The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1) (15 page)

Memo.

The
door rose all the way, flooding the trunk with sunlight. Xochitl squinted up to
see Tuti, one of Memo's more sadistic henchmen, staring down at her.

"We're
gonna have some fun, little güera."Tuti grinned, his fist cocking back.

Xochitl
struggled to scream through her gag. Then all was dark.

Chapter 11

CLOSURES

Southbound I-405

MILE 17.5

57 MINUTES

"¡Ay
carajo, pendejo! Quit honking!" Xochitl flipped the bird to a car crawling
past her window. It blared its horn as it slowly crested the Sepulveda Pass.

"I
can't go any faster!" She looked down at the speedometer on El Gallo's
instrument panel. "¡Híjole! We're barely going over ten miles an hour!"

"Jeez!"
Lucy jolted upright.

"I
thought you were resting." Xochitl glanced at her partner.

"How
can I when you've been shouting for the past hour?" Lucy shifted in her
seat and drew in a quick breath.

"Sorry.
But man, if it's not the giant rig slowing us down," Xochitl looked up
into the rearview mirror to check on the fifteen-foot trailer rattling behind
the Toronado, "it's the bumper-to-bumper traffic." She yelled at the
cars in front of her. "It's past nine at night. Where are all you people going?
Don't you have homes?"

"Construction."
Lucy yawned.

"But
I checked," Xochitl whined. "Why does Caltrans bother having a
closure website, if they don't update the pinche thing?"

El
Gallo inched over the ridge of the 405 Freeway. Stationed on the shoulder,
bright work lights illuminated orange dumpster trucks and construction workers
wearing reflective jackets and hard hats.

"Wasn't
this freeway 'improvement' supposed to be finished years ago?" Xochitl
grumbled.

"That's
what they promised," Lucy replied.

"At
this rate, it'll be sunrise before we get to San Pedro." Xochitl rested
her elbow on the edge of the driver side door and leaned her head on her hand. "We're
not gonna make our window."

"I'd
better call Hanna." Lucy dug out her phone from her bomber jacket. "Give
her an update."

"¡Oye,
pendejo! Move!" Xochitl laid on the horn.

"Xoch."
Lucy lightly shoved Xochitl's arm and turned on the radio. "Here, go to
your happy place."

"...and
should the two-year quarantine be lifted and California's borders be reopened?
The debate continues tomorrow on
Fleming's
Beltway Report
," a dulcet male voice said. "Coming up next on
KNUZ 88.3 FM, World Music with Malik Okombo, after these messages."

"Hound
Chow...Hound Chow...It's all your Hound chows..." The music of an upbeat
commercial jingle blasted through the car speakers. "Hound Ch—"

"Ugh."
Xochitl turned off the radio. "That song always gets stuck in my head."

"I
think it's catchy," Lucy replied.

Xochi
glared at her friend who had her cell phone up to her ear. "She's not
answer—"

Lucy
raised her hand. "Hey Hanna, it's Luce. I was hoping to catch you...Maybe
you're at Molly's...I hate talking into these things..."

Xochitl
lightly tapped Lucy and motioned for her to get on with the message.

"...Oh,
anyway...Wait, there's a beeping noise..." Lucy looked at her phone.

"Someone's
trying to call in." Xochitl sighed. "Answer it."

"How?"
Lucy pushed a button. "Shoot. I think I lost them." Lucy clicked back
to her original call. "Damn it. I lost my call."

Xochitl
rolled her eyes.

"Oh,
wait." Lucy looked down on her phone and pressed the telephone button
again. "Hello...Oh hey, Hanna...yeah that was me...I know. Xochitl thinks
so too..."

That
must drive Hanna nuts.

"Well,
we have that in common at least," Xochi mumbled, frustrated by Lucy's lack
of technological prowess.

Lucy
put her finger up to her mouth to shush Xochitl. "... No, it went fine. We
got him...Umm..." Lucy glanced at her, looking concerned.

"What?"
Xochitl whispered.

"...Well,
no...Now, look Hanna. This is Xochitl's friend and we needed to help him...You
don't charge for a case—"

"Charge!"
Xochitl knew now Hanna was upset they hadn't charged for taking care of Travis.
"You tell Hanna...No! I'll tell her." Xochitl tried to grab Lucy's
phone, but Lucy swatted her hand away.

"Keep
your eyes on the road," Lucy sternly whispered, putting her hand over the
receiver. "I'll handle this."

Xochitl
turned away from Lucy and stared out the windshield. She was fuming mad. "How
dare she," Xochitl mumbled, exasperated.

"Hanna?
You there?" Lucy asked. "Look, it is what it is. We did a friend a
favor. End of story."

Xochitl
glanced at Lucy, surprised and proud at how she'd handled Hanna. "There's
hope for you yet," Xochitl whispered.

"Anyway,"
Lucy continued. "During the Travis run, we came across what I think was
mange..."

The
memory of Feral Marley scabbed up and dying in that cave along with the word
mange
had Xochitl scratching at her
neck and arms again.

"Don't
scratch." Lucy slapped at Xochitl's hand. "Oh, Xochitl fell into some
poison oak."

"Don't
tell her that." Xochi smacked Lucy's arm.

"...I'm
almost positive." Lucy shrugged off Xochitl's scolding. "I need you
to find out if there've been any reported cases of diseased Hounds or Ferals in
recent months...That'd be great. Thanks...Yeah, we'll call when we're done with
Travis...It'll be a while...Okay. Bye." Lucy hung up her phone and shoved
it back in her jacket pocket.

"So?"
Xochi asked.

"She
understands," Lucy replied but added nothing further.

"I bet." Xochitl gazed out the
window of El Gallo, taking in the West Side of Los Angeles — a little
more difficult now that they were up to a whopping twenty-five miles an hour.

