Page 67 of Hoofin’ It

I really hoped it was Amy. Amy had the best control over her powers, played a mean game of chess, and liked guns almost as much as Ed. Unlike her fellow succubi, Amy always gave me a call with where she and her partner dumped Casey, which had made my life so much simpler.

“All right. There are a few rules for this, Marian.”

“What?”

“I recommend you stick close to me.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

I considered pushing my luck to find out how close I could get her but decided against it. She’d be getting an eyeful of one of Chicago’s greater sins as it was. “I wouldn’t stray more than a couple of feet away. That makes you fair game.”

With narrowed eyes, Marian looked me over. “You’re taking me into a brothel, aren’t you?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“The sweaty hand smear on the third floor gave me a bit of a clue. How did you last as a virgin for so long if you go to brothels?”

“Didn’t we already discuss the kneecapping thing?”

“You seriously kneecapped a few vamps so you could stay a virgin?”

“I like to think I have done a pretty good job of protecting myself.”

Marian grimaced. “Then I came around.”

While her tone and expression informed me she was being serious, I laughed. I had enough embarrassment to share, but I did my best to hide it. “I only take issue when the participants involved are unwilling. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t need much convincing, and you might have seduced me without the help of a pair of demons. If you have no regrets, I have no regrets. Anyway, I could have found a woman if I’d really wanted one. Here, it’s all about the quick flings and moving on to new waters. Not my thing.”

I toed the honesty line. I regretted the night had ended and that my chances of a repeat plummeted every time I opened my mouth.

“You’re the marrying kind. I gathered that much from the interview recordings.”

I pretended I hadn’t noticed Marian’s neutral tone. “Initially, my game plan was to get settled into my career, meet some nice cop, and marry her. I misjudged how hard of a line Chicagoans drew against lycanthropes. I figured I’d have some hiccups along the way, not that I’d be stonewalled.”

“That Michelle woman seemed to like you.”

I snorted, shook my head, and headed for the discreet door hidden in the alleyway, slowing to make sure Marian followed me and stayed close. “Michelle’s pissed I can shoot better than her. I also suggested she learn from someone she’s been trying to bust for years. Add in Stripes, who has enough pride, self-esteem, and phobia issues to keep the entire staff of a mental institution busy, and it wouldn’t surprise me if one or both of them danced on my grave and pissed on it.”

“How charming.”

“I like Michelle, but she’s almost as petty as Porter when it comes to being outclassed by someone she views as inferior. Her friendship is a bit like stepping on a horse chestnut.”

“Hurts like hell and prone to sticking in your foot?”

“I see you have experienced horse chestnuts.”

“Unfortunately.” Marian sighed. “And in Chicago, lycanthropes, their kin, and those infected take what they can get, huh?”

I shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“This has been so educational, and I haven’t even gone into the brothel yet.”

“Try not to make me kneecap someone while we’re in here. It’s a mess to clean up, the vamps get cranky, and then I have to ask them really nicely to drop it, which would inevitably lead to another kneecapping. I don’t like kneecapping people.”

“You make it sound like this is a common occurrence.”

“A kneecap a day keeps the vamps at bay,” I muttered.

“Seriously?” she squeaked.