Page 28 of Last But Not Leashed

“Seriously, Dale? You’re seriously okay with it?” she wailed.

Allison giggled and hopped up on the counter, swinging her legs. “Ethel, you’re showering him with affection. Of course he’s okay with it. But here’s what I’m wondering. If this mall security guy wants lycanthropes, why only one attack—and why hasn’t the dumbfuck offered to employ Dale permanently?”

I laughed so hard my entire body shook. “After the past two chaotic shifts, only a lunatic would hire me.”

Ethel’s grip on my fur tightened. “Really?”

Uh oh. I recognized my error and wondered if I’d be able to save myself from her wrath. Making my death memorable would have to do. “He couldn’t afford me anyway. My current boss—very probably a lunatic—offers a good salary, good work conditions, and I hear I might be granted excellent additional benefits. I have a preference for my current boss, and I’m very picky.”

The annoyance in Ethel’s scent eased, replaced by something a lot sweeter and tempting. “You have my attention.”

Since my slip hadn’t gotten me killed, the temptation to test my luck again was too much to resist. “If I turn myself in for the bounty, would I get paid? I don’t see how I lose if I get paid to become your gift. I’ll even wear a bow,” I crooned.

“If we can confirm my wretched family is responsible for the bounty, they’d pay you, yes. They’re assholes like that.”

“And if I bring you, I get paid extra.”

“Essentially.”

How could I lose? “With that much extra money, we could get a nice little house.”

A large one suitable for many puppies.

My virus liked that idea a lot.

“We can already do that,” Ethel replied.

“But it would be at their expense.”

“All right. And how are you planning on delivering me?”

I had a plan? “I haven’t gotten that far into my planning,” I confessed.

“Wear a suit. You’ll distract them that way.”

“I will? Why?”

“They’re convinced you’re plain and uninteresting because I love my sisters and don’t want to kill them. They’re going to be moderately surprised you’re handsome and interesting. And mine.”

Meeting Ethel’s family might be the death of me, but I was also intrigued by what Ethel might’ve told them to safeguard me from their interest. “I’m mildly concerned.”

“You’ll understand when you meet them.”

That only worried me more.

Chapter Eight

Ethel chose suppertime to be delivered to her father, the one we determined most likely to be the culprit responsible for the bounty. The other members of her family, while potentially involved, didn’t live in Phoenix, a thirty-minute drive outside of Baltimore. The rest of her family lived in Towson, forming the majority of the Towson pack.

Ethel’s mother was the kind to handle any kidnappings personally, and had she been the mastermind, she would’ve secured me, wrapped me up for Ethel’s pleasure, and delivered me herself.

I wasn’t sure what I thought about that. On one hand, I didn’t want to be kidnapped, but on the other hand, I was an avid supporter of Ethel doing whatever she wanted with me. My damned virus really would get me killed at the rate it was going.

Then there was the issue of Ethel’s sisters. It never occurred to me the reason I hadn’t been assigned to the Towson area until after she had confessed that her family mostly lived there. Until she secured me as her mate, she used her role as my supervisor to keep some of the competition away.

Lycanthrope males weren’t much different.

To keep Ethel on her toes and maintain the element of surprise, I remained in my hybrid form, but I packed my best suit in a duffel bag, and Ethel took it upon herself to use a few basic practitioner tricks to keep my clothes from wrinkling. My suit wouldn’t impress anyone, although it was the better of the two I had, the one I used whenever I had a somewhat formal meeting, which wasn’t often.