Page 40 of Mate
“You wanna be my cousinthatbad, huh?”
I roll my eyes. “You know, being all secretive and mastermind- y is not really as charming as you— ”
“Relax. I’m not taking you back to the Southwest.” He must know that I’mthisclose to hugging him, because he leans closer and orders, “Dial it down.”
“What?”
“That look— like I’m about to take you to the shelter to pick out a new kitten. It’s not going to be fun. I won’t put you up in another isolated cabin in the middle of nowhere.”
“Where are we going, then?”
“You said you want to be bait.” His smile is anything but pleased. “Time to put you on a hook, killer.”
“YOU NEED TO EAT,” HE SAYS ONCE THE CAR IS OUT OF THEdriveway.
I stare up at the hemlock-spruces that line the road, nose pressed against the cool glass, and murmur, “I’m good.”
The thing about this place is: the farther north we push, the more beautiful it gets. Dramatic. A little mysterious. Lush and rich. I spot a million shades of green. Everything towers. Endless jutting trees, spongy moss, water flowing always, everywhere, vibrant and otherworldly and soalive, it makesmefeel alive, too.
“You’re lots of things, andgoodis not one of them.”
I glance at Koen, who’s not unlike the landscape: outdoorsy and remote and moody. Wild and overcast. “Must be nice,” I muse.
“What?”
“Being you. Knowingeverything.”
“It is, yeah,” he agrees.
“Any other unfulfilled strata in my pyramid of need that I should know about?”
“You’re sleep deprived. A little dehydrated. But the hunger is what concerns me the most.”
“I told you. My appetite has been— ”
“Low. That’s fine. We’ll find something you can keep down.”
Behaviors like this used to be an instant date-ender—Yeah, youdowant another drink;I promise you’ll love this movie;You need someone who really gets you, babe, let me take care of you. But with Koen, they don’t really faze me. Maybe it’s because with my exes it felt like posturing, little kids playing dress- up. Koen, though, takes care of thousands of people. His job, his vocation, the mission statement of his entire life is to figure out what the Weres in his territory need. It’s not so far-fetched that he could take on one more person. Even if I might just be the most burdensome yet.
“Are we ever going back to the cabin where I was staying?”
“No. It’s hours away.” He scowls. “Why? Want to bring flowers to Bob’s grave?”
“First of all, you left Bob’s corpse in the very place where it dropped. He’s probably been eaten by the beavers.”
“Eh. Beavers are discerning.”
“Secondly,no. It’s just, all my stuff is there.”
“Your what?”
“My clothes.”
“I’m sure we can buy you a new burlap sack.”
“Okay, well . . . Thank you. But I have other stuff there that I can’t replace.”
“Like what?”
