“We’re too far away.” She whimpered. “Without Cord to anchor the bond, it can’t stretch over such a long distance.”

“He broke the bond.” Why would he cripple himself now when he needed his strength the most?

“No.” A shudder wracked her. “His mind was ripped out of it, torn out of us.”

“Bessemer.”

A slight nod twitched her neck.

Was this what Graeson meant when he said the pack would be otherwise occupied? A second, gut-rending thought popped into my head. Had he known this was coming and planned for it?

He was Graeson. Of course he had. And, in typical Graeson fashion, he had decided my time was better spent tracking Charybdis and had faced Bessemer alone, without giving me the choice to stand by him. The damn stubborn man was going to get himself killed one of these days. If he hadn’t already.

“Is she all right?” Thierry’s voice came from over my shoulder.

“No.” Dell was a hot mess, her thoughts a frantic blur. “But she will be.”

“Tell me what I can do to help.”

“Nothing.” I straightened. “I have to get her home. She needs her pack to recover from this.”

Thierry absorbed the news with a nod. “Did you learn anything back there?”

I hesitated. “I’m not sure.”

“Think on it, and let me know. Here.” She returned the plastic bag to me. “These are Ayer’s belongings. It’s the clothes she showed up in and the contents of her purse.”

New respect zipped through me when I looked to Mai, who leaned against her door, foot tapping. She was one sly fox. “I’ll sort through this and let you know what I find.”

“Pop it in a mailer when you’re done,” Mai called. “I’ll smuggle it back in before anyone notices it’s gone.”

“Will do.” Turning to Thierry, I yanked her in for a quick hug that took us both by surprise. “Thank you. For everything.”

Magic zinged across my tongue, sealing the favor I owed her.

Her eyes widened at the knowledge I had granted her a boon. “You’re welcome.”

“Guys, we need to roll out.” Mai checked her phone’s display. “Tee and I have an appointment in a half hour. We need to be on time to maintain our cover.”

“Touch base with me when you can.” Thierry backed toward Mai. “I hope your friend recovers quickly.”

“Me too,” I said, hands shaking as I fumbled for the keys. “Me too.”

Chapter 12

Hauling a semiconscious warg through airport checkpoints was an exercise in frustration. The smart thing to do would have been to drive straight to Georgia, but I wasn’t sure Dell had that kind of time, and Graeson… I was trying hard not to think about what this meant for him.