Roscoe said nothing.
“Let’s get one thing straight. You might be a couple years older, but you arenotthe head of this household! If Roscoe doesn’t want me to go, he can tell me himself.” Adam brushed up against the old werewolf, gently running his fingers along Roscoe’s stomach. “It’ll be more fun.”
“Never had two half-turns fightin’ over me before.”
I bared my teeth, staring directly into Roscoe’s eyes.
“Uh… listen, Adam. I gotta side with Cody here.” He leaned in and whispered something in Adam’s ear.
The disappointed half-turn nodded. “Promise?”
“Sure,” Roscoe responded.
The edges of Adam’s mouth lifted slightly, giving him the obnoxious, imp-like appearance from earlier. “Have fun,” he said before lifting his gaze to Roscoe. “I’ll seeyoulater.”
A bubble of resentment turned my vision red once again for a moment, but I couldn’t show Adam it was bothering me. Over the last few days, the two of us had stoked up the most unusual rivalry—over Roscoe. Roscoe! My plan to make Adam jealous had backfired horribly, and while this was mostly my fault, all I could fantasize about lately was chucking him into the crater of an active volcano, or at the very least, giving him a firm, back-handed slap.
“You ready?”
“Yeeeah,” I responded through my teeth as Roscoe held the door open. After unlocking the driver’s side, I climbed in the moving truck and unlocked the passenger door. As soon as we were both inside, I put on my seatbelt and shoved the key into the ignition. “What did you promise him?”
“Nothin’ big.”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter but didn’t respond.
“I swear, it’s no big deal. Start her up.”
“I really shouldn’t be doing this. It’s illegal and dangerous.”
“Cody, let me ask you something,” he said, rolling his window down so he could lay his arm against the door. “When’s the last time you took a risk—just did somethin’ you normally don’t do?”
“Never. My luck’s shitty enough as it is. I don’t need to tempt fate, either.”
“Think about it. You wouldn’t be here with me right now if you hadn’t taken some risks. Hell, you’d probably still be in Kansas.”
“Montana,” I corrected. “And everything I’ve done, I had to because my back was against the wall.”
“So, you only do anything when you have to?”
“That’s not what I mean. Don’t twist my words.”
“All right. I think I know what I need to do,” Roscoe said, his tail rubbing against the vinyl seat. “Start the truck, put her in reverse—” He put one hand over my seat belt release. “I forgot to take a piss before I came out here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Maybe you can drive us a little ways out of town so I can find a nice tree.”
“Go use the bathroom, Roscoe!”
The wicked grin he gave exposed every sharp tooth in his mouth. “It’s gettin’ hard to hold it.”
“Why are you doing this to me again?” I shouted, starting the vehicle. I tried to pull the shifter down to reverse, but it wouldn’t budge. “It doesn’t work.”
“You gotta push the brake in first, silly.”
I hit the gas pedal by mistake, revving the engine.
“That ain’t the brake,” he said calmly.
