Page 103 of Starved Until Sunset

Jugs’s expression tightened. “You’re an ignorant ape.”

“You say the sweetest things,” Cody said, giving himself a couple of beats before saying, “Juggy Bear.”

Jugs looked into the rearview mirror of his truck. “And you’re an ass for telling him.”

Demmy laughed from the small backseat of Jugs’s Silverado pickup. “I told you I’d have to tell him.”

“Asses, both of you.”

Cody laughed and looked out his side window. “Where are we going? Are you kidnapping us to Harriettville?”

“I wouldn’t submit my hometown to you,” Jugs said. “We’re going somewhere other than your house. How’s that?”

“I like our house. All our stuff is there,” Cody said as Demmy squeezed his shoulder.

“You’ve both been sitting in that house for a week,” Jugs said.

“To be fair,” Demmy said. “Cody spent three days in the hospital.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jugs said.

Cody leaned in a bit closer to Jugs and said in a low voice, “Three days.”

“Hey, until you’ve been in the ICU for a week as your body tried to turn you into a zombie, I don’t want to hear about it.”

“Fair point,” Cody said. “But we also no longer have jobs.”

“Hard to get a paycheck from a department that’s been wiped out because of vampires,” Demmy said.

“Yeah, that,” Jugs said, shooting a pointed look at Cody. “And someone drove a snowplow through the back door.”

“I was going for the element of surprise,” Cody said.

“The city ever charge you for that?” Jugs asked.

“Not yet,” Demmy said with a sigh. “But we did get all our overtime, so that’s helped.”

Jugs slowed and pulled into the parking lot of the Hollow Leg. As he slotted his truck into a spot suspiciously close to the entrance, he said, “Not one word of complaint from either of you, hear?”

“Do you hear me complaining?” Cody said.

Jugs gave him a side-eye before getting out.

Cody got out and waited for Demmy so he could lean down and whisper, “I bet we could walk home before they realize we’ve ditched them.”

“I heard that, Bonker.” Jugs held the door open. Cody could hear conversation, laughter, and the heavy beat of drums from some rock song playing on the juke box. Raising his eyebrows, Jugs waved for them to enter the bar.

“Come on,” Demmy said, tugging his hand. “Let’s see what’s going on.”

Reluctantly allowing himself to be pulled toward the bar, Cody said as he passed Jugs, “You’re a terrible friend.”

“I love you, too,” Jugs said, pursing pursed his lips in a kiss.

As Cody followed Demmy into the Hollow Leg, a shout went up from the crowd inside. Glasses were raised and someone—it might have been his brother, Dave, and Cody made a mental note to have a word with him—let out a whoop. A large sign had been strung across the back wall, just over the jukebox, and it read: Our Heroic Critter Catchers.

“Someone needs to let them know we’re out of business,” Demmy said, even as he smiled.

“Maybe this is for the werewolf case that started it all,” Cody said. “They’ve been saving up all these years.”