Broken (Otherworld 6)

I snorted. "A prisoner of your greed."

"Trapped by my shortcomings. It's tragic really."

"Know what'd be even more tragic? If you teleported into the middle of a wall and got trapped by your shortcomings there. Does that ever happen?"

"My momma taught me to always look where I'm going."

"Damn."

"What did I ever do to you--er, better not answer that."

I glanced over at Clay, who motioned for me to hang up.

"What do you want, Xavier? I was just about to head out for ice cream."

"And that's more important than talking to me? No, wait, don't answer that either. Since you're obviously not going to play nice, I'll cut to the chase. You owe me a favor."

"No, you said I owed you one. I never agreed. As I recall, you offered the trade in return for giving me two pieces of advice about the compound, but you hightailed it out of there yourself after only telling me one."

"The second was about the dogs. They had trained bloodhounds and attack dogs."

"Right, that's what nearly ripped my throat out. Left a nice scar on my shoulder too. Thanks for the warning."

"Okay, so you only owe me half a favor, and I'm really only using that as an opener for a fresh deal. I'm a useful guy, Elena. I could really help you out."

"Uh-huh. So who's chasing you?"

"No one. Let me finish. I started thinking about this last year, that I should get in touch with you and renew our acquaintance."

"Uh-huh. Who was chasing you then?"

"A Cabal, but that's not the point."

"I'm not a bodyguard, Xavier."

"That isn't what I have in mind. This particular proposal has zero violence potential. It involves another of your...specific skills. In return, I can tell you where you'll find that rogue wolf you've been hunting."

I glanced over at Clay. "What rogue--?"

"David Hargrave. Killed three women in Tennessee. Your Pack has been looking for him for almost five months."

"Who told you--"

"Contacts, Elena. I'm a regular Rolodex of supernatural contacts. Point is, I know where Hargrave is hiding. That got me thinking. If I gave you that information, you might be willing to do a little something for me in return."

"So I do this 'little something' for you, and you give me an address, and I show up to find Hargrave cleared out a week ago..."

"No. If you agree to the deal, I'll tell you where to find Hargrave right away. Not only that, but I'll wait until you have him, and then you'll do the favor for me. I don't con anyone who can rip out my liver with her bare hands."

"What's your end, then? What do you want?"

"It...takes some explaining. Come to Buffalo tomorrow and I'll tell you."

"Buffalo? Too far. Meet me halfway, in Rochester."

"Buffalo is halfway. I'm in Toronto. Your hometown, if I remember the compound records. Hey, maybe you can recommend a good sushi--"

"What are you doing in Toronto?"