Etienne (The Shifters of Shotgun Row Book 1)(5)

Not waiting for a reply, I unlocked the door and turned the lever before he grabbed my hand, forcing it down.

“What the freck? You did not just manhandle me.” Although he sorta kinda did, and I didn’t hate it as much as I protested. Damn bacon he had for lunch had me all warmin’ up to him.

“You are in the bayou, darlin.” He pointed out the window to a gator. A real live, not in a zoo, gator. Why couldn’t Meemaw live in the north, where the only thing that can kill ya is your neighbor. “Look before you get your ass eaten.”

“Aren’t you a copper?” I’d seen in the movies that police hated that word, and I’d be darned if I was going to be the only one feelin’ the awkward. Not that he even flinched at the word. He was far more bemused than he had a right to be. Those things were legit deadly. “How have you not made this whole gator-in-the-road thing not a thing?”

“Did your meemaw teach you nothing about life down here?”

“She taught me how to make king-nuts.” I stuck out my tongue at him like a petulant child, and I could’ve sworn I almost tasted him. What was wrong with me? “She said they were your favorite.” Truth be told, they were a lot of people’s favorites. I liked a good king cake, but turning them into year-round donuts was not only genius but also an economic boon for her little bakery turned town hot spot.

“Bless that woman. She was a treasure.” His eyes held true warmth. He might be a pain in my ass, but he held genuine affection for Meemaw, which had to count for something. “You must miss her.”

Nope. Not gettin’ into that one.

“Listen, Mr. Change of Subject, teach me how to not, as you put it, get my ass bit.”

“There may be a day when you want to have a gator take a nibble.”

He said it like the cheesiest freaking club pickup line in the entire universe. This place was like its own little pocket of weird. Meemaw said I would fit in well here. She was gettin’ a talkin’ to when I got home, for certain sure.

“Did you just sexual innuendo my death?” If it weren’t for that ginormous leftover dinosaur outside my door, I’d have been long gone.

“If you’re begging a gator to take a nosh, it’s not your death you will be facing.”

I so wasn’t addressing that bologna.

“Fine. Just tell me what I need to do because that thing is not coming close to stepping lively back to his swamp or wherever he lives.” True, he wasn’t attacking, either, but those teeth...shit, he had to have a bazillion.

“He got no reason to be scared.”

Duh.

“So I need to get a gun.” And learn how to shoot one, but there had to be someone in town up to the task for a few bucks.

“More, you need to watch where your sweet ass is going and stay clear of them. They mostly eat rotten meat, so you have no need to fret.”

“I’m gettin’ a gun.” I announced as I pointed to the pet store. This time he drove slowly, his eyes not leaving me until I walked into the store. Probably staring at my ass, but at least I wasn’t being eaten, which was a pretty freckin’ huge accomplishment if you asked me.





Etienne

I waited for her to move a few steps before getting out of the car and going around the back.

“Damn it all, Loic. You can’t be runnin’ around town in your gator skin. Some of these new city people are bound to call the ASPCA or the Fish and Wildlife—some shit. Next thing you know, you’ll be two pairs of boots and a purse. Now, move your ass.”

My gator was bigger and at least twice as strong as Loic. Knowing that I could beat his ass was the only reason he hightailed it into the nearest alley and shifted.

“For fuck’s sake, Loic. What are you doing here?”

He looked up at the sky and then sighed. “Nothin.’ Just stirring up trouble. You know how I love to make the ladies scream.”

He was going to make the whole town scream, running around with that hammer out for everyone. He had a worse reputation than anyone I knew, shifter or human. I was surprised he wasn’t already a briefcase.

“You got pants or something?” It was just like Loic to shift without a strip of clothing near. His mohawk stayed perfectly straight after he shifted, though. Go figure.

I threw my hands in the air and walked back to the car and fished out a pair of cutoff sweatpants and then threw them at him.

“Tansy thought you were going to take a chunk out of her ass.”

He peeked around the corner. “Teal dress. Legs for days? Ass I could just…”

“Hey. Knock it the fuck off.”

One of his eyebrows went up in question. “Problem there, Etienne?”

“No problem. It’s just she’s Marie’s granddaughter. Marie asked me to look out for her.”

“Oh yeah?” He slipped on the shorts. “Is that all she asked you to do to her? Because I’d be happy to take a shift with her.”

My gator surged toward him, using my body as the bullet. “Watch your mouth, Loic. Don’t make me beat your ass again.”

“Please. It was hot that day.”

“Bull-fucking-shit.”

“Whatever. I’m out. I found some logs I can scavenge right outside the Row. You know how people like to make furniture out of cypress.”