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Good. Anna hadn’t spilled the beans, even after my visit to the trailer park. I didn’t think she would. Anna had enough nightmares stockpiled in that head of hers to keep me busy for a year. She’d be a fool to say anything.
“She was fine. Chief Garcia came by to make sure neither of us needed a lift to the hospital.”
He laughed out loud this time. “Anna’s a pain in the ass, but she’s relatively harmless. All bark and no bite, as they say.”
“Are you sure about that? Somebody was awfully quick to call the cops once we went outside.”
West shrugged. “Okay, so Anna has a temper.”
“Seems to run in the pack.”
West turned to regard the bright sun. “Are we going to discuss business outside? I’m working up a sweat just standing here.”
“It’s cooler than inside. No air-conditioning.” Werewolves ran hot; unfortunately, I didn’t have much to offer to help with that. “Would you like a glass of water?”
“Got anything sweet?”
“Sweet isn’t my thing.”
His mouth twitched. “Noted.”
An idea occurred to me. “Follow me. I know a place that might feel cooler.” I figured it couldn’t hurt to be accommodating. Despite sweet not being my thing, I’d rather entice werewolves to help with honey.
“Is he really a werewolf?” Nana Pratt asked in a hushed tone, as though West might hear her.
I nodded silently.
“How do you like that?” Ray asked. “Why couldn’t I have known that when I was alive?”
Ray had been better off living in ignorance. He would’ve been frightened, dwelling in the shadow of supernaturals. He would’ve spent his life in survival mode, never knowing whether to fight or flee.
Much like Steven Pratt, West took his time walking through the house, nearly bumping into a wall as he gaped at the interior.
“This is quite a project. You know this is going to take years to finish, right?”
“I’ve already been working on it for six months, so yeah; I figure it’ll take time.” And money. Lots of it.
His laughter shook the dust from the wooden beams that crisscrossed above our heads. “I like a woman who isn’t afraid of manual labor. You’d make a decent werewolf.”
I filled a glass with water, then escorted him up a flight of stairs to the balcony. There was a stone overhang that kept the area cooler, and the light breeze helped. There were no chairs, but the ledge was sturdy enough to lean against.
“You’ve kept to yourself. I heard somebody bought the place but not much else until now.” He gulped the water so quickly that I regretted not bringing a pitcher.
“I didn’t move here to make friends,” I said.
“Yet you somehow ended up with a missing one. That’s why you need trackers, right? To find a missing local girl?”
“Ashley isn’t a friend. I don’t even know her.”
West raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.
“A friend of mine picked up her scent in the woods but lost it,” I continued. “I’d like to see if your wolves can pick up where she left off.”
“The pack hasn’t been spending much time in the woods lately. Too much uncertainty with these animal attacks.”
“I’m surprised that would keep you out of the woods.” A werewolf was fierce enough to take on any animal in the Wild Acres.
“We’ve picked up strange scents. Whatever’s attacking the livestock, I’m not sure it’s of this world.”
