It was difficult to seduce the town's bookie when you had a group of werewolf shifters on your tail. Rowena shook her head before looking up and raising her arms in the air. "Is this my life?"

"Put the gun down," Abby told Little Mikey. "We're unarmed."

Little Mikey sneered at her. "Nah, I saw what he did to Sal." He pointed at Cross. "He's carrying some sort of brass knuckles that look like they belonged to the Wolverine. If I put Betty and Veronica away, he'll shred me to pieces."

Rowena couldn't resist. "Betty and Veronica? Did you really name your guns after characters from a comic book?"

Little Mikey lifted his chin. "What's wrong with Betty and Veronica?"

Rowena shrugged. "I don't know. I just figured you would have given them more intimidating names."

Little Mikey made a scoffing noise. "Have you ever seen the way Betty and Veronica fight over Archie? They can be pretty intimidating when they want to be."

"Can we please stop talking about the names of his guns?" Cross roared. He pointed at Rowena and Abby. "What are you two doing here? I gave you strict orders not to leave Howler."

Abby cleared her throat. "Well, you see...it's the funniest thing. Rowena told me she wanted—no, needed. Yes, she needed to pawn her crystal ball. She asked for a ride and I knew you wouldn't want her to leave unattended...so I brought her here. The end."

Cross grunted. "No, it is not the end. I want to know why you thought it was okay to disobey me, Abby."

"Whoa," Little Mikey chuckled. "Disobey? This guy clearly hasn't heard of women's lib."

Rowena nodded.

"Do you mind? I asked her a question," Cross snapped.

"Well, I have a question. How did you know we'd be here?" Rowena asked. Her hands were on her hips. "Did you follow us? And what is with you calling me your woman? I am not your woman! I barely know you."

"You know me," Cross said through gritted teeth.

"Just because you say it doesn't mean it's true." Rowena's plan to seduce Little Mikey and get intel on Casey's gambling problems was starting to crumble. She needed to do something. She needed to start her seduction plan quickly. "I'm not your woman, Cross." She turned to Little Mikey and batted her eyelashes while trying to give him a wink. "But I could be yours, big boy."

Little Mikey leaned forward. "Are you having a seizure?"

Abby choked on her laughter.

"Rowena, what the hell are you doing?" Cross grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

"I'm trying to seduce him so he'll give us information," Rowena whisper-yelled. "Maybe I need to show some cleavage and do a shimmy?"

"I can still hear you," Little Mikey said dryly.

Cross pulled Rowena close enough to have his nose in her hair. She pushed him away. "And stop smelling me! It's weird."

"Weird fetish," Little Mikey mumbled.

Liam shrugged. "She smells really good."

"I cannot believe you two snuck out to try and flirt with this man." Cross pointed at Little Mikey.

"Not me!" Abby denied. "This was all Rowena's idea."

Rowena gasped. "Really, Abby? I thought we bonded when we broke into my house."

Cross grabbed Rowena's hand. "Rowena, you want to flirt? You can flirt with me. I even offered you my consort position."

"What's a concert position?" Little Mikey asked. "Like the violin? Can you play the violin?"

"You never explained why that came about," Matt reminded the group. "A consort is a title rarely given."

Abby and Liam both nodded.

"I don't need to be a consort. I can figure out what happened all by myself," Rowena said, sticking out her chest.

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Abby asked. "You just said we bonded while committing a crime."

Rowena bit the inside of her cheek before turning back to Cross. "We can figure out what happened on our own. We being me and your sister."

"Seriously, how did you all find us?" Abby asked. "Were you following us?"

Liam cleared his throat before answering. "We didn't follow you at all. We're here to talk to Little Mikey too."

"Coming here was dangerous," Cross reminded them.

"Very dangerous," Matt repeated.

"So, it's okay for you three to be here but not us two?" Abby growled, stepping forward. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"That this isn't a game. Casey's brother is after Rowena. I realize Rowena is a bit of a nutcase—"

"Hey!" Rowena cried at the insult.

"But I expected you to know better, Abby. This should be left to the enforcers not little girls trying to play Veronica Mars," Cross finished, talking over Rowena's indignation.

"You expect me to know better?" Abby hissed. "Little girls? Veronica Mars?"

Abby's face twisted in anger. Liam and Matt stepped back.

"Uh oh. She's gonna blow," Mikey whispered, also taking a step back.

"How dare you, Cross Howler! Rowena and I are not pretending to be some sort of fake detective from a TV show. We are trying to figure out who killed Casey so they don't kill Ro."

"Ro? Did you just give me a nickname?" Rowena interjected. She grinned and nodded. "I like it."

Cross ignored her. "You're in over your head. You two know nothing about investigating a possible murder!"

"We are not in over our heads!" Abby shouted.

Cross pointed at Little Mikey. "You literally have a man aiming guns at you, Abby! How could you not think you're in over your head?"

Little Mikey shrugged. "I thought they forgot about me over here."

Rowena gave him a thoughtful glance. "It's hard to look intimidating when you have pancake syrup stains on your shirt."

