ROBBY TOSSED THE EMPTY carton in the garbage and stared at me. My mark tingled with his frustration. I couldn’t blame him. If the agency had been compromised, then who could we truly trust?

Johnson had let another monster go and lied to the agency about it. He had let us go in those woods without so much as a scratch.

Was that self-preservation or was that actually his plan?

Was there a bigger picture that we were missing? A game where we were just someone else’s pawns?

I did not like that idea, and I stood from my seat, wanting to pace out my irritation. But I didn’t know whether footsteps up here resounded downstairs. Damn it. I sat back down and winced, shifting so my tattoo didn’t have pressure on it. I really should just lay down on the bed with the book I put down on the table.

“Can’t sit still?” Robby whispered with a smile.

I shook my head as the sound of the front door closing drifted up the stairs. We waited, just staring at each other. It took a few minutes before a soft knock sounded on the door.

“It’s clear,” Johnson’s voice called from the hallway.

Robby was up and to the door, yanking it open within seconds. “You are going to tell me everything that the agency told you about my death.” It wasn’t a request. It came with the force of his alpha. And if he hadn’t demanded the details, I would have.

Johnson glanced between us. “It was pure bullshit. I knew Sarah would never harm you, so to hear she was the one who killed you was ludicrous.”

“What did they say, exactly? Word for fucking word.”

Robby’s hands fisted and my mark went haywire with the sudden flash of fury. I crossed to him and put my hand on his arm before he did something he’d regret. He sent a sideways glare at me before refocusing on Johnson.

“They said she drained you dry.”

“When did they tell you this?”

He inhaled sharply and looked at the ground. “A couple days after we intercepted you in the woods.”

Judy climbed up the stairs, apprehensively looking at the three of us.

“Who told you?” Robby growled.

This time, I squeezed his arm and shook my head when he looked at me. He was a hair away from losing it.

“Your father,” Johnson answered, almost with a wince.

Robby ground his teeth and took a step back, collecting all the anger rising inside him. “How soon after did he name you alpha?” He glared at Johnson, and his teeth had formed.

“Don’t shift,” I said, sending out the command to everyone in the house.

Robby growled at me, baring his teeth, and I ignored him, turning to Johnson. “Tell me the truth. Did you have anything to do with or any knowledge of our disappearance?” I pushed the question at Johnson, and he reared back as though I had slapped him.

“God, no.”

His gasp and wide eyes were enough to convince me. Especially considering my question was fueled with a demand for the truth.

“But I knew it was a lie. I know you. I’ve known you since we were eighteen. You would rather rip your own throat out than harm him.” He waved at Robby. He glanced over his shoulder at Judy and then down at the ground. “And as for your question, your father gave me the title of alpha a couple days later.” He pressed his lips together. “And then he introduced me to Judy.”

“He didn’t even have proof that I died,” Robby said slowly and glanced at me, as though I had answers.

“Cassius was so sure after he wiped my memory that I’d dance like a good little puppet.” I met his gaze. “So, someone higher up than your father had to be in league with him in some way to get that specific information.” It was the only thing that made any sense. Either that, or Cassius was in cahoots with Robby’s father, but I just couldn’t see the man setting his son up to die.

“Is that why your loyalties to the agency have wavered enough to blow off your orders?” Robby crossed his arms.

Johnson pressed his lips together. “I was never loyal to the agency,” he said. “I am loyal to you and to the pack.” He glared at Robby. “I never understood their rules. I watched you two drown yourselves in alcohol and sex, trying to deny yourselves what looked to be a match made by the fucking gods. My loyalty to the agency was shot to shit back at the academy.”

His gaze pierced into both of us, and I knew the exact moment all our illusions had shattered. The day I was attacked changed a lot of things for us, and our loyalty to the agency was one of the casualties.

Robby’s fury seemed to soothe at that answer. “Ancients are in town?” He raised an eyebrow.

Johnson took a deep breath and nodded. “Something’s drastically wrong. This latest order to stand down for some fucking ancient race of blood suckers is ludicrous. But it seems the higher-ups made a deal. Those assholes came to find out what happened to one of their own.” He glanced between us. “From the information I gathered, they are looking for the freak who killed your friend.” He looked straight at me.

“You’re looking at the wolf who tore Cassius Chase to shreds,” Robby said with a growl.

“And neither of you can spill that to anyone,” I reminded them.

Johnson looked directly at me and rolled his eyes. “Like I would ever do that.”

“You were ready to turn us in when you came back from your honeymoon.” Robby still stood stoically, like if he moved, he might just start tearing into both of them with the renewed anger roiling in his blood.

“That’s because when I saw her here alone, I thought the worst. And then I saw you looking like a geriatric reject.” He blinked. “I reacted badly.” He moved from foot to foot and stared at the floor, as if looking at his alpha would incite a reaction. “I don’t react well to shock.”

