Page 15

15

Afternoon approached as I returned to Sylvan Serenity. My stomach grumbled, requesting lunch. Bolin’s fancy SUV was in one of the staff spots, his inflatable protective bubble around it. He didn’t usually come in on the weekends, and I hoped he hadn’t brought his parents with more prospective buyers.

Logically, I knew the sale of the complex was inevitable and that I should prepare myself to accept that fate. Emotionally, I wanted to roll around on the grass, throw a temper tantrum, and demand to know why the world kept hurling so much crap at me.

Only Duncan had been a good thing in my life. On the drive back, I’d mulled over possible ways to find Radomir and Abrams so I could help him.

Why hadn’t I asked Duncan where they were staying now? Would he have told me? Or would he mulishly not have told me? For my own good?

The only idea I had was to drive around Puget Sound and check all those addresses. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was a starting point .

When I leaned into the leasing office, Bolin sat at the computer, scowling and typing.

“Are you being assailed by spam emails?” I asked. “Or applicants with low credit scores and histories of evictions?”

He looked at me. “Are those the kinds of things that disgruntle you at the computer?”

“On a regular basis, yes.”

“My parents have tasked me with putting together marketing materials for the complex. They’re determined to list it. It’ll take a while to find a buyer since the market is slow right now, and apartments with this many doors cost a lot of money. Did you know there are more than two-hundred units?”

“Of course. I’ve lived and worked here for more than twenty years. I’ve replaced the faucets in most of the units. Showerheads. Toilets. Water heaters. Door locks. Flooring.”

“Is there anything you don’t do?”

“Mold. I hire druids for that.”

“Ha ha.”

I peered at the computer screen, my Duncan quest momentarily diverted by this other problem. “I don’t suppose I can talk you into making the place sound dingy and unappealing with a horrible cap rate?”

“You want me to lie?”

“What’s the opposite of exaggerating to make something sound good?”

“Meiosis?”

“My-what?”

“Meiosis means understating something when you present it. However, it’s usually employed to achieve a greater effect rather than a lesser one.”

I’d never heard of the word. “Can you spell it?”

“Of course . M-E-I-O-S-I-S. That’s not even hard. ”

“Huh.” I still hadn’t heard of the word, but it amused me to challenge Bolin’s spelling-bee skills.

“The original meaning refers to chromosomes in gamete-producing cells being reduced by one half. It’s kind of the opposite of mitosis.”

“I don’t think I asked.” By now, I’d forgotten what we were talking about. Oh, right. Marketing.

“Your puzzled expression conveyed a need for knowledge.”

I scratched my cheek. “Does it do that a lot?”

“Yes, but I try to refrain from explaining every time. Bullies beat up pedants, you know.”

“I’m concerned you categorize me as a bully.” I smiled, but it might have been a sad smile. Before the incidents in the parking lot, I doubted anyone would have thought of me that way. At least they hadn’t during the years I’d taken the sublimation potion. A part of me rejoiced in being a werewolf again, and a part of me felt I’d lost something. My humanity, maybe.

“Oh, I don’t. But you’re tough and strong and… lycanthropic.”

“A word I don’t need you to define.” I waved at the screen, hoping the need for marketing material meant the first prospective buyer hadn’t made an offer. “How long until the listing goes live?”

AKA, how long did I have before I had to find a new job and relocate my life?

I grimaced, imagining returning victorious with Duncan and the control device only to have to move into his van with him. That had to be cramped for even one person.

“My parents are shooting for next week.” Bolin shrugged apologetically. “If it helps, they’ll be happy to provide a reference for you. Assuming the new owner doesn’t want to keep you employed. Which they should. You’re a big part of why the returns are so good here.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t manage any pride or gratitude. This sucked. I hadn’t realized how much I liked this place until I was in danger of losing it.

“You’re also more like a paladin than a bully. You protect people.”

“Thanks. Paladins aren’t the ones who have to be celibate, are they?”

“That’s clerics, and even then, I think it depends on the gaming world. But, by the way, ew.”

“Ew that I like sex?”

Bolin drew back. “Yeah. You’re… a mom.”

He’d been about to say old . I was sure of it.

Maybe my grays were showing. I hadn’t had time to dye my hair lately, and those buggers stood out against the usual black. Still, I hadn’t seen any grays in the mirror when I’d looked last. Since I’d stopped taking the potion that squelched my werewolf magic, I’d felt more vitality. Younger , even. Maybe Mom was right that our kind could be fertile longer than humans.

“You haven’t been talking to my cousin, Emilio, have you?”

“Not unless he turned in a leasing application.”

“I don’t think he needs an apartment. Middle-aged people can and do have sex, FYI. Retired people too.”

“I was going to say something helpful and encouraging about how quickly you’ll find another job as a property manager, but you’ve distracted me with unasked-for knowledge.”

“It’s because you had a puzzled expression that begged for an explanation.”

“That can’t be true,” he said without acknowledging that I’d turned his words on him.

“Do you know what your parents are going to ask for this place?” I knew how much came into the coffers in rents each year, and it was such a large number that my mind boggled at the idea of some multiple of that.

“Millions. ”

“A lot of millions, right? It’s over a million for even a fourplex around here.”

