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“So you want the suppressants? You’re infected.”
For someone also infected, he made it sound like it was a personal failing of mine, that I was a lesser human being for it. “Yes.”
“Well, then you’re fresh out of luck because I sold them all. They were very popular.”
“All of them?”
“All that I had with me.”
“Can you get more?”
Tobias cocked his head to one side, weighing his answer carefully. “Maybe.”
“Or you could tell me where the laboratory is, so I can go there myself.”
He laughed. “Now, why would I do a thing like that?”
I ran a few answers through my head, trying them out for size. Most people were simple. You just needed to appeal to their egos. “To be helpful. I’d be forever grateful.”
“And what exactly is your gratitude going to get me? Will it put food on the table?”
“No.”
“Will it give me something to trade for medical supplies?”
“No.”
“Will it keep me warm at night?”
“Apparently not.” There was no keeping the bitterness out of my voice.
“Then what the fuck would I want with it?” This was a different Tobias Breeze to the man who’d had a crowd wrapped around his little finger only a few hours earlier. Colder. Harder. And neither of those things had anything to do with the blade in his hand. “Here’s a free piece of advice,” he said. “Stay the fuck out of the rain. That’s what most people do.”
I considered telling him why I wanted them so badly and then thought better of it. “Great advice. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Now get the fuck out of my room before I change my mind about cutting your throat.”
“You couldn’t even if you wanted to.” Despite my bravado, I took a step that way. There was nothing else to be gained here tonight. It was time to retreat and regroup, and come up with a plan C. I still wanted the suppressants, but I needed to figure out how to persuade him to get more for me.
He watched me all the way to the door, never blinking, knife still held at the ready. Could I take him in a fight? I had at least a hundred pounds on him, most of it muscle, so it was probable. He’d only bested me because he’d used the element of surprise.
But then what? Kidnap him? Somehow get him out of town without anyone coming to his aid? I didn’t fancy my chances of pulling it off. Especially when, after tonight’s little performance, he was one of the most recognizable faces in town.
I let myself be maneuvered toward the door. A fraction of a second after I’d stepped over the threshold, the door was kicked shut. “Nice to meet you, Tobias Breeze,” I said to the wood. I lingered there for a moment, a scraping sound telegraphing him dragging the chest of drawers in front of the door. Which begged the question of why he hadn’t done that earlier if he’d known he was being followed.
I pondered that while I sheathed my knife and carried out a more thorough inspection of both my neck and my hand. The neck wound had stopped bleeding, Tobias’ interpretation of it as ‘just a scratch’ not that far from the truth. Whereas the cut on my hand was deeper and would require cleaning.
Had he set a trap because he wanted to find out what I wanted from him? That was the obvious conclusion. Which was interesting. In fact, I’d even go so far as describe the entire interaction that way.
Tobias Breeze might just be the most interesting person I’d met in years, and I wasn’t done with him yet.
Chapter Three
August
I slept surprisingly well after the departure of my late-night, and very much uninvited, visitor. His genuine surprise at my knowing he’d followed me showed him up for the amateur he was. Or perhaps I was being unfair. Not everyone thought like I did. And that’s why they scrabbled around in the dirt while I thrived.
Speaking of thriving, I’d eaten a hearty breakfast. The server had seemed surprised when I requested seconds, his gaze running over my trim form as if searching for where I put it.
