Trouble in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 1) (6 page)

“You’ll regret this, Silver. You’ll never find another person as perfect for you as me. And you’ll never be able to have the lifestyle I could give you with anyone else. Not every rich man is willing to date a poor ballerina.”

“Goodbye, Joe,” Silver hissed. Then she pushed past him and marched down the hallway toward the hotel exit. She didn’t even care who saw her tear stained face anymore. She just needed to get out of here and away from him. She felt sick to her stomach over the words she’d just heard come out of his mouth. Dating Joe had never been about money. She had never taken a single cent from him, and she’d only let him buy her gifts for her birthday and Christmas. And she wasn’t a “poor” ballerina. She might not be wealthy like him, but she made a decent living.

Silver ignored the quizzical look from the bellboy as she stumbled out of the hotel’s lobby and into the warm evening air. She waved away the man at the concierge stand when he asked, “Are you okay, Miss?”

She didn’t want to explain anything to anyone. She just wanted to get away from all these people and find a safe place to cry. She pulled out her phone and quickly used it to request a hovertaxi. Thankfully, it only took a few moments for one to arrive in front of the hotel for her. She climbed in and breathed a sigh of relief as the glass gull-wing door closed behind her with a firm whoosh, blocking out the crowds milling around the hotel. Silver gave the computer the address for her condo building, and moments later the taxi started zooming into the air and toward Lakeshore Drive. Silver caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and winced at her disheveled appearance. She had never felt so angry and embarrassed in her life. How could Mr. Astor treat her that way? And how could Joe just let him get away with it?

Silver felt tears pushing against her eyelids again, and she pulled out her phone again.

“Call Storm,” she said. She needed to talk to someone she trusted, before she completely lost it. But after several rings, Storm’s voicemail came on the line. Frustrated, Silver almost threw her phone against the glass of the window. She thought about calling her dad. He would at least be happy to hear that she had broken up with Joe. But there was also a good chance that he would be on the next flight to Chicago to beat up Mr. Astor if Silver told him what had happened.

Silver slumped in her seat, feeling alone and unsure of what to do. She mentally ran through her list of friends, and one name stuck out in her head. Feeling hopeful, she sat up and spoke to her phone again.

“Call Jack Tanner.”

Jack blinked in confusion a few times as his dreams flitted away and consciousness came flooding back. He looked around in a daze, trying to figure out what that dinging noise was. Then, he sat up suddenly as he realized it was his phone ringing. The sharp tone of the ringer was alternating with the computer’s voice announcing, “Call from, Silver Rowe. Call from, Silver Rowe.”

“Answer call!” Jack called out as he stumbled from his bed, looking around for the phone. Not that he needed to actually find the phone to talk to Silver. The device connected to the intercom system in his condo, so he could talk on the phone hands-free from any room in the house. But old habits die hard, and Jack had spent most of his early years without the newfangled intercom system he now enjoyed. As a result, he still found himself searching for the actual, physical phone whenever someone called.

“Call connected,” the computer called out.

“Silver?” Jack said, still trying to get his bearings and brush off the last vestiges of sleep.

“Jack! Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re there. I’ve had the shittiest night. Wait, did I wake you up? I forgot you were trying to recover from work. I’m so sorry,” Silver said. Then she started crying.

“Silver! Don’t worry about waking me up. What’s wrong?” Jack asked. He instantly felt fully awake, and fear gripped his heart at the distressed tone of Silver’s voice. He grabbed a pair of jeans from the laundry basket on top of his dresser and started hopping into them.

“Joe’s dad attacked me, and then I broke up with Joe,” Silver managed to get out between sobs.

“What? His dad attacked you? Where are you now? Are you somewhere safe?” Jack let out a rapid-fire series of questions as he pulled a gray t-shirt on over his head.

“I’m safe. I’m in a taxi and I’m almost home. But I’m just kind of in shock and wanted to talk to someone. Storm isn’t picking up her phone.”

“I’m coming over,” Jack said as he turned around in circles looking for his shoes. Why could he never remember to just put them on the shoe rack, where they belonged?

“You don’t have to do that,” Silver said. Jack could tell by the tone of her voice that she was just trying to be polite. She really did want someone to come over. He was a little disappointed that Storm had been her first choice instead of him, but, hey, you can’t really compete with a girl’s lifelong best friend.

“I know I don’t have to. I want to,” Jack said as he finally found his shoes, which were right next to his phone. “Go inside and get yourself a glass of water or wine or something. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes or less.”

“Thanks,” Silver said, her voice sounding relieved.

“No problem. See you soon,” Jack said. Then he swiped on the phone to end the call before Silver could change her mind or argue further.

Fifteen minutes later, he let himself into Silver’s apartment.

