He walked in through the huge glass doors of the Sports Center. This was the main floor where the full-humans congregated. Here they could find all sorts of kid sports for future athletes, including gymnastic classes, basketball, ice skating, hockey, whatever. There were adult facilities, too. But to get to the real heart of this place, one had to descend to the lower floors where all the professional tri-state shifter sports teams trained and had their home games. That’s where the real entertainment was, but Ricky didn’t quite make it down there . . .
She stood with her back against a pillar, one leg bent at the knee, the foot pressed against the concrete behind her. Long brown hair reaching her slim waist, bright green eyes ever watchful, cheekbones as sharp as her tongue. She smiled as soon as she saw him and he knew she’d been waiting for him.
He walked up to her, nodded his head. “Laura Jane.”
“Hey, Ricky Lee. Your brother told me you’d be here.”
“Rory or Reece?”
“Reece.”
That made sense. If Reece thought he’d have a shot at nailing Laura Jane, he’d tell her anything she wanted to know. Not that Ricky blamed his baby brother. All these years and Laura Jane still looked good. Even at seventeen, there’d been something very sultry about her and it was still there, but now it had matured, been honed into something lethal.
“So what do you need, Laura Jane?”
“Well, I came to visit my kin for a couple of weeks, and your sister has not been making it easy.”
“What do you want me to do about that?”
“I figure if we can show her there’s no hard feelings about what happened all those years ago, she’d back off a little.”
Ricky doubted it, but he was curious to see where this was going.
“And how should we show her that? That there’s no hard feelings, I mean?”
Laura Jane gave one of those slow, drawn-out shrugs. The kind that used to drive him wild when he was seventeen. “Maybe we could go have dinner. Talk about old times. Show your sister there’s nothin’ to worry about anymore.”
“You know, Laura Jane, that sounds like a real nice idea but . . .”
Ricky Lee’s words of refusal faded away when Toni sprinted past him in that uncomfortable-looking suit. Charging right behind her was some full-human gal who kept calling her name.
“Uh . . . excuse me, Laura Jane. I’ve gotta . . .” Ricky didn’t bother finishing, just went after the two women, catching up to them at the corner.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I have to go,” Toni said, her arm out as she tried to hail a cab.
“But Ms. Jean-Louis,” the full-human protested, “I’m sure this will work out.”
“Nope. It won’t. I’ve gotta go.”
Yup. That was panic. Ricky knew the signs.
“Tell them I quit,” Toni barked, her arm waving wildly at any and every cab that passed.
“Don’t tell them anything,” Ricky ordered the full-human, his arm going around Toni’s waist and lifting her off the ground. “Just say she left for the day. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.” She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a set of keys and a piece of paper. “This is also for Ms. Jean-Louis.”
Ricky nodded and, with Toni in his arms, stepped in front of an available cab. The cab screeched to a halt, and while the driver cursed at them, Ricky carried Toni to the back of the cab and pushed her inside.
He looked at the full-human. “She’s gone for the day,” he reminded her again. “That’s all that needs to be said.”
Grinning, appearing relieved, the full-human nodded. “Gone for the day. I’ll take care of it.”
Once in the cab, Ricky closed the door and gave the driver—who was still cursing at him—Toni’s address.
When the driver finally pulled back into traffic, Ricky looked over at the She-jackal who was curled into the corner of the cab—panting.
“So, darlin’,” he asked, “how did your day go?”
The wolf reached into the cab and insisted on dragging her out.
“No!” she argued, slapping at his hands. “I said take me to LaGuardia! This is not LaGuardia!”
“Come on. Once we get you inside and get you some ice cream or some hot chocolate—”
“No!”
“—you’ll feel much better.”
“Stop being so rational!” She grabbed the inside door handle on the opposite side and held on.
“Now, darlin’,” he said, “don’t make me get a pinch collar and a leash.”
“I hate you! I hate my parents! I hate my brothers and sisters! And I blame you for all of this!” Toni knew she was being irrational, but she simply did not care.
“You’re absolutely right,” the wolf soothed. “And you should go inside right now and tell them all exactly how you’re feelin’!”
Toni stopped trying to kick the wolf in the face and thought on that.
“Yes. I really should tell them how much they’ve screwed up my life!”
She scrambled out of the cab, yanking her bag repeatedly when the strap got caught on the door.
“I’m going to tell all of them exactly what I’m thinking!”
“Good.” The wolf easily removed the strap from the car door. She saw him reach back into the cab and hand the driver money.
Angry at the world, Toni headed up the stairs and into her parents’ rental house. But before she could say a word or take a step farther, Kyle ran into the hallway from the library.
“She’s here!” he yelled. “She’s back!”
And like locusts, they descended on her. Her mother. Her siblings. Her father and Cooper tried to stop them, but it was no use.
“You have to do something,” Oriana ordered. “Mom can’t schedule to save her or my life. I’ve already missed three classes today!”
Troy pushed Oriana out of the way. “I need you to arrange a meeting with the head of the math department at Columbia. Aunt Irene called him, but she ended up arguing with the guy.”
“Because he’s an idiot,” Aunt Irene complained from the stairs. “At least whoever I actually spoke to that refused to let me talk to the head of the math department is an idiot. And obviously jealous.”
“Jealous of what?” Troy demanded.
“That I easily raise more money for my department than he does.” Irene came down the stairs, a duffel bag in her hand. “Plus, I have, according to your Uncle Van, amazing legs.”
“Is that why you’re walking all slow and sexy down the stairs?” Cooper teased.
“Yes.” Irene pushed her way through the children and handed Toni the bag. Then she turned her around and pushed her toward the door.
“Wait,” Kyle said. “Where is she going? Why is she leaving? Stop this madness!”
The door closed behind Toni and she could hear the arguing continue as she walked back down the steps and met up with the wolf.
“That went well,” he said.
“I can’t go in there,” she admitted. “I can’t handle them right now.” She looked around. “But I have nowhere to go.” She let out a sigh. “I hate my life.”
“Come on,” Ricky said.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” he said, not making the least bit of sense. “But I swear, entertainment seems to follow you around, like a puppy after its momma. So I am along for the ride, darlin’.”
Ricky showed the keys to the doorman and, without question, he sent the pair to the fifteenth floor. Once they arrived, they walked down the hallway to the last apartment. Ricky unlocked the door and together they stepped in.