Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,17
were bustling. A group of wolf shifters on the corner were hustling for money, playing harmonica and guitar. They were talented, and I often stopped to listen to them and give them a few bucks. Last year, we had managed to rescue three young streeps from the streets, but there were always new ones to take their place.
“Hey bruddah,” one of the wolf shifters said, holding out his hand to Viktor as we passed.
Viktor high-fived him. “Yo, Pain, how you doing?”
“The usual. Looking for a flop to share. Till I find one, gotta box in the back.” Pain motioned to the alley. We’d asked him once where he got his name and he showed us a ten-inch scar on his leg where he’d been caught by an illegal trap when he’d been running in wolf form out in the forest.
I sighed, glancing at the other two shifters. Shayla, the harmonica player, was Pain’s pregnant girlfriend. “I take it she’s sleeping in the alley, too?”
Pain’s smile slipped and I could see it hurt more than his ego when he nodded. “Yeah. I make her as comfortable as I can, but you know the system. Too many in need, and not enough to go around. Until something opens up, being on a list for housing only means you’re a mark on a form.”
I pulled out my wallet. I was never afraid that I’d get mugged, not around the regulars who hung out on our street corner. I pulled out five twenties and motioned to Shayla, who waddled over. I pressed them into her hand. “Use this to get yourself a room over at Rayan’s House for Women.” I pulled out a card and gave it to her. “Call them. They’ll come and get you, since men aren’t allowed to know the location.”
Rayan Warren, a rabbit shifter, ran a shelter for homeless women. She charged fifty a week for a cot if the woman had the money to pay. If not, she still found a way to take her in. And if Rayan didn’t have room, she’d scour the town till she found someone who could foster the woman in need.
Shayla stared at the money, then smiled gratefully. “Thank you. It’s getting hard to move around much and sleeping outside is even harder.”
“That will cover two weeks.” I turned to Pain. “She’s carrying your baby. Don’t try to interfere. They won’t split you guys up—at least not your relationship. But Shayla’s health should come before anything at this point. No taking this money and using it for booze.”
Pain was an alcoholic, but he wasn’t so far gone that he’d put a bottle in front of Shayla’s needs. He bit his lip. “I promise she’ll call them today, right after you leave. Thank you, Ember. Shayla and my kid, they mean everything to me.”
Viktor pulled out his wallet and he handed Pain another fifty. “She needs a place to stay and food, and so do you. Same thing—use this for a flop and food.”
Pain saluted us as we took off again. I dropped a couple bucks in the guitar case for the other member of the band. I thought it might be Pain’s brother, but I wasn’t sure.
As we crossed the street, I glanced at the boutique shops. The lure of kink and booze ran rampant here, and while it didn’t bother me, sometimes I’d see a woman posing in the window and her eyes would meet mine, and I’d see how tired she looked, or how jaded. But at least sex workers were legal now, and they made enough to keep themselves off the streets. There were agencies devoted to helping the women—and men—find other lines of work when they were ready to move on.
Theo’s Coffee Bar was two and a half blocks away from the office. It was a pleasant little hole-in-the-wall, with a lot of vibrant plants vining up the walls inside, and a wide selection of sandwiches, soup, and pastries. I ordered a triple-shot mocha, and Viktor ordered a triple-shot caramel macchiato. He led the way toward a table near the window where a lone woman sat. She was tall and willowy, and had flowing blond hair tied back with a scarf.
She glanced up as we approached the table and motioned for us to sit down. After a moment, she dipped her head, then looked up. Her eyes were luminous and wet, and I could tell that she had been crying recently.