Trouble in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 1) (13 page)

It was too late now, though. As the pitchers of sangria mix arrived at the table, Jack resolved to have a good time no matter how Bash acted tonight. This meal was all about celebrating Grant and having a good time. Their server quickly uncorked the two bottles of red wine Jack had brought, and poured them into the pitchers. Jack poured a generous glass for each person at the table, and then held his own glass high.

“Salud!” he said. “A toast to Grant on his birthday! May you have a wonderful year, filled with laughter and good times with family and friends.”

“Cheers!” came replies from everyone in the group. They all clinked their glasses together and then took long sips from their drinks. Jack put his hand on Silver’s thigh and smiled over at her. In the soft light of early evening, her skin looked even lovelier than normal. For a moment, Jack forgot about everything except the beautiful woman sitting right next to him. How could he ever ask for more than this? Just being with Silver here, in this moment, made him feel like he had found something he’d been searching for his entire life. All of his other troubles and worries melted away.

The euphoric feeling didn’t last for long, though. As soon as the server had taken their food orders and walked away, leaving the table to themselves, Juno spoke up.

“So, guys, I think whoever is behind these shifter eye scanners has something big planned for next week,” Juno said, then looked apologetically over at Grant. “Not to put a damper on your birthday party, Grant, but I think this is important. Since we’re all here together, I was wondering if you guys wanted to discuss the issue really quickly.”

“No worries,” Grant said. “I actually wanted to ask you whether you had heard anything further about the scanners. They’ve been on my mind a lot lately. What’s going on?”

“Well,” Juno said, lowering her voice so much that Jack could barely hear her, even with his sensitive bear hearing. “One of the head scientists of the project came and visited the lab today. I think he might actually be the head honcho behind the project. He’s an older guy, with crazy eyes. He asked a lot of questions, and even yelled at one of the students when he didn’t like the answers. He kept muttering about how we need to get this thing off the ground for next week, ready or not.”

“Is it ready?” Storm asked. “Or even close to ready?”

Juno shook her head no. “The scanner has some major issues. It gives off false positives about fifty percent of the time. The technology is too sensitive, but every time we try to make it less sensitive, it starts giving off false negatives. Basically, we can’t find the sweet spot where it would only give off a positive when there is actually animal DNA present. I have some ideas about how to fix the problem, but I haven’t shared them with anyone at the lab. Obviously, I’m not in a hurry to see this thing working properly.”

“Why do you think the scientist who visited was so interested in getting it off the ground for next week?” Bash asked.

Juno frowned. “I’m not sure. But he said over and over that it needed to be ready by next week, and that if it wasn’t the mayor was going to be really angry with him.”

“Storm?” Grant asked. “Is there anything special going on at the mayor’s office next week?”

Storm furrowed her brow. “I’m trying to think. We have a press conference about improving the playgrounds in the Chicago Park District. As far as I know that’s the biggest thing on the docket right now. But, you know, I don’t see everything. I’m a lower level intern, so it’s entirely possible there’s some big event happening that I just don’t know about yet.”

“Can you dig a little? Ask around and see if anyone says anything?” Bash asked.

Storm nodded. “I can ask. But there’s no guarantee anyone will share anything with me. If it’s a big deal sometimes they like to keep things really top secret.”

Jack took a long sip of his sangria and looked around the table, feeling a little nostalgic for Alaska. The feeling surprised him a bit. He had always been the one most excited about being in Chicago, far away from the clan hierarchy back home. But, at least, back home he hadn’t had to worry about the mayor of a big city potentially doing something to threaten his survival. He’d lived on the outskirts of a small town in the wilderness, relatively secluded from the outside world.

The table continued debating what the mayor’s plan might possibly be. No one had any good answers. The most plausible suggestion was that the mayor wanted to start stirring up unrest regarding shifters for the election next year. But that didn’t explain why the scanner had to be done this week. An election that was over a year away wasn’t exactly urgent.

