at warp speed, before answering. “We need to visit the Pigg brothers, find out what they know about Dracula’s lair. Drac’s obviously playing it safe by not coming out in person to attack you or Tess. If we want to take him out, we’re going to have to track him down in the flesh.”
I nodded. “Okay, so how do we find the Pigg brothers?”
Nicky shrugged. “Not too hard, really. I know a guy who’s been my eyes and ears around this town for years. If anyone knows where to find the Piggs, Jack will.”
“Jack?” I echoed. “Which one? There are like a hundred Jacks from fairytales and folklore. And every other rhyme is named Jack. You’re going to have to narrow it down for me.”
“Let’s just leave it at Jack.” Nicky leaned back in his chair, giving me a great look at his pecs. And suddenly I was hungry in an entirely different way.
Blushing at my insatiable desire for the man across from me, I quickly finished off my breakfast and went to the wardrobe to find something to wear. To my surprise, it now also held a collection of clothes for Nicky. I laughed, shaking my head. “I’ll be damned.”
Nicky joined me at the wardrobe, as astonished as I was. “What the hell? How did—”
I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m learning that nothing about Gideon is quite what it seems.”
Nicky grabbed a fresh set of clothes and gave me a warning look. “Yeah, well, he can be as mysterious as he wants as long as he keeps his damned hands off you.”
I cast an arch smile his way as I pulled on my jeans. “Jealous?”
He ran his hands through his hair, causing a thick, dark lock to fall over his forehead, making him look way too rakish for his own good. “Jealous doesn’t even begin to cover it. I could’ve murdered that bastard when I saw you in his arms.”
I patted him on the chest. “No need for that, lover—your arms are the only ones I ever want around me.”
When I opened the door a few minutes later, the object of our discussion was standing across the hall, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Gideon,” I greeted, “we were just talking about you!”
The corners of his mouth twitched with the hint of a smile. Then he inclined his head toward Nicky. “I see you have . . . made amends.”
Nicky shifted a little, still surly. “Something like that.”
“Thank you, Gideon,” I said, extending my hand. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Gideon took my hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my fingertips. “It was my pleasure. If you have need of me again, you have only to call.”
“Okay, okay,” Nicky said, stepping in and taking my hand from Gideon’s grasp. “That’s enough of that. I’m grateful and all, but that gratitude only goes so far, Tiny.”
Nicky was still frowning as we got into his Escalade, which Gideon, of course, had waiting and warmed up in front of his home when we opened the door. “How does he do that shit?”
“Anticipate what others need before they even know it?” I asked. “Hell if I know. But now I see why the king likes having him around. Who better to protect him than a bodyguard who knows how to take care of the threat before it even happens?”
Nicky looked in his rearview mirror as we drove away, catching a glimpse of Gideon still standing in the doorway. “Yeah, well, everybody’s got a blind spot.”
I shuddered, wondering what manner of being it would take to get one up on Gideon. I hoped I wouldn’t have to be around to see that happen. Or get called to the scene after the fact . . .
At some point during our drive I dozed off, my hand clasped in Nicky’s. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been driving when we hit a massive pothole that jolted me awake as my head bounced against the back of the seat.
Nicky cursed under his breath. “Sorry about that,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. “The roads in this part of town aren’t for shit.”
I sat up straighter, blinking away the last vestiges of sleep and looking around, trying to get a feel for our surroundings. The buildings were mostly boarded up, the result of the economic downturn that had put the businesses in the area under and left the buildings just empty shells, eerie reminders of what once had been. A few rusted-out cars lined the street, and trash blew across the dirty snow that spotted the sidewalk and gathered in the corners like arctic cobwebs. “Where the hell are we?”
“This is where Jack runs his operation,” Nicky informed me. “Odds are good we’ll find him lurking around here somewhere.”
I caught a glimpse of a junkie sitting on the broken steps of one of the buildings, twitching and swatting at pests that only he could see. “Charming. Can’t wait to meet this guy.”
Nicky pulled up in front of a red brick building that looked like it might’ve been a store or a bank at some point in its history, but any indication of what sort of business establishment it once had housed had been peeled away by time and neglect.
Nicky reached under his seat and pulled out a Glock. He quickly ejected the magazine to make sure it had a full clip, then rammed it back in. He jerked his chin toward the glove box. “Grab the one in there and stick it in your pocket. They’ll search us, but go ahead and let them take it.”
I frowned at him. “Then why take a gun at all?”
“Lets ’em know we’re not fucking around,” he said, getting out of the car and keeping the gun down by his thigh.
Liking this plan less and less, I shoved the gun into my pocket and got out of the car, staying close to Nicky as we climbed the well-worn steps. He paused at the top of the steps and rolled his neck, then motioned for me to stay where I was beside the door and out of sight. Then he took a deep breath and kicked the door in, quickly firing off three shots.
“Hello, Jack,” he said, his lips curling into a grin. “Good to see you again.” He stepped over the threshold, his gun trained on a target I couldn’t see. A few seconds later he called, “Come on in, doll!”
I swallowed hard, then peeked around the door, startled to see three burly guys nursing wounded shoulders, their guns lying on the ground at their feet. A series of tables along one wall were piled high with money—counterfeit, if I was to hazard a guess based on the equipment in the room. Sitting behind another table, his hands held up, was a man with a cocky, self-assured smile on his handsome face. His watery blue eyes sparkled with amusement, giving him a decidedly boyish look in conjunction with his carroty orange curls.
“Well, what have we here,” he drawled. “You gonna introduce me to the dame, Nicky?”
“Trish, Jack. Jack, Trish,” Nicky snapped. “Consider yourself introduced.”
Jack’s smile widened. “I’d stand and greet you properly, sweetheart, but your boyfriend has serious trust issues.”
Nicky took a step closer, tightening his grip on his gun. “You
double-crossed me on that deal with the Cyclops and nearly got me killed, you son of a bitch.”
Jack spread his arms. “Ah, come on, Nicky,” he drawled. “That was ages ago! Are you still holding a grudge over a little . . . misunderstanding?”
Nicky’s jaw tightened. Apparently the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Feeling I needed to diffuse the situation if we were going to get the information we wanted, I stepped forward and gently put my fingertips on Nicky’s gun, forcing him to lower it as I smiled at Jack. “Come now, gentlemen,” I said. “We’re all grown-ups here. I think we can have a civilized chat without dredging up the past, can’t we?”
Nicky’s eyes darted toward me briefly, and for a moment I thought he might debate that point, but he sighed and relaxed his shoulders. “Yeah, sure.”
I turned my gaze to Jack, who just shrugged. “I can play nice. For now. I’ll ask you to hand over that gun, though.”
Nicky narrowed his eyes, but then grinned, and held up his hand, letting the gun dangle upside down from his index finger. One of the wounded guards snatched it from his hand, then placed it on the table in front of Jack. Jack rose from his seat and came around to where we stood, a shit-eating grin on his face as he got up in Nicky’s grill. And for a second I thought they might take a swing at each other.
But then Jack laughed and grabbed Nicky, bringing him in for a brief man-hug, complete with smack on the
