Two of the airlines handled exotic importing. Zebra, gazelle, cape buffalo . . . these all came in through LoupAir and Mercer Shipping. The only difference was that Mercer shipped frozen carcasses while LoupAir shipped live animals for hunting.
It was Madra Airlines that flew shifters anywhere in the world they wanted to go. Owned and operated by the enormous Madra Wild Dog Pack, Madra Airlines, a division of Madra Transportation, had been moving shifters between countries for more than a millennium. First in the boats they stole from the Vikings who raided their lands and, in turn, the wild dogs had killed and dined on, and now in, some of the most modern planes currently available.
The best thing about the Madra planes was that they were built for all shifters. From the tiny foxes who liked to steal—they were booked into seats with alarms that alerted flight attendants anytime they stood up; to the seven-foot polar bears that needed more leg and head room—they were put in remodeled planes that were originally built for military transport of trucks and Humvees; to the very demanding lion males—Madra personnel always made sure to seat them away from any cubs and had ample amounts of food on supply for their feeding needs.
That’s why Toni loved Madra. Expensive it might be, but when she had to make sure the entire Jean-Louis Parker clan could get from one place to another in a timely manner and without embarrassment-inducing risks, she spent the extra cash to book them on Madra Airlines.
“Antonella?”
Toni spun around and immediately grinned. “Scotty!” She charged into the open arms of her fellow jackal. “I was so hoping you were working today.”
“Is it Kyle?” he asked with a smile when Toni stepped back.
“For once . . . no. I do need your help, though.” She took his hand and dragged him to the front doors of the airport and out to the limo.
“Holy shit.” The jackal laughed when he saw the bear.
“He’s afraid of flying,” Toni told him. “Can you help?”
“With bears? You bet. Just tell me what
needs
to happen.”
Ricky waited until the jackal had gone back inside the airport before he asked, “So who’s that?”
“That’s Scotty.”
“Just telling me the man’s name doesn’t really help me understand.”
“He runs the airport.”
“Thought wild dogs run this place.”
“Wild dogs
own
this company. But they hire other canines. They’re a really great company if you’re looking for work.”
“I’m not. Do you think I am?”
“I have no idea, with you free to follow me around all day.” She suddenly frowned. “You’re not a criminal, are you?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Well . . . you are in the Smith Pack.”
“And?”
That’s when the mountain lion started to laugh. “Oh, come on! Are you really going to be insulted that she asked you that?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Everybody knows that the Smith Pack is either criminals or assholes. Usually both at the same time.”
Annoyed and always protective of his Pack, Ricky Lee stepped closer to the cat. Instantly, the cat stood straight, fangs easing out of his gums.
“Gentlemen,” Toni sighed. “Do we really have time for this?”
Ricky would make time.
“What are you gonna do, Snoopy? Without your Pack? It’s just you and me.”
Toni leaned in between the snarling pair. “Not really,” she said, motioning toward the front doors. Ricky and the cat looked over and saw about ten males in their wolf forms standing a few feet away. Ricky didn’t know any of them, but he knew wolves would always back stranger wolves against cats, because cats just really irritated them all.
That Scotty guy—was he the ex-boyfriend?—came out of the airport. He pointed at the limo. “He’s in there, Craig.”
The wolves trotted over to the limo.
“What are they doing to my car?”
“Tearing it apart?”
“Stop instigating,” Toni told Ricky.
The wolves stood outside the limo for several seconds. Then, suddenly, one of them jumped forward, barked, and nipped at Bert’s legs.
“Hey!” Bert yelled. “Cut it out!”
Another wolf jumped forward, barked, nipped.
Then they all did it, surrounding the limo and attacking Bert from both ends.
“Get off me!” he yelled from inside. “I’m not kidding! Cut it out!”
“Good Lord,” Ricky muttered, his annoyance at the cat forgotten as the two stood there with Toni between them and watched. “They’re baitin’ that damn bear.”
“That is so wrong,” the cat said.
Wrong it might be, but effective. Bert suddenly exploded out of that limo, roaring, claws slashing at the wolves. He hit a few, sending them flying several feet.
“Hey, bear,” Scotty said. And when Bert turned, ready to attack yet another canine, Scotty pulled the trigger on the tranquilizer gun he held. The dart slammed into Bert’s neck. The black bear roared and tried to run off, but the wolves kept charging him, pushing him back, blocking him off, until he began to stumble forward . . . back . . . and then down he went like a diseased oak.