Jack jumped a bit as Silver poked him in the ribs. “Hey,” she said. “I don’t suppose you’re a fan of telling our parents anything.”

Jack frowned, turning his attention back to the conversation at hand. Everyone at the table was staring at him, waiting for his response to Silver’s question. “No, I’m not. There’s not really much to tell. So we know that something big might be happening next week. But we have no clue what it actually is. I say we continue to do what we have been doing, just keeping our ears open and watching out for anything suspicious.”

“I agree,” Grant said. “If I tell my dad about this he’ll probably flip out and want to launch an all out attack. The old crew back home is too bothered by every little threat.”

Silver frowned. “I have a bad feeling about this, guys,” she said. “Something is really off here. It’s not just another empty threat. I can feel it deep down in my gut. We’re in for some hard times ahead.”

Juno nodded her head. “I hate to say it, but I think she’s right. Something big is brewing.”

Bash set his glass down and shrugged. “Well, as it long as it’s just brewing and not actually affecting us, let’s just leave it be. The last thing we need to do is invite our parents to join the fray and stir the pot.”

Jack nodded in agreement with Bash, and so did Grant. Storm remained silent, but she had a troubled look on her face.

Silver’s frown deepened. “Fine,” she said. “But I hope for all of our sakes’ that you guys are right.”

Jack gave Silver an encouraging smile, but he couldn’t ignore the shiver of fear that ran unexpectedly down his spine. Something his mother once said to him ran across his mind as he looked at Silver’s unhappy face. When he was a boy, he had gone out on a sunny day against his mother’s wishes. She had told him that something just felt “off” and she wanted him to stay home. He hadn’t listened to her, and had gone out to the woods to play anyway. A violent blizzard had come out of nowhere, nearly trapping him in the forest for the night under several feet of snow. When he finally made it home, his mother had punished him for not obeying her, and had given him a stern warning.

“Never ignore a woman’s intuition, Jack,” his mother had said. “It’s a powerful thing, so if a woman in your life insists on something, listen to her. It might just save your life one day.”

Jack glanced over at Silver one more time. She was laughing now over something Storm had said to her. But the uneasy feeling Jack had in the pit of his stomach didn’t go away.

He clenched his fist under the table, trying to let go of some of the nervous energy filling him. One thing was certain: no one better try to hurt Silver. If they did, they would pay with their lives.

Silver rubbed her eyes and glanced around in confusion. What time was it? Why was her phone ringing.

Ding, ding, ding. The ringtone loudly invaded the silence of her bedroom, causing Silver to scowl and sit up fully.

“Call from, Anderson Rowe,” the computer announced.

“Shit,” Silver said, suddenly wide awake and glancing at the clock. It was ten a.m. here, which meant it was seven a.m. in Alaska. Why was her dad calling her so early? Had something happened to her mom? Silver jumped out of bed and started pulling on her robe.

“Answer call!” she yelped at the computer as she took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down the fear bubbling up in her stomach. On the bed, Jack raised a sleepy head, giving her a questioning look.

“Shhh!” Silver hissed, putting a finger to her lips. “It’s my dad.” Silver had never been so glad that she hadn’t enabled video calling on her home’s phone system. The last thing she needed was to have to answer to her dad for having a man in her bed. Not that it was any of her dad’s business. Silver was a grown woman and could make her own choices. But she knew her dad would give her a hard time about it, anyway. No man was ever good enough for his little girl, and he had threatened to tear the limbs off of every boyfriend Silver had ever had. Silver rolled her eyes. No wonder Bash had such a temper. Like father, like son.

“Silver?” her dad’s voice came onto the phone.

“Daddy! What’s wrong? Why are you calling me so early?”

“It’s not early,” her dad answered. “It’s after ten there.”

“Right, but it’s early for you. Is everyone okay? Is mom alright?”

Silver’s father laughed, instantly putting Silver’s mind at ease. She smiled at the warm hearty sound of her father’s deep belly laugh, realizing suddenly that it had been well over a year since she’d heard that laugh in person.

