Page 38 of Werewolves Don't Howl
I sighed heavily. “Elves can be informants, and Loren’s part elvish.”
“Sure. You look weird. I thought you’d jump into this with both feet.”
I stared at her, then offered a slight shrug. “I wasn’t ever meant to be an investigative reporter.”
“I guess the senator’s girlfriend doesn’t need anything else interesting in her life. She can just lounge by the pool in some furry bikini and…”
“Mossy!” I glanced around to see if anyone heard her.
She sighed heavily. “One of these days, you’re going to stop hiding who you are, an investigative reporter who gets a thrill at the spray of blood and the scent of corruption.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now get out of here.”
The rest of the day I spent dragging, except at lunch, when the most expensive restaurant in town brought me a box filled with all my favorite foods. Then I was keenly embarrassed as everyone stared at me, whispering as they gave me furtive glances. Finally, Nanette called me into her office.
“What’s the story between you and the senator? You know that if you can get an exclusive out of him…” She shook her head and cut herself off. “Never mind. You’re the only reporter threats or reason won’t work on. He’s too smart to date anyone who would actually get a story out of it.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. I hated him. I absolutely did, and it would absolutely help my career, maybe help me to keep my position if the truth about the werewolf came out. I opened my mouth to say something about him, but my conscience raised my its head and I shrugged. “Sorry.”
“At least you’ll be pushed towards more political issues. Maybe you’ll start writing something more serious.”
I gave her a wan smile and left the office. I spent the rest of the day in an unpleasant daze until Mossy came up to me with a bright smile.
“Your car’s here.”
I stared at her. “I don’t have a car.”
“Come on,” she said, tugging on my arm. “He gave me fifty bucks if I can get you down there in ten minutes. You know that I’m going to earn that cash, even if I have to knock you unconscious and drag you.”
I stared at her, confused while I let her push me into the elevator. “Henrick?”
“Yep. He’s a goblin that was thrown out for bad behavior. Weird that he then became a secretary, right? He has no loyalty or respect for goblins, no ties whatsoever. He’s so cool!”
“Outcasts are cool?”
“Of course they are.”
“Particularly the ones who pay you way too much money for iffy jobs.”
“Iffy?” She shot me a look. “I may not be so incorruptible as you, someone who won’t take advantage of your closeness with a senator to get the inside scoop, even if he dumps you on your lonely butt, but I’m not iffy.”
“Sorry, Mossy. It’s not that I’m incorruptible, it’s just that…”
“Yeah? What’s your price?”
“Price?”
“Yeah. To get the inside scoop on the senator, you could command very high prices. I bet the big boss would negotiate practically anything. He’s been trying to take down Silverton for ages.”
I stared at her as we rode down the elevator in silence. Revealing that Cross was head of the House of Mercy would be quite the scoop. Of course, no one would dare to publish it. They wanted something less lethal, like the fact that he was actually a pureblood elf of the warrior variety, from the night court. That would be enough to get me national coverage. Doing a personal on his habits and tastes would be greeted with an equal amount of greediness. He was very successful at guarding his privacy, but hadn’t bothered keeping me at arms-length the second Libby had brought me to his house. Like he didn’t care what story I did about him.
I frowned. That was it. I was doing a personal on him. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t use this relationship that was forced on me by the most miserably manipulative monster I’d ever met. I mean, I was technically grateful that he’d kept me alive, but I still hated him, and I always would.
The car was there with Henrick leaning against it, looking mysterious behind his reflective glasses. He nodded at Mossy and tossed her the roll of bills, then opened the door for me.
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t buy off my work associates in the future,” I told Henrick as he opened the door for me.
“You’ll have to discuss that with my boss. He buys me off.” He pulled down his glasses so I could see him wink at me. If he worked for the House of Mercy, then Cross owned his soul and absolute loyalty. That was terrifying. I got inside without another word, but I didn’t have time to really stew when he pulled up at another building not far from my work and then got out to open the door for me.
