"I told you I don't know anything, Blake."
"Tell me what it's like to be a lycanthrope, Irving. Richard seems determined to keep me in the dark. I don't like being in the dark."
Irving smiled. "I heard that."
"You be my guide to the world of the furry, and I'll keep Richard off your back."
"Agreed."
"When does Marcus want to meet?"
"Tonight." Irving had the grace to look embarrassed.
I shook my head. "No way. I'm going to bed. I'll meet with Marcus tomorrow, but not tonight."
He looked down into his coffee, fingertips touching the mug. "He wants it to be tonight." He looked up at me. "Why do you think I've been camped out in my car?"
"I am not at the beck and call of every monster in town. I don't even know what Fur Face wants to meet about." I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. "No way am I going out tonight to play with shapeshifters."
Irving squirmed in his chair, rotating the coffee cup slowly on the table. He wouldn't meet my eyes again.
"What's wrong now?"
"Marcus told me to set up a meeting with you. If I refused, he'd have me... punished. If I come here, Richard gets pissed. I'm trapped between two alpha males, and I ain't up to it."
"Are you asking me to protect you from Marcus, as well as Richard?"
"No," he said, shaking his head, "no. You're good, Blake, but you aren't in Marcus's league."
"Glad to hear it," I said.
"Will you meet with Marcus tonight?"
"If I say no, do you get in trouble?"
He stared into his coffee. "Would you believe no?"
"Nope."
He looked at me, brown eyes very serious. "He'll get mad, but I'll live."
"But he'll make you hurt." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah." That one word so soft, so tentative. It wasn't like Irving.
"I'll see him on one condition. That you're present at the meeting."
His face bloomed into a grin that spread from pole to pole. "You are a true friend, Blake." All the sadness was gone, washed away in the rosy glow of finding out what the hell was going on. Even ass deep in alligators, Irving was a reporter. It was who and what he was, more than the lycanthropy.
The smile alone was worth a meeting. Besides, I wanted to know if Richard was really in danger. Meeting the man who was threatening him was the only real way to find out. Also, I didn't really care for someone threatening one of my friends. Silver-plated bullets only slowed down a vampire, unless you can take out the head and heart. Silver bullets will kill a werewolf, no second chances, no healing, just dead.
Marcus might remember that. If he pushed it, I might even remind him.
10
Irving had called Marcus from my apartment. Again Irving didn't know why, all he did know was Marcus said to call before we came. I went into the bedroom. Hung up my dryclean-only suit, and changed clothes. Black jeans, red polo shirt, black Nikes with a blue swoosh, and real socks. I abandoned jogging socks for everyday wear once winter set in.
I reached for the bulky green sweater I had laid out on the bed. I hesitated. It wasn't the fact that the sweater had stylized Christmas trees on it, and it might not be the coolest thing to wear. I didn't give a damn about that. I was debating on whether to carry a second gun. A fashion accessory nearer and dearer to my heart than any piece of clothing.