Sebastian Sumners would somehow pay for his transgressions. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“You’re going to have to prove it to me, Miss Murder Mittens.”
I dug through the pile of junk at my feet for my new laptop, which I’d converted to be my work laptop at Sebastian’s recommendation, as he had opinions about the old one. Which had, thanks to those opinions, died a terrible death in a disturbingly sexy fashion.
I was a lynx to the core, and watching the lion dismantle it with his bare hands while naked had done me in—and gotten Sebastian his way. And would result in me finding old laptops he could tear apart while I watched, drooling over the flex of his muscles.
The lion couldn’t be permitted to get away with challenging me. My need to win stirred my virus, and as the game involved Sebastian, she settled in to enjoy the ride. “And how do you expect me to prove it, Mr. Mane?”
“I have a present for you, and I expect you to accept it in front of your entire family without looking horrified I got you something. No horror, no self-deprecation, nothing negative. You must be delighted you received a present. And since you’re receiving a gift from a lion, that’s something special. I mean, lions are truly selfish, and lions do not just get presents for anybody.”
Somehow, he would pay. “What do you mean I can’t be horrified you got me something and decided to show it to me in front of my entire family?”
“If you have no problems accepting gifts, you should be delighted I got you a present. I’m okay if you don’t shower me with public gratitude, but if you have no problems accepting gifts, this should be easy for you.”
“Evil, wicked lion!”
“But you don’t have a problem accepting gifts,” he teased.
“You will pay for this,” I muttered.
“But will you be in my bed while naked while you’re making me pay for my various transgressions?”
“Actually, yes.”
“I don’t see the problem.”
Neither did I. “What were we arguing about again?”
“How best to get proof that Stefan Loureni, our current top suspect in the serial killing of women in a disturbing copy-cat style of Jack the Ripper, is actually the one behind the murders. And if he isn’t, who is.”
“How’d you get a suspect name?”
“I glanced at the case file this morning before we checked out. That’s an upgrade from a week ago, where I had four or so suspects to work with, Loureni being one of them. I believe the FBI did a full profiling of the victims and found connections with him, but that’s not actual admissible proof—all it proves is he has had some form of contact with all of the victims before their disappearances. Most importantly, he’s the only person who has had some form of contact with all of the victims. Since that is the strongest lead the FBI has, the CDC opted for you to work your magic on this case. Considering the number of bodies turning up, how they’re turning up, and the lack of any children being located, dead or alive, they thought it warranted involving you.”
“At a huge cost to them.”
“It’s not a huge cost to them when it’s CDC employees handling the operation. Sure, there’s some general expenses associated with your procedure, but the specialists are in the CDC’s employ, and paying them for a day’s worth of work to put an end to a serious problem is small change to them. A lot of the expense associated with your operation is to personnel, since they run a heightened chance of contracting lycanthropy during the procedure. The actual cost of the procedure is a fraction of what you’d pay for it.”
“Because it’s not medically necessary. I know. It’s also a pain in the ass to tame the virus, there will be a team of like ten skilled surgeons making sure everything goes right, and then I need a fortune of skin products afterwards and an amorous lion to keep my virus tamed while I heal. That’s expensive, especially for something not medically necessary.”
“According to what the CDC has told me, the actual direct cost of your procedure is two hundred thousand, and that excludes the hourly rate for the surgeons and the use of hospital equipment. In disposable supplies.”
I squeaked. “It’s that much in disposable supplies?”
“Yeah, that surprised me. The cream is some seriously impressive stuff. It requires the highest grade neutralizers I guess, and that stuff is not cheap, and considering how much of the cream you need, your care enters orbit. That base cost is going up dramatically, because that assumed only your face and neck.”
“Maybe we should gift wrap the body and add a little bow.”
“At least you didn’t try to convince me you’re not worth that much.”
“Well, I don’t really care if others don’t think I’m worth that much. I think having a fixed face is worth that much. I just couldn’t afford it.”
“This makes sure everyone walks away happy. So, get that laptop rolling and start reviewing the documents. I asked for everything the CDC, FBI, and general law enforcement has on Loureni to be sent to you. After how good of a time we had in Cincinnati, I think we’ll go to a spa-styled resort in his hunting grounds. Depending on the situation, we’ll come up with a cover story for why I’m around.”
“Or we see if they have any connecting rooms and we reserve both, so you’re spending all of your time with me, although you’re technically in the room next door. But really, I have no intention of bringing him to where I will be sleeping.” I snorted while booting the laptop. “With you, in case it wasn’t obvious. Lions are slow in addition to selfish.”
“I owe you a roar for that one, but I’d rather not accidentally damage something in your father’s truck. While I can afford to replace it, I’d rather spend that money elsewhere.”
“Good move. I’d probably cry if we damaged my daddy’s truck. I’m trying to figure out how to steal it. I also made the mistake of telling my family they could replace my piece of shit car. After that watch, those assholes can’t afford to replace my junker.”
“If they got you a vehicle, just repay them at Christmas. Seed their presents with cash. If they ask how you got the money, just say you mugged me for the cash out of my wallet at your leisure. Henry will tell them I can afford it, and that’ll end that. If you want payback, just do what they did to you. Get them things they need but may not be able to afford. You’ll eventually get busted being a bounty hunter. Your uncle is smart, and he’ll put the pieces together, especially if he ever gets low-grade access to my file. Which will state I’m in a permanent relationship with a hunter I’m handling.”
Crap. “I didn’t realize they put that in the files.”
“Don’t sound so worried. It’s fine. Henry isn’t stupid, and I have almost as good of a track record as you do. He knows if I’m handling you, I’ve made your job as safe as possible. I do not like losing those in my care.”
“You have, haven’t you?”
“You don’t get to my level without having lost somebody. They, being the powers that be, won’t promote someone until they’ve undergone a true trial by fire—and that involves losing someone on the job. How we handle it often determines how we’re promoted, assuming we are promoted. Henry only recently got his promotion.”