He looked at me and deliberately ran his nose across his side of the glass.
I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, that was mature.
The last time I saw someone do something that grown-up was when my little sister was twelve." AT THE GARAGE, I PARKED NEXT TO ZEE'S TRUCK, AND as soon as I got out of the car, I could hear the distinctive beat of salsa music.
I have sensitive ears, so it was probably not loud enough to bother anyone in the little houses scattered among the warehouses and storage units that surrounded the garage.
A little figure at the window waved at me.
I'd forgotten.
How could I have forgotten that Sylvia and her kids were going to be cleaning the office? Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been a problem--Samuel would never hurt a child, but we weren't dealing with Samuel anymore.
I realized that I'd gotten used to him, that I was still thinking of him as though he was only Samuel with a problem.
I'd let myself forget how dangerous he was.
Then again, he hadn't killed me yet.
Maybe if he stayed with me in the garage .
.
.
I couldn't risk it.
"Sam," I told the wolf, who'd followed me out of the car, "there are too many people here.
Let's--" I'm not sure what I was going to suggest, maybe a run out somewhere no one would see us.
But it was too late.
"Mercy," said a high-pitched voice as the office door popped open with a roar of bongos and guitars, and Gabriel's littlest sister, Maia, bounced down the short run of steps and sprinted toward us.
"Mercy, Mercy, guess what? Guess what? I am all grown-up.
I am going to pretty school, and I--" And that was when she caught a glimpse of Sam.
"Ooo," she said, still running.
Samuel is not bad-looking in his human form--but his wolf is pure white and fluffy.
All he needed was a unicorn's horn to be the perfect pet for a little girl.
"Pretty school?" I asked, stepping forward and to the side, so I was between the werewolf and Maia.
Maia stopped instead of bumping into me, but her eyes were on the wolf.
The next-oldest girl, Sissy, who was six, had emerged from the office a few seconds after her sister.
"Mam? says you can't run out of the office, Maia.
There might be cars who wouldn't see you.
Hi, Mercy.