Page 133 of My UnTrue Love
“I’m not tryin’ to steal her from you. It’s not like that.” Luke shook his head emphatically. “I just like how nice she is.And how she listens to my music. And how she’s really smart. I thought maybe you could let me be near her sometimes. I swear I wouldn’t hurt her. I just…” He trailed off with an uncomfortable shrug.
“Your coyote’s new and it wants a momma.” Bill diagnosed. “You think she’s the perfect one.”
“No.” Luke scoffed in a very quick and overly dismissive tone. “I’m too old for that shit.”
Bill looked skeptical. “Well, I’m fixin’ to share my mate’s attention with you, so you’d better be real sure about what it is youdowant, then.”
“She can be my big sister, maybe.” Luke suggested eagerly. “Since we’re brothers, that makes her my family, too. I promise, I’ll be real gentle with her. I’ll be just how she thinks I am. I won’t do anything Bad to her.”
They were brothers? Yeah, Johnny could see that. They both sucked.
“But Clem canactlike a mom to my coyote, if she wanted to.” Luke went on. “Every now and then, I mean. I wouldn’t mind that, too much.”
“I don’t imagine you’d mind anything Clementine does.” Bill mused. “I’m pretty sure you’ve never belonged to nobody, like you belong to her.”
Another awkward shrug. “So you’ll let me be near her, a little bit?” Luke persisted. There was a desperate edge to the question. The kid might start begging if Bill took Clem away from him and his beast.
Bill grunted. “Since you’re moving into our house, I think you’ll be near her plenty.”
Now Clem would havetwocoyotes hanging around her? Repulsive.
Luke’s mouth opened and then closed again, apparently unsure how to respond to Bill. “Oh.” He seemed dazed. “I didn’t… Um… Did Clem tell you to give me a place to stay?”
“My wife and I communicate on a higher artistic plane.” Bill boasted. “We understand things without having to say them aloud. Also, Woody’s evicted you from your apartment, ‘cause you don’t pay rent. Where else you gonna go?”
“I don’t know. I could figure it out, though.”
Bill arched a brow. “It’s figured. You can have Clem’s old room. She’s sleepin’ in mine now, anyway.”
Johnny made a snarling sound of frustration.
“Thanks.” Luke got out. “For real. Thank you, Bill.”
Bill patted his shoulder. “You can help me guard Clementine. We’ll see how thankful you are after you see what kind of mayhem that woman brews up on a daily basis.”
“You’d… trust me to defend your mate?” The kid made it seem like that was a huge, special honor for coyotes.
Maybe it was. They were basically dogs.
Bill considered things for a beat. “Yeah, I will.”
Luke’s shoulders straightened and he somehow looked even taller. “Ya know, at first I thought she should be with some nice guy, but now I get why that’s too risky. You’re right. Clem gets into a lot of trouble. Some friendly, happy fella wouldn’t be able to keep her safe. Not like you could.” He bobbed his head. “And I’ll help you.”
“I’ll always put Clem first.” Bill concurred. “You do the same. And we’ll figure out how to be brothers as we go along. Deal?”
“Deal!” Luke nodded again, pleased and flattered. “Yeah. Okay. I can do that. I’ll go watch her, right now.” He moved closer to Clementine, like she was the sun and he was dying to get warm.
It was pathetic how far Clem had fallen. Her hair might be beautiful, but she didn’t deserve to be Johnny’s True Love. All muses were trashy, and she was the worst of them. Nothing but a whore for monsters.
But those monsters were loyal to her.
Even if Johnny survived being sent to prison for the twenty felonies that he’d barely even committed, the coyotes would eventually find a way to kill him. They were villains. Their vile pack would slaughter Johnny, no matter where he went. It was obvious!
He scrubbed a hand over his chapped lips, nervously picking at the dried skin. Did they think he was just going to wait for them to come for him? Did they think he was weak?
On the street, Tony Beaver watched Bill from the corner of his eye. “You’re a better man than I figured you were.” The words sounded grudgingly contrite. “I don’t guess I mind so much that you married Clem.”
Bill slanted him a look. “If you think I’m gonna share her attention with you too, you’re dreaming.”
