Nathan heard a knock on his door. He stopped packing his bags long enough to answer it and found his landlord standing there.
“We need to talk.”
“Come in,” Nathan said morosely. “Have a seat.”
Jason sat in the chair Nathan pointed to and waited quietly for him to get settled.
Nathan was pretty sure he knew what Jason came to say, though. “I’m sorry, Jason.” Nathan perched on the edge of the sofa and clasped his hands between his knees. “I swear I thought she was a burglar. What was she doing walking into my apartment at midnight?”
“I don’t know. I barely reassured her enough to stay put and now Ralph is plying her with Scotch. I’m sending them off on a vacation tomorrow. So, tell me what happened.”
To anyone else, it would sound bizarre, but a falcon might understand.“I had caught a mouse in the alley earlier in the evening and had just shifted back into my raven form to enjoy my meal when the door opened. The light behind her obscured anything but a silhouette. You know what it’s like when you’re in bird form, right? You think like a bird first and a man second. Instinctively, I sensed a threat and flew at her head and beat her with my wings to drive her off.”
“Okay. Couldn’t you have let her think you were a pet bird? You know I allow pets, so you’d be well within your rights to own one.”
“I was under duress and not thinking as clearly as I could have. I shifted into human form, hoping to scare the shit out of the burglar, and I didn’t know it was your aunt until she had seentoo much.”
“She said you had a gun.”
“I do. I never would have used it. I may joke about death, but I’m not a killer.”
Jason nodded. “Do you have a permit for that gun?”
“Why?”
“In case she calls the cops on you no matter what Ralph and I do to calm her down?”
“Shit.”
“I know my aunt, and she’ll want to. I hope we can talk her out of it.”
Nathan gulped. “Double shit.”
“So, you gagged and tied her to a chair and left her in the basement with a guy she thought was a vampire?”
“Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“What were you planning to do with her after that?”
“I admit I didn’t think it through well at all,” he said, sheepishly.
Jason shook his head. “Fan-fucking-tastic. Now what do we do?”
“We?” Nathan lifted his head and stared at his landlord, wide-eyed. “I’d planned to pack my bags and leave before the eviction notice was delivered. I figured I wasn’t fast enough, and you were here to tell me to get out.”
Jason tilted his head. “I know how hard it is to find affordable apartments in this town, especially on short notice. You didn’t think I’d turn my back on you after you saved my life, did you?”
“Well, uh—yeah. I…”Damn. I can’t believe he wants to stick up for me.“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll apologize profusely if that’s what it takes.”
“Meapologize toher? She’s the one who walked—”
The look on Jason’s face was all he needed to see. “Yeah, ofcourse. I’ll try anything. I just doubt it will be enough.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Deep in thought, Merry sat across from Roz at a local fast food restaurant. She needed a heart-to-heart with someone she could trust to be honest with her.
