“Val, you’re a sick motherfucker,” Greer complained.
“Not me. You’re the one doing a professor.”
“What makes you think all professors are old?” Greer asked. “And why are you guys so curious about my love life?” His glance swept the three of them. They all spoke at the same time.
“Um…the word ‘professor’?” Val answered.
“Who said anything about love?” Angel asked.
“Because you have no life,” Max added.
“Her name’s Dr. Remington Chase.” He looked at Val. “And she’s only a few years older than me.”
“She have any friends?” Angel asked.
Greer had to think about that. The vibe he got from Remi was that she was something of a loner. He shook his head. “Somehow, I don’t think so.”
“Way to represent the team,” Val said as he stood and crossed the room. “I’m going to breakfast. At least I can satisfy one appetite.”
Angel followed him, scowling at Greer as he went by.
Max stayed behind. Greer glared at him. “What?”
“Chasing Dr. Chase?”
“She’s a sociologist who’s studying the Friendship Community. She did some population analysis that might be interesting to us.”
“Like what?”
“She discovered an anomaly in the community which seems to indicate that, while it’s growing in size, it isn’t doing so from within. They’re losing a large percentage of their teenagers. Enough that without outsiders joining the community, it would have imploded long before now.”
Max frowned. “She know anything about Lion and his pride?”
“Haven’t asked.”
“What was up with the WKB and you last night? I almost had to leave a really warm bed to pull your hide out of trouble.”
Greer laughed. “Have you ever had to pull me out of trouble?”
“What happened?”
“Couple bikers started doing donuts around us. I thought they were there for me, but seems they wanted Remi’s laptop.”
“Did they get it?”
“No.”
“What was on it?”
“She won’t let me look at it—yet.”
Chapter Six
Greer felt itchy with everyone looking at him when the team convened in the den after breakfast.
“How’s your research going?” Kit asked. He didn’t even bother hiding his grin. Greer sent Max a glare, only to be met with a smirk.
“Remi’s got—”
“Remi?” Kit interrupted him.
“Dr. Remington Chase. Are you gonna torture me, Kit?”
“Yes.”
Greer shook his head. “Doc Chase has some interesting research on the Friendship Community.” He told the team what she showed him, passing her graphs around.
“So where are the new Friends coming from?” Blade asked.
“Don’t know. She knows the community has a relationship with the WKB, but she doesn’t appear to know what that association is for.” He looked at Kit. “She never mentioned the pride.”
“Some of those kids may be going into the various prides,” Max said. “Lion said there were several of them.”
“Some of the new members may be coming from the WKB, but I didn’t see any movement between the WKB and the Friends while I was scoping things out,” Greer said. “And the professor seemed to think the Friends had a closed community.”
A knock sounded on the door to the den. The room went silent. “Ivy’s here. I want to go over the background check that came back on one of her new waitresses. After that, let’s do some research into the data Greer brought us,” Kit said as he opened the door to let Ivy in.
He led her over to one of the chairs in front of Blade’s big desk, which he propped himself on the corner of. “We have the background search results back for your new employee, Candace ‘Ace’ Myers. They’re not what we expected.”
Ivy frowned. “How so?”
“I can’t put my finger on it. All the requisite info is in her file, but that’s all. Her performance in school was standard. She’s paid her taxes on time since she was sixteen. She paid cash for her used beater. She uses a prepaid cellphone. She doesn’t own a credit—or even a debit—card. She’s moved a dozen times since she was twenty-one.”
“How old is she?” Val asked.
“Twenty-four.”
Ivy frowned. “I don’t see what you’re trying to say, Kit. She hasn’t broken any laws…”
“No. She hasn’t,” Max said, staring at her beneath lowered brows. “Nonetheless, something’s not right with her. Why can’t she keep a job? Why move around so much? Why pay cash for everything?”
“She said she was trying to keep ahead of an ex-boyfriend who was stalking her. Besides that, she’s a kid. She doesn’t know what she wants.”
Kit pressed his lips together as a sigh hissed from his nose. “You don’t need this trouble. Let her go. We can’t take chances right now.”
“I don’t see her as a risk. I’m not letting her go. I’ve been in her shoes, struggling to pay bills and feed myself and Casey.”
“She have a kid?” Val asked.
“No—she’s just one herself. Her fear is real. What I would have given if someone had come forward and helped me when I most needed it. No one did”—she looked at Kit—“until you. I can help this girl. I need to help her.”
Greer could see Kit digging in. Before he issued an irrevocable edict, Greer tossed out an idea. “Let Val go talk to her. There’s not a woman alive who wouldn’t hand over all of her secrets to him if he just smiles at her.”
“Not me,” Val disagreed. “I’ve lost my mojo. Let Max go see her.”
Ivy vehemently shook her head. “Oh, no. He’ll scare the hell out of her and send her running.”
“Maybe that’s for the best,” Max said, looking at Ivy.
“What happened to your mojo, Val?” Greer asked, wondering if he’d won the bet he and Max had running about whether he or Owen would win Selena. “I’ve never known you not to be a magician with women.”
Val sighed loudly. His head dropped back against the top of the sofa. “Don’t know. It’s just gone. I got nothing.”