do.”
I rested my hands on my hips when Thorn shook his head. “A compact case? Even if it’s a Romanov dynasty heirloom, I doubt such a simple task could take care of his debt.”
Roscoe continued. “The case has a few trinkets hidden inside that I’m interested in. A few stones.”
Stones as in precious stones, I’m sure. “Is that it? It still doesn’t seem enough. What else does he have to do?” I asked.
Thorn gave me an exasperated look and then said to Roscoe, “When Fyodor returns, could you kindly tell him to call his son or daughter? They’re concerned for his safety.”
Roscoe was all smiles. “Of course! I wouldn’t want Fyodor’s family to be in the dark over the whole thing. Right now his life belongs to me, but he’ll be safe and sound with them when the debt’s all cleared.”
“Why are you hiding things from us?” I couldn’t resist advancing forward.
One of the guards closed in fast, grabbing my shoulder. Thorn growled, ready to fight, but Roscoe’s hand shot up.
“No member of the debtor’s family may be harmed in my presence!” he thundered.
The tension in the room was thick enough to make it hard for me to breathe. The guard released me, keeping his eyes on Thorn.
Thorn took a step backward, pulling me with him—but Roscoe stopped him by offering a card. “There’s no need for us to part on such poor terms. My associates are rather protective of me.
“You might not be interested in a little spare cash right now, but you never know when a strong man likeyourself might want some. Or maybe in the future you’ll need an extra hand or two to keep your pack safe and sound?”
Thorn’s face was even. “I’ll be sure to think long and hard on it.”
Roscoe laughed. “I’m sure you will.”
Chapter 5
G oblins , like my boss, Bill, tended to keep to themselves. They even preferred not to work with other goblins—especially when it came to money. Bill always had his fist around a wad of cash, and he was paranoid about holding on to it.
The way he was always looking around outside and grumbling about how the older goblins made him pay a lot of money to keep The Bends open made it seem as though he was constantly under attack.
These little nuggets of information about goblins led me to where we needed to go to find out if Dad had met up with that black market dealer. Most goblins liked to sell their wares outside of the cities and along major roads, because the city was far too busy and cluttered with other supernaturals. The goblin black marketer we were looking for would most likely not operate in the city. If we wanted to find him, we’d have to follow our noses. For example, if he sold or collected rubber tires, I could find him easily enough. Rubber had a distinct scent. A bit overpowering, in fact. Of course, Google would provide enough information for me to locate all the tire distributors along the Expressway, but our noses would reveal the exact location of his place just as effectively, if not more so.
Before we could set out, though, we had to wait for Alex to finish talking on the phone.
“Are you sure, Heather?” he asked. “Does my mom know that my wife is in labor?” Heather was his wife’s former roommate—a fellow wood nymph.
While I did a little search on the Internet, I couldn’t help but overhear most of the conversation. As I listened, joy filled my heart … and dread soured my stomach. It was time for my brother to go home—he was going to be a father soon.
My gaze went to the window and the world beyond it. I could go back with him. A part of me didn’t want to be here to face this without my brother. Or be alone with Thorn. And for all we knew, my dad could already have obtained the compact and be heading back to Roscoe.
I sensed Thorn’s gaze on my back. He really hadn’t looked at me this way since we’d begun our trip. It was like a caress at the nape of my neck that swirled down my back.
I swallowed a bout of
I rested my hands on my hips when Thorn shook his head. “A compact case? Even if it’s a Romanov dynasty heirloom, I doubt such a simple task could take care of his debt.”
Roscoe continued. “The case has a few trinkets hidden inside that I’m interested in. A few stones.”
Stones as in precious stones, I’m sure. “Is that it? It still doesn’t seem enough. What else does he have to do?” I asked.
Thorn gave me an exasperated look and then said to Roscoe, “When Fyodor returns, could you kindly tell him to call his son or daughter? They’re concerned for his safety.”
Roscoe was all smiles. “Of course! I wouldn’t want Fyodor’s family to be in the dark over the whole thing. Right now his life belongs to me, but he’ll be safe and sound with them when the debt’s all cleared.”
“Why are you hiding things from us?” I couldn’t resist advancing forward.
One of the guards closed in fast, grabbing my shoulder. Thorn growled, ready to fight, but Roscoe’s hand shot up.
“No member of the debtor’s family may be harmed in my presence!” he thundered.
The tension in the room was thick enough to make it hard for me to breathe. The guard released me, keeping his eyes on Thorn.
Thorn took a step backward, pulling me with him—but Roscoe stopped him by offering a card. “There’s no need for us to part on such poor terms. My associates are rather protective of me.
“You might not be interested in a little spare cash right now, but you never know when a strong man likeyourself might want some. Or maybe in the future you’ll need an extra hand or two to keep your pack safe and sound?”
Thorn’s face was even. “I’ll be sure to think long and hard on it.”
Roscoe laughed. “I’m sure you will.”
Chapter 5
G oblins , like my boss, Bill, tended to keep to themselves. They even preferred not to work with other goblins—especially when it came to money. Bill always had his fist around a wad of cash, and he was paranoid about holding on to it.
The way he was always looking around outside and grumbling about how the older goblins made him pay a lot of money to keep The Bends open made it seem as though he was constantly under attack.
These little nuggets of information about goblins led me to where we needed to go to find out if Dad had met up with that black market dealer. Most goblins liked to sell their wares outside of the cities and along major roads, because the city was far too busy and cluttered with other supernaturals. The goblin black marketer we were looking for would most likely not operate in the city. If we wanted to find him, we’d have to follow our noses. For example, if he sold or collected rubber tires, I could find him easily enough. Rubber had a distinct scent. A bit overpowering, in fact. Of course, Google would provide enough information for me to locate all the tire distributors along the Expressway, but our noses would reveal the exact location of his place just as effectively, if not more so.
Before we could set out, though, we had to wait for Alex to finish talking on the phone.
“Are you sure, Heather?” he asked. “Does my mom know that my wife is in labor?” Heather was his wife’s former roommate—a fellow wood nymph.
While I did a little search on the Internet, I couldn’t help but overhear most of the conversation. As I listened, joy filled my heart … and dread soured my stomach. It was time for my brother to go home—he was going to be a father soon.
My gaze went to the window and the world beyond it. I could go back with him. A part of me didn’t want to be here to face this without my brother. Or be alone with Thorn. And for all we knew, my dad could already have obtained the compact and be heading back to Roscoe.
I sensed Thorn’s gaze on my back. He really hadn’t looked at me this way since we’d begun our trip. It was like a caress at the nape of my neck that swirled down my back.
I swallowed a bout of
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