Greg noticed when I put my hands on my ears and winced when a car drove by blaring rap. "You'll get used to it in a few minutes," he assured me.
I shook my head. "No, I never did like rap," I quipped. He smirked and looked around us. I could hear him take in deep breaths of air through his nose. "Trying to get high on the drug fumes?" I teased him.
Greg ignored me and wandered from the truck. "No, I'm seeing if I can find Sphinx's scent."
I trailed after him and wrinkled my nose. "You can find her through all this filth?" I nearly gagged when the beautiful scent of landfill passed by us.
He sighed. "Well, it might take a while, but she had on some strong perfume when we last met her."
"I think it's because she took the whole bottle and poured it over her head," I replied.
"Let's hope she does that every night." He lifted his nose to the sky and took in a deep breath. His sniffer caught something strong because his eyes widened and he reeled back. He might have fallen if I hadn't caught him.
"Inhale a sanitation truck?" I teased. My humor faded when I saw him tremble.
Greg righted himself and shook his head. "No, worse. Another werewolf."
I frowned. "There's another werewolf in the city?" I asked him.
His voice dropped to a deadly seriousness. "There wasn't when we left," he replied.
"So that means what exactly?"
"It means things just got a lot more complicated and we need to get to my apartment and get that wolf's bane," he told me. He stalked off back to the truck and I scurried after him.
We slid into our seats and I glanced over to his anxious face. "I'm going to wager a guess and say you're really not happy to smell another werewolf here," I spoke up.
"You'd win that wager," he answered as he pulled the truck out of the parking lot. "Werewolves generally don't go into cities where others are residing, and I've made my mark in enough places around the borders to make it known I was here." I shook my head to dispel visions of him pissing on mailboxes.
"So we have a brave werewolf on our hands?" I guessed.
Greg shook his head. "No, we have either a stupid one, a strong one, or-" He cut himself off, leaving me with only my curiosity.
"Or what?" I persisted.
"Or we have a new one that doesn't know the rules or would rather take the city herself."
"Herself? You can smell it's a girl?"
"I don't need to. I know who it is."
"Care to bring me in on the big secret?"
"When I fought Sphinx I was bleeding pretty bad, so when I cut her across the face she must have survived and changed into a werewolf."
My face drooped and one of my eyes twitched. "So you're telling me we not only have a crazy lady and her gang members to deal with, but crazy lady is now a werewolf?"
"Yes. That must be why she told Servino to bring us in alive. She wanted to ask us questions about the changes in herself."
"Uh, how do we deal with her now? Is she practically unstoppable?" I asked him.
He pursed his lips together. "It's not good, but we have some hope." He pulled out the gun and cartridge he'd swiped from Servino. "Glad I kept these around, and the wolf's bane will help."
Our simple plan was getting more complicated. "How exactly are you going to use those flowers? Make a bouquet and give them to her?"
Greg's eyes lit up and a grin slid onto his lips. He whipped his head over to me and laughed. "Tasha, you're a genius!" he exclaimed.
"And you just figured that out?" I modestly replied. He jerked the wheel to the right and we went careening down a road. I righted myself and scowled at him. "Are you trying to get us killed before Sphinx gets a chance?" I yelled at him.
"No, I'm trying to beat the clock," he replied.
"Afraid time's going to run away from you?" I quipped.
"No, afraid the flower shop will close before we can get to it."
That wasn't the answer I was expecting. "Um, those are nice, but I'd rather have chocolates and a plan," I told him.
"These flowers aren't going to be for you."
"Has another she-wolf come between us already?"
"I guess you could say Sphinx has done that, at least until we take care of her," he replied. We sped along the roads avoiding old ladies and jaywalkers, but not the curbs. Those we bounced over more than once on a tight corner. It was almost five when we skidded to a stop in front of a quaint flower shop, complete with decorative flowers on the faded sign atop the door.
Greg hopped out of the truck and I followed him inside. A bell jingled above us as we entered, and a friendly old woman behind the counter greeted us with a smile. "Good evening. How can I help you young people?"
