Derek’s hand tightened on my arm. When I tried to pull away, he leaned down and whispered, “Let him go. It’s not worth it.”

“Listen to your boyfriend, cutie,” Liam called as he strode away.

I pulled myself up straight. “What did you think of my zombies?”

Liam stopped, turned slowly.

I waved at the dead dog. “Do you know how I did it?”

“Do I care?”

“You should. Necromancers raise the dead by sending a spirit-a ghost, like you-back into a corpse, where it’s under my control, as you saw. It works the same for animals and people. So either you answer my questions, or I’m shoving you back in there.” I pointed at his dead body.

He laughed. “I’d say you’ve got balls, but that’d be kinda inappropriate.”

“Do you think I’m kidding?”

He answered by turning his back and walking away. I closed my eyes and imagined tugging him toward his corpse, just a little pull.

“Hey,” he said. “Hey!”

I opened my eyes to see him straining against an unseen force.

“Did you think I was bluffing?”

I ramped it up a notch and he stumbled. I gave another tug. His ghost shot a few feet toward his body.

“Okay, fine,” he spat at me. “What do you want to know?”

“Who hired you?”

“You’ve got the phone. Figure it out.”

I told Derek what Liam said, then asked, “Was it the Edison Group?”

His face screwed up. “The electric company?”

“Was it a man named Marcel Davidoff?”

“Who?”

“Diane Enright?”

“He’s right,” Derek whispered. “You’ve got the phone. Ask something else.”

“When you found us the first time, in the playground, you said you’d pulled off the road and picked up Derek’s scent. That was a lie, wasn’t it?”

“Everyone lies, sweetheart. Get used to it.”

“Someone hired you to get rid of Derek.”

“You’ve figured it out. So you don’t need me-”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do they want him gone?” I asked.

“Because I’m a werewolf,” Derek said. “Like Andrew said, no one wants us around.”

“Bingo, pup. It’s a lesson best learned early. They’re all afraid of us.” He strolled over to Derek. “You’re trying to be a good kid, aren’t you? You think that’ll show them they’re wrong. So, how’s that working out for you? Guess what? They don’t care. To them, you’re a monster, and nothing you do-or don’t do-will change their minds. My advice? Give ’em what they want. It’s a short, brutal life.” He smiled. “Live it up.”

Derek stared straight ahead, patiently waiting.

“He can’t hear a word I’m saying, can he?” Liam said.

“Nope.”

He swore. “Here I try to impart some final pearls of wisdom to the next gener-”

Liam disappeared. I jumped, startled, then looked around.

“Chloe?”

“He’s gone.”

“Left?”

“No, he just-” I kept looking, but couldn’t see any ghostly shimmer. “He was talking and then he vanished, like someone yanked him over to the other side.”

“What did he say?” Derek asked.

“Nothing we didn’t already-”

Derek wheeled. A man appeared twenty feet down the path. Ramon. Derek stepped in front of me.

Ramon raised his hand, palm out, showing he wasn’t armed. His broken arm hung at his side. As he walked toward us, I could see bruises on his jaw and blood soaking the side of his shirt. With every step, he winced.

“I’m not here to fight you, kid,” he said. “If you insist, I’ll give it my best, but I’d really rather call it a draw.”

Noticing Liam’s body, he stopped and shook his head.

“It was an accident,” I said.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure he had it coming.” Another head shake, but there was genuine grief in his eyes. After a moment, he tore his gaze from the body and looked up at Derek.

“So now what?” Ramon said.

“We call it a draw, like you said. But if you ever come after either of us again…”

Ramon gave a tight laugh. “Do I look like I’m in any shape to hunt you? Nah, this was Liam’s scheme. Crazy son of a-”

“Someone hired you two. Who was it?”

“Ask him.” He hooked his thumb at Liam. “He’s the man with the plan. Always was. I just go along for the ride.”

“So you have no idea who hired him?”

“Some supernatural. A healer guy.”

“Sorcerer?” I said. “Shaman?”

“No clue. I’m not into that stuff. Anyway, someone put Liam in touch with this guy who wanted a werewolf to track you down”-he nodded at Derek-“and hand you over to the Pack. Just so happened we were already in trouble with the Pack-on account of Liam, as usual.”

“And this was the perfect solution,” I said. “Give Derek to the Pack, blame him for the man-eating, and get paid for your trouble. If you couldn’t take him in alive, that was okay, too.”

“Not at first. The guy wanted you handed over to the Pack, seemed to think that would be okay. Or pretended to, anyway.”

“And if the Pack turned out to be killers, that wasn’t his fault,” Derek said.

“You got it. After we lost you the first time, he started getting antsy. Just wanted you gone one way or another. You want my advice?” He looked at Derek. “Take your girlfriend and start running. Whatever you’re trying to do here-live with other supernaturals, pretend you’re one of them-it won’t work. They’ll always be watching you, expecting you to lose control.” Ramon shook his head. “You know much about wolves, boy?”

“A bit.”

“There’s a reason they live as far from humans as they can. Centuries of experience. People don’t like other predators around. Makes them nervous. When they get nervous, they try to eliminate the threat. Now, I’m going to say good night and take my buddy there.”

“And give him a proper burial?” I said.

A sharp laugh. “We don’t get luxuries like that. I’m going to take the down payment on the job, then I’m going to take his body to the Pack, settle up with them. And, yes, it’s a helluva thing to do to a friend, but out here, it’s survival of the fittest.” He met Derek’s gaze. “For us, it’s always survival of the fittest.”

With Derek’s help, Ramon managed to get Liam’s body over his shoulder, teeth gritted against the pain of the extra weight. Then he hobbled off into the night.

WE RETURNED TO WHERE Derek left his clothes before his first Change. As he dressed, I checked Liam’s cell phone. Derek walked up behind me and looked over my shoulder.

“He used initials for the name. RRB. But it’s a 212 area code. That’s New York City, so it could still be the Edison Group, using a local contact for the job.”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

He looked in the direction of the house.

“You think it’s one of them?” I said. “But we met Liam on the way to Andrew’s place.”

“They could have known I was on my way, sent Liam to stake out the bus route.”

“How? At the time, Andrew was being held by the Edison Group. He didn’t know we were coming, meaning no one in his group did either.”

“They could have been watching his house, seen Simon and Tori, figured out we were on our way, made a few calls to the bus companies, found out two kids got off in Albany the night before. It’s a stretch. But…” He shrugged.

“It’s a possibility.” I checked the initials again. “Did you catch Russell’s last name? Ramon said the contact was a healer. Russell’s a shaman. Unless Ramon meant a sorcerer.”

“Sorcerers aren’t healers. Witches are, kind of, but if it’s a guy, he’s a shaman.”

“We need proof. And I know how to get it.” I raised the cell phone.

Derek shook his head. “Too risky. I’m no good at imitating voices.”

“You won’t have to. Liam said if the guy wanted anything else, he should text him. So, presumably Liam might also text him.”

“Good idea.” Derek reached for the cell phone. “I’ll tell him-”

I pulled the phone out of his reach, and I looked at him. He got the message, rubbing his chin and nodding.