Page 59 of Curse of the Wolf
“Bolin was wondering if you like non-alcoholic espresso martinis, Jasmine,” I said.
“Oh? I’ve never had one. That sounds really interesting though.”
“Would you like to come over sometime?” Bolin asked. “I can make you one.”
I raised my eyebrows, wondering if he’d been looking up recipes during our battle.
“I…” Jasmine looked at me, as if I should advise her on who she should date. Or maybe she wondered if adatewas what Bolin wanted. He wasn’t the most direct about stating his interest in women.
I shrugged, feeling I’d done enough and that it was up to them to figure out if they were interested in each other. When she and I had discussed Bolin before, she’d been ambivalent. No, she’d compared him to her father. That was never a good sign.
But she looked toward the spot of her almost-collision again, then whispered to me, “He’snotan omega.”
“No,” I murmured. “I think he has potential to be badass.”
Bolin’s eyebrows rose hopefully, though I didn’t think he’d caught all that.
Jasmine smiled at Bolin. “I do like espresso-flavored things.”
His heart melted into a puddle in the parking lot at his feet.
The sounds of gunfire coming from the apartment complex next door made us all jump. Had the inspector stopped over there for some reason? I ran to the street and was in time to see a familiar armored SUV roar out of the parking lot with a wolf atop it.Duncan.
He crouched low to keep his balance as it sped into the street. Even in his bipedfuris form, where he had hands instead of paws, he’d struggled to stay on that vehicle. He couldn’t even damage it as a wolf, could he?
When the window opened and one of Radomir’s thugs leaned out with a rifle, I shouted for Duncan to look out. The guy rose up so that he could angle the gun toward his rooftop invader.
Even with the SUV racing away, Duncan managed to keep his balance enough to snap his jaws around the weapon before it fired. He flung it away. At the corner, the SUV made a hard turn, and Duncan flew off. He landed on his feet, but the vehicle sped away.
“I guess that’s why he couldn’t come right away to get the case,” I said, relieved that Duncan didn’t appear injured.
He glared in the direction the SUV had gone but must have decided he couldn’t catch it. From that intersection, it was a quick drive to the nearest freeway entrance. Had Radomir or Abrams been inside? Waiting for areportfrom their building inspector?
“More like for the case to be delivered into their hands.”
I wanted to check on it, but concern for Duncan overrode that desire, and I headed toward him. He was halfway to me when he swished his tail, then disappeared into a copse of trees and bushes. Had he left his clothes in there? Yes, he soon came out in human form, tugging his jacket on as he walked toward me. He glanced at his phone as he did so.
“Sorry.” He waved it, my text message on the screen. “I think I was already changing when you sent this. That bloke didn’t get the artifact, did he?”
“No. I stopped him and his werewolf buddy in time.”
“Werewolf? I didn’t sense one of our kind here, but as soon as I spotted that SUV, my focus was on it. Radomir was in the back.Waiting.”
“I knew this was all a ruse.” I shook my head, disappointed that Duncan hadn’t managed to catch Radomir. Had his weakened state worked against him? Though I wondered, I didn’t ask, not wanting to make him feel worse than he probably already did.
“I’m sorry I didn’t manage to capture him,” Duncan said quietly, perhaps guessing at my thoughts.
“Don’t worry about it.” I was more disappointed on his behalf than with him. “We’ll get another chance.”
“I hope so.” Duncan’s conflicted expression suggested he didn’t know how much time he had.
Concerned, I started to hug him, but Jasmine was waving to us. When she caught my eye, she pointed to her phone.
“Maybe that’s our opportunity now.” I touched Duncan’s shoulder, then led the way back through the parking lot toward her.
“Is her father doing research for you again?” Duncan walked at my side.
“Yes. It’s also possible that she and Bolin have agreed on an espresso-martini recipe and are excited about it.”
