"This'll work," Tabitha said as she winked at Otto and took the keys.
Valerius was rigid. "Really, Tabitha, I think-"
"Get in the car, Val. I promise you it won't bite."
He looked less than convinced.
Laughing, she started down the driveway toward the IROC.
To her surprise, Otto called out after them, "You guys be careful. I may not appreciate either one of you, but I don't want the bad guys to win."
"Don't worry," Tabitha said as she kept walking. "This time, I know what to expect."
"Don't be cocky," Valerius said, giving her a gimlet stare. "It was a far better man than I who said, 'Pride cometh before the fall.'"
She took his words to heart. "Good advice." She looked over his shoulder. "Night, Otto."
"Night, Tabitha. Take care of my car."
Valerius actually cringed.
She stifled her laughter at his reaction. "Mmm," she said, taking a deep breath of air that was all New Orleans as she opened the small gate next to the drive to let them outside the grounds. "Smell the beauty."
Valerius frowned at her. "All I smell is the stench of decay."
She gave him a menacing glare as he joined her on the sidewalk next to Otto's car. "Close your eyes."
"I'd rather not. I might step in something and then I might bring it home and smell it all night."
She gave him a disgusted look that he took in stride.
"You're the only woman I know who can smell this rancid air and think it pleasant."
She shut the gate. "Close your eyes, Valerius, or your nose might be the only part of you that is in working order tomorrow."
Valerius wasn't sure if he should obey her or not, but he found himself reluctantly doing so as he drew up short.
"Now take a deep breath," she said, her sultry voice in his ear. It sent a shiver over him as he did it.
"Do you smell the dampness of the river with a hint of Cajun gumbo scenting it? Not to mention the Spanish moss?"
He opened his eyes. "All I smell is urine, rotten seafood, and river slime."
She gaped at him. "How can you say that?"
"Because it's what I smell."
She growled at him as she got into the car. "You're a tough sell, you know that?"
"I've been called worse."
Her gaze turned serious and sad. "I know you have. But new times are upon you. I'm taking that stick up your butt out and tonight we're going to cut loose, kick Daimon ass, and-"
"I beg your pardon?" he asked in an offended tone. "The what up my where?"
"You heard me," she said with a wicked smile. "You know, half the problem people have with you is that you don't laugh much and you take yourself and everything else way too seriously."
"Life is serious."