Something About Harry(58)

Nina nodded, popping her lips. “Some kinda goddamn babysitter that demon is. He fell asleep and lost the little fucker.”

Harry began to pull his gloves back on. “We’ll go look for him.”

Mara almost sighed at his offer. Chivalry. It wasn’t dead.

Nina dismissed him with a wave. “Nah. Darnell’s out there looking. You stay here. After all that hills-are-alive bullshit, it bein’ your first time and all, you need to rest, and you need Short-Shot to stay and keep you from acting on any impulses.”

Mara winced—Harry wasn’t the only one who might need to fight impulses tonight. Thank goodness for her vivid imagination and a crazy apparatus called Bendy Bob.

Nina took long strides toward the door, leaving her image a blur. Popping open the front door, she stuck her head out and yelled, “Carl? Where the hell are you? Swear to sweet baby J, you’re gonna get grounded!”

At just that moment, Marty stuck her head in the kitchen door, strangely unlocked. Mara could have sworn she’d locked the back door before they’d left . . .

Marty peeked around the kitchen doorway, shaking her hair out with a wide smile. “Oh, Harry, you were magnificent tonight! Bravo!”

Harry took a small bow, clearly pleased with himself. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate the kindness you’ve extended to me—an outsider and all.”

Marty waved a white-gloved finger. “Oh, no, no, no. You’re family now, pal. Love it or leave it, you’re one of us. We just have to explain that to my husband.”

All the joy of her shift seeped right out of Mara’s body and was replaced with that jittery nervous twitch she was developing. “We have to tell him soon, Marty. I was a nervous wreck all day today. I’m a crappy liar. You know it, I know it, and my scent on Harry is only going to take us so far before the others will be able to distinguish. Besides, the guilt is eating me alive.”

“Then let it feed, young lady,” Marty said, crossing the room. “No way am I giving you up. The hell. I’m not letting your brother pull some sort of pack-law move on this. He did turn me into a werewolf, didn’t he? Oh, yeah, he did. So there’ll be no stone throwing in my family. He started this. Now, I just came to check on you two and be sure everything went well after I left. Give me a hug, and no more crazy talk. I’ll figure this out. Just give me some time, okay?”

Mara went willingly into Marty’s vanilla-and-snow-scented hug, squeezing her extra hard. “Okay.”

As Marty pulled away, she cocked her head in Harry’s direction. “How do you feel?”

The fire Darnell had lit before dinner blazed, its shadows playing on Harry’s stiff jaw. “Unwillingly exhilarated.”

Fuck chivalry. It had only been momentarily alive before Harry stomped all over it with his grudge. Mara fought the roll of her eyes, throwing her knit hat at her overstuffed armchair. She’d been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. It had, after all, only been a couple of days. But for all that was holy, couldn’t he just enjoy the moment?

Marty giggled, burrowing her chin in her fake fur coat. “Then you’re right on track. But it gets better, and look at it this way, you got all of us in the process. Anyway, I’m out. I need to get back and spend some time with Hollis and Muffin.”

“Thanks again, Marty,” Harry said, almost smiling.

Marty gave them a wave before heading toward the front door.

“Did you fucking see Carl on the way in?”

Marty shook her head. “Not a fucking Carl anywhere.”

Nina rolled her eyes. “Jesus, he’s like a greased cat. He’s always wandering off.” She pulled Marty out into the darkness. “C’mon, help me find him. Two noses are better than one. We gotta find my flippin’ zombie before one of your crazy pack eats him.”

Marty followed Nina out into the night, closing the door behind her, leaving them alone for the first time since this had all begun.

Harry shuffled his feet, stooping to unlace his work boots. “Marty’s nice.”

Now she was grudging. “Most werewolves are.”

He dropped his shoes by the fire to dry, giving her a fed up expression. “Look. I told you, while this is what it is, and I have no choice in the matter right now, I don’t want to be one of you.”

Her mouth dropped open in outrage. She was tired of his werewolf blaming. Jerk. And no more of the poor Harry, he’s just hormonal bullshit to excuse his rude behavior. “One of you? What the hell does that mean?”

He shrugged his wide shoulders, shaking off his down vest like he hadn’t just insulted her family. “It means that it was pretty cool what just happened out there, I appreciate everything you and all of these people have done for me, but I’m still going to try and find a way to reverse what’s happened.”