Page 22 of Strange Lights

“Thanks, Doc. It would be a shame to lose this hand now. I’ve grown attached to it. But I do think you’re confusing vampires with werewolves.”

He’s still holding my hand, absently intertwining our fingers. I can think of nothing but the feel of his skin on mine. “You’ve been following me, working with me to keep tabs on me, make sure I don’t get myself in over my head, haven’t you?”

“Yes. That’s why I started ‘coincidentally’ working on the same cases as you to begin with. I followed you to keep you from finding out the truth. From accidentally finding proof that you were wrong all along and monsters do exist. I laid some of the false trails you fell for. All I wanted was for you to stay out of my hair. But that has changed now⁠—” I pause, Calvin’s skin warm against mine. His face inches away. It’s too real an answer suddenly. More than I meant to say. I tug back my hand, cross my arms.

“Now?” Calvin prods, stepping forward and closing the distance between us again.

I can’t tell him that now I trust him, now I like him as a person. That he might be my closest friend, that I want more. I can’t tell him, because he deserves better than that. Better than me. The silence stretches and becomes weighted. Calvin is looking at me, his gaze burning, but I can’t look up and meet his eyes. Deflect. Backpedal. Divert.

“Now that you’ve got me hooked on your coffee,” I say, latching onto the first lame excuse I can think up.

“What?” Calvin asks, leaning away again with a sigh.

“Your espresso machine. Do you know how much you’ve saved me on fancy lattes? And you always lose our bets.”

Calvin laughs a little woodenly. “Obviously, and here I thought we were friends.”

“Nah, archenemies, remember?” I tease.

“Huh,” he says. And I bet he’s sorting through memories and piecing things together as he stares off into space. “Admit it, you do listen to my podcast, don’t you?”

Winnie’s volume knob spins, and a recording of my own voice blares from the speakers. “Hey, Winnie, pull up Calvin’s last episode. No, not just the audio, the video file, the one where he’s wearing⁠—”

I knock Manny’s foot askew on his ankle in my haste to reach the radio power button. I’ve always told Calvin I can barely listen to him talk in person, let alone in my spare time. I’m a liar, obviously.

“For research purposes.”

“Research, sure,” he says, his lips twitching. “How much am I wrong about?”

“A lot,” I admit.

He groans. “Damn it.”

“Don’t worry, I think a solid chunk of your channel followers don’t actually watch your episodes for your scientific content, Data Daddy.”

A blush colors his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says loftily. “And you’re one to throw stones. Glass houses and all.”

I pretend I didn’t hear that and ignore the rising heat on my own cheeks. “Admit it,” I say. “You came up with and planted that nickname yourself.”

“I did no such thing. I just use all my attributes to my advantage.”

“Science, my ass. You’re nothing but a pretty face.”

He sighs. “Guess I’ll have to come up with a new angle.”

“You can’t. Haven’t you been paying attention? Pretend nothing’s wrong. Post prerecorded content, or use some filters to hide the scars and steer clear of anything about werewolves or Chupacabras. And keep a subtle eye out for a black Jeep, tinted windows.”

Calvin’s grin disappears. “I know. I’ll keep my mouth shut for your and Eldi’s sake. And my own. I should go back to the Airstream. We should both get some sleep.”

“If you want, you can come along with the wolves tomorrow night,” I say casually, as if it doesn’t matter if he joins me or not. “I need to vaccinate any I missed.”

“Only if you don’t shoot me this time.”

11

Probably a Duck

Turns out it’s a lot easier to corner a wolf pack when you have a werewolf on your side. We don’t run across any more infected wolves, but the normal ones still come running when Calvin howls in the moonlight. Eldi joins him, yipping and yowling and racing around the same clearing we were at a mere twenty-four hours ago. It’s surreal how much has changed in those few hours.