I made a face at him. “Oh, so now we’re comparing war wounds?”
“If you want.” His eyes flicked to the side of my neck and I felt my stomach churn—and not in a good way.
Some of that must have showed on his face, because his eyes, when he turned them back to me, were kind. “Have you looked at it yet?”
“I took a shower.”
“Have you looked at the bite?”
I picked up my burger, set it down without taking a bite. “I...couldn’t. I didn’t want to see it. Didn’t want it to be real. That’s stupid, isn’t it?”
“No, I’d say that’s normal.” He took a drink of beer again, then nodded toward my food. “Jean told me you didn’t have breakfast. I know you missed dinner. You should eat.”
“My sisters worry too much.” I picked up the burger again and this time took a bite. It was good. Really good.
“Would it help if I was there when you look at it?” Ryder asked.
I knew he was still talking about the bite, the mark. “Maybe?”
He nodded. “I haven’t sent a report to my superiors yet.”
“About Jake missing?”
“About any of this. Vampires, werewolves, gods, and mermen.”
“Mermen?”
“Chris Lagon?”
He was being all casual about guessing what creature was who in town, like it was no big deal. It was kind of cute.
“Gill-man. There’s a difference. If you ask Chris, he’ll tell you. At length.”
He grinned and shook his head. “That’s...it’s just amazing.”
“What?”
“This town. These people.”
I liked that he still considered someone like Chris a “people” even though an awful lot of folks might consider him a monster.
“Have you figured out what Bertie is?” I said to tease him.
“Bertie’s something?” He sounded like a kid who had just been given a present to unwrap.
“She’s something else, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t suppose you’d give me a hint?”
“Nope. You’re going to have to earn your supernatural bingo card.”
“Sounds like that’s going to take some time.”
“It will.”
“Maybe even years.”
“Maybe.”