“Welcome, Jack Tanner,” the British voice of her computer called out. Jack rolled his eyes.

“In here,” Silver’s voice called from the living room. Jack walked in to find her sitting on the couch with her feet curled up under her. She was wearing a pair of loose black sweatpants, and a fitted long-sleeved white t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a tight, high bun, similar to how she wore it when she was dancing. Her face was pale, and looked like it was freshly washed. She had obviously tried to wash away the evidence of her tears, but the redness in her eyes gave her away. She held a glass of red wine in her hand, but it didn’t look like she had even taken a sip from it yet.

“Hey,” Silver said, and smiled bravely as Jack walked in. “Sorry to call you up out of the blue like that. I feel a little silly now for calling you over a breakup. I should have waited until Storm was available.”

Jack couldn’t help but smile. He’d known Silver for a long time, and he knew how much she hated crying in front of people. Even as a little girl, she’d always put up a tough front. She wanted to always act like she had everything under control. Once, when her clan was visiting his clan, a group of the cubs had gotten lost in the woods. They had wandered out much further than they were supposed to, and a snowstorm had set in. Even with their bear noses, they were having trouble finding their way back home, and darkness was quickly approaching. Panic was starting to set in, especially with some of the female cubs. But if Silver had ever been afraid or doubted their ability to get home before the cold night descended on the Alaskan tundra, she never showed it. She was stubborn and fearless.

These days, Silver often seemed less sure of herself than she had as a young cub. But, here and there, Jack saw glimpses of the tenacious fighter she used to be. And the one thing that hadn’t changed about her was the way she put her whole heart into it when she danced. Jack had seen her perform several times over the years, and he loved to watch her pour her soul out onto the dance floor. She was nothing short of incredible, even if she spent too much time doubting herself these days.

“Don’t feel silly,” Jack said, giving Silver a warm smile. He sat down on an armchair across from Silver. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to sit down right next to her on the couch and pull her into his arms, but something told him that right after a breakup wasn’t the best time for him to reveal his deeper feelings for her. In reality, he wasn’t sure that there ever would be a time where he would reveal his feelings for her. As drawn to her as he felt, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to risk their friendship. And he wasn’t sure whether it was fair to ask a woman to put up with the busy schedule he was forced to keep as a doctor.

“Tell me what happened,” Jack said as he settled into Silver’s armchair. He loved that she had older furniture that wasn’t completely computerized. It somehow felt homier to him that way.

Silver looked down at her hands for a moment. Then she looked back up and gave him a shaky smile. “Joe told his dad that I overheard something that made me upset. He didn’t tell his dad what I heard, thankfully. But apparently just knowing that I heard something made his dad angry.”

Jack let out a low whistle. “I’m surprised Joe talked to his dad about it. Are you sure he didn’t say anything about shifters?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Silver said. “His dad cornered me in a deserted hallway during a charity event tonight, and he was madder than I’ve ever seen him. He demanded that I tell him what I knew, but I played dumb. He started going off on me, telling me I was only dating Joe for his money. He pretty much verbally and physically assaulted me.”

“Wait, what do you mean he physically assaulted you?” Jack asked, feeling an angry stirring in his stomach. Did he hit you?”

“No, but he squeezed my wrists so hard that he bruised them,” Silver said. Then she pulled back her sleeves to reveal dark bruises ringing her wrists.

“That bastard!” Jack said, jumping to his feet and rushing over to where Silver was standing . He grabbed her hands to inspect the bruises, and as soon as he touched Silver’s skin, she teared up again.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling back one of her hands to wipe at her eyes. “This whole night has made me pretty emotional. I usually don’t cry this much, I promise.”

“I know,” Jack said softly, looking up into her eyes. “I’ve known you for a long time, remember? I know you’re a tough cookie. But you’ve been through a lot tonight. You don’t have to keep apologizing, okay? Being strong doesn’t mean never being vulnerable. It’s okay to let your guard down in front of your closest friends now and then, I promise.”

Silver nodded, but she still tried to sniff back her tears.

“So what happened after that?” Jack asked. “Did you tell his dad anything else?”

“No. I kept refusing to talk to him. He left after telling me he’d kill me if I got in the way of his plans. He was really careful never to hint at anything that might be interpreted as referencing shifters, though. So I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know that I heard him talking about shifters. When he was gone, I just stood there in the hallway for a minute, stunned. Then I tried to get to the bathroom so I could hide in a stall and regain my composure. But before I made it to the bathroom, Joe showed up. He was wondering why I had been gone so long.”

“So I’m guessing you told him what his dad did?” Jack asked.

Silver nodded. “Yeah, I told him everything. He told me I was overreacting and that his dad would never be so crazy. Basically, he stood up for his dad even though he could plainly see the bruises on my wrists. I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke up with him then and there.”

