It took Charlotte a few minutes to rouse Iosif from his faint, minutes I spent stroking Sass's fur and feeling rather proud of myself. The silver Persian seemed to agree with my assessment of results, purring heavily in my arms, amber eyes half lidded as he gazed with his detached arrogance at the pale man lying on the ground.

A sharp slap from the werewoman finally jerked the retired mobster out of his slumber and into the real ...