‘This Takapa’s a son of a bitch,’ Stacy said. ‘From what Kate has seen, it looks like he’s breeding his own militia.’

‘Nice thought.’ Tom shook his head. ‘Just imagine. Kids off the street, all the flotsam and jetsam of a city … trained like soldiers to fight and to kill, but with the strength, the speed and the senses of a werewolf.’

‘I don’t want to imagine that,’ muttered Jasmine with a shiver.

‘Better still, they’re all hooked on a drug so addictive they’ll follow any command to get it,’ sighed Stacy. ‘All thanks to me: dumbest bitch on the East Coast.’

‘I met dumber,’ Rico piped up matter-of-factly.

‘Oh, God.’ Stacy clapped both hands to her face. ‘I just remembered. I was so out of it, I can’t be sure, but …’

Tom frowned. ‘What?’

‘Swagger. I heard him say, Tom, after he’d hit me, while I was whacked out on the couch …’ She looked at him, and bit her lip. ‘I’m sure I heard him say Marcie Folan was going after your parents – later tonight.’

Tom felt his world fall away. He tried to speak but the words withered up at the back of his throat. ‘That evil bitch,’ he managed to croak. ‘She’s taken so much …’

‘Well, I’ve taken a whole bellyful of her,’ said Jasmine fiercely, taking a corner. ‘She ain’t hurting nobody else.’

‘We know where his mom and dad are,’ chirped Rico. ‘It was on the cop radio. First Western Hotel, over on Madison, room 3003. We could go get them. Pick them up.’

‘And do what?’ Tom said bitterly. ‘Tell them their son’s a werewolf? And that the woman they think is another poor grieving parent is actually planning to tear them apart?’ His voice was rising higher. ‘You think they’ll buy all that? Sure! “Oh, sorry, son, we thought you were just a murderer, not the freakin’ ’wolfman!”’

Jasmine placed her hand on his arm. ‘OK. Enough, Tom. Come on, cool it.’

Tom massaged his temples. He felt exhausted, and his shoulder was still throbbing, setting his whole spine on edge. ‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered.

‘’S’all right, Tom,’ Rico told him. ‘I know you ain’t mad at me.’

‘We need a proper plan,’ said Stacy. ‘We need to think about this.’ She shut her eyes, and started muttering to herself.

Rico watched her, intrigued.

‘That brainy stuff might work, sure,’ said Jasmine quietly, seriously, as she pulled up at the next set of lights. ‘But, seems to me you gotta fight fire with fire.’ She shot Tom a dark look. ‘Know what I’m saying?’ She held open her jacket. Protruding from her jeans pocket, glistening black, was the handle of Ramone’s gun. She must’ve grabbed it from the hangout.

Tom stared at it, framed against the creamy brown skin of Jasmine’s midriff.

‘I’ve got an idea,’ Stacy announced.