Page 80 of Wolf Bane
I nodded, dry swallowing two of them before taking the proffered glass of water.“Where’s?—”
“Just and Tyler are at his place.Gina Perrin went over this morning.”
Another nod.“Gonna lay down again.”
Ethan said something I couldn’t quite understand, but I burrowed my head against his thigh where he sat on the bed and let myself drift.Some time later, the rumble of low voices dragged me out of my doze.Ethan was gone, the bed cold on his side, and the familiar smell of expensive cologne and earthy were had mingled with Ethan’s.
Cullen was in the house.
And, I realized, straining my senses, Mal.Waltrip.And another were, one I didn’t know.Sluggishly, I got to my feet and trudged towards the living room where everyone had gathered.The new were was a tall, raw-boned woman with a severe bob and tastefully expensive makeup.Everyone fell quiet when I appeared, except her.
“Doctor Babin.Suzanne Murphy.”She stood, offering me her hand.A knuckle-knocker of an emerald sat on her left ring finger, an ornate, old-fashioned setting with an opal on her index finger.
She smiled at my notice.“Old money, old weres, old headaches,” she said, motioning for me to sit in my own house.
I shrugged, wedging myself between Mal and Ethan.“So, are you Cullen’s handler?”
Cullen sniffed.“She’s my colleague.”
“Handler has a nice ring to it, though,” she teased, her smile surprisingly pleasant in such a severe face.“I’m head of a new division within the council.”
“Is it thewe fucked up and now we have to figure out how to fix itdivision?”I asked tartly.“Because that seems like a thing y’all need.”
Waltrip’s grunt of amusement was dry and loud.“Been saying that for years.”
“And we’ve been saying you should come back, work with us again, and maybe help wrangle some of this into submission for years,” Cullen noted.“But here we are.”
Mal’s eyes widened.“Wait, you worked with the council?”
“Briefly,” Waltrip bit out.“And that’s not what we’re here for.Garrow’s in the wind.Again.”
“What about the others?”I asked, shaking off more of my blurry exhaustion.“He’s not working alone here.We’ve known there are others who want to continue his work for a while now, but this is bigger than just some fanboys hoping to copycat.”
“That’s where I come in,” Suzanne said.“The council has decided it is best if we create a specific task force within our organization that is focused on people like Garrow.”
“There’s more of them?”Mal muttered.“Fucking awesome.”
She smiled tightly.“He’s not in a vacuum.And Ethan has refused to return to Chicago until he can be certain of your safety.”
“Which,” Cullen put in sharply, “I find perfectly acceptable and encourage.”
Suzanne’s smile fell just a fraction.“So.I’ve come here to discuss things with him as he refuses to return.”
Ethan grasped my hand tightly in his, setting our joined fingers on my leg where it was obvious to all in the room where things stood.“I wish to continue my work with the council, but not at the risk of my partner’s life.”
“Ethan,” I started, but he shook his head.
“There’s a lot I’m willing to change and give up to help the council’s mission come to fruition, but Landry isn’t one of them.”
Cullen hid one of his rare smiles in a cough.“Which is whyI’mhere.The council is appreciative of your work so far, in such a short time, with us and would like to offer you a slightly different path within our mission, Ethan.”
Suzanne nodded once, firmly.“At this time, we’re asking you to consider assisting me, directly, in the creation of the criminal apprehension division.”
“Look at you, becoming a were-fed,” Mal hooted, slapping Ethan’s shoulder around mine.“That’s awesome!”
Ethan blinked, obviously taken aback.“Ah…”
“Think on it,” Suzanne said briskly, getting to her feet.“I have some appointments in Dallas and Houston this week.I don’t expect a response until… let’s say a week from Monday.Cullen.”She turned as Cullen rose.“See me to the car?”