Scotty handed off the rifle to some fox standing with him and motioned to the wolves. “All right, gentlemen. Let’s get the bear up and on the plane.”
The wolves shifted back to human and lifted poor Bert up and carried him into the airport. One of them grabbed Bert’s baggage out of the trunk and followed after them.
Scotty stood in front of Toni, his smile wide. “Told you. Easy-peasy.”
“Scotty, you’re the best.”
“I know.” He took Toni’s hand and rested it on his forearm.
“The best part . . . for a little extra, we’ll make sure he gets back the same way. He’ll wake up in New York and not even remember checking out of his hotel.”
“Excellent.”
“Now let’s get this paperwork out of the way.” He led her inside. “Would you like some champagne while we do this? You look like you need it.”
The cat looked at Ricky. “He is so gonna
nail
her.”
Ricky Lee took off his hat, scratched his head. “You know, cat, you are partly right.”
“About what?”
Ricky rammed his head forward into the cat’s, knocking the feline out completely.
Staring down at him, he said, “The Smith Pack can be a bunch of assholes.”
Ricky put his hat back on and went into the airport in search of Toni.
C
HAPTER
E
IGHT
T
he limo pulled up in front of the town house and Toni got out. The wolf followed. It was almost seven. She’d gone back to the office and filled Ulrich and Cella Malone in on what had happened. They didn’t seem surprised, but Ric didn’t seem too happy about the fact he’d bought a limo he didn’t need.
After that, Toni left the office and found the wolf and the cat waiting for her. Where the driver had managed to get that nasty lump on his forehead, Toni didn’t know and she didn’t ask. She was just glad that he was willing to drive her home. Why Ricky went with her, she didn’t know, either. If she didn’t have the fever now, she wouldn’t get it. Her shoulder did still hurt but nothing she couldn’t manage. By tomorrow, the pain would be a faint memory.
Toni thanked the cat for his help, reminded him that he now had
in writing
Ulrich’s commitment to replace his vehicle with one that didn’t have a torn roof from bear claws, and said good-bye. Then she walked up the stairs to the town house, unlocked the door, and went inside.
She’d barely stepped into the hallway before Coop suddenly came at her. “Run.”
“What?”
“Run,” he whispered. “Make a run for it while you can!”
Ricky only had a moment to wonder what the holy hell was going on when they were there, trapping Toni against his chest, which pinned Ricky against the closed door. This was all of them, he guessed. Toni’s parents, the siblings. And they were all yelling. At Toni. At each other.
“Where have you been?” her mother was demanding, one of the twins in her arms.
“Hey!” her father called out, trying to calm his brood while he held the other twin. “Why don’t we let Toni have a few minutes to—”
But his attempt was drowned out by Kyle, Oriana, and another young boy as they threatened each other with all manner of things that anyone under the age of twenty-five should not be saying.
Cooper stood behind them all with another young female, both of them giving their sister what Ricky could only call a “we’re so sorry” look. He knew they meant it, but unfortunately it didn’t really help.
And that’s when Ricky spotted her. Easing out of the library and floating silently down the hall in her all white summer dress that flowed lazily around her ankles, comfortable sandals on her feet, and a beige messenger bag hanging from her shoulder.
She looked very different from her siblings. Her hair was blonder and long, reaching down her back. She moved differently, acted differently.
He couldn’t explain it, but there was something . . .
Toni went up on her toes and said loudly to the girl, “Where are you going, Delilah?”
It was the way they all fell silent that concerned Ricky. It was like they suddenly froze, suddenly aware of another’s presence.
The one Toni called Delilah stopped walking, and Toni’s parents and siblings all turned and looked down the hall. Slowly, Delilah faced them.
“Sorry?”
“I said where are you going?”
With a small smile that seemed permanently fixed, Delilah moved closer.
“Out for a walk,” she said. Her voice was soft and . . . lilting. Not like her siblings at all. She didn’t even seem canine. If he couldn’t smell the jackal in her, Ricky would have assumed she was a full-human. “I won’t be gone too long.”
“I can come with you,” Toni offered.
“No. I won’t be gone too long.”
“What about Cooper? Just to keep you company.”
“No,” Delilah said again. “I won’t be gone too long.”
