Chapter 67

"I can't believe it was that easy," Liam gasps, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. He, Marcus, and Evelyn are sitting at a back table in a quiet bar, where Marcus is relaying the details of his set up to the others over mugs of beer.

"I can," Evelyn says, also wiping her face. "Honestly, they deserve each other."

"They do," Liam says. "I'm just in awe that Marcus was able to be so smooth and sneaky about it. With instant results! My man, you truly are a genius." He raises his glass to Marcus in a toast, and Evelyn follows.

Marcus laughs, and clinks his glass with theirs. Right now, at this moment, he feels completely relaxed and happy. HIs best friend and his…well, "girlfriend" seems a tad juvenile, and not at all the right word to express how he feels about Evelyn. Not the time to dwell on that, now.

His best friend and his Evelyn, he amends in his head. The two people closest to him, the two he trusts most in the world, next to his father. The two people who can always lift him up, make him laugh, no matter the circumstances.

Marcus feels a glow in his heart, and his wolf sings as he looks across the table at Evelyn, her green eyes sparkling with merriment and her red hair gleaming in the dim lighting. She's astonishingly beautiful, anyone can see that, but Marcus is drawn to her for far more than that.

She lights up from within, he thinks. She has a glow to her, one that answers the glow in his own heart. Sings to it, the way his wolf sings to her.

"Earth to Marcus," Liam waves a hand in front of his face. "Where'd you go there, mate? Reflecting on the ethereal beauty of our good doctor, no doubt." He grins mischievously at Marcus, who glares at him.

Evelyn laughs, blushing. It only makes her look more beautiful.

"Don't be ridiculous, Liam," she says.

"I'm not," Liam says, and Marcus decides that it's time to change the subject before Liam says something that gets him into deeper trouble than he's already in.

"I'd certainly love to be an invisible guest to that date on Saturday night," he says. "Or perhaps not - the two of those vultures, each thinking they're conning the other, might be more than I can bear."

Liam and Evelyn both laugh. Evelyn is about to say something else, but then her expression changes. Her laughter fades away to a look of puzzled concern, and she bites her lip as she stares at something over Marcus's shoulder.

Marcus and Liam both notice the change immediately, but neither openly react. They've been too well trained to give away a potential position with such an amateur move.

"Doctor?" Liam says in a low undertone, taking a casual sip of his beer. "See something that's troubling you?"

Evelyn, who is facing the door while Marcus and Liam have their backs to it, echoes Liam's gesture in picking up her beer and taking a sip. With forced ease, she nods and speaks in a low but cheerful tone that contradicts the worry on her face.

"It's something I've noticed all day, but I thought I was imagining it at first. Maybe I am, I don't know," she says.

"What is it?" Marcus asks.

"It's this man," Evelyn says. "I'm certain I've seen him all day, but only when I'm with you, Marcus. I think he's following you."

Liam and Marcus exchange glances, then both look back to Evelyn.

"Could you explain?" Liam asks.

"Well, I saw him driving next to us on the way to the tea room, and then I was sure I saw him follow you into the tea room," Evelyn says.

"When I went shopping, I didn't see him at all. But when I met you back at the tea rooms, Marcus, I was sure I saw him follow you out the door. And then I am sure I saw him at the restaurant earlier tonight, too."

"And now?" Marcus asks.

"Now he's sitting over there by the door," Evelyn almost whispers, sounding fearful. "I'm sure of it. He's the one in that black blazer with the gray suit pants."

"Don't stare," Marcus cautions her. "Act natural. Liam, can you get a look without being noticed."

"Certainly can, boss," Liam says. "I'll just go freshen our drinks, shall I?" He drains his beer and gracefully stands up, walking over to the bar.

He returns a few minutes later with a tray of foaming beers and sets them down in the middle of the table.

"I see him," Liam says. "What's worse, he looks vaguely familiar, though I know I've never met him before."

"So, you think you might have seen him around?" Marcus asks.

"Indeed. We need to test this, Marcus."

"What does that mean?" Evelyn asks, and the two men exchange another look.

"We'll explain over this drink," Liam says, "and then we must get you safely back home. Don't worry, Evelyn. I won't let anything happen to him."

"Is he still behind us?" Marcus asks quietly as he and Liam stroll down the lamplit street, just two friends walking home from the bar late at night.

Liam swings into an alcove to light a cigarette from the pack he bought for this purpose, allowing him to glance unseen behind them.

"He is," he confirms. "And he's stopped, too. He's waiting for us to move on again."

"That settles it," Marcus sighs. "Christ, this is the last thing I need right now. Who do you think sent him?"

"Impossible to say, of course," Liam says, puffing on the cigarette without inhaling. "But I'd put my money on your enchanting brother-in-law, wouldn't you?"

"I would," Marcus says in a dark tone. "Though we can't be certain, so it's important we don't make any firm assumptions."

"Agreed," Liam says, finishing his cigarette with a placid look that doesn't betray how much he detests the scent, made all the stronger by his werewolf senses. He stomps it out on the sidewalk, and they move to keep walking.

"Still," Liam says. "It's our best working guess. My word, Marcus, you do have the most welcoming in-laws, don't you?"

Marcus snorts.

"We should hail a cab," Liam says. "Now that we know for sure that he's following you, it's foolish to keep out in the open like this. The last thing we need is some kind of wolf brawl right here in the middle of the street. Imagine what that would do for our PR."

Marcus almost laughs.

"Claire would have a heart attack," he says. "I'm not sure she'd ever recover from the scandal. She's worked far too hard to give us an image of benign friendliness with the humans. And that man behind us is definitely human; I can smell it."

"Precisely," Liam says, stepping to the edge of the sidewalk and waving a hand at the cab that's cruising up the road toward them. "And Claire has enough on her plate as it is."

The cab pulls over, and Liam and Marcus waste no time in hopping inside. They keep their faces forward, but both can see the man from the corners of their eyes as they zip past. He looks irritated, swiveling to watch their car as it outpaces him within seconds.

"Let's get home," Marcus says. "Pour a whisky, and then–-"

"It's time to call Jack again," Liam finishes.