“And that’s more important than talking to me? No, wait, don’t answer that either. Since you’re obviously not going to play nice, I’ll cut to the point. You owe me a favor.”

“No, you said I owed you. I never agreed. As I recall, you offered the trade in return for giving me two pieces of advice about the compound, but you hightailed it out of there yourself before telling me the second.”

“It was dogs. They had trained bloodhounds and attack dogs.”

“Really? Oh, right, that’s what attacked me and nearly ripped my throat out. Left a nice scar on my shoulder, too. Thanks for the warning.”

“Okay, so you only owe me half a favor. And you could argue that one, too. I’m really only using that as an opener for a fresh deal. The beginning of what I hope will be a long and mutually profitable relationship. I’m a useful guy, Elena. I could really help you out.”

“Uh-huh. So who’s chasing you?”

“No one. Let me finish. Last year I started thinking about this. That I should get in touch with you and renew our acquaintance.”

“Uh-huh. And who was chasing you then?”

“A Cabal, but that’s not the point.”

“I’m not a bodyguard for hire, Xavier.”

“And that isn’t what I have in mind. This particular proposal has zero violence potential. It involves another of your…specific skills. In return, I can tell you where you’ll find that rogue wolf you’ve been hunting.”

I glanced over at Clay. “What rogue—?”

“David Hargrave. Killed three women in Tennessee. Your Pack has been hunting for him for a couple of months now.”

“Who told you—”

“Contacts, Elena. I’m a regular Rolodex of supernatural contacts. Point is, I know where Hargrave is hiding out. That got me thinking. If I gave you that information, you might be willing to do a little something for me in return.”

“So I do this ‘little something’ for you, and you give me an address, and I show up to find Hargrave cleared out a week ago…”

“Uh-uh. If you agree to the deal, I tell you where to find Hargrave right away. Not only that, but I wait until you have him, and then you do the favor for me. Everything’s on the up and up with this one. I don’t con anyone who can rip out my liver with her bare hands.”

“What’s your end, then? What do you want?”

“It…takes some explaining. Come to Buffalo tomorrow and I’ll tell you.”

“Buffalo? Too far. Meet me halfway, in Rochester.”

“Buffalo is halfway. I’m in Toronto. Your hometown, if I remember the compound records. Hey, maybe you can recommend a good sushi—”

“What are you doing in Toronto?”