Robby snorted a laugh that had Johnson snapping his gaze up. “You don’t say,” he said with enough snark to load a gun.

“Neither of us deal well with surprises, as you saw tonight,” Judy said from behind Johnson. “Even I’ve had reservations on some of the orders they’ve given Rick.”

He turned to her. “You have?”

She nodded. “But it’s not my place to say anything.”

“Why not?” I interjected.

“Because he has a difficult enough job without having me adding my opinion to the mix. I don’t work for the agency. I’m not fierce enough or mentally able to grasp a kill order.” She shuffled her feet. “I can hunt game, but the idea of hunting people...” She shook her head.

“They aren’t people. They’re monsters,” Robby said.

“That look just like us.” She waved at me as her example. “They are people with feelings, with lives, with loves...” She pressed her lips together again and shook her head. “Most of them, like Phillip for example, don’t need to die. He’s not harming anyone, especially if there is a deal in writing for services. But the agency deemed him deadly.” She looked at me. “And you are at the top of their kill list. But you haven’t killed anyone.”

My mind jumped to our old boss after the truck broke apart and killed Robby, and I traded a glance with Johnson, wincing at Judy’s statement.

“He doesn’t count,” Johnson said, as if reading my mind.

“Why not?”

“Harrison was a royal dick, and from what you told me, he deserved to die.”

Judy glanced between us.

“Our old boss chained Robby in silver cuffs and threatened to pour silver over him. He’s the one who caused Robby’s death, so I poured a vat of boiling silver on him.” I met her gaze with a shrug.

She paled and pulled Johnson closer.

“But the guy was militant about hunting them down. He wasn’t going to let her walk away. He wanted to cage her like he did to Manuel, another agent who had been turned, and because Robby marked her, he wanted both of them either locked up or dead. And so did the higher-ups.” He sighed. “She’s never killed an innocent,” he amended.

“Yet she’s on the top of the kill list,” Robby scoffed.

“They believe she killed you. That’s why she’s on the top of the list.”

“The agency was the one that killed me. She brought me back.” He ran a hand through his hair in aggravation. “I need some fresh air.” He scooted around Johnson and Judy, heading down the stairs.

“It’s not dark yet,” Judy called after me as I followed him down the stairs and out the door.

“The sun doesn’t affect me.” I grabbed a baseball cap off the rack near the door and headed out with him. To hell with the fear suddenly lacing the back of my throat. If he needed to walk his frustration off, I’d walk with him.

He stayed on the road his brownstone was on, his hands shoved into his pockets and his head down. I caught up with him and then matched him stride for stride. When we got to the next intersection, he turned left, crossing the road and taking another side street.

“Do you want me to try to get a cab?” he asked as he glanced at me.

Stretching my legs felt good and he had chosen a different path, not the one that would bring us by Cassius’s place. “I’m good. If my tattoo starts bothering me, I’ll let you know.”

With a nod, he kept up his pace, which had me nearly trotting next to him. When my breathing became heavy, he slowed his pace with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry.”

“No problem,” I said, but the warmth of gratefulness swept through me at his realization his aggressive stride was tiring me out. He may have been working out in the basement, but I haven’t been, and I noticed my muscles were already straining after just a few blocks. “I’m severely out of shape,” I muttered. This type of walk six months ago wouldn’t have affected me this way.

“As soon as that tattoo heals, you can start working out and sparring with me.” He slid his hand into mine, as if it were normal for us to walk hand in hand.

My throat tightened at the small, intimate gesture. I shook my head to try to get the sudden wave of emotions to go away. This wasn’t like me. I did not get sappy. I blinked the mist out of my eyes and kept my head down. Even with the hat, I was still not inconspicuous. Most redheads weren’t.

But the sky was slowly darkening so that by the time we walked the few miles to the park, the sun had set and only a dim ambient light graced the horizon. There weren’t many people walking the paths, either.

I cocked an eyebrow at him at the emptiness.

“Just like Central Park, people clear out after dark.” He answered my silent question. “It’s barren by nine at night. Except for those who shouldn’t be hanging around in the park.”

“So, monsters and drug dealers.”

“Exactly.” The way he smiled gave me a chilling thrill.

He wanted to exercise more than his legs tonight. He wanted to take down some monsters. I had only dispatched one since I was turned, and that was because I basically exploded.

As we walked farther into the heart of the forest in the center of Brooklyn, the pathways narrowed, and the woods crowded the sidewalk like arms reaching for us from beyond.

Robby slowed and lifted his nose when the breeze shifted for a moment. He cocked his head and flashed a concerned look in my direction. Scents wafted on the light breeze, dancing around us before the wind shifted again.

Cold bit at my heart.

Vampires were in the park.

And we were upwind.