Page 91 of Tested

Of course he did. “And do you know why he might want to kill Adaline and the others?”

It’s Joey DelMarco who answers me. “Because he sold them the drugs and he tried to have sex with Donna while she was high. He freaked her out so bad she ran off a dock to get away from him.”

“You don’t know that, Joey,” his mother says.

“Yes I do. Adaline told me that much. That night on the pier, they were all drunk and stoned and whatever. When Donna fell in, the girls told Smith to run to the nearest pay phone. He was the football player, you know? The fastest runner. Monica dove in after Donna, but between the drugs and the current, she couldn’t get there fast enough.”

He sighs like he’s exhausted by the story. “None of them were at fault, but they all were. They were all high, wasted, stupid kids.”

“So why start killing them now?”

“The job. He relocated to San Diego until he got that supernatural liaison thing. I guess Adaline and Kitten ran into him at some fundraiser and he threatened them if they told anyone what had happened that night.”

“But they told you he’d threatened them.”

He nods, his eyes fading into something more human. “Kitten did, after Monica died. She figured if something happened to her, I’d have the strongest motivation to get to Smith.”

Feeling like all kinds of jackass, I do my best to revamp my plan. “Are you sure he won’t know where your hiding place is?” I ask the parents.

They share another glance. “Yes,” Bobby says. His confidence almost convinces me.

“All right. Joey and I will find a hotel room where Smith won’t think to look, and you two go to ground. Give me a couple days to solve this thing before you come out.”

Joey sputters a string of protests, but I ignore him. Bobby and Sheila stand, their arms around each other. I grab Joey’s elbow hard enough to get his attention.

“Fuck off.” He tries to jerk away but my grip is too tight.

“Say good-bye to your parents, junior. We’ve got a shark shifter to fight.”

“I want to stay here.”

“Should have thought of that before you offered to trade Smith’s name for twenty thousand.”

He starts to laugh. “What?” I ask.

“It worked. If I hadn’t done something to get his attention, you’d still be flailing.”

“Good point.” I steer him out of the house and aim him at the Taurus. “And in return for that, I’ll do my best to keep you alive.”

“You couldn’t even let me get an overnight bag?”

I sigh. “And give you the chance to shift and disappear? I don’t think so.” Swinging the passenger door wide, I shove him toward the seat.

“I could just shift right now,” he snarls.

“You could.” I grab his elbow again and reach across him to the glove box. There’s a set of silver cuffs, real silver, not one of Trajan’s toys. Before he can mount a defense, I have them clapped on his wrists. “But now you can’t.”

He starts to thrash, describing in detail all the ways reasons he wants to see me dead. I pull out my gun. “Look, here’s the deal. You made a stupid decision and now you have to pay the price. You can come with me and I’ll do my best to keep you safe, or you can keep carrying on and I’ll save Smith the effort and kill you myself.”

“You won’t.”

I squeeze the trigger. “Try me.”

My sincerity must have convinced him, because he settles back in his seat, tongue flicking. Taking advantage of his momentary calm, I slam the door and make a run for the driver’s seat. He’s still muttering as I buckle myself in. “Now, I’m going to start the engine, and we’ll find someplace safe for tonight.”

He doesn’t respond, so I take that as a yes and put the car in gear.