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.This is Jake.� Ma am,� he said weakly.His head was spinning.The woman stared at him, and her gaze seemed to pierce his soul and find it lacking. Nice to meet you.� Odd, that.� Nix folded his arms.He must have put the pipe away somewhere. You didn t correct me, mate.Thought you said your name was Jeff.�Jesus, he couldn t think straight.Why was he talking to these people? He d been at the bus station.Someone gave him a dollar.There had been pigeons.They werepigeons. Parking garage,� he blurted, and some of the fog in his head lifted.He breathed deeply. I mean, I lost my ticket, you know? And now I can t get my car 64S.W.Vaughnout unless I pay the top price.Twenty-five bucks, it s a damned rip off.I ve only got five.Can you help me out? I ve gotta get home.�Nix bestowed a smile on him, and the last of the confusion evaporated. Aye, we ll help you out,� he said. Know just what you need.Can you sense it, love?He s lousy with it.� Yes, and he s locked,� the woman said. Completely.�Nix beamed. What a treat! That sorts things, then.He s the one.�The one what? River shook his head. So& you ll help me?� Absolutely.� Nix laid a speculative gaze on him. You look hungry, mate.Come along for a nosh, and then we ll settle your car business and whatnot.� Aye,� Shade said softly. We will.�A shudder went through him, setting off a brief mental alarm.It vanished quickly.Nix was a good guy.Safe.He was going to help.The fact that he wasn t sure what he needed help with anymore barely penetrated as he followed the couple away.* * *By the time River realized something wasn t right, he stood with Nix and Shade in front of a place called the Grotto that didn t seem open for business.It took him aminute to remember what they were supposed to be doing.Getting food and then bailing out his nonexistent car.This place didn t look like it served food even when it was open.Restaurants had windows and menus and posted specials or familiar fast-food logos.This was justa plain brick building with a little sign over the door.Utterly deserted and silent.He smelled trouble.Nix pulled the door open.A faint glow inside, probably a security light, revealed nothing about whatever was behind the door. Come on in, then,� he said.Unforgiven65 I ll pass.� River backed up a step. Look, I don t know who you are or what you want.I don t even know why I followed you here.But this is weird, and Igotta go.�He turned to leave, hoping he wasn t about to get knifed or shot and dragged inside anyway. Up to you, mate,� Nix said, and River heard the door shut. We just thought you might like to know where Braelan is.� He froze. What did you say?� Braelan.You re keen on finding him, aren t you?�Impossible.These people didn t know shit about him, not even his name, and the chances of him randomly bumping into someone who knew Braelan in this citywere about a zillion to one.He turned back slowly. How the fuck did you know that?� You told us, mate.Said Braelan owes you something.� No, I damn well didn t.� Suit yourself.� Nix shrugged. But he s in there, upstairs.�His heart ramped up to thrumming speed.He told himself it wasn t from knowing Braelan was so close, didn t have shit to do with a lingering attraction to thebastard that he was sure would be gone soon.It was because he d have a chance to get the money back and stave off absolute desperation a while longer.But he had to be careful.If Braelan was actually in there, finding him like this was too convenient.Maybe he really was some kind of mob boss, and he d sent Nixand Shade out to bring him in.It was the only halfway reasonable explanation.And it d mean this building was their turf.Anything could happen if he went inside.He met Nix s patient, slightly amused gaze. Tell him to come out here.�Nix stared at him.And laughed. Oh, you are quite the interesting one! You ve no fear at all, do you?� Shaking his head, still chuckling, he pulled out a cell phone. Very well, then.I ll ring him up for you.�66S.W.VaughnWhile River waited, he shoved a hand in his pocket and curled it around his knife.Just in case.At this point he was beyond expecting normal things to happen.It took only a few seconds for Nix to get an answer. Cobalt,� he said. Can you send Braelan out round the front? He s a visitor to see him.� He paused. Poor man isn t sure what his name is.Might be Jeff or Jake.� Grinning, he sent River a wink, paused again. Aye.We ll hang about.Is he& ah, sounds like heknows, then.Thanks kindly, mate.� He disconnected and said, He ll be down directly.