“No, thank you.”

I really would rather have paid. Karl Marsten wasn’t someone I liked being indebted to. Clayton once told me, “Karl’s first priority is Karl. And his second. And his third. Being Pack now won’t change that.” Which was to say that while Karl was a loyal new addition to the werewolf Pack, his loyalty extended no further than his self-interest. The same, presumably, went for his relationship with me. As long as I proved a useful ally, he could be trusted…though not, apparently, to ring the bell before entering.

“I presume this visit is in regard to the task my father gave Hope?”

He clanked the spoon against the edge of his cup and handed me my mug before we walked to my office.

The smell of the coffee twisted my stomach. The mention of Hope’s name didn’t help. I’d spent the last two days wondering whether I’d done the right thing.

I didn’t doubt there were rumblings of gang trouble, but I knew my father had another angle. I just couldn’t decide what it was and, more important, whether it put Hope in danger.

If his ploy had been to get me to Miami to protect her, how carefully would he have evaluated the danger before setting her on the job? Was she in over her head while he bided his time, waiting for the panicked call from her that would bring me running? Something told me she’d never make that call, however bad things got.

Or was it all about Hope? His way of wooing her into Cabal life? If so, should I do something about it? Did I have the right to do anything about it?

My father had a knack for placing me in impossible situations. Damned if I acted, damned if I didn’t. Only this time I feared Hope would be the one damned.

“So Hope is in Miami,” Karl said as we sat. “I’ve been in Europe. I came back, had business in Philly and thought I’d take Hope to lunch. Her mother told me she was in Fort Lauderdale, pursuing an urgent story. When I heard ‘Florida,’ my first thought was your father. I’d hoped I was wrong.”

“So you came to Portland to check? I’m sure a phone call would have sufficed.”

“I had business here.”

Similar, I’m sure, to the nonexistent business that had him in Philadelphia. But Karl’s personal life wasn’t my concern and I was happy to leave it that way.

I sipped my coffee. Stronger than I liked, with grounds peppering the surface. Not someone accustomed to brewing his own.

“Your father and I had a deal,” Karl said. “He was not to call on Hope without notifying me first, and any debt we had, we’d repay together.”

“Did Hope know that?”

He shook his head and set his cup down, untouched.

“I don’t believe my father would put Hope in any real danger. He knows she’s under council protection, and he brought this arrangement to my attention, which would suggest he isn’t doing anything underhanded. I discussed the job with them both, and I’m convinced it’s a task suited to her talents.”

“What’s she doing?”

As I told him, his face darkened. When I finished, he let out an oath, then sat there, not moving a muscle.

His jaw was set so tight that, if I had werewolf hearing, I suspected I’d have heard his teeth grinding.

“I can’t see that it’s significantly different from the tasks Hope undertakes for the council,” I said. “Except, perhaps, in scale. You don’t have a quarrel with her council work—you were the one who brought her to them.”

“Not the same thing.”

“If you mean because she’s committing criminal acts with this gang, she cannot be held responsible—”

“My point exactly.”

“I don’t understand.”

“No, you don’t, but I’m not sure I can say the same for your father. If he gave Hope this job, knowing what—” He rose. “I’m going to Miami. Put an end to this before it goes any further. Where’s Hope?”

“First tell me what you plan to do, so we can discuss your options with regard to my father.” Before he could argue, I went on. “As a member of the Pack, you represent the Pack. Any action you take against my father will be seen as the Pack acting against the Cabal. Is that the message you wish to send?”

His lips curled and parted, and I knew he was about to say that he’d send any message he damned well pleased, but he caught himself, realizing, perhaps, that such an approach would not be in his best interests.

“I’m getting Hope out of there,” he said. “That’s all I care about. Unless your father or his people interfere, there won’t be any trouble. I’ll deal with your father later—a civilized discussion about finding a civilized way to free Hope from our debt.”

“It’s my understanding that this isn’t only about what she owes him. She’s doing this of her own free will, and you might find she’s not so easily dissuaded.”

“Oh, she’ll be dissuaded—if I have to pick her up and carry her out of Miami.”

“Ah.”

“Now where can I find her?”

I hesitated. While I was reluctant to send Karl tearing down there without knowing why he so urgently wanted Hope out, I knew I wasn’t getting an explanation. Refuse, and he’d still fly to Miami, then make matters worse hunting her down himself.

“I don’t have the address of the apartment where she’s staying, but the gang owns a club called Easy Rider.”

As he nodded, I saw Paige, still wearing her coat, in the open doorway, hand raised to knock. She greeted Karl, who exchanged a few impatient pleasantries with her before brushing past.

“Did I just hear him say he’s taking Hope out of Miami whether she wants to leave or not?”

“So it would seem, but he was clearly not in the mood to discuss it further and I didn’t want him racing around Miami looking for her.”

“Should we call her? Warn her?”

I shook my head. “It would only make matters worse. As angry as Karl is, I trust him to be discreet.” I paused. “But we should probably clear our schedules. Just in case.”

HOPE: SWEET SIXTEEN

Our target was a sweet-sixteen party. When Guy first mentioned it, images of pillow-fighting, PJ-clad teenage girls sprang to mind, and the only profitable crime I could imagine was kidnapping, which would have had me on the phone to Benicio. But as he’d unveiled the plan, it became clear this was no slumber party, but a coming out worthy of a queen.