“Yeah.” Bolin probably knew the number and didn’t want to tell me because his parents would be the ones getting that insanely fat check in their bank account.

It was possible—likely—they had a loan and maybe other backers that would need to be paid, but after all the decades the Sylvans had owned this place, I still deemed a fat check likely. I didn’t need that kind of wealth, but I couldn’t help but feel wistful. If I’d had a husband who’d been more of a partner in finances than an impediment, maybe I could have gotten on the property ladder years ago.

“You’re pricing fourplexes?” Bolin probably wanted to change the subject.

“Always.” I thought I’d told him about that, but maybe he’d forgotten—or I’d forgotten. When prompted, I tended to wax nostalgic about that long-term dream/goal. “I’m saving for the downpayment on one. It’s my retirement plan. Live in one unit and have the rents from the other three pay down the mortgage until I own it outright. Then the rents can pay for my coffee, chocolate, and medical needs in my doddering old age.”

“Do lycanthropes dodder?”

I hesitated, thinking of Mom and how I hadn’t talked her out of anything. Instead, she’d been the one to lecture me. I couldn’t help but feel I’d failed Lorenzo.

“Not usually,” I said. “They go off alone on a moonlit hunt, pick a fight with a stronger foe, and die on their own terms.”

“This conversation got grim.” The old rotary phone rang, and Bolin pounced on it. “Sylvan Serenity Housing.”

I turned for the door, reminded of the quest I needed to plan for, but paused when Bolin frowned at the phone.

“You try that, and I’ll unleash a paladin and all her hellhounds on you. We’ve upped the security here and hired private guards. They’ll personally drag you to jail.”

I tried to make out the response, but the hum of the computer fan and people talking on the walkway outside thwarted my attempt. All I got was that the speaker was male and had a menacing voice. I thought of the motorcycle riders who’d threatened me and lifted a hand.

Bolin handed me the phone.

“This is one of the hellhounds,” I said. “What do you want?”

“You’re the paladin,” Bolin whispered.

“If you don’t want to lose the kid and your tenants, you keep your fangs out of this town’s business.” The speaker hung up before I could respond.

I hadn’t recognized the voice but had a hunch it belonged to one of the motorcycle thugs. And I wasn’t surprised they’d figured out that I was the werewolf around town. After all, I’d changed right in front of them.

“Sorry, Bolin.” I handed him the phone to put on the cradle. “I need to get Duncan back, and then I’ll figure out a way to deal with the miscreants troubling us—and Shoreline. You might want to dawdle a bit on the marketing material and the listing. Until I get rid of that problem.”

Duncan could help me. He was the one who’d suggested I turn into a crime-fighting superhero. He’d offered to turn my blanket into a cape and mask.

“I thought you wanted the problem to be rampant when prospective buyers were here,” Bolin said.

“A part of me does, but a bigger part of me knows I need to be responsible and deal with the problem I’ve inadvertently created.”

“Noble.”

“Like a paladin?”

“Absolutely. Have you gotten a chance to ask Jasmine about her interest in… things? ”

“Things like you?”

“Well, in activities and hobbies that I might also arrange to share. I’m working on my violin rap songs.”

“I’m sure your neighbors appreciate that.”

“I’m talented. They don’t mind.”

“Are you sure? Should I poll them?”

Bolin frowned at me. “No.”

“She played Lil Wayne and Cardi B on the way up to Deming, and she’s hunting for a new job in real-estate finance right now. I don’t think she’s got time for hobbies.”

“Hm.” A slightly scheming look entered his eyes. “If I could help put her in touch with people who are looking to hire someone with her skills, she might think favorably of me. Right? She might be so pleased that she would want to get mochas with me.”

“You aspire to lofty goals.”

“I… just want a chance. She remembered my name. Did you notice?”

“I did. I don’t think you need to get her a job though.”

“I don’t have that kind of power. It’d just be introducing her to some of my parents’ colleagues that I’ve known a while. Like… while we’re on the way to the mocha place.”

Bolin was scheming so hard smoke was coming out of his ears. I was on the verge of pointing out that my geeky twenty-two-year-old intern probably couldn’t help anyone with networking, but that wasn’t true, was it? His parents certainly had to be connected and know a ton of real estate bigwigs in the Seattle area. Maybe he could introduce Jasmine to someone who was hiring.

“It could work,” I offered.

“Oh?” His expression cheered. Maybe he’d expected me to crush his idea. “I’ll practice my violin beats too. Just in case.”

“I would.”

“Uhm, do you need any…” Bolin glanced out the open door, wa iting for the couple who’d been chatting to pass by before continuing in a lower voice. “I could make you a few helpful items if you’re going on a jailbreak.”

“More bath bombs?”

He mouthed the words.

“The little spheres that made the floor sticky,” I clarified.

“Those were Orbs of Entanglement.”

“Yeah, they were helpful. Though I entangled my own paw a couple of times. It’s hard to keep track of floor stickiness when you’re fighting.”

“I can make some more for you. And some anti-stick powder for your, uhm, feet.”

“Good. I’m going to need everything I can get.”

Bolin turned back to the computer, shaking his head and muttering, “ Bath bombs.”