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“Maybe be calmer. ”
My fingers spasmed around the grip on my gun, and I was thankful I knew better than to keep one on the trigger.
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“We meet again,” Pony-boy said, his voice a silky growl.
“I thought I made it clear last time, I was done meeting with you. ”
“In a city like this, it was inevitable our paths would cross a second time. ”
Yeah, because in a city with over eight million people there was no way to avoid one pain-in-the-butt rogue and his posse of would-be badass wolves. “Be honest, you just missed me,” I said.
“We never took a shot. Hard to miss when you haven’t tried yet. ” This came from Hank, who was a half step behind Pony-boy. I knew what hiding looked like.
“Sorry, Hank, I couldn’t hear you from behind Mom’s apron strings. ”
Hank growled, and my body responded with a surge of pure adrenaline. My heart was screaming for me to run and my limbs wanted to listen to the order for flight. Too bad my brain was still running things, and my brain still thought like a bounty hunter.
“We heard a rumor you were gone,” Pony-boy added, ignoring my banter and Hank’s reaction. “The true queen wanted us to see if the rumors were true. ”
I shrugged with my hands out in front of me, giving an innocent face but also flashing my weapon at them. “You’ve seen me. Now you can go tell Mommy Dearest to get bent. ”
The men Pony-boy had with him muttered amongst themselves. I wasn’t sure what they’d expected from this interaction, but this back-and-forth chattering mustn’t have been it. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility it was something along the lines of, “I thought we were going to beat up a girl. ”
“Actually, the true queen—”
“Stop calling her that,” I demanded. “Unless she’s the true queen of being a pain in my ass, you are sorely mistaken about her title. ”
“We know who our queen is. ”
“Oh, right, I forgot… You guys are just as crazy and fucked in the head as she is. ”
There was more muttering within the posse. It also hadn’t escaped my notice that Desmond got stiffer and breathed more heavily each time I spoke. If I kept it up like this, I’d be hearing—
“Secret…” He only said my name, but we’d done this song and dance before, so I knew exactly what meaning was loaded in that one word. I’d once asked an apocalyptic demon if he would give me three wishes. I was no stranger to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
In this case, though, I was trying to buy time. I didn’t know if kicking the hornet’s nest was the best way to go about it, but it probably wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever had. The longer I kept them talking, the longer I avoided finding out how much a punch in the face really hurt.
That was one human experience I could do without.
“You are bold, girl,” Pony-boy said.
“Thanks. ”
“Boldness often leads to misadventure. ”
Well…that was a threat worthy of someone much scarier than an ugly dude with a ponytail.
I rubbed my empty hand against my leg, wiping away the sweat on my palm. “Let me ask you something. You seem like a smart guy, I mean, in spite of your vacation from rationality. ”
Desmond’s teeth ground together.
“Smart enough to see the right path,” Pony-boy replied.
“That’s just it. You’re smart, but you’re making such a goddamn stupid mistake right now, I wonder if you haven’t been knocked on the head. ”
“We are not making a mistake. The only mistake here is you. ”
