to dressing like a conservative secretary type, not wearing most of my makeup so he could spot me by my scars, and hanging out in the places he’d been known to meet the other victims.
Like many other killers, he liked hunting close to home and favored a coffee shop in the same building as his work. I questioned why so many assholes used coffee shops as their base of operations. Unlike my targets in Cincinnati, I expected it to take at least a few days to catch the bastard’s attention.
According to the FBI’s profiling, he took his time on his moves, although he was wise and smart enough to not dawdle too much.
I made sure I had the appropriate time off work, and I debated if I’d maintain the ruse. If I finished the job, I could find a day job I wanted to do, one that wouldn’t drive me insane. I could even enjoy a life of ease, working bounties as needed to earn my keep. I could make Sebastian give me interesting jobs, too, the kind where I investigated more than captured.
Investigating appealed to my feline nature, as I enjoyed putting my nose where it didn’t belong.
Satisfied I completed as much as I could, I caught a nap, making sure I woke up earlier than Sebastian. While he slept, I packed the room, tidied, and packed the truck. At a cheery eight in the morning, I put my lycanthrope strength to good use and dumped my lion out of bed.
He hit the floor with a startled roar.
I purred. “It’s time to go, Mr. Mane.”
Sebastian growled, and when growling didn’t give him the result he wanted, he roared at me. “Damn it, Wells!”
“I’m just saying, should I be convinced to marry you, you need to roar Wells at me. I refuse to sacrifice this because I’ve agreed to be a Sumners. You understand the power of my purrs. Should I not get my way, I will unleash the power of my sad sighs and sniffles. Some of which will be real.”
He kept growling, crawled across the floor, and wrapped himself around my legs. “You’re mine, little kitty, and you will marry me. Do not underestimate the force of an upset lion. If you don’t agree to marry me, I will be rendered unable to roar. Only happy lions roar.”
“Well played, Mr. Mane. I see you have been paying attention to my special needs. We need to check out. It is time for you to convince my family I am the happiest of lynxes. After I successfully tended to my lion’s special needs last night, I made a plan I like, I caught a nap, and I packed everything into the truck. I’m driving. I’m concerned your virus might be tapping out.”
“My virus wants me to thoroughly investigate you and make you purr.”
“I will test the amorous nature of lions in the morning once we are in Chicago.”
“I am holding you to that, Wells.”
“You have to survive my family first.”
“Your family is easy. I’ll roar at you, and I’ll allow your automated purring reaction do the arguing for me. And I’ll give you one of my best roars to maximize your purrs. I will show them my true power. I can make you purr whenever I want, but if they need a demonstration of my willingness to indulge in your person, I am a fond fan of public displays of affection.”
“Your plan stands a good chance of working,” I admitted. “My purrs are sacred.”
“I expect your days of being able to easily manipulate your family with your purrs will soon to be over, as my goal is to make your purrs so frequent they’re comfortable with yanking your chain. This will amuse me, as your reactions to having your chain yanked are often spectacular, full of hissing, and attractive to me. However, I’ll be made jealous, meaning I will have to establish my territory as soon as I get you home.”
I could live with that. “I’m going to need extra effort from you if that becomes reality. All I have to do to protect my food is purr a little. Not even the kittens will take anything from my plate at that point.”
“Maybe I should be jealous and keep most of your purrs for me. They’re most magnificent purrs, and I’m a greedy, selfish lion.” Sebastian stretched, hugged my legs, and rolled to his feet, strutting to the bathroom. “I see you have picked what I’m wearing today. It’s a