Chapter 51

"So, how do we approach this?" I ask Dr. Madison and Marcus, looking from one to the other with uncertainty.

"Well, we have two problems," Marcus says slowly, tapping a finger against his chin. "We need to figure out how to address the police investigation – that's one big problem. We need to find a way to get them to keep this discreet."

"How are you going to get the NYPD to keep something like this discreet?" Dr. Madison asks. Marcus flashes her a dazzling smile, and she smiles back, despite the seriousness of our conversation.

"Through influence," Marcus says. "Our family is a hugely prominent one; there are ways to get police to approach your situation with a great deal of care, when you're a family like ours."

"Money and status," I say. Marcus shoots me a rueful grin.

"Basically, yes," he says. "I'm not saying it's right or fair, because it isn't. However, as you're both well aware, it's absolutely necessary in this case. Other lives besides my father's might be on the line – mine included, for one thing. And honestly, Evelyn, maybe yours."

"Mine?" I'm startled. "Why mine?"

"Because I agree with you that whoever set up this murder attempt was probably trying to frame you," Marcus says, the humor fading from his eyes. His mouth turns serious and grim. "It was clearly a rather botched attempt at making it look like you'd given my father an overdose of his heart medication.

"Now, why would a doctor do that? Either she's incompetent, or…"

He waits for me to put it together.

"Oh, my god," I gasp, bringing a hand to my mouth. "Or…if I'm dating the Alpha's son, who is trying to get himself named heir before one of his siblings…"

"...then you would have a pretty good motive for knocking off his sickly old father," Marcus finishes, looking angry at the very thought.

"But that doesn't even make sense," I say. "Aren't you less likely to get named heir if your father dies? Surely Joel and Daisy, who stand to gain more if your father dies before he can name you heir, are better suspects?"

"They are," Marcus says. "But they're not dating the Alpha's doctor, the one who supposedly gave him the deliberate overdose. I think the plan was to make you look guilty, just ignorant of how werewolf politics actually work.

"To humans, including the human justice system, it would be more believable that the doctor who is known for being the only person to administer my father's medication…who just recently caused a mild scandal by beginning to date the Alpha's son…"

"...is a naive social climber who would assume that knocking off the Alpha in order to advance her boyfriend's position. And hers," I say.

I'm so furious at the very thought – how many goddamn times is Charles going to set me up, anyway? And for how many different crimes? – that I don't notice what I just said until I see Marcus staring at me oddly.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Am I?" he asks softly, his eyes shimmering with some emotion I can't quite place.

"Are you what?" I ask, now just feeling confused.

"Your boyfriend," he says. "You called me your boyfriend just now. Am I?"

"Um," I say. Good god, how do I respond to that? And is now really the time?

Dr. Madison clears her throat, answering my internal questions out loud.

"Guys, this is very touching, but I really don't think now is the time for that conversation," she says pointedly, glancing back and forth between us.

Marcus has the good grace to flush a little.

"You're absolutely right, Doctor," he says. "Back to business. Anyway, yes, I think that that's what whoever set this up probably had in mind, Evelyn.

"And now that you've escaped that trap – because there's no way in hell my father or I would ever believe you had anything to do with this, and I will find a way to prove that if I have to – whoever set you up is going to be furious.

"I'm worried about what they might do next," he concludes, looking at me with something akin to desperation in his eyes. "I've already…I lost someone, someone who was becoming close to me, who I strongly suspect was set up in a similar way.

"She died, and I can't prove that it was at the hands of these same people, but I think it was. I can't – I won't risk that happening to you, too."

Now it's my turn to flush. Oh, Jesus, what a pickle I've gotten myself into. I really need to find a way to tell Marcus who I really am. I'm almost positive that I can trust him, after all this. But I still need to wait, to hesitate.

He might be angry that I lied to him, for one thing. For another, it's not just my life on the line. This isn't just my call to make.

Still, seeing him stand here in front of me, tearing up at the thought of my death, knowing that he's believed me to be innocent this whole time? It's hard. It's really, incredibly, excruciatingly hard.

I need to change the subject, so I clear my throat and ask the first question I can think of, even though I already know the answer, to get the conversation back on track.

"Okay, so, the police investigation is our first problem. We need to find a way to protect both your father and the rest of us from being on the next receiving end of a poisoned cup of tea, or whatever," I say, trying to lighten the mood with dark humor but falling somewhat flat. "What's our second problem?"

"The press," Marcus says. "Definitely the press. They already know we're here, and that my father has had some kind of medical emergency. We're going to have to come up with something to tell them, and try to keep this murder attempt out of the news for as long as we can."

He rubs his face and looks exhausted. I reach over and squeeze his arm, and he lifts his head and smiles at me gratefully.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," he says, putting on that air of command that I have always found so attractive and so comforting at the same time. "We're going to call Jack Darlington."

"Who is Jack Darlington?" Dr. Madison asks. She's starting to look impatient. "You do remember that I need to report this, right? I have to do my job, too."

"Of course, Doctor," Marcus says soothingly. "Jack is a detective with the NYPD, and he's a family friend. He'll put together a small team and look into this. If anybody can keep this discreet, it's Jack.

"You can make your report, we can keep this under wraps, and the press won't know a damn thing, if we pull this off right."

"What are we going to tell the press?" I ask. "They're out there right now – we won't be able to dodge them."

"We won't," Marcus says. "Which is why we're going to tell them that my father had a heart attack but is recovering now under the brilliant care of his personal doctor and ER doctor extraordinaire, Dr. Alma Madison."

Marcus turns to Dr. Madison, waiting for her response. After a long moment, she nods her agreement.

"Thank you," Marcus says, looking relieved. Doctor, if there's anything my father or I can ever do for you, please don't hesitate to let us know. If he pulls through this, I'm going to nominate you for a Friend of the Pack award."

Dr. Madison looks grimly amused.

"That won't be necessary," she says. "I just hope we all get out of this mess in one piece."