Wolf Ways (The Madison Wolves Book 9) (17 page)

Nora held hands with Rebecca and Celeste. Lara and Michaela stood behind them, a hand from each on a young shoulder. Serena hovered immediately off Michaela’s flank, a position she maintained. She had a hand on Michaela’s shoulder the same as Portia’s was on mine.

The other enforcers were arrayed around us. Elisabeth stepped outside for a moment, then leaned in. She frowned and shook her head.

“Kids in the middle,” she said. “Michaela, are you armed?”

“Of course I am,” the fox replied.

“All right. I want Zoe up here, in front of the kids.” Elisabeth rearranged us, and then she said, “All right, step outside. We’re following Rory and Angel.”

Portia applied just a tiny bit of pressure, and I began moving. Elisabeth held the door, but she barely glanced at me as I stepped past her.

It was still hot out, and I had gotten used to the temperature in the house. I immediately turned to Portia. “I didn’t bring a hat, and I’m going to need one tomorrow. I’m sorry.”

“I have one you can borrow tomorrow, Zoe,” Monique said from my other side.

“Thank you, Monique.”

“I’ll arrange something after that,” Portia said.

Rory, Angel, and Karen were facing outward, watching the street. Once everyone was outside, Elisabeth said, “All right. Let’s go.”

Rory and Angel, looking quite casual, stepped forward, and then Portia nudged me into motion. I watched the two enforcers in front of me, and they looked like a couple of friends on a stroll. But I realized they were watching everywhere.

Portia kept me a few steps behind them, and the three of us walked side-by-side down the sidewalk. When I glanced behind me, I saw Nora and the two kids with Emanuel and Scarlett flanking them. Lara and Michaela were after that with Serena following closely. Karen trailed at a distance, and Elisabeth spent the entire four blocks moving up and down our main group, sometimes moving well ahead to scout the path. She even held up a hand once, and our group came to a stop.

“Stay here,” Portia said. “Take her, Monique.” Monique grabbed my arm, and then Portia released me and moved quickly to Elisabeth, but somehow made it look casual.

When I glanced over, I saw Monique looking around. I thought she’d look at me, but I realized she was watching for danger. She didn’t watch me, she watched for threats to our group.

“What’s going on?”

“Elisabeth sees something she doesn’t like,” Monique said. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what. Be ready to move.”

“Of course.”

A moment later, Rory separated from Angel. Angel moved backwards until she was just barely in front of me, close enough to touch. We all watched as Rory and Portia disappeared around the corner in front of us.

They were gone for about two minutes. Elisabeth spent the entire time looking in almost every direction, and when I looked around, the wolves were all tense. Michaela had stepped up to the kids and was talking quietly to them. Serena had a hand on Michaela’s shoulder but was facing outward, scanning the streets.

It felt like we were moving through a war zone, the way they were acting, not one of America’s most iconic cities.

“Okay, we’re moving,” Angel said. “Let’s go.” She stepped forward, and Monique tugged me along. We got to the corner, and Elisabeth gestured for us to take the left. As soon as we did, I saw what had bothered Elisabeth.

A car was parked in a driveway, blocking the sidewalk. There wasn’t a sidewalk on the other side of the street. Rory and Portia were standing near the car, looking exceedingly alert. Elisabeth moved forward with us, walking along the edge of the street.

“I don’t trust the car,” Elisabeth said. “Angel, lead us across the street. Monique, tighten your hold. Angel, go.”

Angel turned left, looked both ways, and then quickly began crossing the street. Monique, with no ceremony, tightened her grip on my arm and nudged me to follow Angel, then hurried me until we were practically running to the far side. There wasn’t a sidewalk, so we stepped onto the grass. Angel glanced to see where we were then continued along our scheduled path.

We skirted the car widely then repeated the maneuver to cross back to use the sidewalk again. A minute later, the wolves relaxed, and Portia was at my side again.

“I’ve got her, Monique,” she said, and I found Portia’s hand on my shoulder and Monique released my arm.

“That was dramatic,” I said.

“99 percent of the time, something like that means nothing. But the car could have held a bomb. Or it could have been a minor distraction and impediment to movement while the real threat came from another direction. It could have been an attempt to convince us to take another route.”

“But it was nothing.”

“Not necessarily. It was probably nothing. Or it could be the same car will be there on our way back, and they hope we’ll be more complacent. We have the entire alpha family with us, and we have enemies. We will not be complacent.”

I shook my head. I had never worried about things like this before.

Of course, we arrived at the restaurant without incident. Most of us milled around outside while Karen and Rory slipped in and checked on our reservations. A minute later, Elisabeth took a phone call, spoke briefly, then informed us we would just be a few minutes.

Finally we were seated on a patio with four tables for the fifteen of us. We weren’t the only occupants of the patio, but we had a little separation from the other diners. I found myself at a table with Elisabeth, Portia and Monique. We sat down, and I checked out the view.

“This is beautiful,” I said with a gesture. We had a lovely view of the Gulf of Mexico.

Elisabeth made a monosyllabic response, little more than a grunt. I glanced over at her, and she wasn’t looking at the ocean. She was gazing around the restaurant. So were Portia and Monique. When I looked at the other tables, Michaela and Lara were talking to their kids, and Nora had her nose in the menu, but all the enforcers were looking at anyone but their tablemates.

It took me a minute, but I also realized that they were all facing subtly different directions.

Well, this promised to be an entertaining dinner.

I picked up my menu.

It was, in a way, fascinating. At our table, Monique was the first wolf to pick up a menu. It took her about a minute to make her selection. When she was done, she set her menu back down and said, “Got it.”

