by Dan Dillard
Chapter 16
Ryan hung over the counter, pretending to be exhausted. Becca paid his theatrics no attention.
"Girl, am I glad to see you. Who's your man-friend?" he said.
"Easy tiger, he's spoken for."
Jason chuckled and held a hand out for Ryan to shake. Ryan took it and gave it a good up and down.
"Jason. Friend of Becca's."
"Ah. I'm Ryan, and if I don't get a nap soon, I'm not going to be a friend to no one. Good to meet you friend-of-Becca."
"You too."
Ryan exited the little room behind the counter and gave Becca a hug.
"Any weirdos?" she said.
"Nope. And that greasy man left right after you did this morning. I think he might have been homeless, just looking for a warm place to sit for a while."
"Whatever. He can be homeless somewhere else," she said.
"Technically, you can be homeless anywhere. Personally, I would hitchhike my homeless ass to the southwest where it's warm," Ryan responded.
Ryan gave a nod and walked out. Jason watched him leave with fascination until the door closed behind him, then turned to Becca with a smile.
"He's funny. I like him," Jason said.
Becca walked behind the counter in the lobby, "Yep. Always entertaining."
She flipped pages on the counter and then punched buttons on the computer. Before long, she looked as if she was in the zone, doing a job she'd done a thousand times. Jason looked around and patted his jean pockets.
"So... what to do?"
She looked up at him as if she'd forgotten he was there.
"Right. Well, we could stock the lounge."
"We?"
She smiled at his sarcasm.
"Walk with squirrel, wolf-boy."
He followed her from table to table, wiping off the day's fingerprints, coffee rings and spilled condiments. She picked up leftover newspapers and business cards and put them in the trash.
"Shouldn't Ryan have done some of this for you?"
"I ask him not to. It's the only thing that passes time on the night shift. Besides, he worked twelve hours today."
"Ok. So what do you do here all night?" Jason said.
She continued to dust, wipe and place things in their proper place. A couple of tenants walked through and left out the front door without a word.
"Read. Homework. Sometimes I watch old movies."
He laughed.
"Really?"
"Yep. There's a TV right under the counter where you can't see it-DVD player too if I want. We have a few that we loan to the rooms if someone asks. Usually, though, I just study."
"You should be brilliant by now."
"You'd think so. I manage a three-point-oh."
She stopped and stared at one of the lounge chairs. Its blue fabric blended into the lobby. Three other identical chairs helped it surround a marble topped coffee table that was covered with magazines. It took Jason a moment to notice that she had lost herself in it.
"What's up?" he said.
She didn't respond, just kept staring with a wrinkled brow.
"Becca. What's wrong?"
She shifted her eyes toward him as if he had stepped in front of a movie she had been watching.
"I...I guess I was reliving that moment. He sat right there."
"Becca. He's just a man, how'd he get in your head like that?"
"It was how he looked at me," she said. She stared at the chair for another second or two and then walked back to the counter.
Jason stayed in the sitting area. He went to that same chair and grabbed a magazine from its cushioned seat and moved it to the table. He caught a whiff of something familiar as he moved the book. Something animal, something wild. Then a cool breeze blew in the front door as Rocky walked through it.
"Hey you!"
He walked to greet her with a friendly hug. She kissed him on the cheek.
"So, this is our date?"
Jason saw Becca roll her eyes before she walked out to meet Rocky.
"Just helping out a new friend. Thanks for coming," Jason said.
Becca popped up beside him. "Yeah, maybe we can light something on fire and tell ghost stories. I'm sorry you guys. You don't have to stay. I had no idea you had a date."
She jabbed her elbow into Jason's rib to show her embarrassment. Rocky laughed at him as he recoiled and rubbed his sore spot.
"Ooh, big tough guy. Maybe Anne was wrong. You might be more of a poodle than a wolf. Becca, I'm Rocky. And we didn't have a date. I must've called right after you did because he said you were already on your way."
"Good to meet you," Becca replied.
"It's good to meet you all," a male voice interrupted. The greasy man stood in the doorway at the front of the lobby, grinning widely. Becca ducked behind Jason.
"That's him," she whispered.
Jason could see Rocky was sniffing the air, a technique it had taken him years to learn without being noticed. He was doing the same thing, and strangely, he got the feeling the stranger was also. Jason detected the same scent he'd picked up from the unremarkable blue chair.
"See, Miss Becca? I told you I was waiting on someone. I had no idea I would find them both in the same place at the same time."
Rocky cocked her head. "Waiting on me?"
He grinned once again, showing rows of yellowed teeth, stained by years of neglect and perhaps cigarettes. He ran his hand through graying hair. It clung together in oily, dirty clumps. He took a step toward the trio with his head lowered slightly, eyes focused as if hunting.
"Waiting on the both of you," he said. "We have history, the three of us. We have something to discuss."
Jason stepped in front of Rocky, reminiscent of the dream where the alpha played guard to his she-wolf. Becca stepped back, whimpering.
"We'll have to do this elsewhere. You scared my friend this morning."
"Miss Becca? I truly meant no harm to you. Forgive a strange old man his wandering eye?"
"Can you just leave?" she responded.
"I will leave, but only if your friends accompany me. As I mentioned, I need to speak with the both of them."
Rocky grabbed Jason's arm. "That's him," she said.
He couldn't deny her observation. The scent was familiar, as familiar as hers had been when they'd met at Jack's Diner. The gaze, and the way the strange man paced were also familiar. He'd seen those traits in a vision only hours before. This was the third wolf, the blue one who challenged his authority in the pack, who had attacked in the dream.
"Yes, my dear. I'm him."
Becca backed up to the counter and grabbed the desk phone. "Can you just leave-all of you? I'll call the police," she said.
The greasy man shook his head.
"There's no need. Truly, I mean you no harm," he said.
Rocky motioned for her to put the handset back in its cradle and Jason stepped toward the older man.
"It's okay Becca. We'll go with him. He won't be back to bother you." He held his hand out, signaling to the others that he would follow. They obliged. Once Rocky and the stranger were out the door, he looked back at Becca to reassure her. She was having none of it.
