Meat

Chapter Twenty-One

Getting to his feet, Carson stretched out his back legs and rolled his head, the motion running all the way down his spine. Arching his shoulders and back, he padded in a circle and sniffed. The place smelled even worse in wolf form and he snorted the air back out, shaking the scent away.

Spencer and Vince waited by the door. Vince had been watching down the hallway for signs of anyone else while the vampire watched him transform with a fascination that Carson hadn't seen for a long time. His nephew's expression bordered on bored, though Carson couldn't be sure whether the monthly ritual actually bored him or if it was just too hard to watch.

Padding over to them, Carson jumped up on his hind legs, pressing his paws high on the wall. Stretched up, he was almost as tall as the vampire. It pleased him to see the man's eyes widen in surprise.

"I think we're ready to go," Spencer said.

Carson barked. His tail swung back and forth in a high curl over his back. Spencer opened his mouth, but seemed to think better than to comment on it.

Once out in the corridor, Spencer closed the door and wedged a sliver of wood into the top of the frame. From what Priya had told him, Spencer had spent a lot of time high before he was turned. He was probably used to places like this and the fact that junkies would steal from anyone to get a high. They'd not left anything in the room, though. Carson drew back his lips in a silent snarl. Spencer stared at him, his head cocked to the side.

"In case it's occupied later," he said, glancing between Carson and the wood he's wedged in place.

Snapping his jaws, Carson turned in a circle and followed after Vince.

Vince had fetched the car, and though they'd debated bringing it here and risking being seen, having a quick run from the building would be more useful with him in his current form. He watched through a crack in the door as Vince descended the steps and crossed the road, unlocking the car and leaving the back door open as he went to the back to dump their bags.

Carson bounded down the steps and loped across the road. He jumped into the car, promptly banging his head on the roof. With a small whine, he flopped across all three back seats, letting Vince close the door behind him, and watching as the other two climbed into the front.

Vince dug into his pocket and pulled out the address Carson had given him, handing it, and his phone, over to the vampire.

"This is the address," he said. "I have maps on my phone."

Spencer barely looked at the phone. He didn't even look past the first line of the address.

"I know the place, don't worry," he said, handing the phone back. "Right at the end of the road."

Starting the spluttering engine, Vince rolled down his window a few inches and buckled his seatbelt.

"Keep your head down, Sonny."

Carson huffed.

"Sonny?" Spencer asked. "That your wolf name?"

Vince glanced at him in the rearview mirror and behind the vampire's seat, Carson gave a nod. His nephew gave a shallow, almost indistinguishable smile, and looked away from him.

"Been his nickname since he was a kid," Vince said for him. "According to my mum, he thought his middle name was Jim until he was twelve because my grandpa called him 'Sonny Jim' so often."

Spencer chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. Carson let his tongue loll out of the side of his mouth.

He didn't want the vampire to know those things about him. Any information was too much in a case like this. However, he and Vince had discussed it and they both knew what they needed to do to keep the vampire on side. If that meant handing over some useless family stories, so be it.