considering a custom job. The TT deserved it.
She chirped when I hit the unlock key and I patted her hello in response as I walked around to the driver's side door. I snuggled into the black leather seat that still retained that new car smell, fired her up, and made my way through downtown. Ronnie lived just outside of Portsmouth proper, only a short distance away. I didn't bother to call and see if she was home; I knew she would be.
She hadn't been able to go back to work after the attack. It took longer than anyone thought for her wounds to fully heal. Her vocal chords were damaged considerably at first, but did make a thorough recovery―Jay could attest to that. She was making him insane, barking orders at him while he lived in her home, posted there to keep both her and Peyta safe until the Rev was caught. At first, I thought he resented his job, but that was before I saw the way he looked at Peyta. She was clearly a perk to him. I wasn't sure that she had noticed how he looked at her while she did some menial task or talked about some angst-ridden teen movie she'd watched with Cooper. He was the consummate professional, never letting his feelings interfere with his job. I liked him a lot, and always had.
I pulled up the driveway to find Ronnie outside, emptying out her window boxes, preparing them for the fall mums that would be coming out soon. I knew being at home was making her crazy, but she was almost well enough to go back to her store, Better With Age , soon. I hoped she would make it that long without killing anyone.
“Hey Ronnie,” I called, getting out of the car.
“Ruby,” she replied cordially. Our relationship was still healing after Peyta had been endangered while in my and Cooper's care. The fact that I saved Ronnie from being taken out by the Rev seemed to have done something to mend it further, but she was still distant. Her husband had long ago been attacked by a rogue wolf and thus turned into the Rev. She had seen it happen. She knew all about werewolves―more than I did, which wasn't saying much―and had spent her life on the run, trying to keep Peyta sheltered and safe from her ex. The fact that my wolf, Scarlet, was the most lethal breed of wolves that ever walked the earth certainly didn't help matters. She was slowly learning that Scarlet didn't live up to the reputation she had, but Ronnie had survived by being shrewd and paranoid. Those traits weren't that easy to shake.
“I need to talk to you,” I said, walking up beside the pile of debris she was amassing on the front lawn. “You getting any new help around here?”
“No, not that I know of. Why?” she asked, eyes narrowing.
“He's back,” I sighed. “Our reprieve appears to be over.”
“I knew it would only be a matter of time. Keith always could outwait his target. It's why he was so good at his job.”
Keith James, a.k.a. the Rev, was once a CIA operative with a high-level military background. He'd been working for them when he was attacked. His human traits, combined with those of the rogue wolf that infected him, made for a formidable opponent, whom the PC had been pursuing for almost two decades. He was relentless to the core, and wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted: Ronnie dead and his daughter Changed—an event that she wouldn't be likely to survive. I had recently learned from Cooper that there were few female werewolves due to difficulties making the Change and competition for mating. The females tended to get caught in the crossfire.
“I'm sorry. I wish I had better news than this.”
“Not your fault, Ruby. You're the reason I'm still standing here breathing,” she said, turning to me with a tight smile on her face.
In the light of day, you could see the tiny white scars along the side of her neck where the Rev had torn her throat out. If it hadn't been for Peyta's healing abilities, Ronnie would be dead.
“So Jay hasn't said anything about more of the boys coming over to