Page 19 of Pike

He’d borrowed a bit last August on a spur of the moment trip to the nearest casino with his Tuesday/Sunday girl. He thought she’d be lucky. The woman was an accountant, after all, and won more on scratch-offs than anyone he knew. However, it seemed her luck extended only to scratch-offs. Slot machines and blackjack tables were her undoing.

Now Pike was in the hole with the shifters.

God, they were nasty buggers. Sneaky plonkers. More than that, they were dangerous. They’d slit your throat before you ever heard—or smelled—them coming. If they said this was his last warning, then it was time to get off his ass and fix the problem before they decided to come after him. He’d lose his golden geese, which he’d worked too hard to acquire. Left to their devices, the rats would whittle their way into his affairs and he’d be left with no one. Save Lavinia.

His mind immediately shifted to a more desirable topic. He’d pushed the deadline long enough to know the shifters were serious. If he didn’t take care of the money tonight, there would be hell to pay. This would be a perfect opportunity to teach Lavinia another aspect of their world.

Oh, he would pay extra to see her strangle Herb, the literal rat in charge. God. Herb. He was a nasty piece of work, that one.

Pike glanced up from staring at his phone. His bird was still in the kitchen, humming something sweet under her breath. The champagne cork popped and he heard the bubbles exploding through the neck of the bottle.

“Sweeting,” he called out. “I’m so sorry to do this, but I have to run.”

Her head popped around the corner. This time, her pout was genuine. “Are you serious? I hardly get to see you and now you’re going? We had a date tonight.”

He rose and dusted off the seat of his pants before fixing her with a smile. The sort of crooked grin designed to make her heart beat faster and leap in response. He heard it, a reward for his less-than-hard work. “I’m going to make it up to you. I promise.”

“You always say that.”

“Come here.” He crooked a finger that had her stepping forward without hesitation. “You know I’m good for it.”

“I know,” she murmured.

“I might be back later. With a surprise.” He took hold of her palms and brought them up, kissing the insides of her wrists one after the other. “Okay?”

Her answer was slow. “Okay.”

It took another ten minutes for him to exit the house amidst a flurry of kisses. Pike took a deep breath and the cool night air shot down into his lungs. He placed a call, and after another thirty minutes, Lavinia stood in front of him.

It was very different from the cozy situation he’d just left behind. The wind lashed around him and settled a chill in his bones. Lavinia choked on her hair when a gust took it from behind her ear straight into her mouth. For the first time, Pike wondered why. Why he’d had such a pressing need to leave good conversation and good food to pay a bill. With an entirely different woman by his side. And why he’d decided to bring Lavinia along with him in the first place.

“You want to tell me what’s so important you got me out of bed?” she asked.

The energy radiating from her voice, her body, was better than any drug. Pike wanted to draw it into him and keep it there. Ah, yes. That certainly helped. “You were in bed?” He glanced at his watch: a little after nine pm. “At this hour?”

She shrugged, keeping her arms crossed. “So what? I like to be asleep by nine.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other then ushered her down the street. “Listen, I have nothing against beauty rest, but you don’t need any.”

“You are so full of it.” She squinted at him and seemed to anticipate his grin.

“That I am.”

“Tell me where we’re going. And why you made me wear cargo pants.”

“It gets dirty in the sewers.”

Her eyes popped out of her head. Not literally, but close enough. “We’re going where?”

The answer soured on his tongue as he stared down at the storm grate next to the sidewalk he knew to be the entrance to the rats’ lair. He raked his fingers through his hair. “Didn’t I tell you on the phone? I owe some people some money. It’s time to pay up.”

“You brought me because of my fabulous people skills and ability to stay level-headed if the situation worsens? Or because you wanted to see me up to my knees in literal shit? Which one is it?”

“These guys are crapbags,” he said. “You need to learn.”

Instead of showing fear and apprehension the way he’d thought she would, Lavinia nodded. She made a show of cracking her knuckles one hand at a time. She was damn adorable, topping five-foot-four in chunky boots and hardly strong enough to strangle a bunny. “Sure, okay. You need me to kick a little ass for you. I got the memo. I’m totally prepared.”

A nameless flicker of unease ran down his spine when he looked again at the grate. “Exactly.” He used his toe to kick the grate to the side. “Ladies first.”

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