Page 61 of Her Wolf

Perhaps there were other fields, but he doubted it; the one he’d razed had been vast.

Why hadn’t Fredericks responded to his request yet? He’d have liked two SWAT teams with him tonight when he followed Duncan to the party. If Fredericks responded in the next hour, he could have ECV—

Someone knocked at the door.

Kane glanced up, took a long drag from his cigarette, and wedged it between thirty of its fallen brethren.

He ducked his head to look through the peep hole, and smiled.

“DHL—” the delivery man began as Kane opened the door.

“Thanks, bro,” Kane said as he grinned at the delivery man. “That was fast.”

“Yeah,” the man said, sounding disgruntled. “Until they decide a drone could do my job better.” He handed Kane an electronic signing pad, and then a large, flat envelope that bumped up in the middle.

Kane’s smile lasted only as long as the door stayed open. Then it flashed into a thin line as he took the envelope back the motel room’s crowded table. He swept aside a few bottles of energy drink with the side of his arm, clearing a space large enough to set the envelope down.

Then he lit a fresh cigarette, drained the rest of his can, and carefully opened the package.

Inside was a wrapped box. He drew it out, unwrapped it, and levered open the lid. A black charm bracelet glittered like the scales of an ebony snake. Beside it, wedged into a foam cushion, was a charm.

The box was large — almost too large. But when he lifted the cushion out, he saw it had to be to accommodate the USB charger and the separate 8 gig memory card that sold with the bracelet.

He took the charm out, and laid it on his palm. A grinning skull stared back at him, tiny ruby eyes glistening. He hooked the charm onto the bracelet, and let the black chain slither through his fingers.

That technology had advanced so much that a tracker and a sound-activated listening device with a battery life of twenty-four hours could be no larger than a penny…he fucking loved it.

The skull was a little macabre, but most fitting.

The death penalty was still legal in both New Mexico and Texas.

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