“C’mon, Dan. Give her a break.”
The tall guy—Dan—just glared at me. I glared right back. Ben and Cormac had taken up tough-guy poses, like bodyguards. I almost yelled at them to just chill out, I could handle it.
“I’m doing some research,” I said. “I didn’t expect to be here long enough to ruffle any fur.”
“What’s this about a vampire?”
This wasn’t going to make any more sense when I explained it to him. “Is there a restaurant or diner or something where we can maybe grab a cup of coffee and talk about this like human beings?”
Dan squinted, apparently confused. “What?”
His buddy tapped his arm. “I told you, it’s Kitty Norville. That’s her thing. You’d know if you listened to her show.” Dan glared at him, and his compatriot’s shoulders slouched, cowering.
I crossed my arms and regarded them. Bearded guy was a fan, which was cool. But Dan was the more dominant werewolf and had decided I sucked. If I appealed to the weaker wolf, that would piss off Dan even more. But Dan didn’t seem inclined to be sympathetic.
“I really don’t want to step on toes,” I said. “We can just get out of here—”
&nbs
p; “Tell me about the vampire,” he said, stepping in front of the driver’s-side door.
Ben tensed up and approached the guy—about as aggressive a move as he could make. Cormac looked relaxed, but he held his hands in the pockets of his jacket, probably holding onto something weaponish.
I went to stand in front of Ben, holding his arm, willing him to relax. I didn’t want a fight to start—not because I thought we’d lose, but because I was pretty sure we wouldn’t, and I didn’t want to leave any messes.
“Short version,” I said. “I got some information that a den of vampires settled here about a hundred and fifty years ago, and that Wyatt Earp might have been the vampire hunter to finish them off. Cool, huh? So I came out here looking for evidence. And, well, it turns out Deputy Marshal Earp didn’t get them all, you know?” I held up the stake, as if that explained it all, as if it looked like something other than a stray twig we’d found. “I’d have called to ask for permission first, but werewolf alphas aren’t exactly listed in the phone book.” But maybe they should be. There was an idea …
Dan’s stare had changed from a werewolf’s stare of challenge to a purely human stare of bafflement. “Huh?”
“Oh my gosh, really?” said his friend. “Wyatt Earp hunted vampires?”
“Mike, shut up, let me handle this,” Dan said.
“Yeah,” I said, talking around Dan to Mike. “I want to do a whole show on it if I can get enough information.”
“Both of you, shut up!” Dan said.
“She’s telling the truth. You can smell the damn thing all over her,” Ben said. Their noses wrinkled. Clearly, they could.
“So,” I went on. “Are you guys part of a big pack around here or is it just the two of you?” I tried to look innocent.
Dan put his hands to his temples and made a noise like a growl.
“Dan—hey Dan,” Mike said, reaching for his friend, tentative. “You okay?”
Taking a deep breath, getting ahold of himself, Dan straightened. “One more time. What are you doing here?”
“I already told you,” I said, quiet and straightforward this time. I didn’t want to push him any further.
“You’re not here to take over?” Dan said.
“Why the hell would we want to take over Dodge City, Kansas?” Ben said.
Mike and Dan didn’t answer, because Ben had a point. Instead, Dan nodded at Cormac. “And who are you? You’re not a werewolf.”
“Nope,” Cormac said. “I’m just along for the ride.”
Dan looked at us, disbelieving. We must have made a strange picture.