"It's about a thirty-minute drive to the safe house. Try to relax."
"Relax?" She laughs with a sharp and humorless sound. "I'm being whisked away by a grumpy detective who clearly doesn't want to be here. What's not relaxing about that?"
I pull away from the curb, keeping one eye on the rearview mirror to check for tails. "I'm not grumpy."
"You've barely said ten words to me, and you growled when I opened the door." She turns in her seat to face me. "What's your problem with me, Detective? Did I step on your tail in a past life?"
I grip the steering wheel tighter. "I don't have a tail. I'm a bear, not a wolf."
"Oh, excuse me." Her voice drips with sarcasm. "Did I step on your paw, then?"
I don't answer, focusing on the road instead. The last thing I need is to get into it with her about why I distrust scientists. About Tessa. About how every time I look at a lab coat, I see my sister's face as she died, alone and in pain while doctors took notes.
"Silent treatment. Great." She sighs and turns to look out the window. "This is going to be so much fun."
We drive in silence for a few minutes. I can feel her watching me from the corner of her eye, studying me like I'm one of her specimens. It makes my skin itch.
"So," she finally says, apparently unable to handle the quiet, "how long have you been a detective?"
"Eight years."
"And before that?"
"Patrol officer."
She waits, but I don't elaborate. After a moment, she tries again. "Have you always worked with shifter crimes?"
"Yes."
"Because you're a shifter yourself?"
I flick my eyes to her briefly. "Yes."
"Are all bear shifters this chatty, or is it just you?"
Despite myself, I feel the corner of my mouth twitch. She's persistent, I'll give her that.
"Just me."
She throws up her hands. "He speaks in complete sentences! Alert the media!"
I keep my eyes on the road, but it's getting harder to maintain my stony facade. There's something about her that cuts through my defenses.
"I'm not much for small talk," I finally offer.
"Clearly." She shifts in her seat. "But since we're going to be stuck together for who knows how long, we might as well try to be civil."
"I am being civil."
"This is civil? What does unfriendly look like?"
I don't answer that. She doesn't want to know.
She sighs again, louder this time. "Fine. Be that way. I'm going to close my eyes for a bit. Wake me when we get to prison."
"It's not a prison," I say, but she's already leaning against the window, and closing her eyes.
"We're here."
