Page 25 of Maneater

I glance around the room. At this point, the other two diners have left. Jimbo is in the back somewhere, so we have the room to ourselves.

If nothing else, Darien is relentless. Denying knowledge isn’t going to get me anywhere.

I lock gazes with him. “So, you believe in that kind of stuff?”

“I believe in what I can see with my own eyes,” Darien says. “I’ve always suspected that extraterrestrials are real. Once I saw a UFO way out in the California desert, and it reinforced my belief that there’s more to the universe than some would have us believe.” He chuckles. “In this case, it’s the other way around. I saw the Howler, then researched it.” He narrows his eyes. “It’s real, isn’t it? There’s no other explanation.”

I sigh. Darien’s mind is made up, and I’m screwed.

“I don’t suppose the theory that it was a mutant bear would alter your conclusion?”

Darien shakes his head.

“Hallucination from being knocked unconscious?”

He purses his lips. “I went unconscious after I saw it.”

I snap my fingers. “Right.”

Darien arches his eyebrows. “Well?”

My stomach twists, and I grip my mug so hard I’m sure it’ll implode. Beads of sweat form at my nape.

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?

“Okay. Hypothetical situation.” I pluck a napkin from the dispenser and wipe the back of my neck dry. “What if the Howler is real? Then what? Would you want him hunted down and destroyed? Kept in a cage and experimented on?

Darien gasps, his shoulders straightening. ”No! Of course not!” He winces. “What a horrible thought. I realize you don’t know me, but I love nature. I’m a big supporter of environmental causes and care about all wildlife, whether mammal, avian, or cryptid, and everything else. I would never want something like that to happen to it.”

I flinch. “Could we please stop referring to him as an it? I think he would find that offensive.”

Darien presses his lips together and nods. “You’re right. Sorry.”

I smile. “Don’t you think twice about it. But if that’s the case and you don’t want to see him harmed, then why go after him? Wouldn’t it be better to leave him alone?”

Darien chews on his lower lip again, which is about to drive me insane.

“Well…” He pushes his half-eaten roll aside. “You have a good point. I guess my curiosity is clouding my judgment. I suppose if I could only see him again, knowing what I know now, I could let it go. I won’t even try to snap a pic. The knowledge would be only for me.”

My heart picks up a quicker pace. Should I…? I swallow hard. Bad idea. Really, really bad idea.

“Well, now that you live here, maybe you’ll spot him again sometime.” I attempt a casual smile. “In the meantime, I wouldn’t worry about it.” My mind scrambles to come up with a logical subject change. “So, you like to hike, huh? I love it. I can show you the best trails sometime if you’re fixin’ to head out and explore soon.”

What the fuck am I even talking about?

“Oh.” Darien’s eyes widen, and he starts fiddling with his fork. Then his cheeks flush, and he rubs the back of his neck as if I’ve said something wildly inappropriate. “Just the two of us?”

“Uh…” Shit. He’s either scared of me for some reason, or he thinks I’m hitting on him. Yup. Definitely straight. “If you have a girlfriend, you can bring her along too.”

Even though he’s a new arrival, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s already found himself a new squeeze. There aren’t a lot of young single men available around here, so I figure he’s probably been scooped up already by one of the local gals.

Darien lets out an uneasy chuckle. “No… No girlfriend.” He looks away, his features clouding as if he’s about to say something else, as if an inner battle is waging in his mind. At last, he peers up at me. “Sure. That would be great.”

“More coffee?”

We both jump at the sound of Jimbo’s voice, me clutching my chest as Darien lets out a small squeak.

Jimbo laughs. “Boy, you two must be in one doozy of a conversation. I ain’t gonna hit you over the head with the pot, just thought you might want a topper.”