fight’s coming, and they’re trying to draw us into it on their terms.”
“What makes you say that?” Al asked with a frown.
“There’s some connection with Dracula I haven’t yet figured out. And they’re stealing fairy dust from the Seelies and distributing it to Ordinaries.” When he cursed under his breath and ran a hand down his face, I reached over without thinking and put my hand on his knee. “Al, talk to Lavender’s father. You don’t have to handle all this on your own. He could be a powerful ally if you have to go toe-to-toe with the Agency.”
“He’d never see me,” Al insisted.
“He remembers your kindness to Lavender after the initial migration. If he offers you his friendship in return, accept it.” I chuckled a little and glanced over my shoulder at Nicky, who still lay in a drug-induced sleep. “Trust me, I’ve learned a thing or two lately about the importance of friendship.”
“Even if I did decide to go up against the Agency, they have a tactical advantage.” When I gave him a blank look, he explained, “They know where we are, Trish. I have no idea where they’re headquartered, if they have field offices. . . . I’ve had intelligence officers trying to get a feel for the size of their operation, but they never meet in the same place. Their offices are temporary. They simply don’t exist anywhere.”
I mulled over what he was saying, my brows drawn together in a frown.
After a moment, Al’s hand covered mine, jolting me from my thoughts. “Trish, about earlier—”
I gently slipped my fingers from his grasp. “Please don’t,” I told him gently. “I’m in love with Nicky, Al. This isn’t just a fling.”
His shoulders sagged a little and the pain in his eyes tore at my heart, but then he gave a slight nod and donned that impassive, contemplative look that I was used to. “Well, he’d better take care of you, or he’ll have me to deal with. Believe it or not, I’ve been known to kick a few asses over the years.”
Oh, I believed it.
When he stood, I stood with him and impulsively slipped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “Thanks, Al. For everything. For giving me a chance when I came over. For always being there when I needed a friend.”
I felt his ragged breath as his arms came around me and hugged me back. After a moment, he dropped a quick kiss to the top of my head and abruptly released me, then strode to the door. He started to pull it open but paused and turned back to offer me a smile. “Take some time off. Let that leg of yours heal completely. I’ll expect to see you back on the job in a couple of weeks.”
I frowned at him, not bothering to tell him my leg had miraculously healed within minutes of my injury. “Al —”
“See you at the office.” Then he was gone.
For a moment I just stared at the closed door.
“So, I guess you didn’t quit after all.”
Nicky’s voice instantly drew me out of my stupor. Grinning, I sat down on the edge of the bed and smoothed his hair again. “Hey, you. You had me worried there for a while.”
He winked at me. “I told you, doll. Unless Nate starts hovering nearby looking all shamefaced and shit, I’m not worried. By the way, you look damned sexy in those scrubs. Might even top the nighty.”
“Good thing I get to keep these, then,” I said with a saucy grin. I leaned down and kissed him, so glad to feel his warm lips against mine. When I felt him smiling, I pulled back. “What’s so funny?”
It was his turn to chuckle. He took my hand and slid it down to the sizable bulge under the sheets. “Want to climb on in here with me, doll?”
“Nicky Blue,” I admonished, “you’re still healing! Besides, there are people coming in here all the time.”
“You’re the only one I want coming in here,” he said with a wicked grin. When I gave him a disapproving look, he added, “Hey, I nearly died, you know.”
“Oh, is that right?” I drawled, looking down my nose at him.
He nodded, donning a comically serious expression. “It was terribly frightening. I think I’ve been traumatized. I could really use a little comforting.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t be ridiculous!”
“What’s ridiculous is that you’d deny a man a little post-near-death lovin’,” he said, lifting the blankets.
“Post-near-death lovin’?” I rolled my eyes. “If you’ve healed enough for sex, you’ve healed enough to get the hell out of here. Let’s go home and I’ll give you all the lovin’ you want.”
As he sprang up from the bed and shed the hospital gown, reaching for the scrubs the hospital had given him to replace his ruined clothes, I couldn’t resist smacking his bare ass. “You’re pretty spry for someone who nearly died. . . .”
Big mistake.
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “Oh, is that how we’re gonna play it?” He went to the door and turned the lock, then came toward me, a wicked look in his eyes as his gaze traveled the length of my body in the baggy teal scrubs I wore. “Spry, was it? Doll, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. . . .”
“We need to find the Agency’s headquarters,” I told Nicky, pulling on my scrubs again.
He was already dressed and looking rather pleased with himself as he sat on the edge of the hospital bed. “I seem to recall hearing Al say that none of his intelligence officers had been able to find the Agency’s headquarters.”
“True,” I said, sauntering toward him and slipping between the V of his thighs to loop my arms around his neck. “But they aren’t Nicky Blue.”
He gave me a sideways glance but was grinning, no doubt wondering where I was going with this. “Yeah? So?”
I kissed him briefly, then returned his grin. “I can make anything happen,” I said, mimicking his accent. Then I shrugged, exaggerating his typical nonchalance. “I know a guy.”
He laughed and grabbed me around the waist, tackling me onto the bed. “I know a guy?” he repeated, tickling me. “I know a guy? I don’t sound like that!”
“Stop! Stop!” I squealed, wiggling to get away.
He stopped tickling me to cage me with his body. After peering down at me for a long moment, he gave me a wink. “Know something, doll? I love ya. Love ya like nothin’ I ever felt before.”
“And . . . ?” I asked archly.
He chuckled. “And what?”
“Was I right? Can you find the Agency’s headquarters?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Sure. At least, I can find out where they’ve set up shop at the moment. Maybe get us inside.”
“Really?” I asked, actually a little surprised. I pushed up to my elbows. “How?”
A slow grin grew on his face, and he shrugged again. “I know a guy.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“No fucking way.”
“Get in the car, Nicky,” I hissed. “We need a ride home.”
“We’ll take a cab,” he muttered, grabbing my arm and turning me back toward the hospital entrance. “We’re not riding in the same car as that asshole.”
I pulled him to a stop. “Stop being a man-baby.”
He frowned at me. “A what?”
“A man-baby,” I repeated. “Al insisted that one of the Enforcers take us home in case the Agency tries anything again.”
“I’ll call Eddie,” he said, referring to his former bodyguard. “I trust him.”
I turned him around and gave him a look of warning. “You can trust Alex, too. Now, get in the car.”
Nicky opened the back door of the FMA sedan for me and helped me inside, then sent a dark look Alex McCain’s way as he jerked open the front passenger door, daring McCain to start something with him. He eased inside, still a little stiff from his wounds, then turned his back toward the door, so he could keep an eye on