Her voice never changed. Her attitude never changed. It was like she had one note and one note only.
“Well . . .” Toni dropped back on her heels. “Just be careful then. Okay?”
With a nod, Delilah turned away and headed off down the hallway.
The family stayed silent until they all heard a doorway somewhere deep in the house open and close.
Toni looked around at her siblings. “All right. Everyone in the living room. Calmly. Quietly. No arguing.”
She started to follow after them, but Ricky caught the back of her shirt.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“My sister.”
“Really?” They seemed unbelievably different to actually be related. “Was she adopted?”
Toni shook her head. “No. She’s one of us. Turned eighteen a few months back.” She started to walk off but stopped, glanced back at him. “I know my sister’s pretty,” she said, her voice very low. “But stay away from her.”
“I’m not interested in her.”
She nodded, then added, “Tell your brother to stay away from her.”
“Because she’s so young? Because she’s family?”
Toni studied him for a moment before replying, “No. That’s not why.”
Without another word, she walked into the living room and Ricky let himself out.
As Ricky walked down the stairs, he noticed another limo sitting in front of the house. The driver opened the back door and a woman stepped out. She was full-human but covered in wolf scent. Some wolf ’s mate. She walked toward him, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and gazing up at him with disturbing blue eyes.
“I know you,” she said. She shook her head. “No. Not you. Someone related to you. You have very similar cheek bones and eyes. That friend of Dee-Ann’s.”
“You know Dee-Ann?”
“I’m Irene Conridge Van Holtz.”
“Ric’s aunt. I’ve heard a lot about you. And I think you met my sister, Ronnie Lee.”
She looked up at the town house. “Is there a problem?”
“Pardon?”
“You work in security, right? That’s what Dee-Ann says. You and your brothers. So if you’re here at my friend’s house with the children I consider family, I’m wondering if you’re here about a problem.”
“No problem.”
“Dee-Ann’s cousin lives across the street with that wild dog pack, correct? That’s what Holtz told me.”
“Holtz?”
“My husband. I call him Holtz. Anyway, I assumed you were here to make sure there were no threats to the wild dogs.”
Ricky smiled. “That was checked out before they put down their first piece of luggage.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, I’ll let you get in and see everybody.” He again started down the stairs. “Maybe you can rescue poor Toni. It’s as if her kin descended on her like the hounds from hell.”
“Have a nice night,” she told him.
“You, too, ma’am.”
Irene watched the wolf head across the street. She had to admit, she’d always thought her mate was unnaturally large, especially around the shoulders and neck. But every one of the wolves she’d met from the Smith Pack had proved to her what unnaturally large truly was. Thick necks. Enormous shoulders and chests. And bizarrely large feet—especially on the women.
Yet what Irene really liked about all wolves was how easy it was to figure out what they were thinking or feeling just by watching the expression on their faces.
And Irene knew what she’d seen when the wolf mentioned Toni.
Irene walked up the stairs and into the house, motioning for the limo driver to put her bags on the floor by the door.
While he took care of that, she headed down the marble hallway until she found the Jean-Louis Parker family in the living room. Toni stood in front of her seated family, a notepad in her hand.
“All right,” she was saying, not realizing that Irene was there. “This will not be hard to manage. I’ll pull together schedules for everyone, and I’m sure there is a way to manage the number of rooms we have in this place for you all to get in your work or daily practices.”
“I should get the ballroom,” Oriana snapped. “I need the most space.”
“And the most mirrors,” Troy muttered.
“Don’t you have a protractor to stick in your mouth . . . pointy side first?”
“Spell protractor.”
“I can spell pathetic lonely
loser!
”
“Yes,” Kyle dryly cut in, “which when you hit thirty-five and your career is over you’ll so definitely be.”
“Enough,”
Toni barked. And it was, literally . . . a bark. “I alone will decide which rooms go to whom and you will suck it up when I do.”
There was some angry muttering but none of the children were brave enough to challenge their sister.
Toni looked down at her notebook. “Now, let’s see . . .”
That’s when Irene realized something: Toni wasn’t going to tell them. Anything.
So it was a very good thing that Irene was known for her cold, brutal, and heartless ability to cut through to the heart of everything. If Toni wasn’t going to say anything, Irene would.
“Congratulations, Antonella,” Irene said from her spot by the big entryway.
Toni’s head snapped up, brown eyes locking on Irene.
