Page 44 of Outfoxed

He lifted his head and raised a brow. “That is not a zero.”

“Yes. I am not blind, and rain-slicked is a good look on you. You clean up nice, but you’re even better when you’re dressed down and a little muddy,” I admitted. “Any smart woman has to consider the goods from all angles. You’re a decent candidate in the looks department. And you idiots are buying people based on their looks.”

“Actually, you’re valuable because you’re the only fox hybrid in your family, which means you’ve spontaneously developed a new form of magic. Since your discovery, most families with eligible male heirs have been interested in your bounty, although most are inquiring on how to participate in your auction. You might end up with a solo auction if you’re taken back to the East. First-generation foxes are difficult to find, most of them are men, and very few have your pedigree. Most families have been settling with second-generation foxes, especially if they’re also witches or mages.”

“You realize pedigree is generally worthless, right? My pedigree is not going to magically make your family better.” If anything, I viewed my pedigree as a black mark doomed to haunt me for all eternity.

“Now that your pedigree also includes the capability of disappearing for several years, your skills have risen above your parentage, although you’re considered to be an asset on that front. Should you somehow slip through my fingers and I haven’t been able to secure you here as mine, I fully intend on being the winner of your auction. I’m looking forward to many long years of fighting with you over my general worth. I also plan on encouraging you to run away specifically so I can test my skills hunting for you, although I’ll have to insist on fair rules to our games.”

“Did your mother drop you on your head as a baby?”

Rather than become annoyed, as most did when I lobbed that barb their way, Sandro chuckled. “She claims she didn’t, but my father laughs, which leads me to believe she did. Honestly, I think they both did.”

“And were either of your parents uncontested courtesans?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. My father is, although my parents grew up together and had a good relationship before she bought him. As he’s the courtesan, he married into our family and took our family name. My mother threatened to rebel if she didn’t get the man of her choice, and to make it clear she wanted my father, she handcuffed him to her and threatened to throw out the key. There were also some threats about screwing his brains out until she had at least ten children while a single mother. I only regret I had not yet been born to witness this. My grandparents, all four of them, drew it out because they thought it was hilarious. They’re all assholes, but I love them dearly.”

“Your grandparents are still alive?”

“Yes. They’re in their seventies, and they’re enjoying retirement. My mother had me when she was twenty-one, as she felt she shouldn’t be producing children until she could consume alcohol legally. She figured if she wasn’t responsible enough to get drunk, she wasn’t responsible enough to pop out a human being she was responsible for. As my father is a smart man, he didn’t argue with her about it. My father is disappointed I’m not smart enough to follow in his path and keeps insisting on arguing with the women in my life.”

I got the feeling I’d like Sandro’s mother if I met her, his father seemed sensible, and Sandro had not inherited common sense from either one of his parents. “That’s a different way of looking at it.”

“She enjoys when she puts more power into the hands of women. She particularly loves when the women she empowers annoy me.”

If I stayed in his company much longer, the fox in me would be reduced to a drooling mess, as she wanted to toy with him. I found his general views on life to be strange yet intriguing, which didn’t help matters. “If you’re looking for a wife, I recommend you try dating.”

“This is so much more fun than dating. You escaped me. You challenged me, and you, the sly vixen that you are, gave me the slip. I had to stake out your place of employment to catch your trail again, and even then, I only had decent luck because I shadowed other bounty hunters who know the turf better. And you gave that woman the slip, too.”

“Anna.”

“Yes, her. She’s one of the nicer hunters from around here.”

“What happens if I refuse to sign to be your uncontested courtesan?”

“You’ll ultimately be taken to the East, put on auction, and sold to the highest bidder. Between your looks, your pedigree, and your status, you’ll likely break records with your sale, and you’ll be brought into a prominent family in the East. It’s not necessarily a bad deal for you.”

I nodded. “Wealth, power, and influence, as long as I’m willing to be pranced around and put on display.”

“You would become the future matron of a powerful family, Jade. There’s no putting you on display. They’ll be training you to rule your household and family with an iron fist, possibly taking up whatever the family business is, and so on. You’re on auction for a great many things, and that does include your upbringing. Your education records, your ability to evade bounty hunters for so long, and your appearance all factor into this. Your magic is a large factor, too. Your pedigree, at this point, is dead last in the reasons why prominent families want you. Nobody wants wilting lilies to be their matrons. What use is a woman who can’t hold her ground? The successful families have strong partnerships between the matron and patron, and with how cutthroat it can be, they can’t afford having some weak woman at the front of the line.”

“So they put out a bounty for a candidate, sell her at auction, and hope they can break her?” I wanted to flatten my ears and adopt my fox’s habit of chittering at threats, but I controlled myself.

“What would be the point in breaking her? No, no. We’re assholes, but we try to be civil about it. Usually, uncontested courtesans wait three to five years before settling into marriage with their partner. If they’re older, the pair is encouraged to have a child earlier, but there’s an expected adaptation period. Sometimes, a couple simply doesn’t work, and the courtesan is released from the contract. That’s rare, though. Most realize they’re getting a really good deal in life by going with it.”

I scowled. “Sorry, Sandro, but my pride demands a hell of a lot better than settling for the first handsome man to come sniffing at my tail, and if you want me, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that. However, I will do you one favor.”

The way he scowled intrigued my fox. “What favor?”

“Pull up a contract that bars me from entering into any uncontested courtesan agreement other than with you while in the Alley. I’ll give you a year to make you prove you’re worth my while. If I like what you say, I’ll even think about it—but you have to do a single task for me.”

“What task?”

I liked that he didn’t argue with my base bargain. I stood on my toes and whispered in his ear, “I want to know who is sending these storms to Tulsa, and I want their heads. Don’t blemish good silver on filth when a burlap sack will do.”

I took a step back and waited for his reaction.

His eyes narrowed, and I appreciated how he took the time to think over my request.