Alex spent the rest of the afternoon offline, looking for ways to burn off excess energy. Unfortunately, the Happy Motel didn’t offer too many opportunities for that, apart from doing callisthenics and running laps around the courtyard. And after his time in the Sacred Training Grounds, Alex figured he could die a happy man if he never had to run another lap again.

  An unexpected solution to that problem presented itself early in the evening, just as he was about to head back to his room and log into Elderpyre again to check on Fyodor. A banged-up Hyundai rolled up to the Happy Motel’s gate, its engine coughing like it had seen better decades. The driver’s door creaked open, and out stepped Carpenter.

  The no-nonsense head guard of the Happy Motel was usually dressed like she’d walked straight out of a private security gear catalog, all tactical fabrics and utilitarian cuts. This time, though, she was wearing a pretty floral dress that swayed just above the knee, paired with lace-up espadrille shoes with braided soles. It was such a departure from her usual look that Hunter had to do a double take.

  “Hey there, Penny!” Alex sat up from the old bench he’d been lounging on and moved to greet her. “Looking good! What’s the occasion?”

  Carpenter narrowed her eyes, her posture stiffening just a touch as if the compliment had tripped some internal alarm.

  “No occasion,” she said flatly, folding her arms. “What’s it to you, anyway, Rulin? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

  Her tone wasn’t harsh, not exactly, but there was a guarded edge to it; the kind that said don’t read too much into this and yes, I can still break your nose in a sundress.

  “Whoa, whoa!” Alex raised his hands in front of him, palms out in mock surrender. “I’m just trying to be nice here, that’s all! And no—I don’t have anything better to do, actually. This place is snooze central.”

  She raised and eyebrow and gave him an appraising look, eyes still full of lingering suspicion.

  “Is that so? Well, in that case, go around to the trunk. I’ve got a couple of boxes that need carrying.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  Penny popped the trunk open and Alex stepped around to lift out two medium-sized boxes packed with breakfast supplies; coffee tins, bags of sugar, powdered creamer, and the like.

  As he adjusted the weight in his arms, she locked the car and gestured for him to follow. Without a word, she led him around the side of the building to the back entrance of the cafeteria, unlocking the door and pushing it open to reveal a dim storeroom lined with shelves. Alex stepped in, and was immediately greeted by the familiar smelled of cardboard, disinfectant, and old coffee grounds.

  “Just put them down anywhere,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “God, this place is a mess. Remind me to get Bob to tidy up a bit.”

  “You do look good, by the way,“ Alex said as he scanned the shelves for a spot to unload the boxes. He really meant it, too; she cleaned up surprisingly well. “And before you bite my face off again, I’m not trying to butter you up. Just trying to be nice.”

  She frowned and opened her mouth, clearly ready to snap back—but then paused, reconsidering.

  “Thank you, Rulin,” she said instead. “Wish I could say the same for you. You still look like you’re an inmate in some kind of sketchy backwater correctional facility.”

  “Give it a few months, wait till you see me in a floral dress and platforms.”

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  That cracked her up—a sharp, sudden chuckle—and she visibly relaxed.

  “You’re an idiot, has anybody told you that?” she said, grabbing one of the boxes to help. “Besides, I don’t think you’ve got the ankles for it. Now grab two bottles of beer from that fridge over there and follow me.”

  Grinning, Alex obliged. Inside were a dozen or so bottles of cheap, non-alcoholic beer, and taped to the inside of the door was a note that read, ‘Property of Officer Carpenter—do not touch.’ It was written in a squiggly, overly girly hand that looked wildly out of place given the tone.

  Alex still didn’t know whether she genuinely preferred non-alcoholic beer to the real thing or if it was some kind of Happy Motel policy. He’d tried asking her once, a couple of weeks back when she’d offered him one, and she’d just told him to shut up. Wise enough not to repeat the same mistake, he grabbed two bottles from the fridge and followed her outside without a word.

