thirty-seven
I tracked the sun through the small window in the front door as it set. Vale allowed me to sit on the couch, and I held Sophia’s hand as we both watched her mother try to save a dead man.
Vale didn’t pace or fidget. He looked like he was at a business dinner, ready to make a high-powered deal.
I wanted to vomit.
Officer Phillips had left without a backward glance, but from the look Vale gave Wall of Muscle, I suspected he wasn’t long for this world.
Every few minutes, Vale tried to get a rise out of me, gaging my reaction as he asked about different aspects of my life. I knew he was probing for weaknesses, and I kept my face as neutral as possible as I answered the innocuous questions and ignored some randomly to throw him off.
I knew Thurl would come. Our bond danced out the door like a hiker who’d just run face first into a spiderweb. I tried to send calming vibes down the tether, but I didn’t think it worked that way.
I looked up at the slab of beef in front of me. “What’s your name?”
He just grunted.
Vale’s curiosity was piqued. “Why do you want to know?”
I snorted. “Because I’m tired of calling him Wall of Muscle in my head.”
Vale laughed. Even that was a controlled, calculated sound. He nodded and waved his hand at the man.
“Briggs.” He didn’t look like he was hungover, but his voice sure sounded like he’d been drinking rotgut since he was five.
The politeness ingrained in me since birth kicked in. “Nice to meet you, Briggs.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. I figured that was the most emotion a giant rock was capable of.
Tension ratcheted to an impossible level as Mrs. Calder failed to create a zombie.
She screamed in frustration, and her hands dropped limp to her sides. “He’s past saving, Mr. Vale.”
Adrian got closer to the table than I expected, but he didn’t seem to have a problem getting his clothes or hands bloody. He poked at the corpse and sighed with a click of his tongue. “I’m disappointed, Mrs. Calder.”
“Please don’t hurt her.”
The tremble in her voice made my heart ache. Sophia stiffened next to me, her fingers tightening around mine.
Briggs didn’t move, but his hands flexed at his sides, the faintest shift of tension rolling across his boulder-like shoulders. I stared up at him in horror but found him looking at Vale instead. Weird.
A wolf’s howl sent chills down my spine. A slow grin spread across my lips. Darkness had fallen.
“What the fuck was that?”
It was the first time I’d seen Vale’s composure crack. He looked at Briggs, who shrugged. With his bodyguard unconcerned, the mask fell back into place. He sighed dramatically.
“My compatriot is dead. There is no longer a reason to stay here.” He turned to me. “Miss Massey, would you like to reconsider your position?”
The smile on my lips made his eyes widen ever so slightly.
“I’ve already explained why I can’t.”
His eyes flicked from me to Sophia and then to our clasped hands. “Not even to save the girl?”
Sophia’s mother whimpered.
“You wouldn’t,” I snarled.
His laugh was bitter. “You have no idea what I would or wouldn’t do.”
I looked at Briggs, ready to plead, and caught a damn near imperceptible shake of his head. I straightened my spine and stood, putting Sophia behind me. “The depth of your depravity makes no difference in this case, but I will fight tooth and nail before I let you hurt a single hair on her head.”
Mrs. Calder’s hand covered her mouth as silent tears tracked down her cheeks.
“Very brave, Miss Massey, but neither your teeth nor nails are any match against Briggs.”
“Maybe not, but I’ll do my best to damage you before he gets to me.” The tiny motes of light shivered around me and another howl rang from outside, closer this time.
Thurl was coming, and I couldn’t stop my grin.
Vale strode to the door and craned his neck to see as much of the outside as possible through the dirty window in the door.
I mouthed, “It’s going to be all right,” to Mrs. Calder, but judging by her shell-shocked expression, she wasn’t processing anything around her.
Adrian stepped back from the door, his movements controlled, but I could see the tension coiling in his shoulders. The second howl had rattled him, even if he tried to hide it.
“Briggs,” he said sharply, “go check it out.”
Briggs hesitated. It was brief—a fraction of a second—but I caught it. He turned toward the door, his steps heavy, the floor creaking like it would give up at any moment.
“I wouldn’t,” I said, my voice steady.
Briggs paused mid-step, his bulk casting a shadow across the room. He glanced at me, the faintest flicker of curiosity—or doubt—crossing his face. Vale turned slowly, his eyes narrowing.
“And why is that, Miss Massey?”
I shrugged and kept my tone neutral. “Just saying it might not be a good idea to wander outside without knowing what’s out there.”
Vale’s lips curved into a thin, humorless smile. “How thoughtful of you to care about Briggs’ well-being.”
“More like my own,” I stated with false concern. “Having him here makes me a smaller target.”
Vale’s smile didn’t falter, but his eyes darkened, sharp with calculation. He gestured toward the door again. “Check it.”
A tic appeared in Briggs’s jaw. A few tense seconds passed before he gave a curt nod, but when he opened the door, another man shouldered his way inside.
“Boss, something’s out there.”
“What?”
The man shook, an all over body tremble. His eyes darted around the room like he needed to escape—or a place to hide. “Didn’t get a look at it, but it took out Brick and Niko.”
A growl shattered the silence that followed, low, close, and angry.
Vale’s composure faltered. His fingers twitched as his gaze flicked toward the door. Vale turned back to me, his mask back in place. His movements were too smooth, too rehearsed, as he approached. “Do you know what I find fascinating, Miss Massey?” he asked, his tone light but edged with menace. “You don’t seem alarmed.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I have a good poker face. Believe me, I’m scared.” I added a dramatic shiver to my performance.
His laugh was sharp, almost amused, but his eyes remained cold. “You’re no actress. Do you know what’s out there?”
Behind him, Briggs’ attention shifted subtly, his gaze darting toward the door. A faint growl, barely audible but unmistakable, rumbled outside. My pulse quickened. Thurl was closer than anyone here realized.
Briggs shifted, moving his hulk in front of both me and Sophia.
I gripped the little girl’s hand tighter and let my lips curve into a slow, deliberate smile. Vale’s eyes narrowed.
“I told you my hiding place wouldn’t work for anyone but me,” I said, the tether to Thurl thrumming with quiet determination. “And I’m really looking forward to watching you see why.”