Summer reached out to brush Victor’s elbow. “Hear him out, before he draws attention to us.” They would have to talk about his protectiveness some other time. Right now, she just wanted this intruder to go away, and the fastest way to make that happen was to find out what he wanted.
Victor eyed the man and motioned with his head to continue. “This rogue’s been attacking our pack for half a year now. Normally, we can get rid of the leech pests without too many problems.” The other man’s eyes flicked down from Victor’s gaze at the use of the derogatory name he’d used. “Anyhow, this rogue has cut us in half an’ our only options left are to either recruit or merge into another pack.”
Victor sighed, moved out from in front of Summer, glancing at her, his own apprehension drifting off of him. He definitely wasn’t happy with Summer being dragged into his profession. “Alright, so what’s this rogue’s name?”
“Daniel Jeremiah.” The name, a whisper from the man’s lips, stung Victor. “Daniel Jeremiah? No wonder Erick sent you to me,” Victor sighed and adjusted his shirt collar. “Alright, you know my price yeah? I’ll do it, jus’ let me take my companion here home an’ I’ll get on the job.”
The other man nodded quickly, then handed Victor an envelope, which Victor put inside his jacket pocket.
She waited until the shifter had walked away, throwing uneasy glances over his shoulder. His eyes lingered on her for a second, but she ignored that. Swinging her legs off the bench, she eyed Victor, hands braced on either side of her knees.
“Take me home, hmm? I like how you didn’t ask if that was what I wanted.”
Victor whirled around and faced her. “I-you’ve never showed any interest in my job, let alone a want t’ join me.” He sat back down and ran his fingers through his hair. “I never wanted to drag you into my work love.”
Summer gave an uneasy shrug. “I didn’t want to intrude. But from the sound of it, you shouldn’t be doing this alone. If this Jeremiah makes even you afraid — ” She shrugged again. “Do yo have someone you usually call for backup?”