“You should know that seven isn’t early for your old man. I’m up at five every day during the summer to get the planes ready for the tourists. And mom is fine. Busy with summer camps for the dance studio, and having a blast with that.”

Silver smiled. Her dad always complained all summer long about how busy he was, flying tourists around Alaska for Frost Peak Tours, the tour company he co-owned with his two best friends. But the truth was, he loved the work. He was damn proud of his flying skills, too. Frost Peak Tours was one of the few tour companies in Alaska that still used manually flown airplanes. With Alaska’s unpredictable weather, having a pilot skilled in manual flying was a necessity—at least Silver thought so. So many of the tour companies were switching to auto-flying planes, but Silver knew her dad never would. He loved to control the plane too much.

“Okay, well, I’m glad to hear everyone’s okay. But I’m still surprised you’re calling me in the middle of tourist season. As nice as it is to hear from you, it’s a little unusual. Don’t you have tourists scheduled for flights today?”

“I do, but not until later. My early morning tour cancelled. So I thought I’d call you and ask if what Bash told me last night is true.”

Silver’s father paused, and Silver froze, looking over at Jack with a concerned expression. What had Bash said to her dad? Surely, he hadn’t told him about the eye scanners? Bash had seemed to be firmly against the idea of going to their parents about the issue. Jack’s eyes widened too, and he shrugged helplessly.

“Uh, what did Bash tell you?” Silver asked.

“He said you have a new boyfriend. A new shifter boyfriend.”

Jack looked relieved at these words. He had probably been worried that all of the Alaskan elders were about to come over to Chicago. Silver, however, felt less relieved. She knew she was about to get a full-on interrogation from her dad.

“That is true,” Silver said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She was probably going to be here for a while. “Jack Tanner. Remember him? He’s James’ and Alexis’ son, from the Northern Lights Clan.”

“I remember him,” Silver’s dad said. “Nice boy. But does he know how special you are?”

Silver rolled her eyes. “Of course he does, Daddy. That’s why he wanted to date me.”

“Is he there now?”

Jack started to open his mouth, but Silver put her finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet.

“No, Daddy. He’s not here right now.”

Jack raised an eyebrow in Silver’s direction but didn’t say anything.

“Well, next time you’re with him, give me a call. I want to tell that boy that if he breaks your heart I’ll break his neck.”

Silver groaned. “Well, Bash has already made that threat to him. Jack’s a great guy, Daddy. Why can’t you just be happy for me? And why is Bash calling you to inform you of my dating life. You two are ridiculous, you know that? I’m a grownup. Let me live my life.”

“Doesn’t matter how old you are, sugar plum. You’ll always be my baby, and no man will ever be good enough for you. Make sure you tell Jack that, too.”

“Fine. I’ll tell him,” Silver said in exasperation. “Anything else?”

“That’s all for now. Call me next time you’re with Jack.”

“I’ll think about it. No promises,” Silver said. Jack was silently laughing on the bed by this point, and Silver glared at him.

“Alright, I gotta get to work on these planes. I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, Daddy. Talk to you later.”

As soon as the computer announced that the call had ended, Jack burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe your brother called your dad to tell him about your love life,” Jack said between guffaws.

“Well, I’m glad you think it’s funny. You do realize that they’ll probably hate you at least until you marry me. And probably even after that for a little while, just for good measure. No one is ever good enough for me.”

Jack kept laughing. “They’ll come around,” he said. “I’m just glad Bash didn’t tell them about the eye scanners. My heart dropped there for a second.”

“I wish that would have been why my dad was calling,” Silver said. “I hate this threat hanging over our heads. It’s all I can think about.”

“Come here,” Jack said. “I’ll give you something else to think about.”

Silver rolled her eyes at Jack, but allowed him to pull her back down onto the bed. As he pushed her robe off and found her lips with his, thoughts of anything except how much she wanted him faded away.