Greg leaned an arm against the counter and smiled at the woman. "Don't you remember me, Emily?" he teased.
The old woman frowned, leaned toward him and adjusted her spectacles. Her eyes widened and she gave us a toothier grin. "Rob, you foolish boy! What mischief have you come to cause this old woman?"
"Rob?" I mouthed.
'Rob' shrugged. "No mischief for you, Miss Emily, but we need your help in causing some," he replied.
She raised both eyebrows for that one. "Oh? Are you in trouble with the law again? I told you to stop mauling people fifty years ago."
Greg laughed and shook his head. "No, this time I'm on the right side of the law and it's the other side I'm against. I was wondering if you-"
"Oh, and bless my soul you have a lady friend with you!" Emily exclaimed when her old eyes fell on me. She reached across the counter and clasped my hand in hers. "My goodness, and what a pretty one." Emily winked at Greg. "You've finally found your dream mate, haven't you?"
I snorted when Greg blushed and stuttered on his reply. "T-that's not why we came here," he persisted. "I was wondering-"
"Hasn't the pretty lady a better outfit than that?" Emily gasped. Greg's mouth opened in surprise and exasperation. I was liking this woman more and more. "Land sakes, those clothes look like they came out of an old trunk!"
"That's pretty close to the truth," I agreed with her.
"Well, why don't we get you into something better," Emily insisted. She pulled me along the counter and behind it toward a rear doorway.
Greg held out his hand to stop us. "Wait! We don't have time for-" Emily dragged me through before he could finish. The backroom was a clutter of new and old plants stacked on wooden shelves. Emily pulled me up a narrow flight of stairs and into her apartment above the shop. She guided me through her dated but neat home and plopped me down on her bed while she rummaged through her closet.
To be honest, I had to agree that we probably didn't have time to play dress up. "I'm grateful for the offer, Miss Emily, but I don't really-"
"Now don't give me any excuses, young lady. I'm old enough I don't have to take 'em," she cackled. She turned around and held out a simple but elegant white summer dress. "I think this would suit you just fine." She stuffed it into my hands and pushed me into her bathroom. "Try it on, and if it doesn't fit we'll find something else."
I held up the dress and sighed. What other choice did I have? I slipped into the clothing and stepped out in time to hear Greg talking with Emily in the living room beyond the bedroom door. "Emily, we don't have time for this. Do you still have an errand boy working for you?"
"Yes, my grandson, Tom, runs the deliveries now. His father's Rob. You remember Rob, don't you? He used to run the deliveries the last time you were here."
"I need a special delivery, and it might be a little dangerous," Greg replied.
"The perfect thing for Tom. He keeps talking about how boring it is working for his grandmother." Emily cackled. "This'll show him there's worse things than being bored." That woman was evil, but in a hilarious kind of way. I stepped out of the room and caught their attention. Greg's eyes widened, and Emily glanced between us with a knowing smile. "A very lovely young woman, though I don't believe I've heard your name yet, miss."
"It's Tasha-"
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"-Garrison," Greg finished for me. I frowned in confusion, and he sheepishly shrugged. "I haven't had time to ask you yet, but I promise I'll get around to it after we get this done." I gasped and knocked him down in a hug of sheer joy. I squealed and snuggled against him, and he laughed and wrapped his arms around me.
Over us stood Emily with a soft smile on her face. She wiped a tear away with a handkerchief. "It's about time somebody tamed you, young Rob," she sniffled.
"Young Rob?" he countered.
Emily blew into her handkerchief and tossed it aside. "It's a benefit of looking older than you, so don't take it away from me," she scolded.
Greg smiled and sat up with me in his lap. He glanced down at the dress and wagged his eyebrows. "Did I mention you look fetching in that dress?"
"No, but it's about time you did," I replied.
"You make a pretty couple," Emily complimented. "And let me give you some flowers to celebrate your engagement."
"Actually, Emily, the best thing you can do is help us with our problem," Greg spoke up. He slid me off and we stood. "There's a nasty gang after us who know what we are and we need to shake them permanently, if you know what I mean."
