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quietly rapped on the door, not wanting to rouse anything else that might be lurking nearby. A vicious mutt wasn’t the Junkman’s only defense. He had any manner of beastly bastards at his disposal, hiding out in the scattered debris, waiting to protect their master and his interests from whoever—or whatever—might come calling.
    But it wasn’t the Junkman who’d texted me about a meeting. Although that might’ve been a little less surprising. No, he was curiously absent. Or maybe not so curiously.
    â€œCome in.”
    I took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh, then turned the knob and walked in. I halted just inside the doorway and let the door swing closed behind me before shoving my hands into my pockets and regarding my old friend with an even stare. “How the hell are ya, Nicky?”
    Nicky Blue attempted a smile, but it was a weak replica of the cocky grin I was used to. “Been better,” he said with a shrug, rising from a pleather office chair to come toward me. He extended his hand. “But I’ll survive.”
    I shook his offered hand, half tempted to hug the bastard. He was one of the few friends I’d permitted myself in the Here and Now and I’d nearly lost him thanks to that bitch Sebille. “So what’s with the secret meeting?”
    Nicky gestured toward one of the other office chairs. “I got my reasons. I’m not staying in town long—just had to settle a few things. Eddie’s gonna be runnin’ things for me for a while.”
    I nodded, trusting that his loyal bodyguard would handle Nicky’s affairs without a hitch. “You know Tess is gonna be pissed when she finds out you were here and didn’t come by.”
    Nicky looked a little pained at this. “This is a conversation that I want to be between just you and me, Nate.” He sat back down in his chair, lacing his fingers together and leaning forward to brace his forearms on his thighs. “I need a favor.”
    I studied him for a moment. In all the years I’d known him, Nicky had granted more favors to his friends than I could count. But I’d never known him to ask for one in return. “Anything,” I told him. “You know that.”
    He met my gaze, his expression more serious—and deadly—than I’d ever seen it. “I need you to keep Red from goin’ after Dracula. I’m onto something, something I can’t really share right now, but I don’t want her getting hurt.”
    I was surprised that he’d brought me here to talk about Vlad Dracula, who, as it turned out, had been the mastermind in the Sebille Fenwick case. The guy had vanished just as mysteriously as the body of his partner in crime, but I had a feeling he’d be back. In fact, I knew it. He’d more or less assured Tess of it, taunted her to come after him. She’d been searching for Vlad in her spare time, poring over his old case files, looking for clues to where he might be. She wasn’t going to give up the trail just because I asked her to.
    â€œNot sure I can keep her from going after him,” I admitted. “You know how she is once she gets something into her head.”
    Nicky chuckled. “Don’t I ever. But I need this, Nate. You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. I’m going to track down the body of that fucking sorceress, too.”
    I nodded, understanding his need for closure after what had happened to his wife. If it had been Tess . . . Hell, I didn’t even want to think about what I’d do if anyone hurt her. Mostly because I knew what I could do. And that scared the shit out of me. “I’ll do what I can.”
    â€œTalk to Trish Muffet,” Nicky suggested. “Get her to help you. She’s one smart dame.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him a little. “Yeah. She is.” When he uncharacteristically dropped his gaze, I added, “Is that why you