“I have a cousin with a jewelry business near the campus. Why?”
“Could you pick up a little extra for me?”
“Sure, thing, what do you need?”
I took a piece of paper from my shirt pocket and passed it to Earl. The older man unfolded the paper and gave it a precursory check. His eyebrows rose. “That’s a lot of silver.”
“Can you get it?” I asked.
“Sure, if Walt doesn’t have it in stock, he’ll know where to get it.”
“We’ll swing back by after lunch. Will that be enough time?”
Earl glanced at the clock over the door and nodded. “Sure, anytime after lunch. I’ll give Walt a call.”
As we returned to the van, Gail asked, “What was that about?”
“What? The silver? Can’t I buy you a present?”
Gail's eyebrows knitted and she stared at me, but I shook my head. “Don’t spoil my surprise.”
She grumbled, deep in her throat and then said, “Okay, it’s your call, but you should know that hunters don’t like surprises.”
I laughed briefly and then wondered why I was so able to laugh around Gail. Some of it may have been from happy memories, but years had passed and the revelations of the last twenty-four hours were nothing to be amused about. Yet, I found myself cheerful, happier than any time since I had left the Army. While she cranked the van and shifted into reverse, I studied her carefully. She had a maturity about her that she hadn’t shown six years ago. It wasn’t just physical, but that was definitely a part of it. Her demeanor showed much more maturity than the teenager who had shown me so much in the brief year we had together. With the things she hunted, I shouldn’t be surprised. Afghanistan was an experience that made men out of boys, but Gail, in her teens had hunted werewolves, ghouls, and the good Lord only knew what else. In terms of growing up, her experiences had to be at least equivalent to mine.
God, but I had missed her.
We drove south on Memorial Drive for several miles and within sight of the Tennessee River Bridge, I motioned for Gail to pull off the road to the right. Gail followed my directions and parked in front of a nondescript store.
Gail turned off the engine and looked at me, her face curious.
I smiled. “So, what do you think about bondage?”
Chapter 6 – Leather and Lace
Gail looked from me to the front of the store. The windowless, plain white, block building had a simple sign above the door: Adult Intimacies.
Her head swiveled back to face me. Her eyebrows pinched down. “Bondage? That’s your big plan for tonight? You’re going to tie me up and hope I can’t get free when I change? I thought you were just going to lock me up in a basement or someplace I couldn’t get out.”
I shook my head. “I thought about that and decided it wasn’t good enough. We’re trying to keep you from changing, thus the silver, then I want you restrained so you can’t hurt anyone, particularly me. I don’t know what facility could hold you so I thought ...”
Gail turned sideways on the van seat to face me, her face serious. “Look, werewolves are more than big ass wolves. They’re strong, as you saw last night, incredibly fast, and have some memory of being human.”
“Memories? How so?”
“The younger ones, those recently turned; seem to remember nothing of mankind other than it’s a threat to the wolf. They’ll avoid people just like real wolves unless they feel threatened or they’re hungry. As they age, they seem to be able to keep more and more of their human memories when they change. They remember people they don’t like, they can open doors, figure out traps and locks, and pretty much surprise the hell out of you when you find they’re hunting the hunter.”
I nodded. “Okay, no super strength, but didn’t I see hands on that guy last night?”
“Their hands are more like what you’d see in some movie version of a werewolf. They can grip, but their fingers are short and end in mucho serious claws, as I’m sure you remember.”
I raised a hand to my chest. “Yeah, I remember.”
Gail looked out the windshield toward the plain storefront. “So, how long have you been into B&D?”
I jerked back in surprise. “What? No, it’s nothing like that. I just did some research on restraints. After looking at what this shop sold, I thought it would be more comfortable than just handcuffs or duct tape. I’m not looking for anything more than restraining you as painlessly as possible.”
“Yeah, right.” Gail stared out the windshield for a minute without speaking. Then she turned back to me. “Okay, I told you I’d give you your chance to keep me safe and protect innocents from me. If this is your plan, I’ll go along. Who knows, maybe it’ll work.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said as I opened my door and stepped out. When I started to close the door, I found that Gail hadn’t moved. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“You want me to help you shop for ropes and chains? Jesse, what use would I be?” Gail sounded incredulous.
I leaned back across the passenger seat and took her hands in mine. “It’s not just ropes and chains, besides I’ll need your size and your opinion. I want you to be comfortable.”
Gail gave me a skeptical look, but after a moment, she shrugged, pulled her hands from mine, and climbed out of the van on her side. I walked to the shop’s door and opened it for her. She stopped beside me and raised her eyes to meet mine. She stared as though she was looking for something, and then said, “This had better not be just some dominance fantasy of yours. If I catch you with a boner, I’m going to bust your balls.”
I gave her my best wide-eyed innocence and raised my right hand in a scout salute.
