“This conversation is over. You have the filthy creature and now I’d like you to leave.” She shoved the money out.
Wren sneered and turned his back on her and her blood money. “Keep it. Maybe you can use it to buy a conscience.”
“Excuse me?! How dare you!”
Wren ignored her, instead checking on the darling he was carrying.
She followed him down the porch in her slippers. “I’ll be making a formal complaint to Nexus about your unprofessional attitude and all these unnecessary questions!”
“Make sure you mention my name. It’s Wren. They’ll know it.”
“Unbelievable! Is this what our public services have come to? My taxpaying slates pay your salary, cursebreaker.”
“I guess you’ll have to look into tax evasion, then. I may know a guy,” Wren mumbled distractedly, unlocking the trailer. He held up the raccoon. “She has a really grating voice, doesn’t she?”
“You—”
“You know that cursing animals is a crime.” He cut her off after carefully placing the animal inside. He turned on her. “And if I find evidence that you caused this, your hydrangeas will be the least of your worries. There will be more than raccoons camping outside your house at night. I will become your worst fucking nightmare.”
His threat was barbed like a scorpion tail and aimed straight at the center of her bullshit.
She clutched her robe to her throat, setting her jaw. “Are you accusing me of something?”
“I’d make sure you have some cookies and lemonade ready for when the local PD come knocking at your door. I’m sure your audience will love that.”
She inhaled sharply, paling. She glanced around before hurrying away from him, back up her path, and slamming the door after her.
Wren sneered after her, leaking fury and sadness everywhere.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he turned back and made sure the raccoon was strapped in for the ride. He fussed for a few minutes, directing Blu to stay inside and keep the raccoon company, before closing the trailer door securely.
When he turned he jumped in fright at the sight of a man directly behind him.
Wren crashed back against the trailer and heard the raccoon yowl in fear and Blu twitter and flap against the door. Wren couldn’t concentrate on that though, because the man was pressing forward.
Wren saw that his green eyes were bloodshot, burst vessels bleeding into the white and highlighting the dilated pupils. Even under the orange streetlights, Wren could tell the man’s face was paper white, almost gray, the skin around his bones sagging like it was about to fall right off even though he couldn’t have been older than forty-five.
Zombie-like was the word that came to mind.
“Do you have anything?” he croaked.
“Have any what?” Wren demanded. “What are you talking about?”
The man slammed a hand next to Wren’s head, making him flinch as he leaned in. “I know you have something. You have to have it. Give it to me now!”
“I don’t know what—”
He gasped as the man began to manhandle him, searching him all over while ranting over and over. “Give it to me. I just need a little. Just a little.”
“Get off me!” Wren screamed at him, about ready to bite the man when he pulled back, a familiar needle in hand.
He looked absolutely euphoric until he looked closer at it. “It’s empty. It can’t be empty. No, no, no…I need it…”
“Jared!” Wren turned to see the woman from before looking frazzled as she rushed out onto the street again. “Get inside the house right now,” she hissed, tugging his arm and making him drop the syringe.
Jared blinked at her in confusion, swaying on his feet. “Inside?”
“Yes. Right now!”
