“No, that’s a good point. Well . . . what’s a safe house like?”
“It’s a house where a werewolf family lives and they take in guests a lot. People on the run, or on a mission, or even making a go-see trip to the Cape to meet Michael and Lara.”
“Lara being . . .”
“The next Pack leader.”
“Oh. You don’t run a patriarchic society?”
“I don’t think so,” he said doubtfully.
“Who’s Lara again?”
“Michael’s daughter.”
“Ah! Dynastic, then. Never mind. So it wouldn’t be . . . weird . . . if we just showed up at this place and asked to spend the night.”
“No. It’d be normal.”
“But we’d have to share a bed.”
“Yup.”
“Actually, we’d have to do it before we showed up at the safe house, right? So the other werewolves could tell we’d been intimate? Not that it’s any of their damn business,” she added in a mutter.
There was a long pause, and then Derik answered, sounding almost like he was strangling. “Yes, we’d have to do it before we showed up.”
She drummed her fingers on the seat and watched the scenery go by. “Well. I’m really not that kind of girl.”
“Oh, I know,” he said earnestly.
“But you’re kind of cute.”
“Really?” He seemed pleased.
“In an overbearing, totally obnoxious sort of way,” she explained, watching him deflate a bit. “And we are on a mission to save the world.”
He didn’t say anything, just pulled into the BK parking lot.
“We could talk about it, I guess. I mean . . . I’d like a shower.”
“And I’d like for you to have a shower.”
“Bastard,” she muttered.
18
THEY WERE STILL DEBATING THE MERITS OF LOVE-MAKING—OR not—when he pulled up to the Kwik N’ Go. “Gotta use the phone,” he explained.
“How?”
“Huh?”
“The phone,” Sara said. She still reeked strongly of bug spray, but driving around for hours with the windows open had alleviated some of the damage. At least he could think about kissing her without gagging—a crucial step. And the wind had tossed her curls around and around; she looked like an adorable red dandelion. “You can’t use your cell phone, for obvious reasons. But how are you paying for a phone call to the Cape from here ? You can’t use your credit card.”
“Oh.”
“And you can’t call from the safe house?”
“They’d hear me anywhere in the house,” he admitted.
“Oh. Creepy. I suppose calling collect is out of the question?”
“Only if you don’t mind a bunch of werewolves tracking you down.”
“Okay, well, let’s try this.” She hopped out of the truck and walked up to the pay phone on the sidewalk. “This works for me sometimes,” she explained over her shoulder. “I used pay phones a lot before I got my cell, and it usually worked out.”
She picked up the receiver, listened, then asked, “What’s the number?”
He told her.
She tapped in the number, listened, then handed him the phone. “It’s ringing.”
He took the receiver from her, staring. It was ringing. “Won’t it ask me for change, or—”
“Wyndham residence.”
“Oh, hi, Moira. Listen—”
“Derik! Hey, where the hell are you? How’s it going? Are you okay? Michael’s been going out of his mind, here! Me, too,” she added.
“Tracking her down has been a little harder than I thought,” he said with a nervous glance at Sara. Thank God, thank God Moira wasn’t anywhere near him. She’d smell a lie, and then kick his ass righteous. He’d deserve it, too. He couldn’t remember ever lying before. It was a waste of time in the Pack. It made him feel like a real rat turd now. “But I’m closing in. Just wanted to let everyone know I’m okay. Got that? I’m okay, everything’s fine right now. Tell Mike, okay?”
“Okay, honey. Things out here are fine, too. We’re basically hanging around, waiting to get the word, you know? So you take care of yourself, okay?”
“Sure. Um, patch me through to Antonia?”
“Sure. She’s
“It’s a house where a werewolf family lives and they take in guests a lot. People on the run, or on a mission, or even making a go-see trip to the Cape to meet Michael and Lara.”
“Lara being . . .”
“The next Pack leader.”
“Oh. You don’t run a patriarchic society?”
“I don’t think so,” he said doubtfully.
“Who’s Lara again?”
“Michael’s daughter.”
“Ah! Dynastic, then. Never mind. So it wouldn’t be . . . weird . . . if we just showed up at this place and asked to spend the night.”
“No. It’d be normal.”
“But we’d have to share a bed.”
“Yup.”
“Actually, we’d have to do it before we showed up at the safe house, right? So the other werewolves could tell we’d been intimate? Not that it’s any of their damn business,” she added in a mutter.
There was a long pause, and then Derik answered, sounding almost like he was strangling. “Yes, we’d have to do it before we showed up.”
She drummed her fingers on the seat and watched the scenery go by. “Well. I’m really not that kind of girl.”
“Oh, I know,” he said earnestly.
“But you’re kind of cute.”
“Really?” He seemed pleased.
“In an overbearing, totally obnoxious sort of way,” she explained, watching him deflate a bit. “And we are on a mission to save the world.”
He didn’t say anything, just pulled into the BK parking lot.
“We could talk about it, I guess. I mean . . . I’d like a shower.”
“And I’d like for you to have a shower.”
“Bastard,” she muttered.
18
THEY WERE STILL DEBATING THE MERITS OF LOVE-MAKING—OR not—when he pulled up to the Kwik N’ Go. “Gotta use the phone,” he explained.
“How?”
“Huh?”
“The phone,” Sara said. She still reeked strongly of bug spray, but driving around for hours with the windows open had alleviated some of the damage. At least he could think about kissing her without gagging—a crucial step. And the wind had tossed her curls around and around; she looked like an adorable red dandelion. “You can’t use your cell phone, for obvious reasons. But how are you paying for a phone call to the Cape from here ? You can’t use your credit card.”
“Oh.”
“And you can’t call from the safe house?”
“They’d hear me anywhere in the house,” he admitted.
“Oh. Creepy. I suppose calling collect is out of the question?”
“Only if you don’t mind a bunch of werewolves tracking you down.”
“Okay, well, let’s try this.” She hopped out of the truck and walked up to the pay phone on the sidewalk. “This works for me sometimes,” she explained over her shoulder. “I used pay phones a lot before I got my cell, and it usually worked out.”
She picked up the receiver, listened, then asked, “What’s the number?”
He told her.
She tapped in the number, listened, then handed him the phone. “It’s ringing.”
He took the receiver from her, staring. It was ringing. “Won’t it ask me for change, or—”
“Wyndham residence.”
“Oh, hi, Moira. Listen—”
“Derik! Hey, where the hell are you? How’s it going? Are you okay? Michael’s been going out of his mind, here! Me, too,” she added.
“Tracking her down has been a little harder than I thought,” he said with a nervous glance at Sara. Thank God, thank God Moira wasn’t anywhere near him. She’d smell a lie, and then kick his ass righteous. He’d deserve it, too. He couldn’t remember ever lying before. It was a waste of time in the Pack. It made him feel like a real rat turd now. “But I’m closing in. Just wanted to let everyone know I’m okay. Got that? I’m okay, everything’s fine right now. Tell Mike, okay?”
“Okay, honey. Things out here are fine, too. We’re basically hanging around, waiting to get the word, you know? So you take care of yourself, okay?”
“Sure. Um, patch me through to Antonia?”
“Sure. She’s
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