Page 42 of Positively Pricked

Chapter 13

To give the guard some semblance of privacy, I waited ten extra minutes before approaching the guard shack. But when I arrived, it didn't take long for me to wonder why I'd bothered.

After greeting me with a smile this side of creepy, he flicked his head toward the shack and asked, "So, you wanna go inside, check it out?"

I gave a mental shudder.No. Definitely not.

After all, I wasn't quite sure what he and the brunette had just done in there, but Ididknow that I wasn't eager to bask in the stale afterglow.

Still, I tried to smile. "No. But thanks." I glanced around. "We can talk out here, if that's all right."

"Aw come on," the guy said. "I got a space heater and everything." He lowered his voice. "Don't tell on me, but I also got half a bottle of merlot. You interested?"

Halfa bottle? I could only guess who drank the first half. But it didn't even matter. I hated merlot. And even more so, I hated where this was going. "Actually," I said, "I'm just here to give you a heads-up."

He grinned. "So, you wanna give me head, huh?"

I drew back. "What?"

He gave a bark of laughter. "Sorry. Bad joke."

I bit my lip. "Uh, yeah."

"Although," he continued with a sly wink, "I'm not saying I'd turn you down."

I stared at the guy, wondering what on Earth I should say tothat. The way he acted, this was my lucky day, like it wassohard to find a guy willing to accept an impromptu blow job.

It was definitely time to set him straight. Speaking very slowly and clearly, I said, "What I'm here to give you is a heads-up." I stressed the word, "up" and repeated it twice for good measure. "Up.Up. You heard me, right?"

"Oh, don't be like that," he said. "I was just kiddin' around." He glanced down at his crotch. "Not that I'd complain."

My jaw clenched. "Good to know."

He leaned forward. "Is it?"

I leaned back. "No."

For the briefest instant, I wondered if Zane Bennington might've been right all along in wanting to fire this guy.

But damn it, hecouldn'tbe. Because Zane Bennington wasn't right about anything.

Still, in spite of my hatred for Zane, evenIcould see that I might've misjudged the guard at least a little.

Okay, a lot.

How depressing.

I tried to think. Maybe it wasn't so much that Zane was right. Maybe, it was just that, well,Imight've been a teeny bit wrong.

See? That was totally different.

I looked to my car. "You know what? On second thought, I'd better get going."

The guy frowned. "Why?"

Because you're creeping me out, that's why.

But I didn't say it, because at this point, all I wanted was to be on my way.