Leave it to him to ask so bluntly. Smooth snickered, and Snoe ignored both of them.
“Are you all okay?” Dox said they were, but he still needed the validation. He looked Blade over and then further into the car to look at Nyght. Each of them sported just as much blood on them as Wolly and Dox. Snoe moved a little down to the back window and crossed his arms as he waited for Gunner to roll down the window. The window came down, and out of all of them, Gunner was the most covered in blood. There wasn’t a clear spot on him. His face, even covered in red, still held his charming grimace.
Snoe let out a sigh, happy that they were truly okay even if it was going to take them a while to clean up. They were going to destroy the motel’s bathroom.
“We’re grabbing a room. Don’t do anything that will bring attention to you,” Snoe warned.
He got head nods from the front. Snoe reached in, grabbing a fistful of Gunner’s hair. It was sticky, and some dried blood flakes fell. Still, Snoe yanked hard enough he knew it caused pain.
“Did you hear me?” Snoe said through gritted teeth.
Gunner’s mouth opened and his pupils dilated. Snoe was getting used to having a heavy hand when it came to Gunner. Out of all seven of the guys, he was the one Snoe had to be the roughest with. Gunner licked his red-stained lips before saying yes.
Snoe yanked one more time for good measure before letting Gunner go. He picked up some snow and cleaned his hands the best he could before wiping them off under his shirt. It was an expensive shirt, and now it was ruined. He was picking up his men’s bad habits of destroying clothes.
They made their way to the motel. Smooth opened the door for Snoe. He expected to be hit with warmth from the lobby’s heat being on, but instead, it felt just slightly less cold than outside. A man with greasy hair and a scarf around his neck stood behind the counter. He continued to flip through his magazine even as Snoe and Smooth approached the counter.
“Rooms are sixty a night, and I only got two left.” The worker never lifted his eyes from the page.
“One is fine. I prefer not using an ID,” Snoe said.
There was a slight pause in the man turning to the next page, but he quickly recovered.
“That’s going to cost you extra. It’s policy that we get photo ID copied.”
“How much extra?” Snoe asked reluctantly. They weren’t flowing with extra cash, at least not yet. And the money the guys had taken from the shifters they’d just killed needed to be washed. No matter how much the human looked as if he was willing to look the other way, there was no way he would ignore a balled-up wad of cash covered in blood.
The man held his hand out, palm up, never looking up at them. Snoe tsked but pulled out the cash he had on hand. He put to the side the sixty for the room, leaving him with a measly hundred dollars left. They had two cars, and it was a long trip to get to their next destination. Snoe placed twenty bucks in the guy’s hand. He pulled it down and sighed.
“That’s hardly enough.” He put his hand out again. This time Smooth gripped the guy’s hand in a tight hold that had the tip of his fingers turning purple all too quickly. The guy let out an undignified squeal.
“I think we heard you wrong, and I hate for some random stranger to lose his hand over miscommunication,” Smooth said. His voice was calm, and if anyone listened in on them, they’d think they were just having a relaxed chat.
“Uh, yeah. Ow ow ow,” the guy cried out.
Snoe cover his mouth, but Smooth still caught sight of it and winked at him. Smooth let the guy go, and he yanked his hand back and cradled it to his chest. He kept his head down, his eyes never straining toward them. Either he’d done this a few times, or he knew when it was best to keep out of others’ business. Snoe relaxed a little as he turned around and grabbed a ring with a single key.
“Room 26D,” he said, going back to his magazine.
Snoe left the sixty on the counter and walked out with Smooth.
“You didn’t have to crush his hand,” Snoe laughed.
“Sure I did. He thought it was okay to talk to you rudely,” Smooth said.
Snoe shrugged. People had disregarded him his whole life. What was one human? Smooth swept Snoe up in his arms and turned him around for a kiss in the middle of the practically empty motel parking lot. Snoe succumbed to the kiss; it was impossible for him not to.
“You’re our master; you don’t have to take shit from anyone,” Smooth said.
Except for Ezyrah, but Snoe kept that thought to himself. Instead, he gave Smooth another kiss.
“It’s noted. Now put me down and no more sweet words. You’re distracting me,” Snoe pointed out.
Smooth didn’t deny it as he let Snoe slide down his chiseled body. They made their way back to the cars. It was late and Snoe wanted to get into bed, but first things first, he needed to see the men they’d grabbed.
“Open the trunk,” Snoe commanded.
Blade hit the button and the trunk of the car popped open. Smooth was right beside Snoe, so he had nothing to worry about. He lifted the trunk lid, and instead of just one man and three strangers, Snoe recognized two of them as his attackers.
One being Fred, the man who’d taken off Hilde’s torture charm. If it wasn’t for him, Snoe would have surely died and never had the opportunity to make a deal with Ezyrah. Snoe hadn’t made up his mind about Fred. On one hand, he was a part of the Huntsman pack, and on the other, he’d saved Snoe.
It reeked in the back, all four naked men stuffed back there with no room for them to move, but that was working in their favor. Eyes with pure hatred landed on Snoe, and it helped ease his mind that the few unknowns had gotten caught up in his revenge. They hated him just based on what he was.
“Close it,” Snoe said.
The others joined them outside, the winter air making Snoe excited for a warm room with a heater.
“Smooth, shift and stay outside with the cars,” Snoe said.
Smooth sighed, and Snoe knew he wanted nothing more than to go lie in bed. If Snoe let him, he’d sleep all day, but with everyone else needing a shower, it was the only option.
“Oh Joker, you stay out here with him. Don’t let him fall asleep,” Snoe said.
“That means I’m in charge,” Joker gloated.
Snoe turned away from them and headed toward the dingy motel. He found the room not too far from where they’d parked and opened the door. The old, moldy smell in the room was the first thing that hit him. Snoe covered his nose and pushed through his revulsion. He’d slept in an abandoned cottage; it didn’t get any worse. There was a single bed that would probably fit only two of them, but Snoe knew they’d make it work somehow. A lamp cast a yellowish glow in the room, and the television looked as if it’d stopped working ten years ago.
Snoe made his way to the bathroom, hoping it was decently clean. The light took a minute to flicker on, but once it did, the bathroom wasn’t as bad as Snoe had feared. He’d take a moderately clean shower with hot water over the creek in the back of the cottage any day.
“I’m taking a shower first and then each of you. And touch nothing in here,” Snoe said.
“I want to get in with you,” Wolly said, moving toward Snoe.
Blade grabbed him before he could make it to Snoe.
“Not happening. Then each of you will want to shower with me, and I doubt this place will have enough hot water for me to enjoy it,” Snoe said.