“Don’t have any more,” Boone said.
Sierra looked at the dishes of lasagna still in the case. “But . . .”
“Those are reserved.”
“But my girls and my mama won’t have anything to eat if I don’t get another one.”
“Don’t have any more,” Boone insisted. “The dishes I’ve got left are reserved.”
Twyla listened to her daughter, but she watched Vladimir—and knew by the look on his face that Sierra was lying about what had happened to the food she’d bought. Knew he’d contacted the guard at the apartment building. Could guess what had happened.
And she knew what she had to do to try to protect Bonnie and Carrie.
She slipped out of the shop and hurried to Howling Good Reads, catching Simon as he walked out the back door.
“Mr. Simon,” Twyla said, hurrying toward him. “Could I have a word with you in private?”
Some change in him, as if he sensed that being human wasn’t going to be enough. He looked toward the Liaison’s Office and raised a hand.
Meg waved at Twyla, then smiled at Simon and pointed toward the Market Square.
“Miss Meg shouldn’t be going to the Market Square just yet. And not by herself,” Twyla said.
Nathan, who had been trotting off for home, suddenly spun around and charged at Meg, backing her up against the office door.
“Hey!” she protested.
“Wait for me,” Simon called.
Meg looked at Simon, then at Nathan, and nodded.
At least Miss Meg wouldn’t get tangled up in whatever drama was going to take place.
Simon unlocked HGR’s back door and held it open for her.
Sighing, Twyla went inside.
• • •
Simon called.
The Sanguinati had offered to pick up the dish of lasagna after Meg had invited him and Nyx to join her and Simon for dinner. Nyx didn’t usually participate in human-style meals, and Meg was excited that she had accepted the invitation.
Vlad paused.
Simon turned his attention to Miss Twyla.
“You gave Sierra a chance, and she messed up,” Miss Twyla said. “If you say that’s the end of it, then that’s the end of it.”
“What do you want me to say?” He wasn’t sure what she wanted from him.
“Among your kind, if a parent doesn’t bring home food, what happens?” she asked.
“The pups go hungry. If they’re hungry for too long, they’ll die.”
She nodded. “I know for a fact that Sierra has a little food in her apartment—some peanut butter and crackers. Maybe a bit more tucked in the cupboards. But she doesn’t have enough to make a meal, and peanut butter on crackers isn’t lasagna.”
Simon cocked his head. “You want the Sierra’s puppies to go hungry?”
“Yes. I don’t want anyone to help her this time. Not me, not you, not the neighbors who will want to help, and especially not Crispin. He’ll want to help his nieces, and Sierra knows that. As long as someone helps her girls, Sierra won’t stand up to Cyrus. I’m sure Mr. Vlad knows, as I do, that Cyrus somehow ended up with the lasagna she bought.”
“It could cause trouble if I bite Lieutenant Montgomery to stop him from helping.”
She smiled. “Hopefully Crispin is smart enough not to need a bite to see reason.” Her smile faded. “I shouldn’t have asked for help.”
“You’re part of my pack.” By accepting her choice, he’d closed that door on his own tail. Besides, this was just the kind of confrontation the Elders wanted to observe in order to see how a human like that Cyrus could cause so much trouble.
“I’ll give the lieutenant enough reasons not to help the Sierra,” he said. “You should be scarce this evening.”
“No, Mr. Simon. Sierra needs to see that not helping her isn’t your decision alone. You may dote on your young, but I bet you Wolves understand about tough love. So do I.”
Simon sighed. “The female pack will be unhappy.” And he didn’t think anyone except that Cyrus and his mate was going to enjoy the lasagna tonight.
Miss Twyla touched his arm. “I don’t think they’ll be unhappy with you.”
She walked out of Howling Good Reads. Simon waited a moment before locking up.
Vlad called.
Growling softly, Simon went into A Little Bite and heard Nadine Fallacaro on the phone. Heard the growl in her voice and hesitated.
“You did the right thing,” Nadine said. “No point spoiling a good meal. Eve Denby just got home. I’ll call her and let her know. You want someone to bring your box of cards to your apartment? No? Okay, if I see him . . . Oh, he’s here. I’ll tell him.” She hung up.
“We’re not eating lasagna tonight,” Simon said.
“Pick what you want from the display case,” Nadine said. “I have to call Eve.” She turned her back on him as she dialed the Denbys’ number.
As he chose food for himself and Meg, he listened to Nadine and felt sorry for himself and Montgomery. It sounded like the female pack was going to gather in the Market Square this evening, and he and Montgomery—and the Sierra—were going to be smack in the middle of a showdown.
CHAPTER 11
Watersday, Messis 11
Monty tensed as he listened to Pete’s hearty voice.
“We’re driving up to Ferryman’s Landing to eat at Bursting Burgers. Special treat for the kids. Henry Beargard said there would be no objections to us going up there. Okay if we take Lizzy?”
“It’s fine with me if she wants to go.” It wasn’t lost on him that he wasn’t included in the invitation.