40 Miles

2 HOURS 32
MINUTES

Xochitl
stomach's grumbled, and she felt the beginning of a headache coming on. "I'm
starving." She glanced at Lucy, slouched down in her seat, her eyes
closed. "I said, I'm starving," Xochitl said louder, leaning toward
Lucy for emphasis.

"I
heard you." Lucy scooted up and looked out the window. "Where are we?"

"Almost
to Carson, I think." Xochitl yawned.

"Good."
Lucy perked up. "We're almost there."

"My
ass hurts and we've been on the road almost three hours. I need some food."
Xochitl shifted in her seat. "Almost there. Ha. I'll believe that when I
see it."

"Fine,"
Lucy said. "Take the next exit and we'll get drive-thru."

"How
are we gonna manage that with a huge monstrosity attached to us?" Xochitl
grumbled.

"Don't
worry about it." Lucy pointed ahead and added in a sing-songy voice, "I
see some golden arches."

The
giant gold and red sign loomed just off the exit. "Yes!" Xochi
flicked on the turn signal and veered El Gallo toward the off-ramp.

Xochitl
made a slow wide turn into the parking lot of the fast food mecca. A
Drive-Thru
Open 24 Hours
sign glowed neon red. Past the sign, a road curved around
back.

"So?"
Xochitl raised her eyebrow smugly.

"Just
pull over there." Lucy nodded to the empty parking spaces ahead.

Xochitl
parked El Gallo perpendicular to the spaces, taking up all of them at once. She
figured no one would need them this late at night, and she wouldn't have to
worry about backing out.

"Wait
here." Lucy got out of the car and headed over to the outdoor menu sign.

"Está
loca." Xochitl chuckled as she rolled down her window to let the cold
night air invigorate her.

She
leaned her head on the window frame and watched Lucy as she stood in the middle
of the driveway conversing with a fast food menu sign. A few minutes later,
Lucy walked around the corner of the building and out of sight.

"Hound
Chow, Hound Chow..." Xochitl hummed. "It's all your Hound...¡Ay
carajo!" Xochitl quickly switched on the radio, desperate to exorcise the
nagging jingle stuck in her head.

"Tired
of your Feral getting loose all the time? Don't want the Catchers to nab Little
Joey?" a male commercial announcer's voice bellowed through the speakers. "I'm
so tired of Little Joey getting out of his cage," a distressed female
voice said. "What will happen to him if the Catchers nab him?" The commercial
announcer answered the woman's cry for help. "What you need is the Feral
Electric Collar EX. Twice the power of a regular collar with a built-in
tracking system that will allow you to track Little Joey for up to ten miles
with extreme accuracy. EXTREME ACCURACY!...ACCURACY...Accuracy...accuracy."

"Or,
you could just shoot Little Joey in the head and get it over with."
Xochitl switched stations. "Country. No." She continued turning the
dial. "Tejano, no...Classical...will put me to sleep...Crappy rap
wannabe...Definitely, no. Grrr!" She switched off the radio and leaned
back in her seat.

As
her eyes began to droop, a crashing bang — like orchestral cymbals
smacking together — startled her.

"What
the?" Xochitl looked around. She got out of the car to investigate but
didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She tested the latch on the trailer
doors. "Locked up nice and tight."

"What
ya doin'?" Lucy said.

Xochitl
jumped.

"¡Híjole!"
She put her hand to her chest. "Don't do that!"

"Kinda
skittish?" Lucy smirked as Xochitl gave her the evil eye. "Sorry."
Lucy held up a cardboard carrier holding two huge sodas and a bag dripping with
grease. "Peace offering?"

"Those
are big-ass drinks," Xochitl said, taking the soda tray from Lucy.

"No
coffee after hours." Lucy shrugged. "Thought this would be enough
caffeine to see us through." She looked around. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing,"
Xochitl replied. "Thought I heard something."

Another
loud bang sounded as an old, beat-up truck drove toward the on-ramp.

"Backfire,"
Lucy said. "That must've been it."

"Yeah,"
Xochitl agreed hesitantly, dismissing her heebie-jeebies.

The
two women made their way back to El Gallo.

"Why
don't I drive?" Lucy winked and laughed at her own joke.

Xochitl
grimaced. "You're funny."

She
opened the driver side door and scooted behind the wheel, careful not to spill
the drinks.

Lucy
slid in the car beside Xochitl and took the sodas.

No
sooner had Xochitl pulled El Gallo onto the 110 South than they were stuck in
bumper-to-bumper traffic — miles of red taillights ahead of them.

"NO!"
Xochitl whined. "The freeway was just clear." Dejected, she rested
her forehead on the steering wheel.

"Here,"
Lucy said.

Xochitl
rolled her head to the side and eyed Lucy holding a half unwrapped
cheeseburger.

"I
think it's an accident," Lucy said.

Out
of nowhere sirens screamed, then gradually dissipated.

"What
are you, psychic?" Xochi asked, snatching the burger.

"Huh...I
don't know." Lucy opened her container of chicken pieces and dipped them
in barbecue sauce.

Xochitl
took a bite of her burger. The cheesy goodness should have made her feel
better, but all she thought about were the hours ticking by and her lack of
sleep. She ate the burger in a few quick bites, crumpled up the wrapper in her
hand and tossed it into the bag.

"Waaahh,"
she cried. "My feet itch."

Lucy
handed her the giant soda.

"Thanks,"
Xochitl snarled. "That should take care of my headache but not my feet."
She sucked down every drop of the caffeinated beverage, burped and shoved the
empty cup into the greasy bag.

"That's
the spirit." Lucy smiled and popped the last of her chicken nuggets into
her mouth.

A
high-pitched ringtone trilled through the car.