“That asshole!” Jack exclaimed. “I should go over there right now and teach him a lesson or two about standing up to people. He deserves to have his nose punched in for defending someone who would hurt his girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Silver corrected, and then started to cry again. This time, Jack did pull her into his arms. He forced himself to take deep breaths and fight the urge he had to jump up and go hunt Joe down. Silver didn’t need him to go beat Joe up right now. She needed someone to be a true friend to her, and that’s what Jack was going to do. He held her for a long time, letting her sob against his shoulder and gently rubbing her back. He tried not to think about how perfectly she fit into the crook of his arm. This wasn’t the time for that. She needed to get her emotions out and have a safe space to regroup.

After a long time, Silver’s sobs finally died down to sniffles. She pulled back from Jack, looking embarrassed and leaving a big wet spot on the shoulder of his t-shirt.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t be asking you to listen to all of this. I really should have waited for Storm to answer her phone. I’m a mess.”

“A beautiful mess,” Jack said softly. Then he reached up and wiped the few remaining tears off of her face. Silver’s eyes shot up to meet his, and he thought for a moment that he saw a flicker of understanding in them. Did she realize that he cared for her? Did he dare to say something? Was he out of his mind?

Before he could come to a decision, Silver broke her gaze away and looked down at her hands.

“Well, anyway. Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Do you think you’re safe?” Jack asked. “Do you think Joe will tell his dad what you overheard, now that you broke up with him?”

“I don’t think Joe will say anything. At least, not right away. His dad is already angry about the whole situation. If Joe admits that he knew what I heard, when he said before that he didn’t, his dad will be furious with him. Joe isn’t going to risk making his parents angry. He walks on eggshells around them as it is.”

“Okay. Well if you think you’re in danger at all you can come stay at my place. Or Grant’s, or your brother’s,” Jack added quickly, not wanting to sound like he was making some sort of romantic proposition in the middle of such a shitty situation. “Just make sure that you’re somewhere safe.”

“Thanks,” Silver said. “I know Bash would be demanding that I go stay with him right now if he knew what had just happened. But I think I’m pretty safe here. My building has good security. Besides, I don’t think Joe or his dad are going to try to come attack me. As long as his dad doesn’t know that I know about shifters, I’m probably okay. His dad is more than likely going to be glad to be rid of me.”

“And you never actually told Joe that you’re a shifter, right?” Jack asked.

“Right. I never told him that.”

Jack nodded slowly. “You’re probably right that you’re safe, then. I doubt he’ll come after you.”

“It sucks that I won’t be around to eavesdrop on his dad anymore, though. Now we have no way of keeping tabs on whether any progress has been made on the eye scanners or not.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Silver, seriously! It’s better that you’re not spending all your time around a family that hates shifters. They’re dangerous, and if they found out somehow that you were a shifter, you could be in a lot of trouble.”

Silver’s eyes darkened. “This is about more than just me, Jack. It’s about all of us. If this technology is developed, and they manage to convince the public at large that shifters are dangerous, things could get really bad really quickly. I know we’re not in Alaska anymore, but think of your clan. Think of everyone we left behind. Everyone we love could be in danger. If there was something I could do to prevent that, even if it put my own life at risk, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

Jack sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I know you would, Silver. You’re a firecracker, and you always have been. But I don’t think you could have really done much of anything useful by hanging around at Joe’s parent’s house all the time. In fact, his dad probably would have been extra careful not to say or do anything suspicious around you, since he’s already worried that you know too much.”

Silver didn’t answer for a long time. Jack was quiet, and let her think. He had his own thoughts to work through, too. Ever since the first night that Silver had called an emergency meeting of the Fur Coats, Jack had been wrestling with whether the threat to shifters by Mr. Astor was credible. Although Jack didn’t agree with Joe on much of anything, he did tend to agree that Mr. Astor was just a crazy old man with wild ideas.

But that crazy old man with wild ideas
did
have a lot of influence with the mayor. And the mayor had a lot of influence with the President. Jack had actually toyed with the idea of calling Neal, the alpha of his clan back home, and asking for his advice. The only problem was that the older alphas were hypersensitive to anything that remotely sounded like a threat to eliminate all shifters. Neal was generally a levelheaded alpha, but he had lived through some bad shit. He didn’t play around when it came to the possibility of a widespread attack. Jack didn’t want to raise alarm for no reason. He also didn’t want to get involved with a possible shifter conspiracy without a really good reason. Part of the reason Jack had left Alaska was to get away from the constant paranoia that seemed to envelop everyone he knew back home. Most of the shifters he had grown up with seemed to always be worried that someone was out to get them.