“I should call the police. I should tell them you’re back.”

Kera was nodding at Mrs. Vallejandro’s suggestion when someone punched her in the back.

“No!” Kera said, going from nodding her head to shaking it. “That’s not necessary,” she said, much more calmly. “I can talk to them. Did they leave a card?”

Mrs. Vallejandro’s shrewd eyes sized up the women with Kera and it was clear she didn’t exactly like what she was seeing.

“Are you sure everything is all right, Kera?”

“I’m fine, Mrs. V. These ladies are my new . . . coworkers.” She gestured to the other Crows with a flip of her hand. “They’re here to help me get a few of my things. I guess this is my one week notice. I’m going to be moving out.”

“A weekly rental?” Leigh scoffed. “Quite a class establishment you’ve been living in, Watson.”

Not wanting Mrs. V to be insulted—she and her husband did the best they could to keep this place decent, which was all Kera had really needed—Kera reached back and pushed Leigh. But she was still getting used to her new and improved strength and she sent the woman flying through her partially open front door.

Erin, Annalisa, and Jace just watched her go; they didn’t even try to help.

The best part, though, was the way Mrs. V smirked.

“Anyway, don’t worry about giving my deposit back or anything. I’m sure there are things you’ll have to fix in my place once I’m gone.”

“I hate to see you go, Kera. You were one of my best tenants.”

“Thanks, Mrs. V.” Kera hugged the older woman before going into her old apartment. She couldn’t exactly say she’d miss living here. Although the Vallejandros went out of their way to keep the place clean and vermin—human and rat—free, there were always problems. Electrical problems. Bad plumbing. Weak flooring. Problem after problem. Not because of the Vallejandros but because of the slum lord who owned the joint.

Erin walked into the middle of Kera’s pretty sizable apartment and nodded. “This isn’t as horrifying as I thought it would be.”

“Uh . . . thanks?”

“My place in Jersey City wasn’t much better. My mother begged me to move back home.” Erin snorted. “Guess I should have listened to her.”

Leigh was brushing paint chips out of her hair. Kera had sent her into the wall, leaving a Leigh-sized dent in it. To Kera’s surprise, Leigh didn’t complain about the push. She did, however, complain about the cheapness of the paint that was now in her hair.

“Oh my God! This paint is so cheap. Get it off me. Get it off me!”

Annalisa went to Leigh to help and Kera went to a cabinet where she’d stored her disassembled moving boxes.She grabbed a few, opened them up, shook off the dust, and put them on the table. “I guess I won’t need my plates and glasses, huh?”

“All you need are some clothes and pictures, I guess.” Erin looked around. “I expected this place to be smaller.”

“I paid a little extra, but I got a nice-sized place and I’m near the building manager, which is always good unless you’re up to something.”

Kera stood there a moment, not knowing what to do. Then she simply decided to do what she always did best. Organize.

“Erin, why don’t you and Annalisa pull all my pictures off that wall and put them in this box. And Leigh, could you use this box and get all the stuff out of the medicine cabinet? I’ll go into my bedroom and get my clothes.”

With everyone given a task, Kera reassembled another empty box and went into her bedroom.

She placed the box on the bed and pulled her old, battered duffel out. She zipped that open and spread it out on her mattress.

Hands on hips, Kera quickly figured out the most expeditious way to tackle the packing and, with a plan in mind, she turned toward her closet.

That’s when she saw him. He was just standing there. How she’d missed him before, Kera didn’t know. He was tall with shoulder-length blond and gray hair. Eyes green. And very strong. There were muscles on top of muscles under his long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans.

He said nothing as he gazed at Kera with those green eyes, until finally he put his forefinger to his lips. He wanted her silence.

Kera nodded in agreement . . . then she screamed out, “Erinnnnnnnn!”

Erin dropped the box she held in her hand and ran toward the bedroom. She’d just reached the door when a fist slammed into her stomach, sending her colliding into Annalisa, who’d been right behind her.

They both hit the ground and Erin looked up into the face of Notto Oveson. One of The Silent. A Clan of the god Vidar.

Grinning, Oveson shook his head. He wouldn’t speak to Erin because she and the other Crows were not considered worthy enough to hear his voice. But the beauty of being in a Viking Clan was that words were not really necessary.

Erin jumped to her feet and charged Oveson. He swung at her and she twisted to the side, forcing him to turn his upper body to keep Erin in sight. The move allowed Annalisa to scramble over to him and ram her fist into Oveson’s cock. He doubled over in pain and Erin smashed her fist into the back of his neck.

He dropped to his knees and Erin looked up in time to see Leigh tossing her a pair of scissors from the bathroom. Erin lifted the scissors over Oveson’s neck, but just as she was bringing it down, Oveson roared and the power of that sound sent the three women flipping across the apartment in three different directions.