“Better if she comes with us.” A warning, carefully worded.
Monty looked at Kowalski, who was talking on his mobile phone, his face set in hard lines.
“We’ll be back before bedtime,” Pete said.
Translation: whatever trouble was in the Courtyard would be settled by then—one way or another.
Kowalski ended his call at the same time that Monty hung up and Burke approached Monty’s desk.
“Might not be the best night to have dinner in the Courtyard,” Monty said quietly. “Sounds like there’s some trouble.”
Burke smiled. “Should be interesting.”
“‘Interesting’ isn’t the word for it,” Kowalski muttered as he and Monty accepted a ride from the captain.
Burke pulled into the customer parking lot instead of going into the Courtyard and parking in the employee lot. The wooden door between the two lots was usually unlocked while stores were open, allowing the tenants easy access to the Market Square.
Unlocked didn’t mean unguarded, but the door wasn’t usually guarded by a Wolf in human form—and certainly not Simon Wolfgard. But he was the one waiting for them when Burke parked the car.
The three men got out. Burke walked beside him. Kowalski remained a couple of steps behind. Watching their backs or distancing himself because he knew more than he’d said about what was happening here?
“Lieutenant,” Simon said.
Barely a look and nod to Burke before the Wol
f focused on him again.
“Is there a problem?” Monty asked, keeping his voice calm with difficulty. Lizzy was with Eve and Pete. Out of the way. Safe. But what about the other children? What about his mother and sister?
Simon stepped up to him and bared his teeth, revealing Wolf-size fangs. “If anyone helps the Sierra feed her pups tonight, those pups will be gone by morning. And ‘anyone’ includes you, Lieutenant. Especially you.”
Stunned, Monty said nothing when Simon walked away. He turned to Kowalski. “What do you know?”
“Nadine showed the terra indigene who work at Meat-n-Greens how to make lasagna. Special dish. Lots of ingredients. Limited quantity. Some of the lasagna was sold at the butcher shop in dishes that held four servings. The rest is being served tonight at Meat-n-Greens. I know that much because Ruthie told me we were splitting a dish with Merri and Michael. The weekly twenty-four-ounce per-person limit on meat purchased in the Courtyard is now in effect, and the meat in each piece of lasagna counted toward that limit.” Kowalski waved a hand toward the door Simon had left open. “This? Something to do with Sierra lying to Boone Hawkgard when she tried to purchase a second dish of lasagna.”
Gods. Well, he could guess why she’d tried to buy more than her share of a limited food. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Maybe you should talk to your mother first,” Burke suggested, tipping his head to indicate the woman standing at the far end of the employee parking lot, watching them. “She was here.” He turned to Kowalski. “And you’re off duty, Officer.”
Kowalski looked at Monty, then at Burke. “You sure, sir?”
“I am sure,” Burke replied.
Kowalski walked up to the light at the corner to cross the street instead of trying to dodge the traffic on Crowfield Avenue.
“Excuse me,” Monty murmured, leaving Burke to join his mother.
Twyla said nothing, just walked around the garages that formed one side of the open area behind some of the stores—and led to the back stairs of the efficiency apartments. She stopped at the foot of the stairs.
“We can go up if you feel the need,” Twyla said.
“But you don’t.” His father had taught him many things, but his mother had taught him the value of courtesy. She’d taught him to respect the feelings of others. And both his parents had taught him to stand up for himself without beating down someone else. Did she sometimes snap at her children when they pushed too hard or annoyed her too much? Sure. Every parent did on occasion. But true anger was rare, even toward Jimmy—and that’s what Monty saw in her now.
“It’s easy to say we’re helping Sierra in order to help the girls,” Twyla said.
“It’s easy because it’s true,” Monty replied quietly.
“Not this time, Crispin. Helping her keep on this way . . . That’s called enabling, isn’t it?”
He almost teased her about reading psychology magazines, but she wasn’t in a mood or a mind for teasing.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Mr. Simon is doing what needs doing—doing what I asked him to do. So I want you to support him.”
Monty let his breath out in a long sigh. “Maybe I shouldn’t have encouraged Sissy to come here with you.”
“What could she have done in Toland alone with two young girls, especially after that storm hit? No, Crispin. You did right by her—and me—when you helped us come to Lakeside. Now give your sister a harder kind of help.”
He kissed his mother’s cheek. “The Denbys have taken Lizzy with them to Ferryman’s Landing. Want to have dinner with me at Meat-n-Greens?”
He wanted to go home and change clothes, but he didn’t want to get waylaid by Sissy—and he sure didn’t want to talk to Jimmy, who was somehow at the heart of this mess.
He got only half of what he wanted, because Sissy was in the Market Square facing off with Simon.
“It’s just a stupid piece of lasagna!” Sissy screamed.
“It’s food,” Simon snapped. “You already took your share. You don’t get more. Not from the Courtyard.”
“But my girls are hungry!”
“Then go to a human store and buy food there!”
“I can’t afford to buy another meal tonight, not with what you pay me!”
