resisted the urge to do a little jig on the tan carpeting. “Ninety-nine percent. All the signs are here.”
“Indications of early cycle, tempers on a rise....”
“ Yup.”
“ Uptake in murders around town.”
Jaylen remained innocently silent.
“That you didn’t cause,” she added.
“ I’m cutting back on the drug, Danni,” he said, clearing his throat. “Hardly need the stuff now with all the wolf hormone in the air.”
“ Be careful, Jaylen. You’ll let me know if you need more? I can ground roots up and ship them to you. I don’t imagine you’ve got access to a secret stash in Bumfuck.”
“ Actually, I met a guy who gardens.” He tossed the freshly sharpened knife down.
“ Carrots and rutabaga aren’t quite the same thing.”
“ He might have that, but he’s into herbal shit too. Today at breakfast somebody thanked him for helping her kid’s upset stomach.”
“ Breakfast?” Her tone took on an “ooooh” uptick.
“ I was scoping out the...” He hesitated. Danni wasn’t big on hearing the details of what he did. “...uh, the local cobbler selection and he walked in.”
“ And you hit it off immediately,” she said, unsurprised. Danni thought Jaylen took his dick for a ride every chance he got. Probably because it was true. Sometimes for cash (a guy’s gotta live), but most of the time for the hell of it.
“ You’d like him,” he said, feeling cheerful. “And if you ever meet him, hands off.”
“ Yeah, yeah.” She dismissed him with goodnatured ease. “So, you’re good on the magic wolf detecting potion for now?”
“ I’m good for now. I’ll swing by after I’m done for a visit.”
“ You’ll ‘swing by’? What, sixteen hundred miles?”
He “hmmed,” a vocal shrug. “After this is done, I’m going to want a drive.”
“Fair enough. But be warned, I’m going to give you the biggest hug you’ve ever had.”
“ You bet— Hold on.” Jaylen looked up when he heard a knock on the door. He scanned down his mental list of knock types. The solid rap-rap of a pay-by-the-day landlord looking for rent, the tap-tap of friends visiting (or, in most cases for Jaylen, a salesman pretending to be a friend), the frantic bang of someone scared out of their minds (usually joined by screaming). This was a hesitant tap, followed by another. He grabbed his favorite knife and looked out the peephole.
Westley stood on the other side of it. He rocked back on his heels and blew his hair out of his face. It landed back in the same place, right over his eyes. “Gotta go, Danni.” Jaylen clicked off before she could respond. After slipping the knife into his ankle sheath, he opened the door partway and wedged into the space he’d made, aiming for “casually aloof” over “I don’t want you to see the arsenal on my bed.”
“Westley!” His voice pitched up in a squeak. He winced. Maybe his balls had receded from embarrassment too. “How’d you know I was staying here?”
“ No place else to stay. It’s La Mer Inn or bust for a thirty mile radius.”
“ Oh.” Jaylen couldn’t argue that.
“ So—” Westley rocked again.
“ So...?” Jaylen said.
“ Pizza?” Jaylen asked, at the same time Westley blurted, “Want to go to my place and fuck?”
Westley blushed. “Um. I could do pizza—”
“Your idea.” Jaylen reached behind him without looking and fumbled around until he got a hand on his jacket. He stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him. “Let’s do your thing.” Shit, maybe Jaylen had misjudged Westley’s shyness.
Westley gestured to his truck as if it were a prize on a game show. “Your chariot, sir.”
“Nice.” Jaylen gave the black 4x4 Dodge an appreciative whistle. “But I’d prefer taking my own car.”
Westley fidgeted. He looked uncomfortable with the idea of Jaylen driving himself. “I don’t mind—”
“Westley, are you a serial killer?”
“ No!”
Jaylen gave him a half-smirk. “So, you don’t
“Indications of early cycle, tempers on a rise....”
“ Yup.”
“ Uptake in murders around town.”
Jaylen remained innocently silent.
“That you didn’t cause,” she added.
“ I’m cutting back on the drug, Danni,” he said, clearing his throat. “Hardly need the stuff now with all the wolf hormone in the air.”
“ Be careful, Jaylen. You’ll let me know if you need more? I can ground roots up and ship them to you. I don’t imagine you’ve got access to a secret stash in Bumfuck.”
“ Actually, I met a guy who gardens.” He tossed the freshly sharpened knife down.
“ Carrots and rutabaga aren’t quite the same thing.”
“ He might have that, but he’s into herbal shit too. Today at breakfast somebody thanked him for helping her kid’s upset stomach.”
“ Breakfast?” Her tone took on an “ooooh” uptick.
“ I was scoping out the...” He hesitated. Danni wasn’t big on hearing the details of what he did. “...uh, the local cobbler selection and he walked in.”
“ And you hit it off immediately,” she said, unsurprised. Danni thought Jaylen took his dick for a ride every chance he got. Probably because it was true. Sometimes for cash (a guy’s gotta live), but most of the time for the hell of it.
“ You’d like him,” he said, feeling cheerful. “And if you ever meet him, hands off.”
“ Yeah, yeah.” She dismissed him with goodnatured ease. “So, you’re good on the magic wolf detecting potion for now?”
“ I’m good for now. I’ll swing by after I’m done for a visit.”
“ You’ll ‘swing by’? What, sixteen hundred miles?”
He “hmmed,” a vocal shrug. “After this is done, I’m going to want a drive.”
“Fair enough. But be warned, I’m going to give you the biggest hug you’ve ever had.”
“ You bet— Hold on.” Jaylen looked up when he heard a knock on the door. He scanned down his mental list of knock types. The solid rap-rap of a pay-by-the-day landlord looking for rent, the tap-tap of friends visiting (or, in most cases for Jaylen, a salesman pretending to be a friend), the frantic bang of someone scared out of their minds (usually joined by screaming). This was a hesitant tap, followed by another. He grabbed his favorite knife and looked out the peephole.
Westley stood on the other side of it. He rocked back on his heels and blew his hair out of his face. It landed back in the same place, right over his eyes. “Gotta go, Danni.” Jaylen clicked off before she could respond. After slipping the knife into his ankle sheath, he opened the door partway and wedged into the space he’d made, aiming for “casually aloof” over “I don’t want you to see the arsenal on my bed.”
“Westley!” His voice pitched up in a squeak. He winced. Maybe his balls had receded from embarrassment too. “How’d you know I was staying here?”
“ No place else to stay. It’s La Mer Inn or bust for a thirty mile radius.”
“ Oh.” Jaylen couldn’t argue that.
“ So—” Westley rocked again.
“ So...?” Jaylen said.
“ Pizza?” Jaylen asked, at the same time Westley blurted, “Want to go to my place and fuck?”
Westley blushed. “Um. I could do pizza—”
“Your idea.” Jaylen reached behind him without looking and fumbled around until he got a hand on his jacket. He stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him. “Let’s do your thing.” Shit, maybe Jaylen had misjudged Westley’s shyness.
Westley gestured to his truck as if it were a prize on a game show. “Your chariot, sir.”
“Nice.” Jaylen gave the black 4x4 Dodge an appreciative whistle. “But I’d prefer taking my own car.”
Westley fidgeted. He looked uncomfortable with the idea of Jaylen driving himself. “I don’t mind—”
“Westley, are you a serial killer?”
“ No!”
Jaylen gave him a half-smirk. “So, you don’t
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