Page 18 of Feral Attraction
“What do you know about his personal life?”Rey asked.
Edgar shrugged.“He wasn’t married.An ex.Lived alone.Now that I think of it, nothing.He didn’t talk about himself.Always asked questions.‘How’s the family?What did you do this weekend?’but he never volunteered about himself.”
Rey handed him a card as she rose.“We’ll be back to get those files.”
Con nodded, and they left with a request for Edgar to call if he thought of anything.
On the street, Con said, “You didn’t mention George’s extracurricular activities.”
“No.I wanted to see if he knew.Sounded as if he didn’t.If he had, I would have wondered why he gave George a job dealing with kids.Although, I guess being a vampire wannabe wouldn’t interfere with his work.Anyway, can save that intel for later if we need to re-interview Edgar.For now, George sounds like the ideal employee.”
****
Theirnext stop in the early evening was George’s favorite drinking spot—The Gin Room.It was inside a well-known hotel chain, off the lobby.Con pushed through the doorway first.
He paused when he spied the bartender.“Well.Well.Well.”He glanced at Rey.“I’ll take the lead here.”
She frowned.“I’ll make that decision.”
Con slung an arm over her shoulder.She winced and tried to throw it off.“I know the barkeep.He’s a shifter.”
She stumbled, allowing his arm to stay put.“How do you know?”
“First, Aeternals have an aura others of our kind can read.Second, I know the guy.”
“Really?Good guy or bad guy?”
“Swings both ways.His companions can be nasty.Don’t know what he’s doing Earthside.Keep your credentials in your pocket.Understand?”
She nodded, staying put under his arm.
They sauntered up to the classy bar with its gold padded stools and rich mahogany wood finish.
“Worgan.How’s it hanging?”Con offered him a suspicious look, but no hand.
The bartender did a double-take, glancing toward a dark corner.Con couldn’t see in the shadows, but they hid two Aeternals.He didn’t plan to go wolf.Unless he needed to.
“Conall, what brings you here?”
“Little of this.A little of that.I suppose you have a license to hang out on Earth.”
The guy pointed to two framed documents behind him.One was a bartending license, and the other was a passage permit from Scath.“I’m the owner.It’s all legit.”
“Looks like licenses are getting easy to come by.”His gaze swung around The Gin Room.“This place had to cost you.”
“It did, but money well spent.”
“Yeah.I imagine.Where did you get the bucks?”
“Are the Firebrands looking into my business dealings?Cause they’re all legit.”
“Nah.Just curious why you came Earthside.”Con pulled Rey closer.She was tall enough to fit comfortably under his arm, but he felt her tense.She didn’t like playing girlfriend.He, on the other hand, was enjoying it.
Worgan extracted a glass from under the bar and polished it.“Bored.Thought a new environment would perk me up.Who’s the arm candy?”
Con had to hand it to the detective.She may not have liked role-playing, but when called on, the female could act.She stroked a hand down his chest, purring, “I’m his reason to visit New York.The name’s Rey.”
He set down the glass and leaned forward.“Rey, what’ll you have?”