  Carpenter led him around to the other side of the building, to her office. It was one of the Motel’s old guest rooms, nearly identical in layout to his own. Instead of a bed and a wardrobe, though, the space was packed with a desk, a couple of mismatched chairs, several dented filing cabinets, and a sagging, mustard-colored sofa that looked like it hadn’t been new since the late ’80s.

  “Make yourself at home,” she said, dropping onto the sofa with a sigh.

  “A beer and an invitation to the inner sanctum?“ Alex cocked an eyebrow. “Wow, Penny. Remind me to pay you compliments more often.”

  “Shut up, Rulin,” she shot him an icy glare. “I just wanted to get these stupid shoes off. I’d take combat boots over them every day of the week, but sometimes a girl’s gotta keep up appearances.”

  “Oh, so there was an occasion,“ Alex teased, fully aware he was playing with fire. “Was it a date, then?”

  “I don’t date,” she spat, snatching one of the beer bottles from his hands and popping the cap off against the wooden edge of the sofa’s arm. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business. Now shut up and drink your damn beer.”

  Alex decided to take her advice on that. The beer was nothing special compared to what he was used to drinking at Mort’s, but it was nice and cool. He was more than thankful for it, and he told her.

  “You’re welcome,” she said, kicking off her shoes and lying back. “Of all the fuckups I’ve met during my time here, you’re among the least insufferable.”

  “Likewise,” he said, raising his bottle in a mock toast, and she clinked it with her own.

  “So what’s your situation?” she asked, trying to make small talk. “Outside, I mean. Obviously.”

  “I don’t really date either, if that’s what you’re asking,” Alex said.

  “Ha-fucking-ha,” she rolled her eyes. “With a mug like yours, can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “Very mature, Penny.”

  “Family, I mean,” she said, not taking the bait. “Friends. A job. That kind of stuff. You know—anything to look forward to when you get out of here.”

  Alex took a long sip from his beer, buying himself time to think.

  “I got a few friends, I suppose,” he said. “The job situation’s hectic, or else I wouldn’t have ended up in here in the first place, I guess. And as for family… well, there’s my mom, but we don’t really talk all that much.”

  Carpenter nodded.

  “Bad blood?”

  “No, just… Well, some bad blood, yeah. You could say that.”

  “Figures,” Penny said with a sigh. “Grimm sure knows how to pick us, doesn’t he?” She took another sip of her beer, then glanced over at him, suddenly looking more serious than Alex had ever seen her, her usual snide edge tempered by something quieter.

  “Let me give you some advice, Rulin. Try to focus on the things you’ve got going on in your life. The stuff you want to do once you’re out. The people you want to see again. It’s easy to lose sight of all that when you’re spending your days stuck in here, with that damn casque strapped to your face.”

  Alex studied her for a moment, wondering where that softer note had come from. By now, he knew there was more to Penny than just her straight-edged Officer Carpenter persona. Still, tonight there was something different about her. She seemed more… reflective. Curious, even, like she was trying to peel something back—though in him or herself, he couldn’t quite tell.

  “It’s not all that bad,” he shrugged, trying to play it cool. He’d been here, what—a bit over two months? Still had ten to go. It wasn’t exactly a life sentence. Hell, if he was being honest with himself, the Happy Motel barely even qualified as prison.

  “That’s how it gets to you,” she went on, voice low, icy-blue eyes stuck to the ceiling. “It’s, like, insidious, you know?” She shook her head, like she was trying to dislodge a thought she didn’t want to hold onto. “Anyway, all I’m saying is, don’t lose sight of what’s important.”

  “Duly noted, and thanks for the warning,” he said, picking up on how badly she wanted to change the subject—even though she’d been the one to bring it up in the first place. “Now, let’s move on to the truly important stuff: read anything good lately?”

  Penny let out a short breath—half sigh, half chortle—and gave him a faint, grateful smile.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

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