There was a sudden thump at the front door that made us both jump. I looked at Taylor. ‘Stay there,’ I told him, every muscle in my body tensing up.
It was nothing more than the morning paper. I cursed myself for being as jumpy as a kitten and picked it up. ‘It’s alright,’ I called out to Taylor, picking it up from the doormat. ‘It’s just the newspaper.’ I tossed it down onto the kitchen table with the rest of the detritus.
‘I’m sorry,’ Taylor said miserably. ‘I’ve screwed everything up. Here you are trying to pack, trying to make a new life yourself and…’
‘Stop.’ I mustered my sternest look. ‘Yes, you’ve messed up. But we’ll deal with it.’
His head drooped. ‘How?’
I straightened my shoulders. Sneaky was my middle name. But when sneaky didn’t work… ‘I’ll find this courier and talk some sense into him. If we can get the name of the guy who bought the loan, we can find out what he really wants. Because I’m betting it ain’t money.’
Taylor jerked his head up in alarm. ‘The Wild Man will squash you, Integrity! This isn’t someone you want to mess with.’
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. ‘Maybe he’ll find out that I’m someone he doesn’t want to mess with.’
Besides, at this moment we were out of damn options.
‘I should come with you then.’
‘No. Right now you’re the target. It makes more sense for you to stay here. It’ll be easier for me to talk my way out of things if I’m alone.’
He sighed. ‘Once upon a time, it was me giving the orders.’
‘Once upon a time, you weren’t a decrepit old man.’ I winked. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll sort all this out.’
Chapter Four
From where I was standing, Taylor’s little house looked empty. The door was closed, the curtains were drawn and there were no signs of life. A few people scurried along the street, one or two of them with faces I recognised. Wanting to avoid getting drawn into a chat about the weather, I stayed in the shadows. I couldn’t afford to get distracted. You’re tough, I told myself. I nodded at the tiny voice inside my head that chirped: ‘And when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’
I could do this. I had to do this.
As soon as the street was clear of pedestrians, I darted forward. It was possible that the hulking brute had vanished when he realised Taylor wasn’t around. That wouldn’t help my cause; I needed to confront him. He knew who I was and that meant he probably also knew I was Sidhe. I would bet, however, that he didn’t know that I had no Sidhe Gifts to work with. I could play with that. Assuming he showed up again.
When I reached Taylor’s door and examined it, the splintered frame was easy to see. The lock itself was completely bust. I pushed open the door stealthily but it took only one touch for it to creak ominously, fall forward, drop off its top hinge and slam against the wall with a loud crash. So much for a discreet entry.
With little choice, I folded my arms and stalked inside, yelling as I went, ‘Hey Scarface! Where the hell are you?’ I injected a gravelly growl into my tone. Ha! Take that, scary enforcer man.
Without slowing down, I stormed through the hallway and into Taylor’s living room – to be greeted by a scene of utter devastation. He was normally fastidious about tidiness. When I lived with him after fleeing the Bull, he snapped at me for so much as leaving an empty glass on a table. If he could see how things looked now, he’d have palpitations. Oh wait. He already was having palpitations.
Taylor’s computer monitor, which normally sat neatly on the desk in the corner, was lying smashed in the centre of the room. There was a huge rent through his watercolour of the Aberdeen skyline, and there was paper everywhere. There was also a strong smell of cloves.
‘Where are you?’ I snarled. I marched over to the rug in the middle of the room and picked up one of the cushions from the sofa. It appeared to be stained with some sort of icky brown liquid. ‘You better have wide pockets,’ I shouted. ‘Because you’re going to have a hell of a dry cleaning bill!’
As threats went, that was hardly going to have a thug quivering in his boots. I had to do better. ‘You lily-livered guttersnipe! Come out and show yourself!’ Nope. That wasn’t much of an improvement.
Just then there was a thump. I froze and slowly lifted my eyes to the ceiling. There was another thump and, as I watched, a crack appeared in one corner of the plasterwork then snaked its way across. Okaaaay. Upstairs then.
Trying not to be terrified at what sort of creature could cause structural damage so easily, I balled up my fists. Bring it on.