Cin and her friends exchanged uneasy glances.
“I know you move around pretty often. I hate to ask, but I think it’s time to relocate. Could you possibly stay on the east side?”
The two packs stayed out of each other’s territory – wandering over into rival territory was an invitation to disappear. So if Cin and her friends crashed in the Bianchi pack territory, Dominic couldn’t get to them.
And the Bianchi’s wouldn’t object or even notice. The sad advantage of being street urchins was, neither side cared what the kids did or where they slept. Since the Portal opened in the 1950s, the city had lost about a quarter of its population and there were empty buildings everywhere. It wouldn’t be hard for them to find a place to crash.
“I guess we could,” Cin shrugged.
Who is it? “You need me to take care of this jerk for you?” Lorenzo puffed out his narrow chest.
Cin hid a smile. Zoey forced herself not to laugh. “No, I’m afraid this is something I need to address on my own.”
“All right. But if you change your mind, just say the word.” He did his best to look fierce, and Zoey nodded appreciatively.
Cin shrugged. “We can stay at the old warehouse on 117thand Lombard.”
Zoey nodded. “Yes, do that then. And take all the leftover food.”
“Seriously?” Cin squealed. “Best day ever!”
She watched them enthusiastically filling up their backpacks, feeling a tightening frustration that a day with a full stomach was the best day ever for Cin.
Chapter Seven
Dominic felt the gazes of the women in the sandwich shop sliding over his body, with the usual mix of fear and lust. He ignored them. There was only one woman whose attention he wanted these days, and she was doing her best to pull a disappearing act. And it was driving his wolf crazy, which meant that he spent most of his time struggling not to bite people’s heads off.
Dominic grabbed his salami sub sandwich from the clerk behind the counter, who all but bowed and scraped as he handed it to him. He strode over to the table where Giuliana was waiting for him, sipping her iced coffee and ignoring him.
As usual, Giuliana was way overdressed for their task. She wore head to toe Dolce and Gabbana, down to her six-inch heels. He and Giuliana were travelling around their territory picking up protection money from the local businesses. Really, Arturo had sent his niece along with Dominic to keep her busy and out of trouble. Babysitting detail. Dominic knew it, Giuliana knew it, so she was acting like a sulky crabby brat.
An hour ago, he’d showed up to find that yet another neighborhood business had closed, and when Dominic tracked down the owner, the man sounded nervous and said that his mother was sick and he needed to devote all of his time to taking care of her.
Dominic settled down into the too-small chair facing Giuliana. “Hey, brat, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Giuliana didn’t look up from the latest copy of Fashion Magic Magazine, which apparently was a lot more interesting than Dominic. “What’s in it for me?”
“I won’t tell your uncle that you never went to the mall yesterday like you said you did.”
Giuliana’s eyes widened. “How did you – I mean – what are you talking about?”
“Please.” Dominic gave her a scornful look. “I have eyes and ears everywhere.”
She stamped her foot. Literally stamped her foot like a kindergartener being sent to take a nap. “I’m twenty! I’m not a baby!”
Dominic refrained from telling her that when she pouted like that, she sounded exactly like a baby - because he needed her advice. And he might not have been the savviest when it came to women, but he knew better than to insult a tantruming she-shifter before asking for her help – because he wouldn’t get anything other than a set of bleeding scratches so deep that they reached his internal organs. He’d been there, done that, taken hours to heal.
He glanced around to make sure nobody was listening. People who were sneaking glances at him – like all the high ranking Blood Oath pack members, he always drew attention - suddenly found themselves very, very busy looking away from him. He cleared his throat, and spoke in a lowered voice. “How do I romance a woman? Like, court her? What do women like?”
Giuliana set down her magazine and looked at him suspiciously.
“What do you mean? You’ve banged like a million bimbos. Were they not satisfied? Nobody’s coming back for seconds?”
“My, aren’t we lady-like. I have had brief encounters in the past, and the women were very clear it was a one-time thing. That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“So who are you romancing? That chick from the slums?”
Giuliana was really getting under his fur today. “Snobbery is beneath you. And yes, although my wolf claimed her, she might need a little persuading.”
