Llyrâs brother. Since Ansgar Galatyn never had diplomatic relations with Arthur, he bought it. And since Ansgarâs dead, heâs not going to be telling anybody anything different.â
âYou telling me sheâs convinced Arthur and his entire court that sheâs Sidhe?â
âDianaâs good. â
Charlie snorted. âOr Arthurâs a lot dumber than I thought.â
Jim ground his teeth and reached for patience. âAre you going to let me bring Llyr in on this?â
âNo.â The word was utterly flat, allowing no room for argument at all.
Jim argued anyway. âSo instead weâre going risk the entire Clarkston Police Department going rogue?â
âDammit, London, weâve existed in complete secrecy since Merlin created us sixteen hundred years ago. We ainât coming out of the closet on my watch. Especially not because of some littleâ¦twit who couldnât stay out of Llyr Galatynâs pants. Iâd sanction her, exceptââ
âLlyr would declare war on the Direkind, and Arthur would damn well notice the Sidhe and the werewolves fighting it out in front of God and the international media.â And Iâd rip your lungs out for ordering my sisterâs murder.
âBasically.â The chieftain sighed. âYouâve got to face facts, London. Diana had a choice between us and the Sidhe, and she picked the Sidhe. I donât want to risk any contact with her that would get Avalonâs attention.â
âCharlieâ¦â
âDo you want me to pull you out of there and send in Jennings?â
âNo.â Don Jennings was the Southern Clansâ chief enforcer, a cold-blooded bastard who would happily kill anybody who got in his wayâincluding Faith. Trying to keep him out of this was the only reason Jim put up with Charlieâs crap.
âAll right then. Youâre just going to have to find the vamp and her pet werewolf on your own. Then kill âem both and get rid of any inconvenient witnesses in whatever way you have to, short of ending up on the evening news. Got it?â
âYeah,â Jim growled.
âGreat. Iâm going to bed. Iâve got to be at work in five hours.â Charlie hung up without saying good-bye.
âAsshole.â He resisted the impulse to hurl his cell phone across the yard.
Agitated, needing to run, Jim shoved the cell back into his pocket and called the magic again. It rolled over him in that familiar burning wave, foaming and invisible.
When it was gone, he held another of his forms: a wolfâbig, black, and lean.
With a low growl, Jim bounced over the low wall around the carport, leaped the high chain-link fence around the backyard and bolted across the neatly trimmed lawn. After clearing the rear fence with another bound, he shot into the woods beyond it, sending animals and birds into panicked flight.
There were times when refusing to risk anything could cost you everything, but Charlie was too stupid or stubborn to admit it. Heâd rather just kill the witnesses.
Damned if Jim would touch a hair on Faithâs pretty little head.
In retrospect, he wished heâd left Charlie out of the investigation altogether. Still, the chieftain did have valuable contacts, like the ones heâd used to rent a house in Clarkston for Jimâs use. Charlie thought they might need a base of operations if things went bad. Jim wasnât about to turn the offer down.
Given the spell on the police chief, theyâd both agreed the investigation needed to focus on the Clarkston PD. Unfortunately, Ayers knew Jim, which made conducting an investigation in human form highly problematic.
A police dog, on the other hand, could watch the cops from inside the department without being noticed until he found out what was going on. Jimâs uncle had been more than willing to use his position as a K-9 trainer to help set it all up. Ray had contacted Chief