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background. The man standing in front of him always commanded everyone’s full attention. Lukas Kasper, alpha of the Greyelf Grizzly Clan. He was legendary already, and he’d only been the alpha for a little more than a year.
    Eric’s gaze zeroed back on Billy. “Look, jackass. You’re in my club right now, by my invitation. I’d toss you out on your ass right now if it wasn’t because…”
    “He saved my life,” Thea said. She was pleased that her voice was steadier than she expected. She got to her feet and found that she could stand. That was good. Billy put out a hand to steady her, but she stopped him. “I’m fine.” Thea wasn’t used to playing the part of the damsel in distress, and she wasn’t about to start now. “You should be thanking him instead of threatening him.”
    Eric looked as if he would rather eat a dead animal’s carcass. She wasn’t sure what she expected. Eric was a good guy, but he could let his emotions cloud his judgment. She wondered how many millions of dollars had slipped through his fingers because he had gotten personally worked up over some perceived slight in his business dealings. Of course, what was a couple of million to Eric anyway? Pocket change.
    She put her hand out to Billy. “Thank you.” It seemed woefully inadequate considering the circumstances.
    He stared at her outstretched hand. He took it slowly in both of his, and they were so big it was as if they swallowed her hand whole. Thea felt a rush of heat at his touch. “No thanks necessary. It’s part of my job.” She felt her insides melt a little bit at his words, and the intensity of the look in his eyes as they seemed to sweep over her from head to foot assessing her condition. She had just met him, and yet she felt his concern for her well-being. She imagined that made him good at his job.
    Eric snorted and rolled his eyes. “Now that you’ve done the world a continued service, Sheriff, maybe you can tell me what you want so we can put your furry butt on a plane back to Greyelf in the morning.”
    “Eric!” Thea said. “You’re being rude.”
    “It’s okay,” Billy said. His eyes twinkled. He bowed his head towards hers. “I’m used to it.” He didn’t seem to care if Eric heard him or not. His eyes swung back to her stepbrother. “I was on my way here tonight because I’d like a word with you and your partners. It won’t take more than a few minutes.”
    “Kyle and Tony aren’t here,” Eric said.
    It floored Thea how difficult Eric was being given the circumstances. “If memory serves, right now Kyle and Tony are in the VIP lounge drinking a bottle of scotch and probably getting lap dances from some shifter groupies,” Thea said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m sure they can spare a few minutes for the sheriff.”
    Eric’s face settled into a thin frown. They stared at each other, but Thea refused to back down. Billy had saved her life. If all he wanted was to talk to her stepbrother and his partners, she’d make it happen. She at least owed him that, and so did Eric whether he liked it or not.
    “Fine,” Eric said finally. “Five minutes. We’ve got a lot of VIP guests here tonight. We don’t have time for this.”
    “Five minutes is fine,” Billy said with a bland smile.
    “Can you ask Sophie to bring me up a pair of the shoes from the back? She knows my size,” Thea asked as Eric headed toward the door that went to the club. The club employed a small number of go-go dancers that worked on particularly busy nights. Kyle, who ran the club, was particular about their outfits, and eventually found it was easier just to keep a selection of clothes on hand for them. “Oh, and Eric?” Her stepbrother stopped but didn’t turn around this time. “Alex is going home with me as soon as we’re done here. No arguments.”
    Eric gave a slight shake of his head, and then he left the room.
    She glanced over at Billy and found him giving her an appraising look. “Remind