“Just what I said.” Ben kept his fists on her desk, his brown eyes focused on her. He didn’t have the same black-hole stare of the Fae—Ben appeared to be human, but that didn’t mean he was safe. “McNeil is going to die, unless you help him.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Misty demanded.

Paul stood behind Ben, his arms folded, looking ashamed but making no move to stop Ben. “Listen to him, Misty. He’s a friend.”

“I’m waiting for him to say something worth listening to.” Misty kept her voice hard, as she’d learned to as a kid when other kids bullied her. She’d learned how to put on the hard shell while protecting her softer self. She’d protected Paul as well.

“I know all about the Fae’s spell,” Ben said. “You cured yourself somehow, Misty. For that I say—respect.” He gave her a nod. “But that counterspell only works on humans. Shifters aren’t cured by it. Helping Graham will be harder.”

Misty’s worry rose, and with it anger and fear. How did Ben know about the spell and whether it had cured her or not? “What are you?” she asked.

“No Fae in me,” Ben said. “No Shifter either. But I’ve made it my business to know about these things.”

“Can we get back around to Graham dying? Why are you saying I can save him?”

“It will be dangerous. I can’t lie to you, Melissa Granger. But I’ll help you. I’ll lead you on this quest and keep the path as safe as I can.”

“Quest? What quest?” Misty got to her feet. “Did I wake up in Lord of the Rings?”

Ben chuckled. “The journey won’t be that long. You won’t have to leave the city, not really.”

“Not really?” Misty glared at him. “You haven’t told me anything I want to hear yet.”

“That’s what happens to messengers,” Ben said. “We’re hated if we bring bad news, loved if we bring good. But I’m more than a messenger. I’m a guide.”

“I learned a long time ago not to blindly follow anyone,” Misty said. “If you can’t give me exact details on how I can save Graham, I’d like you to leave. The last person who coerced me into ‘helping’ made me poison Graham with Fae water. Forgive me for not instantly trusting you.”

Ben lifted his fists from her desk and shrugged. “That’s to be expected. Ask around about me.”

“I will.” Misty started to reach for the phone, as though ready to start making calls now.

Ben’s smile vanished. “Don’t wait too long to trust me, Misty. This Fae you met, Oison, he’s powerful, and he’s vindictive. He wants Graham because he’d a good leader. If you want to save Graham from him, you’ll need help, and that help is me.”

Misty lowered her hand from the phone and sat back down in her chair, Ben’s declarations spinning around her thick and fast.

“Graham saved me from Flores,” Paul broke in. “I wanted to help him. Ben said he could.”

How Ben had been so handy, Misty wasn’t sure. She needed the full story before she decided anything, which meant talking to Paul alone.

If Paul had a weakness, it was in being too easily coerced. He tended to believe in people stronger than he was, and he let them talk him into things. This was why he’d been joyriding in a car with his friends when an accident had occurred that had sent Paul to prison. In prison, he’d been bullied by Sam Flores until an even bigger bully convinced Paul to trust him.

Ben could be fine, or he could be shady. Paul wasn’t the best judge of character, unfortunately.

“I’ll get back to you,” Misty said. “Now, I have a hugely busy afternoon ahead of me, as you can probably guess.”

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Ben said. “All of it. But I get it.” He lifted a sticky note from the top of her pad, grabbed a pen from her pen holder, and scribbled a number on it. “This is me. Call me when you decide—or about anything. Just remember, McNeil needs you. You can save him, but it has to be your choice.”

He stuck the yellow note in front of her, dropped the pen, gave Misty a nod, and left the office, touching his fist to Paul’s on the way out.

Paul closed the door. He faced Misty with the defiance he’d learned as he’d changed from scared teenager to a young man who’d had to grow up overnight.

“He’s legit, Misty.”

Misty spread her hands on her desk. “Where did you meet him?”

“Told you. Through my parole officer. Ben’s rehabilitated. Is doing well for himself.”

“What does he do?”

“Construction work mostly. But he knows what he’s talking about.” He gave her the little smile that reminded her of the young Paul who’d been taken away. “I wouldn’t have believed him either if I hadn’t met the Shifters and Reid. If he can help, listen to him.”

Misty lifted her hands. “How did he get in touch with you? And how did he know about what happened to me, and Graham? That’s what’s bugging me. What did you tell him?”

“Not much. He called me this morning, said he’d heard about Flores, and you and Graham getting stuck in the desert. That wouldn’t be hard to figure out, if one of Flores’s boys talked about it. Ben hears a lot about the criminal world.”

“I can see that, but what about the spells? And the Fae?”

Paul shrugged. “I have no idea, but he helps people. That I do know.”

He looked earnest, pleading. Misty let out a quiet breath. “I won’t dismiss him out of hand.” Misty’s instincts were telling her to, but she’d seen things in the last year to make her doubt her instincts. “But I need to talk to Graham first.”

Paul relaxed and gave her a nod. “Sure. Thanks, Misty.”

Paul really didn’t need to thank Misty when he was trying to do her a favor, but she understood. “Now get out of my office, kid,” she said, growling the banter they’d always used to use. “You’re distracting me.”

Paul gave her a grin and walked out, a swagger in his step.

As soon as he closed the door, Misty picked up her cell phone and punched Graham’s number. He was near the top of her favorites, right after her mother in Los Angeles. How pathetic was that?