“As I said, that’s bad. Jealous is always bad. But it does mean he likes you.”
“Yesssss.”
Journey laughed, and I grabbed his elbow, suddenly in a rush. “Come on, I want to finish up. I need to have time to shower before I go over to the Co-Op.”
He groaned but didn’t fight me as I tugged him back toward the business district.
3
Tyler
“Dropme off up here on the right, Nilsson.” I pointed to a sign where white script gleamed. In bold letters made of lights, Upper Van Co-Operative was spelled out on a glowing green background. There was nothing too fancy about the signage, but it did take up the front of a wide high-rise from the second floor all the way to the thirteenth at the top, with breaks for the windows on the upper floors. It was never truly dark in Vanheim, not even after the sun went down, but the sign acted as a blinding beacon, drawing me closer to the spot where I’d promised to meet Noble.
Nilsson shook his head from his place behind the steering wheel to try to get a few blond strands of hair out of his eyes that had pulled free of the bun he’d stuffed it in. His face was perpetually sunburned because he always forgot sunscreen, and we’d had a break in the weather this afternoon, so it was worse than usual.
“Far be it from me to have opinions on your life, especially since I stick my cock in a different type of hole than you, but do you really wanna waste your time with a liberal fucknut?”
I laughed hard enough that Nilsson shot me a skeptical glance while he fought with the traffic and tried to get all the way from the left lane to the one on the right. He cut someone off to make his move and behind us a horn blared, but he only stuck his middle finger up, nice and high, out of the driver’s side window.
When I could finally gasp in a breath, I asked, “What makes you think he’s that?”
“Hell, I’d have done the same thing as the owner of the Quicksilver if that kid stirred up trouble for my business.” He shrugged. “Only I wouldn’t have been dumb enough to do it on the street where everyone could see me.”
I leaned against my seat and fought back a sigh.
Nilsson shook his head at me when I pulled my shirt collar out and did a quick sniff test. I wasn’t awful, but I hadn’t had time to go home and clean up, either. I was definitely on that edge between okay and “were you at the gym before you met me?” Chasing down an asshole who wanted to run instead of answer questions did that to a guy.
“Noble’s heart was in the right place.”
“Good hearts don’t pay the bills, though, do they?” he muttered.
I had no idea what the real issue was here. I did know there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d talk me out of meeting up with Noble, not after he’d saved my ass so spectacularly earlier by handing me my badge. I’d have been up shit creek with no paddle or boat and with piranhas gnawing on both asscheeks if anyone else had found it. I owed him dinner for that alone.
“Maybe not, but he’s something to look at, and that can pay the bills.” I winked. “Fuck, do you mind if I stow my service weapon here? Can you put it in your safe tonight?” He rolled his eyes and nodded as I quickly unhooked my holster and tucked it under the seat exactly the way we would warn civvies to never do.
Nilsson snorted. “You gonna stuff that bunny and put him up at your place? Never thought you’d be domesticated.”
“He’s not a badge bunny. Lay off,” I grumbled, irritation blasting through my chest and heating me up toward anger. Noble had a pretty face, and that much was true and easily verifiable, but he wasn’t a himbo. It was one thing for me to make up bullshit about how he wanted my dick so bad he had to wander into an active crime scene to come after it, and another thing entirely for Nilsson to do it.
The traffic picked up and we got close enough to the Co-Op that Nilsson slowed down. He growled, and I leaned forward as we came up near a clump of what were obviously spectators to something—probably bad, knowing this neighborhood. As we got closer, I sighed.
“Fuck, there he is,” Nilsson said. “What’s he doing?”
“I have no fucking clue.”
Noble stood on the sidewalk outside the Co-Op with his hands in the air in front of him. A tall, skinny man who appeared to be dressed in several layers of sweatshirts—he resembled a gray marshmallow on top—yelled at everyone and seemed disoriented. He jabbed his finger at Noble. Pride had me sitting taller because that boy didn’t flinch. Noble said something and waved his hands, his body arched away from the man in what was clearly a placating gesture.
I sighed. “This is why I wanted to see him, Nilsson. He attracts trouble. At least I won’t sit around twiddling my thumbs, wondering what I’ll do with my night. Unlike some people.”
The sour expression on Nilsson’s face as he brought the car to a stop long enough for me to hop out into the chilly night air had me internally gloating. My heart raced faster as I slammed the door. I ran until I hit the curb, but someone still blasted their horn at me. Not giving a fuck, I didn’t even look back as I stomped toward the shouting man. He had a serious homeless vibe. Noble did a double take as I got closer, and he ran up in front of me with his hands out as if I might start shouting next. His eyes were wide and pleading.
“Don’t hurt him!”
I scowled at the man shouting and couldn’t make sense of the rambling. “What the hell is he saying?”
“He’s worried about the ghosts living inside me and everyone who runs the Co-Op,” Noble said with an apologetic grin. “He’s harmless.”
My stomach dove. The man might be a few rats short of a shithouse circus, but his unnaturally accurate assessment of the world was unsettling. Of course, I wasn’t a ghost, but a demon could certainly be mistaken for one. The man wobbled toward us, and I was surprised he wasn’t old, but rather young. His mouth was twisted down and to the side as if he was in pain.
