“I’m fine, thanks,” she muttered, but her stomach grumbled, betraying her lie, and she blushed.
Gods. How obstinate could one person be? She didn’t trust me—that much was clear—but she might trust a female cop. I turned to the patrolwoman and gave her a look. “Hey, what’s the best place to eat in Magic Side?”
“Eclipse! Best food I’ve ever had,” the cop shouted back. She’d known the answer I wanted. Eclipse was my restaurant, after all.
I looked back at the skeptical woman in the car. “How about Eclipse for dinner? It’s the least I can do. Usually, it’s impossible to get a table, but I can pull a few strings.”
She gritted her teeth. “Fine, but only if you give me answers about the case. And tell me what you know about my family.”
I nodded. “Not much about the case. But I’ll tell you about your kin. And more. Far more than you ever imagined possible.”
Her eyes blazed with hunger. Starving for information, not food. I could use that.
“Deal?” I asked. I didn’t even have to use my power. She was hooked on the promise of answers.
It took a second, but she finally nodded. “Doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere else.”
Well, that was close enough to a yes. She was as prickly as a hedgehog and as stubborn as a badger.
I was glad I’d left Regina back in Belmont. This was a risky game, and she’d have been pissed that I was taking a LaSalle out to dinner in the heart of pack territory. If anyone found out, things could get violent. I leaned on the car. “Just a word of advice, Ms. Caine. Don’t mention your family’s name to anyone in this city. There’d be consequences, none of them good.”
She tensed, and the scent of fear rose off her.
The Savage Body tow truck arrived, lights flashing. I walked away to make arrangements with the driver, but I had keen ears and could hear the LaSalle woman chatting with the patrolwoman.
“Look, I don’t know anyone around here. Is Mr. Laurent, you know, to be trusted?” Savannah whispered.
The cop pitched her voice low and conspiratorial, but she knew that I’d hear. “I’d trust him more than any other man in Magic Side. If he says you’ll be okay, you’ll be okay. But I can give you a lift somewhere else if you need it.”
There was a long pause, and I held my breath.
“I think I’ll be okay,” Savannah said at last.
“I know you will,” the patrolwoman said.
I turned and nodded thanks to the cop, though I was certain she’d meant every word.
She started to walk away, but Savannah leaned out the window and hissed after her, “Hey! Is the food at Eclipse really that good?”
The patrolwoman winked. “It’ll make you howl at the moon.”
9
Savannah
Jaxson effortlessly heaved my suitcases into the back of his black SUV.
So much for running from my troubles. Now they were giving me a lift.
I gave a last forlorn glance at my Gran Fury as the tow truck driver loaded it onto his rig. He handed me a card. “Don’t worry, ma’am. We’re taking it to Savage Body, one of the best repair shops in Magic Side. It’ll be up and running before you know it.”
I thanked him and gave my poor car one last miserable look. I’d come so close, halfway over the bridge, with only a few more blocks to go. I’d pushed the car over its limit to cross the finish line, and it wasn’t any wonder that it had conked out.
Sometimes you ran so fast, you wound up tripping over your own feet and landing on your face. That was me in a nutshell.
I sighed and hopped into Jaxson’s vehicle. I didn’t dare ask him about his keys, or where he’d gotten an SUV to chase me with. A sliver of guilt tugged at me. He could get new keys made, right?
He climbed in the vehicle and fired up the engine, and we rumbled across the bridge to Magic Side.