“Nothing he had was in my price range.”
“Yeah, well,” Bruno said, sounding like he was going to drop the subject. “It's probably good advice, actually.”
“I thought so too”, I agreed.
Bruno stopped talking and just stood there on the other side of the bar, hands on his hips and feet, watching Carla and I work. I didn't want to stare back at him, so I turned around and washed and dried as many dishes as I could. I could feel his gaze on me, and when I risked a glance at Carla I could tell by the look on her face that he was still watching us.
“Zoe?” He asked at last.
“Yeah boss?” I asked casually, pushing as much sincerity and innocence into my voice as I could possibly muster.
“These animals that you're worried about…”
“Yeah?”
“Are you more afraid of a Bear, or a Wolf?”
Even though my back was to them, I froze. This wasn't some casual interrogation. This was so much more. He was asking about my loyalty, and I realized that the Wolf I'd seen run past me had been him .
The Wolf pack was probably exactly that, and the drunk I had been serving for the past few weeks in the corner was in reality a Bear. I didn't know how they could change, and I didn't know why. All of that was superfluous. They could change forms, look like men and then become animals. It was real, and that was all that mattered.
I shrugged, slowly turning around to face him. “To be perfectly honest, they all scare me witless,” I answered. I “just want to be in here where I can do my job, earn my money, and go home. That's it. Nothing more.”
He watched me closely, and I could see my fate being weighed in his eyes. Finally he grunted, the decision made. “That sounds like an excellent plan,” he told me. “Make sure you do just that.”
“Yes, Bruno,” I told him, nodding. “I think I'll do exactly that.”
He glanced at Carla, then back at me before leaving, closing the broken door behind him as best he could. Once he was gone, the light and the wind and snow still drifted in, and whatever hope I had of seeing my mysterious stranger drifted out.
8
That night was a strange one. Carla and I worked our asses off as usual, but neither she nor I had to dodge grabbing hands or pretend to like the winks and muttered comments as we served our customers. The Wolf pack was there in full force, though now there were only eight of them including Bruno.
And they seem worried . Obviously Everly was gone, but some of their other regulars were also missing. What's more, they weren’t talking about it. This was a group of guys I'd seen verbally accost a guy all night for showing up late, and now three or four of their stalwarts were completely absent and it wasn't commented on at all.
Something was going on. The look in Bruno’s eyes told me that a storm was coming. He wasn’t scared, but I could tell that things had gone to a whole new level. His roving eyes scanned the crowd all night, and by the look on his face he was cataloguing every comment he overheard, the body language of every person that came and bought the Wolf pack a drink or shook their hands or lied through their teeth when they said they were sorry about what had happened to Everly.
A worried Bruno was even more frightening than a confident one. I knew that he was capable of anything, and if he was going to be dangerous, it was to those that crossed them.
Did that include me? Had I been disloyal by finding Everly’s body? Had he seen me, because if he did, I was probably already as good as dead…
The night wore on, and as hard as I worked and as well as I was tipped, I couldn't wait for the night to be over. The Wolf pack left together, something I'd never seen them do. The fact that they were seeking strength in numbers told me all I needed to know.
Whatever had happened to Everly, they weren’t going to let it happen to them.
What could make a man that could turn into a Wolf this scared? I didn't know, but something in my gut
“Yeah, well,” Bruno said, sounding like he was going to drop the subject. “It's probably good advice, actually.”
“I thought so too”, I agreed.
Bruno stopped talking and just stood there on the other side of the bar, hands on his hips and feet, watching Carla and I work. I didn't want to stare back at him, so I turned around and washed and dried as many dishes as I could. I could feel his gaze on me, and when I risked a glance at Carla I could tell by the look on her face that he was still watching us.
“Zoe?” He asked at last.
“Yeah boss?” I asked casually, pushing as much sincerity and innocence into my voice as I could possibly muster.
“These animals that you're worried about…”
“Yeah?”
“Are you more afraid of a Bear, or a Wolf?”
Even though my back was to them, I froze. This wasn't some casual interrogation. This was so much more. He was asking about my loyalty, and I realized that the Wolf I'd seen run past me had been him .
The Wolf pack was probably exactly that, and the drunk I had been serving for the past few weeks in the corner was in reality a Bear. I didn't know how they could change, and I didn't know why. All of that was superfluous. They could change forms, look like men and then become animals. It was real, and that was all that mattered.
I shrugged, slowly turning around to face him. “To be perfectly honest, they all scare me witless,” I answered. I “just want to be in here where I can do my job, earn my money, and go home. That's it. Nothing more.”
He watched me closely, and I could see my fate being weighed in his eyes. Finally he grunted, the decision made. “That sounds like an excellent plan,” he told me. “Make sure you do just that.”
“Yes, Bruno,” I told him, nodding. “I think I'll do exactly that.”
He glanced at Carla, then back at me before leaving, closing the broken door behind him as best he could. Once he was gone, the light and the wind and snow still drifted in, and whatever hope I had of seeing my mysterious stranger drifted out.
8
That night was a strange one. Carla and I worked our asses off as usual, but neither she nor I had to dodge grabbing hands or pretend to like the winks and muttered comments as we served our customers. The Wolf pack was there in full force, though now there were only eight of them including Bruno.
And they seem worried . Obviously Everly was gone, but some of their other regulars were also missing. What's more, they weren’t talking about it. This was a group of guys I'd seen verbally accost a guy all night for showing up late, and now three or four of their stalwarts were completely absent and it wasn't commented on at all.
Something was going on. The look in Bruno’s eyes told me that a storm was coming. He wasn’t scared, but I could tell that things had gone to a whole new level. His roving eyes scanned the crowd all night, and by the look on his face he was cataloguing every comment he overheard, the body language of every person that came and bought the Wolf pack a drink or shook their hands or lied through their teeth when they said they were sorry about what had happened to Everly.
A worried Bruno was even more frightening than a confident one. I knew that he was capable of anything, and if he was going to be dangerous, it was to those that crossed them.
Did that include me? Had I been disloyal by finding Everly’s body? Had he seen me, because if he did, I was probably already as good as dead…
The night wore on, and as hard as I worked and as well as I was tipped, I couldn't wait for the night to be over. The Wolf pack left together, something I'd never seen them do. The fact that they were seeking strength in numbers told me all I needed to know.
Whatever had happened to Everly, they weren’t going to let it happen to them.
What could make a man that could turn into a Wolf this scared? I didn't know, but something in my gut
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