“That was uncalled for,” Twyla whispered, shaking her head. “Girl shouldn’t be mouthing off like that when she knows it’s her fault.”
“You don’t like what we pay, then find another job,” Simon snarled, showing fangs.
Monty scanned the crowd gathering around Sissy and Simon. Most of the women who worked in the Courtyard were present, except Katherine Debany and Elizabeth Bennefeld, the massage therapist. Among the terra indigene females were Tess, whose hair was red and coiling, Nyx Sanguinati . . . and Fire, who watched his sister with frightening intensity.
Simon started to walk away, carrying one of the insulated sacks from A Little Bite.
“I hope you choke on that food!” Sissy yelled.
An odd and terrible silence suddenly filled the Market Square.
Simon turned to face her. For just a moment, the Wolf looked frightened, but Monty couldn’t tell if the fear was for himself or Sissy.
“You’re fired,” Simon said. “Find a job among the humans.”
“I second that,” Vlad said, stepping out of the crowd.
“I agree,” Henry rumbled, also stepping forward.
“Yes,” Tess hissed.
Simon walked away. The Others moved aside for him.
Gods, Sissy, Monty thought. Her words were stupid and childish under the best conditions. A human boss would have fired her too. She didn’t realize how lucky she was that Simon didn’t do more than that.
Monty touched his mother’s shoulder. “I’ll take Sissy back to her place. Why don’t you go into Meat-n-Greens? I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
Twyla shook her head. “I’ll go sit in the library for a bit. Need a little time to settle.”
He didn’t want to leave her alone. Seeing Sissy hurting like this was hard on her too. But when he looked past his mother, he saw Elliot Wolfgard, who met his eyes and nodded.
Twyla was part of the Wolfgard pack now. The Wolves would watch over her.
Monty hurried over to where Sierra stood crying, a little girl alone on the playground, unable—or unwilling—to do anything to help herself.
“Come on, Sissy.” Monty put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll take you home.”
The Sanguinati on duty gave them a curious look but said nothing as Monty led his sister upstairs to her apartment. The girls were home, unsupervised, which produced a flicker of annoyance until he realized the Others wouldn’t see anything odd about leaving young alone in the den when there were adults nearby.
“Mommy?” Carrie said when they walked in.
“Play quietly for a little while,” Monty said, leading Sissy to her bedroom. He closed the door and sat on the bed next to her. Then he grabbed the box of tissues off the nightstand and handed it to her, letting her cry until she was ready to talk to him.
“CJ,” she began, looking at him with eyes that had always melted his heart. “CJ, it was just a stupid dish of lasagna. There was plenty. They were just being mean.”
He shook his head. “One piece per person. That’s not unreasonable.”
“But my girls aren’t going to have anything to eat. I don’t have even a full glass of milk left to split between them.”
“They’ll be hungry,” he said sympathetically. “Tomorrow you can buy more food.” Maybe. He wasn’t sure what would be open on Earthday except for A Little Bite. “I can’t give you any food tonight, Sissy.”
“You could give me the key to your place, and I could slip down and pick up a few things from the fridge and cupboards.” She gave him a wobbly smile. “I wouldn’t take much, CJ. Just e
nough for the girls.”
“I can’t do that. If I help you, the Others will take the girls.” If he helped her after Simon warned him not to, would the terra indigene even tell him where they relocated the girls? “They aren’t bluffing, Sissy. You act like they are, but they’re not.”
“CJ . . .”
Gods, this was killing him. Would making a sandwich for the girls really be so bad? If he was dealing with other humans, maybe not. But the Others wouldn’t see it that way. “I can’t help you.”
“Won’t help me.” Sissy pulled away from him. “Because I’m not really family.”
Monty stared at her. “What does that mean? Is that more of Jimmy’s crap?”
“It isn’t crap if it’s true.”
“For a smart girl who did so well at school, I swear, Sissy, sometimes you can be stupid.” When he tried to hug her, she sprang up, putting as much distance as she could between them.
Sighing, Monty pushed to his feet. “Look, I still have a one-bedroom apartment near Market Street. That area of the city has had some trouble, but you and the girls could stay there for a few days if you wanted to get away from Jimmy while he’s in Lakeside.” He’d been planning to talk to the landlady about dissolving the lease to free himself of that expense. He didn’t think she’d hold him to it since rents had doubled in the past few weeks with the influx of people looking for jobs in a human-controlled city. But if Sissy wanted to take over the lease, he would talk to the landlady about paying the difference in water usage for three people instead of one.
“I’ll take care of myself and my girls. I don’t need your help.”
The bitterness in her voice stung him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She didn’t respond, so he walked out, smiling at Carrie and Bonnie as he left. He stopped at his apartment long enough to change into casual clothes and collect his mail. Returning to the Courtyard to have dinner with his mother, he thought about Sierra—not as a big brother but as a cop. If he’d done that before, would he have spotted the signs of trouble when they were all living in Toland? Well, he’d spotted enough of the signs, but would he have acted on them?