* * *

A few hours later, Silver hopped on her bike to go for a ride by the lakefront path. It was early afternoon, and Jack had gone home to try to get some more rest before his shift that night at the hospital. Silver wished he could have come riding with her, but it was nice to have a little bit of alone time by the lake. She rode north, stopping just past Foster Beach and finding a shady spot to lie down in the soft grass. The weather was beautiful, and the Saturday crowds down by the lake were huge. Thankfully, up here in the grass things were a little bit more tame. Silver closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, letting the warm, fresh air of early summer fill her lungs.

She smiled, feeling like she could fall asleep right here in this peaceful spot. She might have fallen asleep, too, if it hadn’t been for a tall, skinny man walking up to her spot and interrupting her solitude.

“Nice bike,” he said. “Where’d you get it?”

Silver sat up, instantly alert. Something about this guy was setting off warning bells in her gut. Was he trying to get her to let down her guard by being friendly like this?

“I got it at a bike shop over in Wicker Park,” Silver said, preparing herself to jump up and grab the bike if the man tried to run off with it. But he didn’t try to take off with the bike. Instead he squinted in Silver’s direction, as if trying to remember something.

“Do I know you?” he asked. “You look really familiar.”

“I don’t think so,” Silver said. She was pretty sure she had never seen this man before in her life. He had a distinctive scar across the right side of his forehead that she would have remembered.

But the man suddenly snapped his fingers. “I do know you!” he said. “You’re Silver, aren’t you? Joe’s old girlfriend. Sorry to hear things didn’t work out for you.”

Silver stared at the man in confusion, racking her brain. Was this guy a friend of Joe’s? She tried to recall whether she’d ever met someone with Joe who had a big scar across his forehead. His voice did sound vaguely familiar.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” the man asked, sounding vaguely disappointed. “We met at a party a few months ago, at Joe’s parents’ house. I’m Tim.”

Tim walked over to where Silver was sitting and extended his hand. Warily, Silver shook it, still trying to recall ever seeing Tim before. Her mind was drawing a complete blank, and the uneasy feeling she had deep down was only growing stronger. Tim sat down next to her in the grass, chuckling to himself.

“Joe’s parents are something else, aren’t they? I bet you’re glad to be rid of them, at least.”

“I try not to think about them,” Silver said, frowning. She didn’t appreciate her peaceful moment being interrupted by some guy she couldn’t remember, especially when he just wanted to discuss Joe’s family. That was definitely
not
Silver’s favorite subject.

“Joe’s a good guy. It’s too bad he comes from a family like that,” Tim said. “What are you up to these days? Still dancing? Planning any more big shows? Dating anyone?” Tim winked at her after the last question, and Silver felt the hairs on her arms standing on end. She frowned.

“I’m sorry. What party did I meet you at? I’m having trouble recalling.”

Tim laughed. “Oh, right. I’m sure you must have gone to hundreds of parties with Joe. It was the big charity ball last fall.”

“I went to a lot of charity balls last fall. Do you remember what charity it was for?” Silver asked.

Tim smiled. “I think I have a picture from it on my phone somewhere. Here, let me look.”

Tim reached into his messenger bag, and started digging around for his phone. Silver glanced around at her formerly peaceful little sanctuary between two large trees. The lake’s blue water lapped against the grass in the distance, and the sound of children’s laughter floated down from the beach a few hundred yards away. This spot would be perfect if Tim just went away. She didn’t really care about some charity ball from last year. Suddenly, Silver’s blood went cold. She knew where she had heard Tim’s voice before. He had been the man in the library talking to Joe’s father the first night Silver had discovered that Mr. Astor wanted to get rid of shifters.

“Here! Found it,” Tim said. Silver turned to look at him again, dread filling her body. But he wasn’t holding his phone. Instead, he was holding a small square cloth in his palm. The cloth was white, and looked like it was wet. The warning bells in the back of Silver’s mind started ringing frantically. Something definitely was
not
right here.

“What is that?” Silver demanded, pointing to his hand. That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.