His eyes narrowed. “Reporter, huh?” He swayed so hard, he almost lost his balance.
The temperature and energy in the room shifted.
Or maybe that was my imagination.
I ignored the sudden desire to bolt out the door and never come back.
Movement at the back of the room snagged my attention.
A man who looked to be the leader locked eyes with me when I shifted to gauge their tempers.
I’d thought they were all drunk, but this man looked sharp… and sober.
Shit.
Suspicion churned in his dark eyes.
Suspicion and a calculated willingness to act on his anger.
I’d barely said anything.
Why was he looking at me like that?
He stood in a slow move, his body unfurling in a predatory way.
“What else have you beenreportingon?” The menacing drawl accentuated the question.
I forced my lips into a smile, giving them my impression of the most harmless woman in the world. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“No?” A single step brought the threat level up a notch.
The leader’s jaw tightened, and the drunk man beside me staggered away. “I hear you’ve been asking questions about the Vipers. About all the gangs.”
His head cocked, a smirk tightening his eyes. “I hear you’ve been telling people the Vipers didn’t destroy the power and you want to figure out who did.”
My heart lived in my throat.
Anything I wanted to say stuck behind the furious beat.
How did he know all that? How… “I’m just asking questions. I’m a reporter.”
My casual shrug failed me as I realized the full extent of the danger I’d put myself in.
I shifted and let my discomfort show.
“The power outage was a big deal. I’m trying to track how the town has been affected by the outage. You know, news coverage.”
I blew out an exaggerated breath. “I’m hoping to move up the ranks. Reporting on business is boring.”
I tried for a sulky, down on her luck reporter.
If he believed me, it didn’t show on his face, or in the way he crossed the room in a series of clipped steps.
The rest of the men stood as well.
They reminded me of a pack of wolves.
Cunning.
