Reynard continued as the city slid by us, "In my younger days, I'd do things like break into a house just for the thrill. I'd steal a flower from their bouquet or a packet of ketchup from their junk drawer. It was about the thrill, not the value."
I didn't love that, but it wasn't destructive, not really. Besides, it might have been part of his trickster lineage, and the fact that he had admitted it to me with no reservations told me that he was beginning to trust me. That meant something to me, and I wasn’t going to ruin it by judging something he had done so long ago.
He continued, "As I got older and began to move through the real world, I grew wiser. Now when I need those thrills, I do something like this. Release a human trafficking victim or find a kidnapped child. Bust a dog fighting ring. It feels so much better than taking an old magazine out of a pile on a coffee table."
"I bet. It must be so rewarding. You know what else you'd be good at,andthey'd pay you for?"
He looked at me appraisingly as he inched closer to the drive-through order box. "What?"
"You should volunteer yourself to security companies to try to break through their security. Test their defenses and such. We're in Los Angeles, where there are more security companies than organic grocery stores, and that's saying something."
He barked out a laugh thattotallysounded like a fox. "You're a genius. I'd be fantastic at that, as would half of my pack. We could turn it into its own business, and still do our vigilante stuff on the side."
“There it is!” The shop looked pretty full.
He blinked then smiled. “The fact it’s still crowded at this hour is hopeful. Do you recommend anything?”
“I like the matcha doughnuts, but they have lots of different kinds. They have a cute new one that’s frosted so it looks like a panda.”
“Let’s see if they have one that looks like a fox.”
They didn’t, so he settled for the panda. We ate in his truck, since they didn’t have any seats available, and then he drove more and we ended up at a park, sitting on a couple of swings. It was so late, later than I'd stayed up in recent memory, even that night I'd gotten so wrapped up in my new painting that I'd lost all track of time. "You're kind of like Batman," I said as I pushed the swing off with my toes.
Rey snorted and slowed his swing to look over at me. "That's amazing. I'm not as rich as Batman, but I can literally shift into an animal, so we're basically the same person."
Slowing my swing, I came to a stop and looked at Reynard with a somber expression. "You're Foxman."
He howled with laughter, nearly falling off the swing. "That is fantastic. I love it. Foxman it is." He started twisting in a circle. "I'm going to have a costume made and demand my entire pack call me Foxman. Carissa will have a stroke." He let go and whirled around and around in the swing, laughing.
I smiled and shook my head, but I couldn't help but join in his laughter. It was infectious. While I was with him I felt lighter than I had in weeks, ever since my date with the muse. Reynard was in the middle of one of the most serious campaigns I'd ever even heard of, bringing paranormal creatures out into the real world, and yet here he was, finding joy in a swing and if I did say so myself, some good company.
We grew quiet and looked up at the stars, both lost in our own thoughts when both of our phones pinged at the same time. I glanced over to find him already looking at me.
He shrugged and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Never good when we get a text at the same time."
Mine was from Roma.Tanni had a breakthrough. Meet at her lab.Seconds later, the address came through. Reynard jumped up and held out his hand. “Time to go.”
I grabbed it and jogged with him through the park, my heart light, and a smile on my face.
Damn but this man took me on an interesting date!
11
REYNARD
We started running.I could see Cathy was as worried as me but kept up with ease. I felt better when she grabbed my hand and held on tightly. We ran through the park, cutting across the grass, dodging trees, and jumping over small streams of water. We were halfway to my truck before either of us had a chance to breathe.
I'd never been on such a fun date. I rushed forward and opened Cathy's door, slamming it shut behind her as I hoped she'd been having as good of a time as I had been. Bran's text weighed heavily on my mind.Andromeda's friend has had a breakthrough. Get to her lab.A few seconds later, the address had come through, but then he'd said, 'This could be it. I can't believe it.'
I'd been excited until he'd sent those last two sentences. Now I was nervous as all hell. If he was wrong, then we’d be back to where we started.
Tanni's office was all the way across town. It felt like an eternity as I dodged around back roads, trying to avoid traffic as much as possible. If I could've shifted, I was halfway convinced I could've run there faster.
Cathy grabbed my hand, squeezing occasionally when my driving got a little wild. "It's okay. The breakthrough will still have happened when we get there."
Her calm voice soothed me, and I slowed... a little.
When we finally arrived at the lab, everyone was already there. Rissa stood in the corner, several members of our pack with her. There were several goblins already assembled, waiting in the other corner. Everyone looked as anxious as I felt. It seemed as if things were in full swing. I glanced around to take stock of the situation. Tanni was staring at a laptop screen with a thoughtful expression on her face while Bran spoke to her animatedly.
