“You deserve better than a shower in a shit motel.”
“But those lycanthropes might damage a nice hotel.”
“And should they, they’ll be liable for the damages, and the nice hotel will have a proper bath.”
“You just don’t want to stay at a cheap motel.”
“You are absolutely right. I don’t want to stay at a motel that would need no alterations to be used as the set for a horror film.”
I regarded the building’s exterior, which had seen better days some twenty or thirty years ago. “I bought a new phone, and I think it has a good camera. We could make a budget film. Our budget would be the cost of my new phone. I told the guy if he got me out of there in half an hour, I’d buy the best he had, and he got me out in a hurry. I spent too much, though.”
“How did you afford one of those?”
“Simple. I accepted a sinful amount of money to lure you out of New York City for three days, so you better be good. I don’t want to return my new phone.”
“You’re a bounty hunter.”
“We all have our flaws.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredible?”
I frowned and wondered what else Wayne might had been getting high on before I’d gotten a hold of him. “No, not particularly.”
He chuckled. “Was I at least worth decent money?”
He found being my target amusing? I needed to work on that. What sort of self-respecting bounty huntress amused her victims? Rather than allow him to rile me up, I kept my expression calm and collected to match my cool tone, “The pay will let me eat for a while.”
Wayne’s expression darkened. “You don’t have to worry about that now, even if we don’t make a deal on the rent. The local packs are responsible for lycanthropes, and now that we know you’re around, we’ll make sure you get enough to eat. Hungry lycanthropes are dangerous lycanthropes. As you have reasons to be shy of the pack, I’ll give you an open invitation to rob my refrigerator at your leisure. I can’t promise there won’t be members of the pack at my place, but dinner is a trip to my fridge away.”
I’d been warned about overprotective lycanthrope males. I shrugged and replied, “I’ll think about it.”
“We’re going to have a fight over this, aren’t we?”
“That depends,” I admitted.
“On what?”
“What you’re wearing, where you’re wearing it, and what sort of mood I’m in.” My answer pleased my virus, and had she been a cat rather than a wolf, she would’ve purred.
“That would be the adrenaline and your spiking virus talking.”
“Yes, and?” I countered.
“No judgment. I’m a bit of a jerk when I’m hopped up on adrenaline and my virus is spiking, too. I am fairly careful to avoid women if my virus is spiking, however.”
Considering how well he wore a suit, he’d be stalked by any woman who believed she might have a chance with him. My virus wanted me to hurry up, claim him, and get on with the important work, which involved him and a bed. If she had her way, she’d keep him in bed for the rest of eternity.
There were worse ways to spend the rest of eternity.
Rather than admit that, I shrugged. “Have you ever looked in a mirror?”
“Apparently, not through a woman’s eyes.”
I laughed at that. “It’ll be a lot cheaper to repair a shit motel, and we could pretend we’re filming a horror movie.”
“But the fleas, Joyce. The fleas. And bedbugs. I don’t want fleas or bedbugs.”
“For fuck’s sake. Fine. Use your phone and point me in the direction of a hotel you can tolerate, but your picky ass is paying for it, and if some idiot asshole lycanthropes come and bust up the joint, you’re paying for it.”
