by Kate Serine
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 fiancé’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.”
Nicky and I waved good-bye to them from the doorway as they drove off, and I could feel Lavender’s magic crackling around me, seeping deep into the ground and extending far up into the sky. I couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps I’d sleep well tonight after all.
The second the door closed, Nicky’s arms came around me, pulling me into his embrace so he could press a kiss to the curve of my neck. “Alone again,” he murmured against my skin.
I closed my eyes, leaning against him for a moment, loving the tantalizing warmth spreading through my body at his touch, but then I remembered that we had some unfinished business. I ducked out of his hold and turned to face him. “Yes, we are,” I said. “And I believe you have something to tell me.”
Nicky cursed under his breath and strode down the hall toward
the kitchen, shrugging out of his coat as he went. He threw it over the back of one of the dinette chairs and started rummaging through the cupboards.
“Nicky,” I said, sitting at what was becoming my normal seat at the bar, “whatever it is you have to tell me can’t be that bad!”
“No?” he called over his shoulder, slamming a pot on the stove and pouring a generous amount of milk into it.
“Jesus, Nicky!” I cried. “Just tell me what the hell Dracula said to you! You’re being ridiculous.”
Nicky’s shoulders bunched as he added cocoa powder to the milk. I could feel the tension and anger rolling off him, but he didn’t turn around until he’d poured the steaming hot chocolate into a mug. He set it in front of me and then finally lifted his eyes to me, capturing my gaze. The pain I saw there was heartbreaking.
“He looked into me, Trish,” Nicky said. “It was kinda like you do, except not as . . . welcome. It tore at me, like he was ripping my soul apart. He was searching for something—hell—my weakness or somethin’. I don’t know.” He ran a hand down his face, looking more haggard and weary than I’d seen him before. “And he found it.”
“Your love for your friends,” I guessed.
Nicky shook his head. “More than that. He saw how much I hate being powerless. I grew up powerless—just a nobody Rhyme with no future. When I came here, I knew I was gonna change that, and I did. There’s nothin’ I can’t handle, nothin’ I can’t make happen. But I couldn’t save Jules. I couldn’t protect Red. And he saw that fear in my heart.”
I didn’t know what to do to comfort him, so I reached out and twined my fingers with his. He offered me a weak smile and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand.
“So all this time, you’ve been tracking Dracula down, trying to prove that you’re not powerless,” I said. “You’ve done everything you can, Nicky. Hell—you’ve done more than anyone else has been able to.”
He shook his head. “But it’s not enough. That asshole is still out there, doing God knows what, and I can’t do a goddamned thing! I’m supposed to be avenging Juliet’s death, and I can’t even get close to the son of a bitch! What the hell kind of husband can’t avenge his wife’s murder?”
I pressed my lips together, choosing my words carefully. “Nicky, maybe you’re doing this for the wrong reason.”
“Wrong reason?” he cried, pulling his hand from my grasp. “What better reason is there? That woman stood by me no matter what, no matter who I was. And how did I repay her? I got her killed.”
“You didn’t get her killed—”
“No?” he raged. “Whose fault was it then? Red’s? That’s bullshit!” He slammed his fist on the counter, jarring my hot chocolate and making it lap over the edge. “I didn’t have to bring her here that night. I didn’t have to choose her needs over those of my wife’s. I could’ve put her up in a hotel, for chrissake!”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference!” I yelled, fed up with his misguided self-flagellation. “Jesus, Nicky! Red was never the target. It was you all along—and not because you helped Red with the case!”
Nicky’s face went slack. “What the hell are you talking about?”
My stomach dropped at warp speed. “I’m sorry,” I said, scooting off the bar stool. “Just forget I said anything.”
“Like hell,” he called after me as I rushed from the room, mortified that I had let the truth slip out. “What did you mean by that?”
“Nothing,” I snapped. “Just leave it alone, Nicky.”
“The hell I will.” He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him, his body curving menacingly around mine as he backed me against the wall. “Now, what did you mean?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, preparing myself for what I was about to do to him. I couldn’t even look at him when I said, “Nicky, Juliet put a hit out on you.”
I felt his breath burst from him like he’d been punched in the gut. It was only then that I opened my eyes and met his gaze. It was as pained and as confused as I’d expected. My heart shattered, the jagged pieces tearing the hell out of my soul on the way down.
