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“Nothing,” he said. “My bad. Totally didn’t mean to do that. Just… hey! Gordo!”
“What?”
“How are you? Really. I feel like we haven’t talked in long time. You know?”
“We went to lunch today,” I reminded him. “Just the two of us. For an hour.”
“Right,” Tanner said, nodding furiously. “So nice of you. Did I say thanks for that? Because that was just… nice. I appreciate—oh my fucking god, why is he coming over here? Is he insane?”
Rico twisted in his seat, getting onto his knees on the bench. “Vete,” he hissed. “Vete!”
“Who the hell are you—”
“Hey, guys. How’s it going?”
Mark Bennett stood next to the table. He looked good. His head was freshly shaved, and his beard had been recently trimmed. He wore a sweater I’d never seen before, a maroon V-neck that clung to his arms and shoulders. His jeans were tight around his thighs, and he towered over me. There was a pulse of packpackpack somewhere deep inside my head, and whether it came from him or me, I didn’t know. The humans could feel it, but they couldn’t broadcast it. So it had to be from one of us. There was something more, something that felt green and blue, but I couldn’t latch on to it, couldn’t parse through it before it pulled away as quickly as it’d come. It was a thought—an idea—but he’d taken it back. We’d learned early on how to shield ourselves from members of our pack. No one was privy to everything in our heads. I could push. A question sent out like the ripples on the surface of a lake. And maybe he’d answer. But I didn’t think I wanted to know.
Especially when I saw a man standing next to him.
He was thin, with pale skin and dark eyes. His hair was artfully messy. He looked to be a little younger than me. He smiled nervously down at us, lips twitching. He was standing close to Mark, their arms brushing. He looked ordinary next to Mark. Most people did.
“Hey,” I said, averting my gaze. “Mark. What a surprise.”
“I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“Neither did I.”
“Yeah,” Rico said, sounding like he was trying not to laugh or scream. I didn’t know which. “We brought him out tonight. You know. Human night and whatnot.”
I stomped on his foot underneath the table.
“I meant boys’ night,” he yelped. “Mierda.”
“Dale,” Tanner said. “Nice to see you again.”
I turned slowly to look at him.
He blanched. “Uh. I mean… ignore me. I’ve had too much to drink.”
“Hi, Tanner,” Dale said, his voice low and gravelly. It was deeper than I thought it would be. I didn’t like it. “Chris. Good to see you too.”
Chris just nodded and drank the rest of his beer in one long, slow gulp.
“Hi,” Dale said, and I realized he was talking to me. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
The guys at the table held their breath.
Fucking idiots.
I grinned up at Dale, turning on the charm. He looked a little dazzled. Mark didn’t. He looked like he was regretting his very existence. I didn’t blame him. There was blood in the water, and I felt like circling. “Yeah. How about that. Seems you’ve met everyone else here.” Chris slumped. Tanner was stock-still, as if I wouldn’t see him sitting right in front of me. “I’m Gordo. Great to meet you.” I held out my hand, and he shook it politely.
“Gordo,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Have you?” I said, forcing myself to sound amused. “Well, how about that. You talk about me, Mark?”
“Of course I do,” Mark said quietly, those ice eyes on me. “You’re important.”
I struggled to keep the smile on my face. It was a battle I almost lost. “Right,” I said. “Important. Because we go way back.”
