“Um, actually, yeah. Sorry. I know I said—”

He poked me in the ribs, making me yelp. “Seriously, Savannah. You came because I needed backup and you knew I was too damned stubborn to ask for it. And a few months later, when I was on a case and realized I was tracking two vampires instead of one, I called you in. I’d learned my lesson. Don’t be afraid to ask for backup.”

I sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “We aren’t just traveling down memory lane here, are we?”

“Nope.” He sat up beside me. “I just don’t want you to bite my head off when I tell you that I want to stay.”

“Okay.”

He paused. “You mean okay, you won’t bite my head off?”

“No, I mean okay, you can stay.”

“Huh, that was easy.” He frowned over at me. “Too easy. What’s the catch?”

“No catch. I need backup. One investigator is dead. Tiffany Radu pushed me down the stairs, planning to do god-only-knows-what. So that’s two reasons—”

“You’re forgetting something.”

“Hmm?”

“Your bike. I saw it on the way in. And don’t tell me you just laid it down. What happened?”

I told him. The acrid smell of burning cloth wafted up and I lifted his hand from the bed.

“No scorching the sheets, okay? They’ll charge me a fortune for them.”

“Sorry.” He made a fist. “The first order of business, I think, is to pay a visit to Cody.”

“No, first I need to talk to Tiffany, and that appointment isn’t until—” I turned to check the clock. I looked at Adam. “How’d you make it here from Spokane so fast?”

“I was already on my way when I called. And, no, I wasn’t heading here to insist on joining the investigation. I did plan to stop in, though. See how things were going. Since it was on the way. Sort of.”

“Not really, but okay. Let’s get moving, then. I’ve got some ground to cover, and since you’re here, I’m starting with Alastair Koppel. His guard dog has been blocking me. I was going to take Jesse. You’ll do, though.”

“Thanks. Speaking of Jesse ...” He got to his feet. “I should go talk to him, tell him he can go home and get back to work. I’ll just transfer his room over to my card.”

I was about to say sure, then I thought about how that would look and said, “Maybe I should just let Jesse help. This is his case.”

Adam stopped. For a moment, he just stood there. When he finally did turn, his expression was as neutral as he could manage, but I could see the confusion in his eyes, maybe even a little hurt.

“I’d really rather be solo on this, but I can’t now,” I said. “With Jesse, though, well, he doesn’t work with us, so it’s not like he’d be supervising me.”

“I’m your coworker, Savannah. And your friend. Not your supervisor or your manager or your boss. I know I joked about that, but I was joking. You know that, right?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I’m just ...” I exhaled. “Getting a little territorial, I guess. Too much time spent hanging out with werewolves. It was bound to rub off.”

“Well, I don’t blame you. I still remember when Lucas and Paige gave me my first solo investigations. I was convinced they were tailing me, watching over my shoulder, making sure I didn’t screw up and embarrass the firm.”

“No, that was me.”

He laughed. “I don’t doubt it. Okay, then, speaking of embarrassing, let me take a stab in the dark and guess that you don’t want Jesse thinking I’ve swooped in to take over.”

I made a face. “Like I care what anyone—”

He stopped me with a look. “You do. Or your pride does, at least. Okay, I won’t give Jesse his walking papers. I’ll just tell him I’m bored and want to hang out with you guys.”

“Which is the truth.”

“Which makes it an even better excuse.” He grabbed half my sandwich from the table and pointed at the rest. “Eat or I’ll make you pay for it.”

“I’ll talk to Jesse.”

He paused. “You sure?”

I nodded.

“Take the sandwich then. And invite him along to the cookie cult.”

twenty-seven

I explained the situation to Jesse, then said, “Is that a problem?”

“Of course not. It’s your investigation and he’s your coworker. I think you’re handling this case just fine, but when it comes down to it, you represent Lucas and Paige’s firm, and if they’re more comfortable thinking you’re doing legwork on a case for him...”

“This has nothing to do with Lucas and Paige. Adam doesn’t have any cases, so he’s going to hang out and help me.”

He nodded, slowly, still not convinced. “It’s your call. If you aren’t worried about Adam trying to take over—”

I cut him short with a laugh. “Believe me, he knows better than to try. He’s made it clear that this is totally my case, and he’s ready to follow orders.” I grinned. “And I’m ready to give them.”

“All right then. So where do we start?”

“I want to take another run at the commune. Adam’s coming along and you’re welcome to join us.”

“Mmm, they might feel under siege. You two go. I have work I can do here. We’ll meet up later and compare notes.”

ON THE DRIVE to the commune, I asked Adam about the conference and he kept me amused with anecdotes. He had plenty of those. Even picturing him in a roomful of academics was enough to get me smiling.

Adam’s stepfather is the most respected supernatural researcher in the country. When he withdrew from his council delegate role and prodded Adam into his place, no one expected Adam to take over the research part, too. In fact, for years, friends would buy him textbooks and journals and reading glasses as a standing joke.

When Adam decided to try filling the research role, too, I remember overhearing Paige and Lucas worrying that Adam was setting himself up for disappointment. Paige and Adam had been friends since childhood, and she knew how tough it was for him to sit still long enough to read a newspaper.