“Why would you say that?” he breathe
d. “Why would you do that to me, Trish?”
I shook my head. “Nicky, I didn’t want to tell you, but I couldn’t let you continue to beat yourself up over her death. It was her decisions, her malice, that brought Sebille here that night.”
“It’s not true,” he said, backing away from me. “It can’t be. Juliet wouldn’t do that!”
I followed him as he retreated down the hall. “She was jealous of how you felt about Red. She was convinced you were still sleeping with her.”
“I never cheated on Jules,” he spat.
“I know that,” I assured him, “but Juliet was insecure. She never believed that you loved her. She thought you were always wishing you were with someone else.”
This brought Nicky up short and the blood drained from his face at an alarming rate, just as it had at the Asylum. Had he always been wishing he was with someone else? The look on his face said that little nugget had hit a bit too close to home. Maybe he was still in love with Red. That cheery thought brought my misery to a whole new level.
“Nicky, I’m so sorry to tell you all of this,” I said, knowing the words sounded like hollow platitudes. “I feel like I’m ripping your heart out. But I wouldn’t lie about this. I saw it all in Juliet’s eyes before Nate came to collect her. She was the one who tipped off Sebille and Dracula that you were helping Red in the investigation. The whole flirtation with you in the car on the ride home was just to throw you off balance, get you off your guard so that when you opened the door you wouldn’t be expecting an attack.”
Nicky’s shoulders sagged and he ran a hand through his hair. “You know about what happened on the ride home that night?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“What else did you see?” he asked, no inflection in his voice.
“Nicky—”
“Don’t lie to me, Trish.” His expression had gone cold, his voice devoid of warmth. “What the hell else did you see?”
I sighed and then admitted in a whisper, “She’d been sleeping with Dracula for several months.”
Nicky laughed, his normal deep rumble now edged with sorrow. “No wonder the son of a bitch stopped by the hospital to gloat. He’d been fucking my wife all that time.”
I went toward him slowly, not sure how my offer of comfort would be received. But he didn’t retreat from me this time. And when I placed my hand over his pounding heart, he looked down at me for a long moment.
“Why didn’t you tell me all this sooner?” he asked.
“I didn’t want to hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry you told me?” he asked. “Or sorry that I’m a pathetic fucking asshole?”
“Sorry that your heart is breaking.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not breaking,” he said, gently putting me away from him. “If anything, it just got even harder.” He took his keys from his pocket and headed for the front door.
I followed, having to jog a little to keep up with him. “Where are you going?”
“I need to be away from here,” he ground out as he wrenched open the door.
My heart began to hammer in panic at the murderous look in his eyes. “Nicky, wait! Please don’t go out when you’re like this.”
He shot me a dark look. “Don’t wait up.”
The sound of the door slamming echoed throughout the foyer like a gunshot.
Chapter Eighteen
Not knowing what else to do and too worried about Nicky to really do much of anything, I wandered around the mansion, peeking into various rooms and exploring as I hadn’t had a chance to do before now. The house was as lovely as I’d expected, each room impeccably decorated, but few looked lived in—and none but Nicky’s living room and his bedroom even hinted at his presence. It was very clear that this had been Juliet’s house, even if she’d hated it.
After exploring for more than an hour, I went back to the kitchen and filled Sasha’s food bowl. She appeared out of nowhere at the sound of the crunchy little bits hitting her dish and twined about my ankles a few times, purring loudly as if in apology for having been so absent. But then I was promptly forgotten in favor of her dinner. I shook my head with a little laugh and scratched behind her ears while she ate.
“Have you been busy exploring, too?” I murmured. “Quite a bit more room than my rinky-dink apartment, eh, baby?”
Her purring increased in volume in response, but that was about the best I could hope for from her at the moment. She was clearly more interested in her Friskies than anything I had to say.
My cell phone rang, startling me. I snatched it out of my pocket, hoping maybe it was Nicky calling to apologize for being such a jackass, so I was surprised to hear Lavender’s voice instead.
“Hey, Lav,” I said, frowning. “Everything okay?”
“Not exactly.”
I instantly tensed. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Tess,” she said, her voice strained. My stomach plummeted as she went on. “She started having contractions again, so Nate rushed her to the hospital.” Lavender sniffed. She’d been crying. “Something’s wrong, Trish. And no one knows what. Red hasn’t told the doctors”—her words trailed off and her voice was quieter when she continued—“about Nate’s condition. I’ve cast a spell to try to prevent her from going into labor, but I don’t know how long it will keep things at bay.”
