"Tell me about him," said Adam. "I only had time to shake hands and go."
"I'm not your wolf," warned Asil, his voice suddenly harsh.
Adam took in a breath of air and shook out his shoulders. "Sorry," he said, looking at the car and not the other wolf. "Habit. We need to get ourselves ironed out before there's bloodshed. You've been very courteous, and I thank you for it. I'll try to do better. Would you share what you know about the Cantrip agent with me?"
There was a pause, and I kept my eyes on Asil, watching for a sign that he'd decided not to take Adam's apology. His eyes were yellow - that they'd shift back and forth so easily told me as much as his earlier warning had about how little control he had over his wolf.
"Charles vouches for him," Asil said at last, letting the apology lie - which was the safest way to play it. "Lin Armstrong is a troubleshooter for Cantrip and has the power to make things happen. Charles told me to tell you that he can be trusted. As long as we're following our own rules, he won't rock the boat."
"Even with the blood of Cantrip agents hot on my hands?" asked Adam softly.
"Tell him the whole truth," I said impulsively. "Better yet, wait and catch Tony when he comes with Sylvia and tell the whole herd. We're in the right here, and they are the ones who benefit from lies."
"Talk to the lawyer first since you have one immediately available to you," cautioned Asil. "Then give the others as much truth as the lawyer tells you to, and not one word more."
"If you do that, we'll need time to get the story straight," I said.
"We'll tell him the truth," Adam said heavily. "I'm tired of playing games. Maybe it's time to spread a little fear. If they had been a little more afraid of us, Peter would still be alive."
Adam opened the front door, and we were hit with a wave of noise and motion that only got louder when people realized who was at the door.
"Quiet," said Adam - and everyone - the wolves, security personnel, and what looked like two dozen little girls (though I knew that there really weren't that many, they just moved fast) shut up and stood still.
"Good." He looked around. "Where is Kyle? I need to talk to him and get y'all organized." He was tired if he was drifting back into Southernisms.
"I'll get him," said Mary Jo's voice in the back of the crowd. I caught a glimpse of her before she disappeared up the stairs. She was dressed in sweats that were too big for her, and her skin tone was greenish, like she'd just woken up after spending the night at an all-you-can-drink orgy.
Jesse, with the littlest Sandoval on her hip and her hair mussed and damp, waded through the crowd and kissed her dad on the cheek. She rested against him for a moment. "Welcome home, Dad."
He hugged her hard, then relaxed his hold to ruffle Maia's hair.
Maia said, "I rode in a car with a dead body."
Adam gave me a laughing glance. "I guess we might as well tell everyone the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
"It's a secret," Maia explained.
He ruffled her hair again. "Yes. But not a secret from your mom. You shouldn't keep those."
"I tell Mama everything."
"Good for you."
"So," Jesse said, backing up a step, "I hear that you managed to survive without Mercy to rescue you this time."
He smiled. "Brat. Remember who's paying for your college."
She grinned at him. "Maybe I'll just get pregnant and work at fast food for the rest of my life." She turned and trotted off the way she had come before he could formulate a reply.
Amid laughter that had as much to do with relief we were safe as with Jesse's humor, Adam went to work ordering the chaos. I waited for a while, watched various members of the pack come and go. They needed to check and make sure he was still okay, and I understood exactly how they felt.
When he and Asil disappeared together to take care of the who-was-the-biggest-baddest-wolf issue, I slipped away to the kitchen to look for food for Adam - werewolves need to eat, and from the looks of him, wherever they'd held him, they hadn't fed him at all.
Kyle's kitchen was a mess. Dirty dishes everywhere and one whole counter was covered with trays of sandwiches that looked as though someone had called out a caterer at some point. I took a few minutes to unload clean dishes from the dishwasher and start the next batch running - dominance displays take a little time. Then I snitched a heavy-duty paper plate from a stack on the counter and loaded it with four sandwiches thick with near-bloody roast beef.
When I emerged from the kitchen, Adam was the only werewolf in sight, and the total volume of the noise in the house had dropped an appreciable amount. He was trying to push his security team gently out the door.
"We don't think that the house is secured. And with all due respect, Mr. Brooks hired us."