“‘Me’ is a terrible name,” I told him. “You should aim for at least three letters.”

“Ascanio! You have to remember me.”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“It’s not fair!” he declared.

“Yes, make it all about you,” Julie told him.

Ascanio stopped. “I will make you remember me!” he called.

The four of us kept going.

“You do remember him?” Julie whispered.

“Of course, I remember him.”

She snickered.

“Where is Barabas?” Curran asked.

“He said he would be at the Guild in case we decided to attend their meeting,” Derek said. “He packed us a care package. It’s in my car.”

“Good,” Curran said.

“We’ll need to stop by the Steel Horse to pick up the Clerk,” I added. Walking into the Guild with the Clerk would be like sucker-punching Bob right in the gut.

“Did you get a look at the giant?” I asked Julie.

“Yes.”

“What color was the magic of the corpse?”

“Bronze,” she said. “Just like the Tahoe.”

That’s what I thought. “Let’s talk more in the car.”

We opened the big doors. Six people barred our way. I recognized two. The Beast Lord’s personal guard.

Curran didn’t even slow down.

“Um . . .” one of the men said.

“Move,” Curran said.

They moved. We headed down the hallway. A petite woman turned the corner and rushed toward us, adjusting her large glasses. Dali. Hey, I recognized her. Score one for me.

“Wait.” Dali blocked our path. “Kate, you’re walking?”

“Yes.” And kicking.

“Can you tell me what’s going on? I know that whatever you’re doing is connected to the Pack, but Jim is ducking me.”

“We’re handling it,” Curran told her.

“I’m not asking you.” Dali turned to me. “What’s going on?”

In the old days I would’ve walked down the hallway and made sure nobody could hear us so I wouldn’t cause an incident, but I was no longer the Consort and I didn’t give a shit. “Eduardo is missing and Mahon won’t look for him because he doesn’t think Eduardo would make a proper son-in-law. George asked Jim to help, but he doesn’t want to overstep his authority.”

Dali blinked and turned to the personal guard. “Rodney. Go and get Eduardo’s file for me.”

“I can’t.” The big shapeshifter arranged his face into an apologetic expression. “Jim won’t like—”

Dali leaned forward, her stare direct and heavy. “I don’t care what Jim likes. Do it.”

Rodney hesitated.

“What are you waiting for?” Dali asked. Her voice made it clear she wasn’t interested in an answer.

“He’s waiting for an ‘or,’” I told her.

“What?”

“Usually there is an ‘or’ attached to this kind of threat. Do it or something bad happens.”

“He doesn’t get an ‘or.’” A faint green sheen rolled over Dali’s irises. “There is no ‘or.’ Do it. Because I said so.”