I set my jaw, my teeth grinding, damning Nicky for storming off and leaving me stranded. I needed to be there with Red. With my friend. With our friend. And he was out hunting, tracking down vampires who might or might not be linked to Dracula in an effort to avenge the woman who’d wanted him dead.
“Send someone to get me, Lav,” I ground out, concern for Red and anger with Nicky constricting my chest until my lungs felt like they were going to pop. “Right. Now.”
Gideon released me from his hold the moment we slipped through the veil of time and space and into the hospital’s corridor. A second later, my lungs caught up with me. I bent forward to brace my hands on my knees, gulping greedily at the air.
“Sorry,” Gideon grinned. “I forgot I was popping your cherry.”
I gave him a sour look but chuckled in spite of myself. I couldn’t help but like the normally stoic bodyguard. I took another deep breath, then stood and patted his massive chest. “Thanks for the ride, big guy.”
He gave me a terse nod. “Anytime. All you have to do is call.”
Then he vanished between the dimensions, leaving a momentary void in the air that snapped closed with a quiet pop.
I hurried to the nearby nurses’ station and thought I was going to have to throw down when the nurse tried to tell me some shit about visiting hours being over. But apparently my profanity-laced threat to rip off her arms and shove them up her ass persuaded her to make an exception in my case.
I barreled into Red’s hospital room, jolting to a halt when I saw it crammed full of people—which based on the look on Red’s face was driving her more than a little crazy. My God—it looked like everyone in her life was packed tightly into the room; the only face noticeably absent was Nicky’s. And Red noticed it, too, when she saw me enter the room alone.
I squeezed by Gran and Eliza Bennet-Darcy and briefly met Al’s furious gaze—gee, glad there were no hard feelings there—before making my way to Red’s side to take her hand.
“You know,” I drawled, “if you’d wanted to get us all together, you could’ve just thrown a dinner party.”
She attempted a saucy grin, but it lacked conviction. “Since when have you ever known me to do things the easy way?”
“Thanks for coming, Trish,” Nate said from the other side of the bed, where he sat gripping Red’s hand so hard his knuckles were white and hers had to be aching. His face was haggard with concern and his eyes looked like he was ready to rip someone’s soul out just to relieve a little tension.
Time to get to work.
“So, you think we could chat for a few?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light.
Red nod
ded. “Yeah, sure. All this hovering and hand wringing is making me fucking crazy.”
“But, Tess, darling,” Gran began, “I cannot possibly leave you right now.”
Lavender stood up from where she’d been sitting on Seth’s lap and put an arm around Gran’s shoulder. “Come on, Tilly,” she said, grinning. “I’m sure Eliza and I can find you some coffee that doesn’t taste like diesel fuel somewhere in this place.”
Eliza gave Gran one of her warmest smiles, her fine dark eyes twinkling with affection. “Most assuredly so.”
“Coming, gents?” Lavender said pointedly as she and Eliza led Gran from the room. Seth immediately hopped up and followed them out, the other men filing out behind him, leaving me with just Red and Nate.
The minute they were gone, Red’s eyes welled up with tears. “What the hell is going on, Trish? The baby can’t come this soon!”
I shook my head, then placed a hand on her belly. “I don’t know, honey. But will you let me take a look?”
Red threw her arms out in frustration. “Why the hell not? Everyone else in this place has taken a look. For a while there I thought we ought to be charging for a peek at my uterus.”
I chuckled. “That’s not what I meant. I just want to look in your eyes. Maybe I can pick up on something that the doctors are missing.”
Nate smoothed Red’s hair lovingly when she looked a little nervous at the prospect of letting me into her head. “I’ll be right here, sweetheart.”
Tess nodded. “Fine,” she said with a somewhat reluctant shrug. “But be gentle with me, Trish. It’s my first time.”
I groaned at her attempt at humor, then sat down on the edge of the bed, locking onto her gaze. I felt the connection starting, but she glanced away, averting her eyes.
“You’re going to have to let me in, Tess,” I told her. “I can’t force it on the living . . . or the sane.”
Her gaze darted almost imperceptibly toward Nate, then back to me. She was hiding something. Shit. It had to be bad if she was keeping something from Nate. . . .
