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"Would you be happier if I ht me?"
I shook my head
"But I backed her up," Larry said "She didn&039;t do it alone"
"Doesn&039;t matter You&039;re loyal to her, would risk your life for her There&039;s uns"
Larry looked puzzled "What do youpart of the conversation"
"Why are you working so da human, Jason?" I asked
He smiled and went back to his breakfast
"Answer s and said, "No"
"What&039;s going on?" Larry said
"Mind games," I said
Larry made an exasperated noise "Soun on someone who&039;s supposed to be on our side"
"Jean-Claude keeps telling me Richard isn&039;t any more human than he is Jason&039;s little display helps emphasize that Doesn&039;t it, wolf-boy?"
Jason ate the rest of his food like eren&039;t there
"Answerhis elbows behind him "I have too many masters now, Anita I don&039;t need another one"
"And I&039;ve got too ht now Don&039;t add yourself to the list, Jason"
"Is it a short list?" he asked
"Gets shorter all the time," I said
He smiled and slid off the bar stool "Is anybody tired but me?"
Larry and I stared at him The olf didn&039;t look tired--more than I could say for usto answer h to shoot hi?" I asked
"If you trust me not to eat him, in Larry&039;s room"
"No way," I said
"You want me here, with you?"
"I told him he could stay in my room on the ride over," Larry said
"That was before he pulled the olf crap," I said
Larry shrugged "You&039;ve got the Master of the City tucked into your bed I think I can handle one olf"
I didn&039;t think so But I didn&039;t want to discuss it in front of the olf "No, Larry"
He was instantly angry "What do I have to do to prove myself to you?"
"Stay alive," I said
"What&039;s that supposed to mean?"
"You&039;re not a shooter, Larry"
"I illing to shoot hi olf
"I know"
"Because I&039;er-happy, you don&039;t trust hed "Larry, please If Jason turned furry in the middle of the day and killed you, I couldn&039;t live with myself"
"And if he kills you?" Larry said
"He won&039;t"
"Why not?" Larry asked
"Because Jean-Claude would kill him If he hurt you, I&039;d kill hie you Jason&039;s htened of Jean-Claude than he is of me Aren&039;t you, Jason?"
Jason had sat down on the end of the couch on my blanket "Oh, yes"
"I don&039;t knohy," Larry said "You&039;re the one who kills for Jean-Claude He never seems to kill anyone on his own"
"Larry, ould you be more afraid of, Jean-Claude or me?"
"You wouldn&039;t hurt me," he said
"If you had to face one of us, which would you prefer?"
Larry looked at er drained away, replaced by so tired and old in his eyes "Him"
"For God&039;s sake, why?" I asked
"I&039;ve seen you kill a lot of people, Anita A lot hten me to death, but you&039;d just kill me"
My mouth was open, just a little "If you really believe that I&039;erous than Jean-Claude, then you haven&039;t been paying attention"
"I didn&039;t say you were erous I said you&039;d kill me quicker"
"That&039;s why I&039;m not as afraid of Anita as I am of Jean-Claude," Jason said
Larry looked at him "What do you mean?"
"All she&039;ll do is kill me, quick, neat Jean-Claude wouldn&039;t kill me quick, or easy He&039;d make sure it hurt"
The two ic was sound as far as it went I ith Jason "If you really believe what you&039;re saying, Larry, then you haven&039;t seen enough vah vath, Anita?"
Had I really kept him out of it that much? Had I overprotected him? Let him see my ruthlessness but not Jean-Claude&039;s?
"And I&039;ht You are not leaving ht," I said The answer seemed to surprise both of them
"If you really believe that I&039;d kill someone quicker than Jean-Claude would, I have overprotected you You have to understand how dangerous they are, Larry How deadly, or soet killed"
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly My stoet killed because I&039;d kept hi I hadn&039;t anticipated
"Come on, Jason," Larry said
Jason stood up
"No To Until you understand how dangerous the monsters are, I don&039;t want you alone with thery and hurt I&039;d undercut his confidence, his self-esteem But what else could I do?
Larry turned abruptly on his heel and left He didn&039;t argue He didn&039;t say goodbye He slae to follow hiainst the door, and whispered, "Daet the couch?" Jason asked
I turned and leaned against the door I still had the Browning intired, sloppy "No, I get the couch"
"Where do you want me, then?"
"I don&039;t care; just not near e of the blanket, running the cloth between his fingers "If you&039;re really sleeping out here, I&039;d just as soon have the bed"
"It&039;s taken," I said
"How big is the bed?"
"King-size, but what difference does it make?"
"Jean-Claude won&039;t mind if I share with hied
I looked at him, at his tranquil, pleasant face "Is this the first time you&039;ve shared a bed with Jean-Claude?"
"No," he said
It h neck of the sweater enough formarks I pushed away froh to see that the bite was almost healed
"Sometimes he likes a snack when he first wakes up," Jason said
"Jesus," I said
Jason let go of the collar, and it slid over the bite like it wasn&039;t there The sa harht, and had the face of a knowledgeable angel
"Richard didn&039;t let Jean-Claude snack on him," I said
"No," he said
"No That&039;s all you have to say"
"What do you want ht about that for a second "I want you to be outraged Angry"
"Why?"
I shookme tired"
He went into the bedrooed into a wolf and curled up on the carpet, or if he crawled into bed beside the corpse None ofI wanted to see