My eyes fly to his face. “How many men do you have, exactly?”
His lips twitch at the incredulity in my tone. “Enough.”
“Focus,” Tink snaps. “I don’t have all day to listen to your inept sexual foreplay.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re a jerk.”
“I prefer ball-buster, but I’ll take what I can get.” Her smile is audible. “Anyway, no luck at your place means they’re casting their net wider. Cell pings say Seaport is their next stop — unless their phones have grown legs and decided to go for a stroll through Fort Point on their own.”
A thought suddenly occurs to me. “Are they coming after you, too? If they know you’re the one who helped me…” I can’t help but be worried for the little blonde imp.
“I can take care of myself.” The confidence in her tone is unshakeable. “I tapped into Mac’s server. His boys are headed your way, not mine.”
“You’re a hacker?” I ask, surprised.
There’s a brief pause. “I prefer hacktivist.”
My head tilts. “Isn’t that like calling a garbage man a waste management official?”
“Detritus disposal technician,” Parker offers, grinning.
Nate glares at us both. I bury a laugh.
There’s a pause from Tink’s end, then, “Who’s that?”
“My brother.” I glance at Parker. His eyes haven’t shifted off the phone once since she started speaking.
“Just what we need right now — a man-whoring party boy.” She grumbles under her breath. “I don’t even know why I’m bothering with you people. Maybe I should just let natural selection take its course…”
“Because you’re such a kind hearted soul?” I offer.
She laughs outright at that — a light, joyous sound that’s totally at odds with her personality. “Yeah, that’s it.” Her sarcasm is thick. “Now shut up and listen. I’ve been tracking some of Mac’s boys since the other night. They’re headed your way and I don’t think they come bearing fruit baskets, if you catch my drift.”
“They’ll never get inside.” Nate’s voice is cold. “My security system is impenetrable. And even if they somehow managed to breach it…” His eyes narrow further. “I’d take care of it.”
Shiver.
“Okay, macho-man. We get it. You’re packing heat.” Tink snorts. “Point is, Mac’s boys have put a hit out on your girl. You’re standing in their way. That means they’re coming for you, and they won’t stop until they’ve got what they want.”
“And they want me?” I sigh. “Again?”
“They tried that. Didn’t work. Now, they’re pissed. They want their money or they want West blood,” Tink clarifies. “You need to talk to your father. Get him to pay up. Otherwise…” She trails off, keys clacking again.
“You could be making all of this up. How do we know we can trust you?” I ask.
“Sweetie.” She laughs. “I don’t give a fuck if you trust me. All I know is, you should leave that loft. When Mac’s boys are involved, things have a tendency to go up in flames.”
She clicks off.
My eyes move from the phone to Nate to Parker. We’re all totally silent for a full minute, contemplating her words.
“Is she as hot in person as she sounds on the phone?” Parker asks eventually.
I whack him on the arm. “Don’t even think about it. She’s totally out of your league.”
“No one’s out of my league,” he mutters, rubbing the spot where I hit him.
“Question is, do we believe her?” I ask, looking at Nate.
His eyes are active, face hard-set. After a moment, he nods. “We don’t have a reason not to.”
“She did save my life,” I concede. “Even if she complained the whole time.”
Parker grins. “Personally, I think we should track this Tinkerbell down.”
“Why, so you can ask her out?” I snort. “Fat chance.”
“We’ll find her.” Nate crosses the kitchen and grabs a set of car keys. “One way or another.”