“Masen, you gotta put me down, now. We can’t walk out there like this,” I say, squirming, trying to get down. He heaves a sigh like I’m being unreasonable but sets me down. He insists I go over every detail again starting when they sat down at my table in the restaurant. I tell him everything, where I ate, where I walked, what stores I went into, what happened in the parking lot. I haven’t finished yet when we walk out to my truck.

They’re gone, but Masen catches both of their scents. “I’m not familiar with either scent, but that doesn’t mean much. I don’t know everyone by scent. We have a few hundred in the pack. I’m going to call Sid and have him see if he can track them.”

Sniffer and I check my Jeep while Masen makes some phone calls. My purse and bags are laying on the front seat. “Masen, they left my stuff!” I shout. When I open my purse and check my wallet, I see what they’ve taken, my Kentucky driver’s license, all my cash, my credit cards, phone, and keys. “Shit,” I curse. “They took all my stuff. They know my address and have my keys. I had a change of address on the back of my license when I moved. We need to get to my house before they take everything I own,” I’m almost in tears, “I should have kept my purse.” My voice cracks. Masen hugs me close.

“I’ll take care of it, baby. Don’t cry. Cass, wait here for Sid and whoever else he brings. Tell him what you know and make sure he gets back to me as soon as he knows something. I’m gonna have Michael meet us at her place.”

Leaving my Jeep, he ushers me to the same SUV he drove me to school in this morning. “Wait, Sniffer, can you see if there’s still a small footlocker in the back?”

He looks in the back. “Yeah, I see it.”

“My new camera is in there if they didn’t take it. If you guys leave my Jeep, will you break the lock and bring my stuff home with you please?”

He runs over to where Masen is about to load me in the car. “I’ll get your stuff, Sophie. Don’t worry. Masen will take care of the rest, okay?” I nod my head and smile so he feels better if nothing else.

On the way to my house, I finish telling Masen the rest of the story. When I tell him how I got away, he looks at me in awe. “You punched him in the throat?” pride clear in his tone.

“No, I didn’t throat punch him. I jabbed him like this.” I show him the move in the throat.

His head kicks back, and he belly laughs so hard I see tears in his eyes. When he settles down, he says, “It’s not funny that you had to deal with those fuckers, but only you could jab someone in the throat to get away.” He starts laughing all over again.