’s complicated.”

“Not where non-shapeshifters are concerned. His responsibility is to protect werewolves, to ensure our survival even if that comes at a terrible cost to the human family members of Bitten wolves. Look what was done to Lacey’s mother, to my sister. They had their memories erased like thousands of others in order to protect the secret that we exist. Vlad is fooling himself if he thinks Guillermo will ever see vampires as equals, will ever send shifters to fight and die to protect them. We’ve been at war for centuries and for someone like him, who’s fought on the front lines for most of that time—”

“There’s too much bad blood there,” Topher finished quietly.

“Exactly.”