Emily scoffed. "Do you think I was born yesterday? I know perfectly well nobody needs to be knowing about your kind except your friends. You said you needed Tom to run an errand. Where do you need the flowers sent?"
"First he's got to pick them up because they're at my apartment," Greg told her. "Then he'll have to come with us in the back of the pickup and deliver them to the gang's leader, a woman by the name of-"
"Sphinx?" Emily guessed.
Greg raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
Emily chuckled. "You don't live in these neighborhoods all your life and not know all the news on the vine. I heard she had a nasty run-in with somebody, but I never thought you'd get mixed up in her hanky-wearing gang."
Greg shrugged and grinned. "What can I say? I'm just that good."
"At getting yerself into trouble, you mean," she teased. She took us by the arms and guided us downstairs. "Well, let's stop dallying and get this done with. It'll be a nicer neighborhood to have one less gang around here making a nuisance of themselves to us respectable folk."
With our devious minds put together the trap was laid. We would send Tom in first with the wolf's bane tucked into an assortment of flowers. The bane would weaken Sphinx and after Tom left Greg would drop in for a bite to eat. Greg had smelled restaurant food mixed in with the werewolf scent, so we had a good confirmation that Sphinx was in another of her restaurants. Tom was called and we didn't have any trouble getting a box of the wolf's bane out through the basement apartment windows. The first time I caught the scent I growled and skittered back before I knew what I was doing.
"Easy there," Greg calmed me. Tom, a boy of thirteen, shoved the box into the back of the pickup and plopped himself back there with a few other bundles of different flowers.
"Are you able to make a good bouquet or do we need your grandma's help?" Greg asked him.
"I can do it, but how big do you want it?" Tom asked him.
"As big as you can make it in thirty minutes. Then we'll be at the place."
"Then I can make it pretty big." Tom got to work and we got driving.
I have to admit I was nervous about Greg killing people, especially since he hadn't volunteered me to help him. "You know, I might be able to help in there," I hesitantly spoke up as we bumped along with Greg's nose as navigator.
Greg stared straight ahead and shook his head. "I can't ask you to do that."
I folded my arms across my chest and scowled at him. "Because I'm new at this werewolf stuff?"
"Because I don't want you to get killed," he explained to me. "These guys that protect Sphinx are all going to be as good as Servino, and they won't care that you're a novice werewolf. We're also up against Sphinx as a werewolf, and young ones can be a little hard to handle."
"I try my best," I teased him.
"And your best is very stubborn, and staying in the cab of this pickup while I go and kill the bad guys," he insisted.
"Can't I at least be a guard at a door? I can give a signal if I see trouble. I make a great owl call."
"You'll have to show me some other time."
If he could be stubborn, so could I. "What if I told you I won't stay here knowing you could go in there to your death?" I challenged him.
Greg flattened the brake pedal to the floor and the truck came to a sudden stop. Tom's head conked against the back of the cab and I heard him swearing. Greg ignored the kid and glared at me. "You're staying here or I'm shoving you out right now," he growled.
I scowled back. "I'm not going to let you die alone," I countered.
Before I could stop him Greg leaned over and unbuckled my seatbelt. I tried to push him away, but he got the door open and shoved me out. "You'll thank me later for this," he called to me before he slammed the door and pressed on the gas. The truck roared away before I could grab the tailgate, and the last I saw of them was Tom weaving that stupid bouquet.
I stomped on the hard asphalt and balled my hands into fists at my side. "You stubborn jerk!" I yelled to the air. There was no way I'd be able to follow them now. Tears pooled in my eyes and I couldn't hold back a sniffle.
My eyes widened when a familiar and powerful scent hit my nostrils. It was the smell of someone who dumped too much perfume on them, and there was a hint of food and a smell of wolf in the air, too. I was close to the restaurant, and all I needed to do was follow my nose to help save that jerk from his stupid plan.
