Page 10 of Howl for Me
She hesitates. “I met Reggie and Teddy at a party last night. One of them said he could get me a job.”
Hector slams a fist on the desk. “Fucking idiots!”
I burst out laughing. Oh, I am loving this. Those two stoners really outdid themselves this time. See, Magic Moonlight Studios isn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill production house. It’s underground, and it’s very not human. Shifter porn’s my bread and butter, but we’ve got vampires, tentacled fishmen, orcs, ghosts. Hell, we’ve got a guy who’s invisible.. You want it? We film it. And sweet Cassidy here looks like she just stumbled into Wonderland and realized the rabbit has a hard-on.
“I’m going to go,” she says carefully, voice thin and shaking. “I appreciate your time.”
Hector cuts her off, all business. “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.”
She freezes.
“You’ve walked into a studio that specializes in a very niche market,” he continues, standing now, pacing like a lion in a cheap suit. “We’re talking humans fucking werewolves. Vampires. Mothmen. Orcs. On camera. For money.”
“Porn?” she gasps, practically choking on the word.
“Oh no,” Hector says, eyes flashing. “Not just porn. Monster porn. And now that you know it exists, now that you’ve seen what we are, I can’t let you walk out and tell the world monsters are real and we’ve got a goddamn franchise.”
She stares at him, wide-eyed. Hector’s red in the face now, shouting, spit flying.
“Jesus,” she whispers. “So, you’re really a werewolf? The eyes… the teeth…”
I grin again, slow and wicked. “The better to see you with, and eat you with, my dear.”
She bolts.
Just like that, straight out the door, no hesitation.
Hector spins on me, furious. “You just had to be an asshole, didn’t you?”
I shrug, laughing under my breath. “Hey, this isn’t my fault.”
“She’s your assistant, Johnny,” Hector growls. “Your last chance. If you screw this up, I’m cashing in your soul.”
I want to tear him apart. Rip the demon’s black heart out and crush it in my fist.
Instead, I turn and follow the scent of my brand-new assistant.
Still spicy. Still sweet.
Still running. She smells so damn good.
Chapter Six
Cassidy
I run.
As fast as my legs will carry me, I bolt through the front door and out into the street. The place is way too far from anything. There are no cabs and no subway. The damn bus stop is blocks away. I had to walk forever just to get here. What the hell did I walk into?
Monster porn. What the actual fuck even is that?
My legs pump harder, my lungs burning, but I don’t look back. I can’t. Not when my brain’s screaming and my heart’s slamming against my ribs, like it wants out. I’m too trusting and way too naïve. A small-town idiot dropped into a fast, freak-show city. Panic claws its way up my throat, squeezing tight, tighter, until it’s hard to breathe and harder to keep running. I hear the door slam open behind me.
Shit. Shit. SHIT.
Footsteps. Fast ones.
I stumble to a stop, chest heaving. My lungs feel like they’re on fire. Fumbling with my bag, I dig around until my fingers wrap around the pepper spray. I have no idea how this thing works, but I rip it out, spin around, and hold it up like a weapon.
