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“Watch it, Aaro,” Bruno said.
Aaro’s eyes flicked to Lily’s crotch. It was hidden by the folds of her blood spattered canvas coat, but Lily’s battered knees still snapped smartly together. “Oh, I do,” he said. “Whenever I get the chance.”
She gave him a thin smile. “When hell freezes over, buddy.”
“Ooh. Scary,” Aaro murmured. “You tell her, man, because I’m way too intimidated to say it to her face, but she should keep her panties on in these dangerous times.”
“Up yours, asshole,” Lily retorted, with heat.
Bruno put his finger over Lily’s mouth. Anger had given her a nice rosy glow, which had to be a good thing, up to a point. He held up his hand to forestall whatever snide and hateful thing Aaro was opening his mouth to say. “You are out of line, man,” he said quietly. “Shut up.”
Aaro’s mouth tightened. “I knew it,” he said. “I knew, as soon as I saw who was calling, that this would be another massive goatfuck with international implications. It always is, with McClouds.”
“I’m not a McCloud. I share no genetic material with those freaks!”
Aaro dismissed that with a wave of his hand. “You might as well be. The curse rubs off on anyone they hang out with. You’ve been exposed, so you’re already fucked. And so am I.” He glanced at Lily, not without sympathy. “You too, from the looks of things.”
“That’s stupid,” Bruno muttered.
“Yeah? My home, my vehicle and my privacy got bombed to rubble the last time I answered a phone call from one of you clowns!”
“You were reimbursed in full! They threw money at your head to make up for that! You have no reason to feel sorry for yourself!”
“You can’t reimburse privacy,” Aaro said darkly. “Doing favors for you guys is costly on a whole lot of levels.”
“Look at it this way,” Bruno said. “I’m a client, OK? Bill me by the hour. Name your fucking rate. Save your receipts. I’m not asking any favors, so I won’t unleash the curse. No favors, no curse. Simple.”
“Nothing’s simple about broken bodies on the street.”
“I told you,” Bruno protested. “They were trying to kill—”
“Yeah, I get the white knight thing, but was it necessary to snuff the guys? Was your brain functioning at all? You’ve got no idea who they were, what they want, or from what direction they’ll come from the next time.” His eyes cut to Lily. “Or do you?”
She shook her head, her lips tight.
“Great. So now, instead of having somebody to interrogate, you’ve got a possible murder rap. What a trade-off. Why didn’t you just beat the shit out of them? You, my friend, have fucked up.”
Bruno bit back a snotty retort. He was still afraid to think about the entity that had taken over his body during that fight. And he didn’t want to get mired in explanations and self-justification. Waste of time and breath. There was nothing he could say to Aaro that wouldn’t be whining, or excuse mongering. He shook his head. Later for that.
“OK, then,” Aaro said sourly. “Whatever. By the hour, up the ass, receipts itemized. What do you want me to buy?”
“Sensible winter shoes.” Bruno turned to Lily. “What’s your size?”
“Six, but seriously, I really don’t want—”
“A big sweater. A drab color. A wool knit cap. A winter coat. Down, with a hood. Black nylon, something big and puffy. Jeans. Size…” He looked her over appraisingly. “Ten.”
She jumped. “Hey. That’s not my—“
“Yeah, I know you’re more like an eight, but I want them loose,” he snapped. “This is not about showcasing your ass.”
“Speaking of her ass,” Aaro interjected. “You still haven’t told me how you want the underwear.” He eyed her, chewing his lip.
Lily lunged for the door. “I’m done. Have a nice life, gentlemen.”
Bruno caught her as she grabbed the handle, and yanked her back. His arm locked around her, clamped over her heaving ribcage.
“Let go of me,” she said. “Right now.”