� Nix [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.This is Jake.� Ma am,� he said weakly.His head was spinning.The woman stared at him, and her gaze seemed to pierce his soul and find it lacking. Nice to meet you.� Odd, that.� Nix folded his arms.He must have put the pipe away somewhere. You didn t correct me, mate.Thought you said your name was Jeff.�Jesus, he couldn t think straight.Why was he talking to these people? He d been at the bus station.Someone gave him a dollar.There had been pigeons.They werepigeons. Parking garage,� he blurted, and some of the fog in his head lifted.He breathed deeply. I mean, I lost my ticket, you know? And now I can t get my car 64S.W.Vaughnout unless I pay the top price.Twenty-five bucks, it s a damned rip off.I ve only got five.Can you help me out? I ve gotta get home.�Nix bestowed a smile on him, and the last of the confusion evaporated. Aye, we ll help you out,� he said. Know just what you need.Can you sense it, love?He s lousy with it.� Yes, and he s locked,� the woman said. Completely.�Nix beamed. What a treat! That sorts things, then.He s the one.�The one what? River shook his head. So& you ll help me?� Absolutely.� Nix laid a speculative gaze on him. You look hungry, mate.Come along for a nosh, and then we ll settle your car business and whatnot.� Aye,� Shade said softly. We will.�A shudder went through him, setting off a brief mental alarm.It vanished quickly.Nix was a good guy.Safe.He was going to help.The fact that he wasn t sure what he needed help with anymore barely penetrated as he followed the couple away.* * *By the time River realized something wasn t right, he stood with Nix and Shade in front of a place called the Grotto that didn t seem open for business.It took him aminute to remember what they were supposed to be doing.Getting food and then bailing out his nonexistent car.This place didn t look like it served food even when it was open.Restaurants had windows and menus and posted specials or familiar fast-food logos.This was justa plain brick building with a little sign over the door.Utterly deserted and silent.He smelled trouble.Nix pulled the door open.A faint glow inside, probably a security light, revealed nothing about whatever was behind the door. Come on in, then,� he said.Unforgiven65 I ll pass.� River backed up a step. Look, I don t know who you are or what you want.I don t even know why I followed you here.But this is weird, and Igotta go.�He turned to leave, hoping he wasn t about to get knifed or shot and dragged inside anyway. Up to you, mate,� Nix said, and River heard the door shut. We just thought you might like to know where Braelan is.� He froze. What did you say?� Braelan.You re keen on finding him, aren t you?�Impossible.These people didn t know shit about him, not even his name, and the chances of him randomly bumping into someone who knew Braelan in this citywere about a zillion to one.He turned back slowly. How the fuck did you know that?� You told us, mate.Said Braelan owes you something.� No, I damn well didn t.� Suit yourself.� Nix shrugged. But he s in there, upstairs.�His heart ramped up to thrumming speed.He told himself it wasn t from knowing Braelan was so close, didn t have shit to do with a lingering attraction to thebastard that he was sure would be gone soon.It was because he d have a chance to get the money back and stave off absolute desperation a while longer.But he had to be careful.If Braelan was actually in there, finding him like this was too convenient.Maybe he really was some kind of mob boss, and he d sent Nixand Shade out to bring him in.It was the only halfway reasonable explanation.And it d mean this building was their turf.Anything could happen if he went inside.He met Nix s patient, slightly amused gaze. Tell him to come out here.�Nix stared at him.And laughed. Oh, you are quite the interesting one! You ve no fear at all, do you?� Shaking his head, still chuckling, he pulled out a cell phone. Very well, then.I ll ring him up for you.�66S.W.VaughnWhile River waited, he shoved a hand in his pocket and curled it around his knife.Just in case.At this point he was beyond expecting normal things to happen.It took only a few seconds for Nix to get an answer. Cobalt,� he said. Can you send Braelan out round the front? He s a visitor to see him.� He paused. Poor man isn t sure what his name is.Might be Jeff or Jake.� Grinning, he sent River a wink, paused again. Aye.We ll hang about.Is he& ah, sounds like heknows, then.Thanks kindly, mate.� He disconnected and said, He ll be down directly.� Nix [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
