Bargains and Betrayals by Shannon Delany Page A

me some privacy. We hugged, me holding on a little bit longer this time and definitely a little tighter.
    Dad finally broke away, his face full of worry.
    He slipped something into my hand.
    A cell phone.
    It buzzed, vibrating.
    “Sit down,” Dad instructed. “Act normal. Alexi sent it. Looks like a piece of junk, but he said it’s exactly what’s needed in these circumstances.”
    Realizing any phone Alexi provided was probably untraceable, I obeyed.
    “It’s Pietr,” he explained. “He’s upset about last night.”
    Thank God he was okay. Upset, I could deal with. Hurt. Dead? I fought for focus.
    Dad pulled out chairs and I slipped my hands under the table, slouching for a view of the phone, and opened it. “I’m going to give you an update on my favorite sports teams and you just nod and react, okay?”
    I nodded. “Sounds absolutely … purgatorial.” I typed in my message.
    RU safe?
    Da . I <3 you.
    I <3 U 2. Don’t come here again. *Promise*.
    No response. I tried again.
    *Promise* u won’t come here again.
    I try 2 keep promises. Failed b4. Don’t make me promise 2 stay away. = 1 more failure.
    My stomach knotted. Even though they were tiny letters on a poorly lit screen, they meant huge things to him.
    U did ur best. U always do ur best 4 me.
    Nothing.
    Do ur best 4 u. Stay safe.
    She’s dying.
    His last sentence was so simple and clear it seemed he’d whispered it in my ear, stealing my breath away.
    Dad raised his voice, extolling the virtues of some football team’s kicker.
    Have u seen her?
    Da. Last x went badly.
    Srry …
    God! Why couldn’t I help him with this thing? Why was I so— helpless?
    Can u get 2 her?
    Nyet. Heavy guards. Derek’s inside. Watching.
    “Damn it,” I snapped. Out loud.
    “Now, Jessie,” Dad reprimanded in his jolly way, “just ’cause they didn’t win that game doesn’t mean we should get upset.”
    U have 2 get her out.
    No good unless ur out 2.
    Even texting, Pietr had a gift for pointing out the obvious. They’d need my blood to make the cure.
    Focus on ur mother. I focus on me. Do what u have 2 to get her out.
    Nothing.
    Do what u have 2. It will work.
    Has 2.
    I imagined the set of his jaw, the way his eyes would pinch near the bridge of his nose realizing there were no other options and so little time.
    Time was running out so fast. For almost all of them. The distinct advantages of being an oborot were balanced cruelly with a huge disadvantage. They were stronger, faster, more nimble. They could hear, scent, and see better than someone like me—simply human. But the canine aspect of their DNA meant strength, agility, and superior senses as much as it meant shorter life spans.
    By human standards, Pietr’s mom appeared to be middle-aged. But internally, her liver would be hardening, her heart racing even faster than its normally rapid rhythm, her arteries toughening. She’d be fighting an even harder battle to keep the wolf that always longed to claw its way out of her deep inside. If she hadn’t been dangerous before, she’d be a gun with a hair-trigger now.
    Pietr and his siblings—well, not Cat, she’d sucked down the cure like it was nothing—might live even shorter lives because they were the offspring of two full-blooded oboroten. No one really knew what would happen as the generations progressed and the genetics compounded. Both powerful and poisoned by their own DNA, the oboroten were victims of their genetic code.
    I love you, I concluded.
    I want to hear it.
    U will. Soon.
    g2g
    I snapped the cell shut and nudged it against Dad’s leg, obscuring the sight of the phone with my hand.
    He shook his head. “Well, I just wanted to update you on the sports world. I know how you love that sort of stuff.”
    “Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate it.”
    “I better get back to the farm,” he said, rising.
    “Uh, yeah. Geez, is it hot in here?” I asked, tugging at my neckline just enough to pop the cell into my shirt, resting it in my