Page 90 of The Thief

The warm night air touched his face like a sticky veil when they stepped into the parking lot. “What do you mean? With the Mage?”

Gravel crunched beneath their feet.

“Yeah, that and the whole professional-thief thing. That’s a lot to digest, what with her being the new pack accountant.”

Irritated, Bear put more swing in his step and branched ahead. “If you got issues, talk to the Packmaster.”

“That’s a hard no for me. I trust his decision, but it doesn’t mean people aren’t still concerned.”

“By ‘people,’ you mean your cousin and Virgil? Or are you speaking for the whole pack?” Bear stopped by the windshield of his SUV and looked across the hood at Archer.

“I don’t know, man. First we get called in with the good news and congratulations. Then we get slammed with all that other shit about her past. I think Tak found out too late and didn’t want to rescind the offer because it would look shitty.” Archer raked his fingers through his hair, messing it up. “You’re not worried she might con us? I like Mercy, but fuck… seventy years of stealing money. How does anyone break those habits?”

“Because people change.” Bear got in the vehicle and slammed the door. He lowered the window, his blood boiling at the idea the pack was talking about Mercy behind her back.

Archer climbed in and then struggled with his seat belt. “I don’t think she’ll do anything. If Tak trusts her, so do I. But that doesn’t mean other people won’t be tossing and turning tonight.”

Bear thought back to his old pack and how quickly those seeds of doubt were sown. How they’d taken root and poisoned the pack against him. Now the same might happen to Mercy.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the turn-in to their house. Bear tapped his horn at Lucian, who was tinkering with the box attached to the gatepost. There were no lights, but Chitahs had excellent night vision—almost as good as a Vampire’s.

He rolled down his window. “What are you up to?”

Lucian rested his arm on the door. “Slight problem with the signals, but I’ve got it under control.” He peered inside the truck at Archer. “Where’s Mercy?”

“She came home early.”

Lucian shook his head. “No, she didn’t.”

“It was a while ago. You were probably inside.”

Lucian gave him a peevish look, his fingers drumming on the door. “I’ve been out here for three hours replacing the security alarm with a better one. I also rigged up motion-sensor lights, but I need to buy another part to get them to work. Trust me, she didn’t come home.”

Bear picked up his phone and called Mercy, but it went straight to voicemail.

Lucian tapped his hand on the door. “If you would let me put a tracking app on those, I could pinpoint your locations a hell of a lot easier.”

“Fuck that,” Archer said, leaning over to look at him. “Nobody wants their every move tracked. This isn’t a prison.”

Bear put the vehicle in reverse. “We need to go back.”

“I’ll come.” Lucian climbed in the middle row.

On the way back to the bar, Bear turned on his high beams and drove slowly so Lucian could stick his nose out the window.

“Maybe she found herself a man,” Archer suggested. “It’s none of our business what she does on her own time. Women have needs too. She meets a lot of guys in there…” He gripped the door when Bear hit the brakes at the T intersection.

Bear made another right turn while Lucian called the house.

“Still no sign of her,” Lucian confirmed from the back.

Maybe she split for good. Maybe it was too much and she took off.

He couldn’t blame her, but none of that gelled with her mood earlier in the kitchen. She hadn’t seemed distracted or aloof like someone who was planning to skip town might be.

Lucian patted his door. “Wait. Stop. Stop!”

Bear slammed the brakes.

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