“He was last seen near the railroad museum.” She made a production of pulling a shiny new key fob from her cleavage. “The engine section.”
Careful to avoid a clear line of sight from the front windows, in case Dad heard us and decided to check in on me, we hiked across the overgrown yard to a hidden nook in the woods I had cleared for her particular use.
The trees hid her car from passersby on the main road, and more importantly, from Dad, who never left the house. She parked there when she visited then let herself in through whatever window or door struck her fancy that night. I had offered her a spare key, but she preferred sneaking around, and I didn’t care as long as the weirdo picked locks without breaking them.
Around the final bend, I got an eyeful of her latest acquisition. A sleek black Ferrari I only recognized because of its prominent branding. Her master gave it to her as a bonus last week for bringing in the most money to the clan ten years running. Thanks, in part, to me. But did Javier buy me a Ferrari? Nope. Not even a pine tree-shaped air freshener.
Cass stalked to the driver side and slid behind the wheel, doing a happy wiggle as she settled in.
The heady combination of premium leather and new-car smell made me dizzy with lust no man (or woman) had yet to inspire in me as I claimed the seat beside her.
“I would give you this car…” she cranked it, and the engine purred, “…if you would use it and enjoy it.” She threw it into reverse, and gravel sprayed from under the tires. “But you would sell it and bank the proceeds. I can see the dollar signs in your eyes.”
The mental picture of all the zeroes I would have left in my bank account gave me butterflies in my stomach. Green ones. With pictures of Ben Franklin dotting their wings.
A buzz in my pocket almost made me jump out of my skin. “Cheez-It.”
Notorious for forgetting my phone, I realized Cass had done more than cop a feel while I was dressing. She had stuck my cell and my ID in my back pocket, and her fancy-pants car was pairing with my phone without first asking permission, like it was doing me a favor.
“You’ve got to learn how to curse like a big girl one day.”
Ignoring her, I answered the call. “Hey, Gustav.”
“Your collar has been cornered,” he rumbled in a thick accent. “Get to the pier.”
“The pier?” I craned my neck at Cass. “What happened to the railroad museum?”
“That was two nights ago.” A car engine roared to life in the background. “Cassandra’s intel is old.”
“Suck it,” she yelled at our boss, who could hear her just as well as she heard him thanks to their heightened senses. “We always get our man.”
Boss wasn’t the right word, but it did the job. Cass was answerable to her master and her clan, and I was answerable to the Society and my family. Working for Gustav, a warg, created an interspecies loophole that allowed us to join his bounty hunter guild without any messy affiliations getting in the way.
“With pleasure, Häschen.” A husky chuckle flowed into the car with us. “Name the place and the time.”
The fact our boss called her a bunny, or maybe it was cute little bunny? I could never remember. It made me think it was a vampire joke since he was a warg. Maybe he thought it was funny implying she was Bunnicula. Or maybe he still had his tail in a twist because, regardless of how she pestered me, she had rules about sex with coworkers. It got a big, fat no from her. She preferred anonymous sex, and lots of it. Hard to keep it anonymous if you had to chat over a watercooler with the guy/girl you banged and fanged the night before then ditched as fast as your superhuman speed allowed.
And yet she had the gall to lecture me on relationships when I was the one committed to a guy I couldn’t outrun.
Okay, fine. Put like that, it was clear neither of us should ever open our mouths and let romantic advice fall out.
“This is sexual harassment.” Cass’s eyes glinted with mirth. “Careful, or I’ll file a complaint with HQ. I already bought silver-tipped boots to wear when your ass needs kicking.”
I must be an absolute dud in the hormones department. Maybe there was something biologically wrong with me? Maybe I’d crushed those impulses until all I had left south of my belt was the Sahara.
Another call interrupted Gustav with a persistent beep-beep, and I gulped when I recognized the number. Dampness coated my palms, and I almost dropped my cell while attempting to switch lines.
“Hey.”
A hard thud rattled my heart against my ribs. “Boaz.”
Cass ignored the traffic in favor of gawking at me.
“I wanted to check in.” He hesitated. “See if you were okay.”
See if I had decided to back out, more like it. It wasn’t like I had given him a ring, just my word.
“Any particular reason why?” I leaned over and physically turned Cass’s head forward. “It’s nice, but it’s…unexpected.”
No emotional attachments on either side would make this whole ordeal so much easier to swallow.
“Your dad called,” he admitted after another awkward pause. “He sounded…”
“Drunk.”
“I was going to say worried about you.” Boaz cleared his throat. “He said you were upset.”
“And you wanted to make sure I wasn’t having second thoughts.”
“No one knows we’re engaged. Only you, your dad, and me. You can break it off before it gets announced without a slap on the wrist from the Society or any hard feelings from me.”
“You asked me to marry you—” a totally backwards and human thing to do, “—and I agreed. That’s where it starts and stops for me. I’m a woman of my word.”
“I never doubted.” He softened his voice. “I’ll let you go then.”
“When will you be back?” I blurted before I caught myself. “To, um, finalize things?”
“Miss me already?” he teased with the ease of a man who found humor in everything. “You’ll see me sooner than you might think.”
“Okay, that was vague.” I struggled to sound professional, but my default setting gave me fits when I was around him. “I’ll put a rush on getting the papers drawn up then, so they’ll be waiting for you.”
“Will you be?”
Certain I had missed something, I backtracked. “Will I be what?”
“Waiting for me.”
Panic coated the back of my throat, and I rushed out a hasty, “Good night, Boaz.”
“Night, Addie.”
He was gone before I could remind him only my friends called me Addie.
“That’s interesting.” Cass radiated smugness. “Very interesting.”
“That Gustav wants in your pants? It’s hardly a newsflash.”
“Nice try.” She snorted. “You’re not going to distract me with thoughts of Gustav naked and rubbing me down with butter.”
“I…didn’t mention butter. And now I might never eat it again. Thanks for that. Anything else you’d like to ruin for me tonight?”
“One last thing.” She flicked me a glance. “You like him.”
“We’re getting married.”
“Your pheromones shot off the charts when he answered.”