Page 126 of Awakened
I scoffed. “Of course not. They’re fucking ghosts.”
Another buzz and my curiosity got the best of me.
I’m sorry we didn’t get to you sooner.
It killed me to see you that way—you have to know that.
Rolling my eyes, I set the phone on my lap.
“What do those dipshits want?” Marie scowled so severely that I feared her face would be stuck that way.
“To say they’re sorry.” I let out a humorless laugh. “That it killed them to see me almost murdered.”
Marie and Grandma Rose looked at each other, eyebrows scrunched, lips thinned.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, honey.” Grandma Rose’s eyebrows stayed knitted together. “That’s just an odd thing for the Howlers to say. That’s all.”
After a minute or so of silence, the phone buzzed again.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I couldn’t believe the audacity of these fools.
What do you need? What can we do?
Nothing.
Mission 6 - Lake of the Ozarks, MO
If hell was a place on earth, Party Cove was it. I walked through the scantily clad coeds, looking for the young woman I was there to take back to the Amazons. The daughter of a high-rankinggovernment official was in a sticky situation. The Howlers traced her to a party house owned by a family in Zach’s pack.
When I arrived at the location provided, it became apparent that this wasn’t a life-or-death mission but someone using the Howlers as a handler to avoid bad PR. Surrounded by drunk law students, I searched for a woman who fit the description of my target. To blend in, I accepted a red plastic cup from a young-looking bro by the keg and filled it to the brim. He tried to get chatty, but I took out my phone and walked away.
Am I supposed to do body shots? Will she show up then?
SCD
I had no idea you liked them young.
I glanced back at the youngster by the keg and shook my head.
So, there are some things you don’t know about me.
Psh. You don’t want to train a puppy. I know that much.
At least with a puppy, you can train them to do what you like. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Who says I need to learn new tricks?
Who says I was talking about you?
“You have a beautiful smile.”
Startled, I looked up into the warm brown eyes of a raven beauty. “Thanks. Never had braces.”
She laughed as her fingers lightly trailed down my arm. “Funny too? Who are you?”
My cheeks heated. I looked around the dock, but no oneseemed to notice the supermodel hitting on me. I stuck my hand out for her to shake. “Michelle Powers. And you are?”
