Page 17 of A Wolf After My Own Heart
“Sounds like you need more water.”
He shook his head and cleared his throat again. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you. Or the kid.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Imeanyou don’t need your weapon.”
“Not your call. How about you run along while you’re still able?”
“Are you threatening me?” he asked, delighted.
“Not if you get off on it. So, to sum up, I don’t know anything that can help you and your little runaway isn’t here and you need new business cards and you were just leaving, go find a brick-and-mortar stationery store if they still have those, g’bye.”
“Ah-ha! I never said she was a runaway.” Wait, had he? In so many words? Maybe it was inferred. No. Implied. It was hard to remember; she smelled sogood. “See, you do know something.”
“And I never told you my name was Lila.”
Shit. Hadn’t she?Too late, he realized she hadn’t introduced herself. He knew her name because he’d talked to the owner of the Curs(ed) House, who talked to Mama Mac, who talked to him. While she was patching him up after this terrifying crazy-but-cute woman knocked him into her basement and then threw baking soda everywhere. And they didn’t talk aboutKama-Rupa, which definitely wasn’t a thing, and since it wasn’t a thing, he definitely wasn’t in the throes of it. Relief! “I know this looks bad. But Sally needs my help. It’s my job to keep her and kids like her safe.” Well. Eventually it’d be his job. Depending on how he handledthisjob.
“Then run along and do that. She’s. Not. Here.”
Oz heard the pounding footsteps half a second before the basement door was slammed open so hard, it bounced off the wall and slammed back shut. The door opened again, slowly, and a familiar face peered out. “I’m not going anywhere!”
“Goddamnit,” Lila groaned, rubbing her temples.
“Waste of baking soda,” he agreed.
2. These exist. I’m wearing them right now!
3. Truly a miracle product!
4. Ward of the Family, a designation unique to Shifters.
Chapter 9
The first thing the li’l jerk did after blowing both their covers was laugh at her. “What’re you gonna do withthat?” she asked, pointing to Lila’s gun.
“Let’s not taunt the nice armed lady,” Ox cautioned, which was gratifying.
“I’m only one of those things,” Lila said. Then, to the kid: “Really? I’m up here lying my ass off—beautifully, I might add, this idiot had no idea—”
“Hey!”
“—only for you to stumble in at the exact wrong time.”
“Well, you’re talkin’ aboutme,” the child said pertly. “Doncha wanna know what I think?”
“Not even a little.”
“Sally, a whole bunch of people are worried about you,” Ox put in. “And what happened to your leg, honey?”
“My leg’s good, and you go back to IPA and tell ’em to quit worrying about me,” she ordered. “My folks are on the way, and we’re gonna go live in California. So you go bug some other kid.”
“Sally.”
A sniff. “What.”
Ox sighed. “Sally…”
