“That’s security?” Ruby pointed to all the screens. Every single one of them featured a couple.
“We’re just making sure our guests are safe and happy.” Portia shrugged like it made sense.
It didn’t, and Ethan knew that. He might be nothing but a wolf shifter, but the look on Ruby’s face spoke volumes.
“How much mojo is in this thing?” Ethan asked.
Ruby nodded. “That’s what I’d like to know. Can this record? Does it?”
“As I said, it does in the common areas.”
Ruby’s face sparked with victory. “Fuckinggreat. Pull up the beach bar and the infinity pool in the last fifteen minutes.”
“Do you really think that it will work?” Ethan asked, finally cluing into Ruby’s plan.
“Hmm, anyone wanna tell me why that witch is behaving like a cat?” Lou pointed to the screen where the footage of Jazmin mewling like a cat was playing.
“Portia, can you translate that with magic?”
The older succubus frowned. “What? Do you mean retroactively translating what someone is saying? On magically produced footage?”
“Yup.”
Lou cracked his fingers together. “I do love a challenge. The Flemming side of the family tree has always been more interesting than any other.” His fingers moved with agility over the controller.
Give the man a bag of Cheetos and a liter of soda, and he could be doing the fair imitation of a teenage boy trying to beat a high score on a video game.
“Let’s try this,” he announced, pressing play.
The result was terrifying. Whatever magic Lou had done hadn’t actually fixed the issue, but now, Jazmin’s words sounded demonic and terrifying. It sounded very much like the language Ocho had used on Ethan’s first day at the resort.
“This is so far beyond what I usually deal with,” Ethan shivered.
“Stick with Ruby, baby, and you’ll never be bored. That’s what Portia always says,” Lou winked at him while aunt and niece exchanged a conspiratorial look.
“Well, looks like I need a few more minutes with this.” Lou stuck out his tongue and continued to fiddle until finally, just when Ethan thought they should give up, Jazmin’s voice filled the office. It was distorted under the cat mews, but Jazmin’s voice came through.
“Of course, I was hired to put on another curse. As soon as Nat Ryerson learned that I was jilted by an Adair wolf, she tracked me down. She asked me to do a double curse on them, but she didn’t pay me enough to deal with this kinda bullshit.”
Ethan blanched. “Nat Ryerson?” he croaked just as Ruby said, “A double curse? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Well, well. The plot thickens,” Lou settled back on the couch, grabbing the now full bowl of popcorn. “Who is Nat Ryerson?”
“She’s an ex, isn’t she?” Ruby guessed.
Ethan placed his hand on her shoulder. “No. She isnotan ex. She’s worse. She’s the dev …”
Lou cackled loud. “Devil. You were gonna call her the devil. That’s a compliment in some circles, wolf!” He was teasing, his eyes glimmering mischievously.
“There is no way to avoid awkwardness right now, is there?” Ethan asked.
The bartender shook his head. “Nope. Lean into it, kiddo. You’re new. You’ll learn.”
“And on that terrifying note,” Ruby cut in. “Who is Nat Ryerson?”
“She is a lawyer. She represents the Tagnello wolf pack. They share a border with us, and let me tell you … If there’s someone my dad had to deal with all the time? It was the Tagnello pack.”
“Is no one gonna comment on the fact that they’re wolf shifters and their last name actually meanslamb?” Lou looked at each one of them. “Well, that ishilarious.”