didn’t.
He heaved a resigned sigh and cast a glance my way, looking at me for the first time since we’d left the Asylum. Then something in his expression changed dramatically. It fell. The strength and devil-may-care defiance I’d seen there from the moment I’d met him vanished, and he suddenly looked . . . scared.
“Nicky, what is it?” I asked, my tone gentle now.
He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a lingering kiss to my fingertips. “I never meant to involve you in this. I just wanted . . .” He shook his head.
“Nicky, whatever it is, you can tell me,” I assured him.
He remained silent for so long, letting my words hang in the air, that I’d begun to believe our conversation was over. But when he took the exit for his house, he finally said, “Dracula came to visit me when I was in the hospital.”
Chapter Seventeen
I blinked at him in disbelief. “What? With everyone looking for him, he had the balls to come see you?”
“At first I thought I’d imagined it,” Nicky admitted. “I mean, I was half dead, lying there in the hospital bed pumped full of fairy dust to keep me calm so I could heal, and he just showed up at the side of my bed. And he was grinning. That motherfucking bastard was grinning.”
“Oh, Nicky . . .” I put my hand on his thigh, and his fingers found mine, giving my hand a squeeze. “What did he want?”
“He wanted to gloat,” Nicky ground out. “He and I had been vying for some of the same business interests. When I helped Red track down the information she needed, it gave Dracula the excuse he needed to order Sebille to take me down. Well, we know how that turned out.”
I wanted to tell him that he didn’t quite know as much as he thought he did, but I bit back my words. “Did he try to hurt you?” I asked, my protective instincts for the man I loved making my words come out more harshly than I’d intended.
Nicky grinned and reached over to cup my cheek for a moment. “No, doll—not physically. He wanted to drive the point home that he could take away anything or anyone I cared about. The bastard got down in my face and told me all about what he planned to do to Red once he had her in his clutches, once he’d finished playing their little game. And he told me there was nothing I could do to stop him.”
“Was that why you left town so abruptly?” I asked.
He nodded. “I wasn’t about to let him hurt anyone else I cared about. I was determined to take him out or die trying. I left a note for Red and stayed away. A few days after I left, though, I contacted Nate to let him know what was doin’ so he could protect Red. That was the last time I made contact.”
“I’m guessing that’s when Nate came to me and asked me to hide any leads from Tess,” I mused, going over the time line of events in my head.
Nicky nodded. “Probably so.”
I frowned at him. “And then what?” When he didn’t respond, I added, “Because, as infuriating and frightening as Dracula’s hospital visit must’ve been, I’m guessing that’s not everything that transpired.”
“No. Not everything.” He lapsed into silence again, his lips pressed together in a grim line. I waited patiently to hear more, not wanting to rush him but not about to let him off the hook that easily. My gaze on him was so intent that I didn’t notice he’d pulled off the main road and onto a gravel access road until the Escalade slid a little on the ice, slamming me into the door when the back end fishtailed.
“Where are we going?” I asked, glancing around us.
“I’m taking you in the delivery entrance,” he answered. “I don’t want to go in the front door in case Lavender’s spell isn’t up and running yet.”
I glanced around us, my eyes searching the dark woods that lined the road, half expecting something to come charging out at us. Being on the access road made me one hell of a lot more nervous than walking through the front door. Unless . . . “Do you know something I don’t?”
Nicky glanced in the rearview mirror. “Someone was following us after we left the Asylum,” he divulged. “I think I lost him a few miles back. But it’s not like where I live is a secret, and seeing as how your FMA pals fucked up my gates getting to me earlier today, I’m not taking any chances on someone camping out in the front yard, waiting to have another go.”
As he pulled into a circular drive behind his mansion, I turned in my seat to pin him with an expectant look. “Okay, so, do I get to hear the rest of the story now that we’re safely at home?” My eyes widened when I realized what I’d said and quickly amended, “I mean, now that we’re at your house. Sorry.”
Nicky’s lips twitched at the corners and he leaned over to give me a quick kiss that rapidly turned into a slow one. When he finally pulled back, he was grinning. “I like the thought of you calling this place home.”
My stomach fluttered with joy and I wanted nothing more than to drag him back to me for another kiss, but I leveled my gaze at him instead. “You’re changing the subject, Nicky Blue.”
Miffed at being called out, he shoved open the car door and reached under his seat, pulling out a Glock and keeping it down by his side as he came around to the other side of the SUV to help me out. As he led me to the door, his eyes scanned the darkness, searching for any movement.
Once we were safely inside, I grabbed his free hand and pulled him to a stop. “I’ll let it go for now because Lavender and Seth are here. But, make no mistake—this conversation isn’t over.”
He heaved a sigh and led me through the house until we were in the main wing. When we reached the living room, Seth and Lavender were snuggled up on the sofa—fully clothed, thank God!—and murmuring softly to each other. Nicky coughed, looking uncomfortable with intruding on their quiet moment.
But when Lavender’s head popped up, she was grinning and glowing more than a little. “Hey there! Where have you two been?”
“The Asylum,” I told her. “We went to visit Renfield.”
“Did you find out anything?” Seth asked, looking less murderous than the last time we’d seen him.
I exchanged a glance with Nicky. “Nothing concrete. Just the ravings of a madman.”
Lavender extricated herself from her fiance’s grasp and came to envelop me in a hug. “Oh, honey—I’m so sorry. Do you want me to try a spell on him? I might be able to come up with something that would make him coherent for at least a few minutes.”
I shook my head, not sure that even a spell could make sense of what was in Renfield’s head. The man was too far gone to be able to separate fiction from reality. Anything he told us under Lavender’s influence might come out sounding rational, but I couldn’t depend on the information being reliable. “Thanks anyway, Lav. We still have the Pigg brothers to talk to tomorrow. Maybe we can get something more from them.”
She nodded. “Well, I put the spell around Nicky’s house, so that should keep anyone—human, Tale, or otherwise—from physically crossing the barrier if they have malice in their hearts toward either of you.”
“Thanks, Lav,” Nicky said, putting his arm around my shoulders and drawing me close, his expression still solemn.
“Anytime,” she said slowly, narrowing her eyes. She obviously was picking up on his dour mood, too.
Seth extended his hand to Nicky. “I wish we could stay longer and help you out, but we’ve got to stop by Red and Nate’s before we head back to The Refuge.”
“Forget about it,” Nicky told him. “We’ll be okay.”
“And, uh, sorry about earlier,” Seth said, his ears turning red. “The things that woman does to me . . .”
A smile tugged at the corner of Nicky’s mouth as his arm tightened around me. “No need to explain.”
Lavender suddenly threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “Damn it! I don’t want to leave you like this! You need a fairy godmother now more than ever.”
I hugged her back, basking in the warmth of her love and friendship, drawing it around me like armor. Then I pulled back and gave her a wink. “I know how to reach you if I need you.”
She nodded, then hugged Nicky. “Take care of her,” she ordered. “My threat to turn you into a toad still stands.” When she stepped back she fixed him with a firm gaze. “You have a friend in my father and in Gideon. Keep that in mind.”