Chapter 20
I took off at a fast trot which wasn't easy in that pretty but impractical dress. I stood out like a lily in a coal field, and I felt eyes on me before I reached the block on which sat Sphinx's restaurant. I expected another rundown false front with people in top hats and dead animals sneaking in through the back, but this joint had a clean front with lights and a real door. Taxis drove up and away, depositing high-society people like overpriced parcels. The whole place took up half a city block, and above the door in big lights was the name The Grecian Sphinx. Nothing immodest about that.
I stood on a corner of a building and looked around for the beat up truck. It would have stuck out like a green farmer's thumb in such a crowd. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time before a hand wrapped around my mouth and I felt a gun press against my neck. "Scream or struggle and I'll put this silver bullet into ya," a deep voice growled into my ear. I nodded, and the guy lowered the gun against my side. "Now follow me or else."
I wasn't curious to find out the 'or else' part, so I let him lead me across the street and through the alley beside the large restaurant. He pushed me along down a flight of stairs that led beneath the building and into the basement. It was a long, wide hall with a few metal doors along one side and dim lights above us. My friendly tour guide shoved me to one of these doors, opened it and pushed me into darkness. I tripped over something and fell face-first onto the hard cement floor. "Don't try to escape," he ordered me before he slammed the door.
I had no light except the slim beam that lay at the bottom of the door, but I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Help! Help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The noise bounced off the cement walls, and they were joined by an angry grunt from the far corner of the room. I froze, and my head slowly swiveled over to that darkness. My eyesight was improving and I could see faint outlines of bars that grew out from floor to ceiling. Inside those bars lay a small figure, and from that figure I smelled something distinctly wolfish.
The figure shifted and grunted, and a pair of golden eyes fell on me. It opened its mouth to show off a nice set of long white teeth, and growled. I jumped back when it flung itself onto its feet and against the bars. The thing growled and snapped at me like a wild animal, but it had on a dark suit and I swear there were spectacles on its distended nose. The more my eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, the more I wished they didn
't. The thing was a mixture of human and beast, stuck in the transformation to full werewolf. Hair grew all over its hands and face, and its ears were pointed. The clothes were ripped at the seams and covered in dry blood, and claws poked out of the black shoes on its feet.
I slammed my back into the wall when it reached out one of those short, hairy arms at me. "I-it's okay, Sphinx, we can change you back." I hoped. The creature growled and snarled, and generally just didn't seem keen on the idea. "Or we could get you a razor. Would you want that?" I received another bout of snarls and growls for my kind offer. My eyes caught flashes of white on the floor and I saw the ground was littered with gnawed bones. "Or maybe you'd like a nice, tasty Tasha. . ." I whispered.
The entrance to the room was on my right, and in the hall I heard the clack of high heels and the heavy clomp of boots. Then the door was unlocked and opened, and there stood Sphinx in all her non-furry glory, though a heavy veil hid half her face. A half dozen of her men stood behind her with their pistols in hand, and I had no doubt they all had silver bullets.
Sphinx reached out and flicked on a switch, and the light overhead turned on. A smirk slid onto her lips when she noticed my pale complexion. "You look like you've seen a ghost," she teased.
I pointed between her and the monster. "But you-I-who?"
Sphinx followed my gaze and sighed. "Oh that. I'm afraid Mr. Swallow didn't make it out of the fight with Mr. Patterson very well."
"Mr. Swallow?" I gasped. That creature was the fat little man who'd sat beside her on my first meeting with Sphinx.
"Yes. I think it's an improvement but he seems to disagree," she drawled. Sphinx stepped inside and to within a yard of the cage. The creature huddled back away from her and sneered at all of us. "He took a knick in the butt, if I recall, and the next night this happened. He was strong enough to overpower four of my guards before one of them knocked him out."
"H-he hasn't changed back?" I asked her, and she shook her head.
"Not at all. I actually believe he's grown even hairier than last I saw him." She cooed at the beast, who lunged forward and tried to grab her. Sphinx chuckled and took a cautious step back. "He's very stupid and eats all the fresh meat we've thrown at him, but his strength is impressive." She half turned and gestured to the thugs with guns. "I would be a very happy woman if such a change would come over my smarter boys. Think what I could do with a small army of such men." Her eyes flickered over to me when I didn't reply. "Do you see what I mean?"