“An exchange?” Brett mocked, and Jenks made an odd rumble, leaving me wondering if pixies could growl. “Seems to me like it’s more of a payment for getting us to leave you alone.”

In a smooth, unhurried motion, Jenks reached out and slapped him. “Seems to me you should pull the brains out of your ass.”

“Jenks!” I exclaimed, glancing over the fishbowl of a restaurant to see if anyone saw him.

“He’s a dead wolf!” Jenks protested, gesturing sharply. “I could slice him open and leave him for the maggots, and he thinks he has some leverage.”

My eyes narrowed. “But we aren’t going to do that. Stop hitting him.”

“It’s what they did to Nick,” he offered, starting our argument anew. “Why are you giving him any consideration beyond the chunk of meat that he turned himself into by letting us take him hostage?”

Under the table my knees were shaking. “Because that’s how we work when we’re five feet tall, unless we’re ignorant animals playing in the woods.”

Jenks slumped back with his coffee to look sullen.

Brett’s teeth were clenched at my unflattering comparison to his pack. Remembering what they had done to Nick, it was hard not to let Jenks have his way. Frustrated, I tried to hide my shaking fingers by taking a sip of my tart tea while Jenks continued to dump every last sugar packet into his coffee. I could scent his anger over the odor of french fries and bad coffee, like burnt acorns.

“I am going to give Walter the statue you couldn’t retrieve through a week of torture,” I said. “In return, you are going to convince Walter to give me Nick’s life and not hold me responsible for Pam’s death. You will leave all of us alone and not seek any retaliation. Ever.” My eyebrows rose. “You do, and I’ll come right back up here and take it back.”

Brett’s faint wrinkles bunched. “Why should I do that?” he asked.

“Because it was your idea,” I said lightly. “And it’s the only thing that’s going to keep you alive. As soon as my ride gets here, I’m outta here.” I took a slow breath, praying I wasn’t making a mistake. “I’m going to call Walter and tell him where you are and congratulate him on having such a wonderful second in command who convinced me to give you the statue. There will be someone watching you. If Walter accepts my terms, he takes you and walks away. If not, he can leave you cuffed to the table, and you become Jenks’s responsibility.”

Jenks straightened and started to grin.

“The way I figure it,” I said, looking through the huge plate-glass windows at nothing, “your alpha is one pissed puppy at you for having not only letting us slip through your fingers, but then being careless enough to get taken and putting him in this awkward position.”

I leaned close enough that my words were a palpable sensation of my will against his face. “If you can’t convince him that we’re enough of a threat that he should accept my terms and back off for thirty-six hours and that because of your stellar negotiating skills that I will give it to you and you alone, he will have no reason to keep your hide attached to your soul. He’s going to kill you unless you can redeem yourself. Not right away, but he’ll do it. A slow slide in the hierarchy, giving everyone a shot at you on your way down. So I think a thank-you to me is in order for giving you a surefire way back into his good graces.”