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“What kind of guarantees?” I asked.
“Are you admitting that you couldn’t take us all?” Nicky asked, and that was when I figured out what he’d been trying to tell me with his look.
“Normally I would not worry about four against one,” Olaf said, “but you are all shapeshifters and two of you are former special teams, and one of them is you.”
Nicky acknowledged the compliment with a nod.
“Why only four?” Edward asked.
“You want to know which of us is better. You cannot learn that attacking me in a group.”
I glanced back at the offices behind us. “We need to go somewhere else for this talk.”
“Agreed,” Edward said.
“Sure,” Nicky said.
“You’re not going to protest that he didn’t include you in either attack?” Angel asked.
“Not while we’re standing in front of the sheriff’s station. So let’s try this again. What guarantees do you want, Otto?” I said.
“Your word of honor and . . . Ted’s that I will come to no harm if I go with you.”
“I’ll give my word of honor on the condition that you don’t try to hurt us first.”
“I will not strike the first blow,” Olaf said.
“Promise?” I asked.
“I give you my word.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“You’re just going to take his word, just like that?” Custer asked.
“Otto’s word is good, so yes.”
“Don’t you want everybody’s word of honor?” Custer asked.
“I know that Anita and Ted keep their word,” Olaf said. “I am almost certain that Nicky’s word of honor is worth nothing. He lies too well. The rest of you I do not know, so I cannot trust your word.” He turned to Edward then and asked, “Will you give me your word, Ted?”
Edward actually looked at him for a few seconds and then nodded. “I give you my word.”
Olaf smiled, and it almost looked normal, like he was happy about something. “Where shall we go for this conversation?”
“I expected you to want us to go to your room,” Edward said.
“I did not get a room yet.”
“There aren’t a lot of room choices in Hanuman,” Ethan said. “We have two rooms that have connecting doors at the motel.”
We all looked at one another and just like that we had our location. It was just as well, because Leduc came out on the porch.
“What the hell?” Leduc asked. “I told you this isn’t a supernatural case anymore, so the marshals can stay, but the rest of you can’t.”
“Preternatural branch can deputize, so they count as marshals,” I said.
He shook his head, fingers in his duty belt again in a gesture that looked practiced yet awkward with the weight that had to be new, because he wasn’t used to it yet. “Not if it’s no longer a supernatural case. The only reason you’re still here is that warrant in your pocket. Once that is no longer in effect, then you’re all out of here.”
