He nodded politely. “My pleasure.”
She didn’t move. “Going somewhere?” She arched her eyebrows.
He managed a polite smile. “Yep. Long day ahead of me. I have a big bounty I’m going after tomorrow morning.”
She leaned against his truck door, blocking his escape. “My daughter is very precious to me. And she likes you very much. If you take advantage of her, if you hurt her, you will be on my bad side. You will find out how much of a fucking crazy bitch I can be.”
He stared at her in shock.
“Miss Laurel?” he choked out.
Her smile tightened a notch. “And if you ever tell anyone I used those particular words, I will of course deny it, and people will think you’re insane.”
She moved away from the car door. “And it’s not just me you’d be up against. Every single fox shifter in the continental United States would be gunning for you. We may seem like little, cute, cuddly things, but when you push us too far, we’re not. We’re really, really not.”
He stared down at the short, chubby woman wearing the frilly apron. He was staring way, way down, because her head barely came up to his chest.
“Yes, ma’am,” Austin said.
And she turned and walked away.
He climbed into his truck, shaking his head in bemusement.
If it weren’t for the fact that he was already a dead wolf walking, he’d be genuinely rattled by her threat. He’d learned something new about foxes tonight.
You don’t mess with a mama fox’s kits and walk away unscathed.
