fixed him with his dark gaze. “Which one?”
“The flying dino. I saw it clear as day when it swooped out of the sky. It attacked some dude I’d gone to visit.”
“It actually attacked?” Wes’s voice pitched almost as high as his brows.
“I didn’t see the attack part, more like the kidnapping. Damned thing plucked him off the ground and took off with him like he was some kind of mouse. Some kids found the body in a tree. It wasn’t pretty.”
“Who was he?” Wes asked sharply.
“One of your Bittech fellows by the name of Jeffrey.”
Wes’s brows drew together. “Former employee. He was canned almost a week ago for compromising the institute’s security.”
“Lost a key card, did he?”
“How the fuck did you know that?”
Explaining Aria would take too long so he summarized with, “A little birdie told me. Anyhow, the flying lizard thing didn’t just take off with Jeffrey. He tore off his face and fingerprints, too. I only recognized him because of his clothes.”
“The monster has gotten a taste of blood. That’s not a good thing,” Wes noted.
“No kidding. I also don’t like the fact that it’s hunting in daylight.”
“I wonder where it’s holing up in between sightings.”
“No idea. He seems to poof in and out of thin air. Without tracks, he’s impossible to follow. Lizard thing wasn’t the only weird monster spotted today. Another one visited my house. Ma killed it.” He couldn’t help the pride in his words.
“Another lizard creature?” Wes barked.
“No. This one was more like a mutant flying monkey. Weirdest fucking thing I ever saw. Covered in fur, not scales. This one had quite the tail, too. A long, whip-like appendage with a barbed end.”
Wes struck a match and lit another cigarette. He took a long pull before asking, “Did you bury it? Or feed it to the gators?”
“Neither yet.”
“Good plan. We need to study it for clues. We can use it as proof to the SHC that there’s shit going on.”
“I think there’s more than enough proof at this point for us to admit that the High Shifter Council doesn’t give a rat’s ass.”
“Are you saying you’re just going to give up?” Wes blew the question out as casually as the rings of smoke.
A snort escaped Constantine. “Like fuck. I can’t. There’s still at least one more lizard creature out there, murdering folks. We still don’t know for sure dogman is dead.” He shook his head. “I can’t stop. Not until I know we’ve taken care of all the people, or things, involved. I need to keep Aria and my family safe.”
Wes paused, hand suspended in air, the glow of his cigarette jutting from between his fingers. “Keep Aria safe? I thought that was the girl Cynthia said was missing.”
“I found her. More like she found me. Anyhow, I’m kind of keeping an eye on her on account she lost her memory and she can’t remember if anyone is out to get her.”
A dark brow kept rising until Wes finally said, “Have you been sniffing swamp gases? Or has the group been keeping shit from me? No one told me she’d been found.”
“Things were kind of hectic, and Aria was really adamant I not tell anyone about her.”
“Too late now.”
Very true, so Constantine laid the whole thing out for Wes, except for the kiss. That he kept private.
At the end of it, Wes lit yet another cigarette.
This time, Constantine felt a need to say something. “Are you trying to make yourself into smoked gator meat?”
Acrid smoke blew into his face. “We’ll all die someday. Some of us sooner than others.”
“Whatever, dude. Anyway, I should head back to Daryl’s and grab Aria and Princess.”
“You staying at your place?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking of getting a room in town. The house is pretty isolated, and while Princess is pretty tough, she is small.”
“What of the woman?”
“She’s pretty tough and small, too, but she knows how to hold her own.” And for the things she couldn’t handle,
“The flying dino. I saw it clear as day when it swooped out of the sky. It attacked some dude I’d gone to visit.”
“It actually attacked?” Wes’s voice pitched almost as high as his brows.
“I didn’t see the attack part, more like the kidnapping. Damned thing plucked him off the ground and took off with him like he was some kind of mouse. Some kids found the body in a tree. It wasn’t pretty.”
“Who was he?” Wes asked sharply.
“One of your Bittech fellows by the name of Jeffrey.”
Wes’s brows drew together. “Former employee. He was canned almost a week ago for compromising the institute’s security.”
“Lost a key card, did he?”
“How the fuck did you know that?”
Explaining Aria would take too long so he summarized with, “A little birdie told me. Anyhow, the flying lizard thing didn’t just take off with Jeffrey. He tore off his face and fingerprints, too. I only recognized him because of his clothes.”
“The monster has gotten a taste of blood. That’s not a good thing,” Wes noted.
“No kidding. I also don’t like the fact that it’s hunting in daylight.”
“I wonder where it’s holing up in between sightings.”
“No idea. He seems to poof in and out of thin air. Without tracks, he’s impossible to follow. Lizard thing wasn’t the only weird monster spotted today. Another one visited my house. Ma killed it.” He couldn’t help the pride in his words.
“Another lizard creature?” Wes barked.
“No. This one was more like a mutant flying monkey. Weirdest fucking thing I ever saw. Covered in fur, not scales. This one had quite the tail, too. A long, whip-like appendage with a barbed end.”
Wes struck a match and lit another cigarette. He took a long pull before asking, “Did you bury it? Or feed it to the gators?”
“Neither yet.”
“Good plan. We need to study it for clues. We can use it as proof to the SHC that there’s shit going on.”
“I think there’s more than enough proof at this point for us to admit that the High Shifter Council doesn’t give a rat’s ass.”
“Are you saying you’re just going to give up?” Wes blew the question out as casually as the rings of smoke.
A snort escaped Constantine. “Like fuck. I can’t. There’s still at least one more lizard creature out there, murdering folks. We still don’t know for sure dogman is dead.” He shook his head. “I can’t stop. Not until I know we’ve taken care of all the people, or things, involved. I need to keep Aria and my family safe.”
Wes paused, hand suspended in air, the glow of his cigarette jutting from between his fingers. “Keep Aria safe? I thought that was the girl Cynthia said was missing.”
“I found her. More like she found me. Anyhow, I’m kind of keeping an eye on her on account she lost her memory and she can’t remember if anyone is out to get her.”
A dark brow kept rising until Wes finally said, “Have you been sniffing swamp gases? Or has the group been keeping shit from me? No one told me she’d been found.”
“Things were kind of hectic, and Aria was really adamant I not tell anyone about her.”
“Too late now.”
Very true, so Constantine laid the whole thing out for Wes, except for the kiss. That he kept private.
At the end of it, Wes lit yet another cigarette.
This time, Constantine felt a need to say something. “Are you trying to make yourself into smoked gator meat?”
Acrid smoke blew into his face. “We’ll all die someday. Some of us sooner than others.”
“Whatever, dude. Anyway, I should head back to Daryl’s and grab Aria and Princess.”
“You staying at your place?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking of getting a room in town. The house is pretty isolated, and while Princess is pretty tough, she is small.”
“What of the woman?”
“She’s pretty tough and small, too, but she knows how to hold her own.” And for the things she couldn’t handle,
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