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“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but is this good enough?” Omar reached into his breast pocket and pulled his badge.
“If this is an unofficial call, he’s unavailable.”
“Maybe you should let him decide that, Koudo.”
She raised her brow then looked at the badge. “Detective Henderson, I assume.” She crossed her arms and shifted her big hips. “You think you know me.”
“Just your name and a few other things for now.”
“You know what you humans say about curiosity.”
“I also know what Immigration says about Japanese people coming to America without visas. That’s right, being a demon doesn’t allow you to enter this country undocumented. So, um, you gonna keep blocking your boss or you gonna let him know I’m here demanding to see him?”
“You think you are smart, don’t you?”
“I have my moments, sweetheart.” His slow smile meet her slow glower. “Koudo, I don’t have all day to look at your lovely face.”
“Human,” she spat out as if to insult him. She slowly made her way around the bar in her spiked heels and mini dress. Her scaly legs were shapely and caught Omar’s eye, then he noticed the belt around her waist was actually her tail. “Don’t you dare get cute and decide to wander around the premises,” she said going to the stairs. Before running up, she paused and turned to catch his eye and said, “What a god damned shame.”
“Yeah,” Omar agreed under his breath, staring at her hips as she climbed the staircase. “Too bad a good looking honey like you is a crook.”
Nearly a half hour later, he came bounding down the stairs. Omar pushed out of his chair from a table in the center of the room and stood to meet him. Omar noticed the damp hair combed back on his head. He’d taken the time to shower before coming down to meet him?
“Detective,” the wolfman greeted him warily. “I’d offer you a drink but I assume you are on duty.”
“Tanaka, I think it’s time you and I had a talk.”
“Then please, resume your seat. Would you like a cup of hot tea?” As he spoke a very slender young man with two heads entered from a door that was disguised to appear as part of the wall. He pushed a tea service on a cart covered with a white tablecloth. “This is Hiro, and Atushi.” The young men looked up and smiled as he set the table. “They don’t understand much English. For your information, he is not a demon.”
“Just illegal,” Omar said, slipping to the other side of the table. He watched the werewolf across from him accept the offered cup from Atushi’s hand. Hiro placed a cup on a saucer before him. “Thank you.” After the young men had left, Omar pushed his tea aside then sat back, crossing and angling his long legs from the table.
“You think I’d poison you?”
“Hadn’t crossed my mind.”
“Then what is on your mind, detective?”
“You. I’m not going to bother asking you which one you are today because we both know it doesn’t matter. This little operation you have going with the demons is your business until it gets in the streets. By the streets I mean when innocents become victimized.”
“And by innocents, you mean normals.”
“I mean any citizen that is trying to live a decent, honest life.”
“Why did you threaten Koudo? Was that necessary?”
“Was it necessary for you to attack me and Velvet?”
“Yes! How did you think I was letting you get away with bringing her to my club to flaunt her in my face in front of my people?”
“So it is still you!” Omar rose meeting the growling wolfman. “I knew it.”
“What?”
“You’ve been lying to her the whole time. Troy never left. Or Takeru never came. It is just you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Omar saw the truth in the other man’s eyes. He realized his outburst had been reckless and outed him to the police. Now, what was he going to try to do about it? For the moment, he stood still with that dumbfound look on his twitching face.
“Why are you switching up on her?” Omar demanded. “It’s all on her account, isn’t it?”
“Since you seem to know so much, why don’t you tell me?”
“Mister, I don’t presume to know what is going on in your head. I just know this Troy versus Takeru is gonna stop. She’s not up for it and you know it. Right now, she thinks you are Troy. I suggest you behave as Troy and not give her cause for distress on your behalf.”
“You dare talk to me like I’m some punk on the street?”
“I’m coming to you man to man in regard to Velvet. If you care about her half as much as you claim, let the woman relax enough to recover. Keep away from her.”
“Leave her to you, you mean.”
“Look, I appreciate how you took care of her wounds. You saved her some major suffering, man. The rest is up to me.”
“No way. Velvet belongs to us.”
“Us?”
“My brother and me. We love her, and she loves us- both of us.”
“Okay. Whatever. Keep up the act but you ain’t fooling me. And you will stay away from Velvet until she’s able to deal with you.”
“Because you say so?”
“Yeah.” Omar saw the wolf just behind his eyes wanting to come out and bite his throat. His hand itched to grab the butt of his gun. “She’s with me. Your seductions didn’t mean a thing, man.”
“Omar, the only reason I haven’t sliced and diced you, is because I told her I wouldn’t as long as you don’t take her. If you choose to be foolish, I will have to kill you in order to claim her. For now, you go ahead and nurse my love back to health. I won’t interfere.”
“I have your word on that, Takeru?”
“Do I have your word you won’t call Immigration?”
“I’m not here to make a deal with you. I came to tell you how it is, wolfman.”
“Grawr!” Takeru swiped an arm at Omar’s head- and missed. He froze at the glock pointed right between his eyes. “I missed you.”
“That’s right,” Omar said. “Freeze and calm down.”
“How did you move so fast?”
“You ready to listen to me?” Omar waited until Takeru backed up. “I’m only concerned about Velvet today. Once she’s on her feet kicking ass and taking names, me and you can go at it, boy. I won’t bother any of your illegals unless you make me.” Takeru’s body became so tight, Omar thought the seams on his shirt were going to tear apart. “Come on, man. You claim you love her then do the right thing.”
“Fine. I won’t upset her. But you- you better not have her!”
“Yeah, yeah. I hear you.” Omar returned his weapon to his holster. “Change of subject. Did you kill Jerome?”
“I was in bed with Velvet that night and all morning.”
“Your alibi only covers the time period he went missing.”
“What makes you think he’s dead?”
“Where is he?”
“What are you asking me detective?”
“You’re kind of smart, Takeru. But then you are also prone to doing stupid shit like not taking out surveillance. What was in the trunk?”
“Are you sure you want to pursue this, detective? It really has nothing to do with you.”
“Actually, right now I’m just curious.”
Takeru sat down and drank from his teacup. “For clarity, tell me. If you can’t keep Velvet by your side naturally, are you willing to use the law against me?”
“I’ll do what I have to do to protect her.”
“Because you love her so much more than we possibly can?”
“We?”
“My brother and me.”
“She’s with me, Tanaka. She chose me.”
“You think I won’t kill you?”
“I think it won’t be as easy as you think.”
“Easy or hard. It’s all the same in the end.” Takeru placed his cup down on the table and regarded Omar with a hateful smile. “Hopefully, Velvet will come back to her right mind, and it won’t come to your bloody death.”
“I’ll see myself out, Tanaka.”
“Please, do.”