“Hey, Reeny!” Paul called out. Since Jackie had dragged that poor jackal home so many years ago, he’d insisted on calling Irene “Reeny.” Irene had hated it initially, but then the nickname, like Paul, had grown on her.
“Hello, Paul.”
“So what are you congratulating my girl for?”
Irene feigned surprise by raising her brows. “She didn’t tell you?”
With the entire family’s attention focused on Irene, they didn’t see Toni bare a fang in warning.
“No. She didn’t tell us anything.” Paul looked at his daughter. “What didn’t you tell us?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Is it about your job interview? Did you get the job?”
And that’s why Paul had grown on Irene. Not a lot of men had that sort of hope and eagerness in their voice when asking an adult daughter about an office job that would mostly involve using a copier.
Toni shrugged. “They made an offer, but with all that we have going on here—”
“What?” Kyle dryly asked. “You’re not snapping up that job where you can be an office drone all day? What are you thinking?”
“Oh,” Irene informed the family, slowly walking into the library. “They’re actually giving that job to someone else. Probably a college kid since it’s just for the summer. It only paid an intern stipend and was really for college credit.”
“So she couldn’t even get the office drone job?” Oriana snickered.
“No. But she did get the Director of Team Travel and Promotions job, which I believe starts in the six figures, comes with a company car, extensive travel, full benefits, including artery repair—apparently all those who join the team get that and I decided not to delve further into why it’s necessary—and a yearly, substantial bonus depending on her performance. I seriously doubt this will be a little office drone job for our Antonella. This is a full-time career for her. Aren’t we all proud?” she asked, and began to politely applaud.
But no one joined Irene. Instead, Oriana pointed an accusing finger at her eldest sister. “You’re deserting us?”
“I—”
“You’re leaving us for your own . . . what did you call it, Aunt Irene? Your own
career
?”
“I thought we
were
your career,” Troy said.
“Exactly!” Kyle agreed. “I have every intention of making you my personal assistant when my career takes off so that you can manage my schedule and take care of my harem of women.”
Cooper smirked. “And what exactly would you do with a harem of women, Kyle?”
“
Duh
. Allow them to cook me dinner and do my laundry after they hunt me down a gazelle. Just like what Mom does. What else would you do with a harem?”
Relieved by that description from the eleven-year-old, Irene said, “You all had to know that this time would come. That your sister would be going off to her own life . . . her own family.”
“Why would we know that?” Troy asked. “No one ever discussed that with us. Not once. Not ever.”
“So,” Cherise suddenly asked, “you thought Toni was going to stay with us forever?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Kyle asked. “We’re special. We need the attention. She’s just . . .”
Irene folded her arms over her chest. “Your sister is just . . . what, Kyle?”
With wide eyes, Kyle stared at Toni. “She’s . . . just . . . amazing? Right. She’s just amazing at taking care of us.”
“So my special quality is being a babysitter?” Toni asked.
“You should feel grateful,” Troy said, getting to his feet. “We
allow
you to be part of our lives. We allow you to bask in the glow of our brilliance! And you dare threaten us with leaving for some ridiculous
job
?”
Fed up, Irene looked to her best friend. “Jackie . . . do you have something to . . . to . . . by the flawed logic of Albert Einstein, Jacqueline Jean-Louis—
are you crying?
”
“I’m . . . I’m . . .” Jackie buried her face in her hands, her sobs racking her small body.
Toni, horrified, rushed forward. “Mom, please don’t cry. I won’t—”
Before Irene could stop Toni’s next ridiculous, emotion-based words, Paul caught his eldest daughter’s arm and forcibly dragged her from the room. Irene went to Jackie and helped her stand. “Come on.”
Irene headed toward the door, telling the kids over her shoulder, “You all stay here until I come back.”
“Or what?” Oriana sneered.
Irene stopped, turned, focused on the young girl. Focused . . . and stared.
Oriana stared back at first, but then she began to look away. Irene continued staring at her until Kyle jumped in front of his sister and screamed at Irene,
“What is wrong with you? Stop it! Just stop it!”
Satisfied, Irene escorted her friend away, confident the children would wait like she’d told them to.
“I’m a horrible sister,” Toni sobbed, her face in her hands. “And an even worse daughter!”
“You do understand you’re listening to Troy, Kyle, and Oriana?”
“They’re right!”