"You all interrupted my breakfast! Pancakes are my favorite thing to eat." Little Mikey took a step forward, accidentally stepping on Sal's hand. "I don't know who you people are, but you need to go. Now!"

Rowena stepped in front of him. "We can't go! I had questions to ask you about Casey Sloane's gambling bets."

Little Mikey's eyes narrowed. "Are you undercover heat?"

"Heat?" Rowena looked at Abby in confusion.

"He means the police," Matt supplied.

"No, way! I'm not a cop." Rowena waved her hands in front of her. "Casey sent me here to try and set up bets for her."

"You're lying and I hate liars," Little Mikey spat.

A flare of anger sprang forth in Rowena. "Oh yeah? You hate liars? Well, I hate men who have filthy shirts and point guns at us. You should be more careful, Little Mikey. You're not the only one with shady connections in this town."

"You sure are feisty. What's your name," Little Mikey asked, grinning.

Cross growled, "Don't tell him—"

"Rowena Flores," she snapped. "What's it to you?"

"Flores? You related to Lorena Flores, the culandera?" Little Mikey asked, leaning forward, his eyes squinted.

"Maybe."

"You're trying to pawn a crystal ball so I'm going to assume you've got the magic like your cousin."

"Magic?" Abby asked. "I thought you said you weren't a witch."

"I'm not!" Rowena protested.

Little Mikey's eyes widened. "You're the dud?"

"Did he say stud?" Matt asked.

"She's the only one in the family who didn't get the gift. Everyone who knows the Flores family knows this."

Rowena felt her cheeks reddening with anger. If she could knock one of the guns from his hands, maybe she could kill Little Mikey. The cops would love that. She'd be a hero and maybe they'd let her off easy the next time she lost her temper and ended up behind bars again.

A ding rang behind them letting them know a customer had entered the pawn shop.

"Give me all your money or meet your maker!" A man wearing a ski mask and holding a gun rushed forward. He skidded to a halt when he saw Little Mikey with two guns and the three men who didn't look frightened by his weapon. He cleared his throat. "I can see you're all busy right now. I'll just be on my way."

"You do that," Little Mikey grunted.

Everyone stopped to watch the would-be thief leave the building.

"Did you just almost get robbed?" Rowena asked, still not quite believing what happened.

Little Mikey shrugged. "Yeah, but it's nothing to worry about. He's just trying to get experience."

"I don't even know what to say to that," Rowena said.

"You don't have to say anything. He's Sal's nephew. Let's get back to why you're here, Rowena Flores. You said you want to know about Casey Sloane and her bets? I also overheard you talking about murder investigations and that Casey is dead."

"You heard all that?" Rowena squeaked.

"You weren't exactly quiet about it. Needless to say, I'm no rat. The bets Casey made, if she made any, are and always will be a secret."

Rowena could feel her temper flaring again. "Little Mikey, I don't think you understand. I need to know about those bets so I can figure out who killed Casey. Otherwise, I'm next! Her family thinks I killed her but I'm innocent."

Little Mikey sighed and shook his head. "It hurts me to hear someone from the Flores family could get hurt. I still won't help you."

"You will help us," Cross growled, taking a menacing step forward. Matt and Liam were close behind.

Little Mikey lifted his guns. "Take another step and I'll shoot."

"You'll shoot?" Rowena hissed. "Really? We came to you for help."

"I don't know you or owe you anything."

"No, but you owe this town and I'm part of it. All your illegal gambling and criminal activity make this place a little less safe. That's on you, Little Mikey. Your business brings in bad people. That's not okay. I came here in good faith to try and talk to you but instead of helping me, you're threatening me with guns? You said you know my family but do you really know my family?"

"What do you mean by that?" Little Mikey asked.

"Oh no. She's going to curse him," Liam whispered. "The last time this happened, Reed's house burned down and Casey died."

"What was that about a house burning down?" Little Mikey asked Liam.

Rowena pushed her shoulders back and stood tall. "I curse you, Little Mikey. I hope your hair falls out. You lose all your bets and most of all, I curse you to always get diarrhea when you eat pancakes!"

A collective gasp came from the wolf shifters.

"I'll only lift the curse if you tell me about Casey's bets." Rowena smirked, crossing her arms.

Little Mikey doubled over, still holding his guns. He was grimacing and a howl of pain came from him.

The door to the right burst open, slamming against the wall. A tall redhead stepped forward. She was wearing leopard print leggings and a teel tank top. "What in the hell is going on out here? Why is Sal on the floor? Mikey, stop crouching over like that. I swear you're the biggest baby I know."

Rowena jerked back in surprise. "Gina? What are you doing here?"

"Gina, your co-worker?" Abby asked.

"The one who made you read paranormal romance stories?" Cross asked.

"Baby, they cursed me!" Little Mikey sobbed, placing his head on Gina's shoulder.

Rowena grinned and leaned against the counter, her chin in her hands. "So, Gina...is your nickname really Tipsy?"

A/N: I hope Rowena finds out why Gina's nickname was called Tipsy. Do you think Little Mikey is going to help Rowena find out about Casey's gambling bets?