Portia didn’t pick hers up until she glanced at Monique and found the girl back on duty, watching for danger. A minute later, she set her menu down, and Elisabeth picked up hers.

The same little menu dance was happening at the other tables.

The server stopped by, a young man named Ricky. I was only mildly surprised when the wolves all ordered various forms of steaks. There were vegetarian choices on the menu, but very little in vegan fare, and so I stuck with a salad after making sure it was safe.

Once the server had taken orders from all four of our tables and disappeared, Elisabeth said, “Monique, identify the threats, beginning with the nearest.”

“One of our subjects could choose to act up,” Monique said. “Michaela could have a fight with Lara and storm off. The kids have had a long day and could become problematic. I’m not sure what Zoe might do.”

“Good,” said Elisabeth. “What is your responsibility for that?”

“Stick to Zoe unless ordered otherwise.”

“What will you do if Michaela orders you to manage one of her kids during a retreat?”

She glanced at Elisabeth for a moment, but then returned to looking out over the restaurant. “My orders come from you.”

“Michaela is Alpha,” Elisabeth pointed out.

“Um.” She glanced at Elisabeth again.

“Eyes on the threats, Monique,” Portia said quietly.

“Yes, Portia,” Monique replied. “Um. Would Michaela do that?”

“She certainly would,” Elisabeth said. “If she does, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“The chain of command for security is Lara, me, then the head of whatever detail you’re on. In this case, that is Portia. Michaela is after that, and the heads of the other security details after Michaela. The remaining enforcers after that, then you. Then, last, whoever you are protecting.”

“I stay with Zoe unless you, Lara or Portia tells me otherwise. What if Serena tells me something different?”

“Sometimes you have to use your judgment,” Elisabeth said. “Serena knows your orders, so if she countermands them, she has a good reason, and you should probably do what she says, but if you have a choice, you should tell her what your existing orders are.”

Monique nodded.

“All right. Next closest threats.”

“The wait staff. And, I suppose, the food and drinks they bring. We expect the staff to weave between the tables, and one of them could have foul intent. But they’re all clearly humans, and no one smells funny.”

“Good.”

“After that, the other diners. They are also human, and I haven’t seen anyone pay particular attention except for the occasional half curious glance.”

“What’s the biggest danger from the diners?”

“Distraction,” she replied. “Physically unless they use heavy weapons, they are unlikely to be a significant threat.”

“Unlikely doesn’t mean impossible.”

“No,” she admitted.

“After that?”

“New arrivals, and people appearing to depart can also be a bigger threat than while dining.”

“Keep going,” Elisabeth said.

“We aren’t in a position to protect against it, but someone could drive a car bomb into the building. We didn’t place anyone outside watching for that. Also, we could be at risk of an RPG from a boat out in the bay or something dropped from an airplane. I suppose we could be swarmed via helicopters.”

“Good,” Elisabeth said. “And of course, there are other unlikely events like a neurotoxin released in the air.”

“Neurotoxin?” I asked. “Seriously?”

Elisabeth glanced at me for just an instant. “As I said, an unlikely event.” She resumed watching the crowd. “How would you identify an immediate threat, Monique?”

“Someone moving in an unexpected fashion. Someone smelling funny. Someone causing a distraction. Too many people coming too close to us. The wrong sort of people coming too close.”

I thought by that she meant other werewolves.

“What will you do if anything like that happens?”

“Make sure you see it and follow your lead.”

“And if a threat turns real?”

“Protect Zoe. That probably means keep her with the alpha. It may mean retreating to the house where we’re staying, the airport, or somehow get her back home.”

“If you got hopelessly separated, and for some reason, you couldn’t reunite with us, how would you get her home?”

“Rent a car and drive.”

“Look at what she’s wearing,” Elisabeth said. “Do you believe she brought a driver’s license and credit card? Take a good look.”

I actually had my license, some cash and a credit card, and my phone.

Monique looked over at me. I was tempted to help her, but I kept my mouth shut. She studied me for a while. “I’m sorry, Elisabeth. I don’t know.”

“And you’re fifteen. You won’t be able to rent a car. So unless Zoe can rent it for you, you won’t be renting any cars. First, let’s assume she has her driver’s license and a credit card. What are the dangers of renting?”

“We’ll show up in the records. If it’s some sort of government agency after us, the rental agency could stall us until law enforcement arrived. Also, because we’re in the records, we won’t know who has access to that information.”

“What else?”

Monique cocked her head. “I don’t know.”

“There are several dangers,” Elisabeth said. “Do you need help?”

“Accidents.”

“Yes. I hadn’t been thinking of that. Dangers closer to emergency status.”

I watched her think about it. I didn’t know what Elisabeth was looking for.

“A hint,” Elisabeth said. “I am thinking of two, both of which have to do with distance.”

“It’s a long drive home,” Monique said. “We would be very tired, raising the risk of an accident.”

“Who would drive the car?”

“I would,” Monique said.

Elisabeth pursed her lips, and Portia shifted in her seat.

“Or not?”

“Do you have a driver’s license?” Elisabeth asked.

“I have a permit. If Zoe sits in the front seat, as a licensed driver, I’m legal to drive.”

“Your permit is from Wisconsin. Do you know the rules for unlicensed drivers in other states?”

“No.”

“Neither do I.” Elisabeth paused. “That’s a risk that you should probably accept, but what’s the danger if you’re driving?”

“I can’t watch traffic as well. In case we’re being chased.” She paused. “Zoe should drive, at least until we clear the immediate area.”

“You’re a young driver, and Zoe is human. It’s been a long day of travel, and Zoe is showing a little stress besides. Neither of you are going to be able to make it straight through, even if you share the driving. What do you do?”