Page 45 of No Rest for the Wicked

Reynard glowered.

“Hey, little pal, I know everything sucks right now, but we are going to help you, like you helped us, alright? If I let you out, will you please not murder anyone, and we can talk about the plan to save your family? If that’s what you want?” I opened the lid a tiny bit more. Light poured into the can, onto Little Jimmy’s gnarly, gremlin-like face. Big eyes peered up at me. He seemed calm. I opened the lid halfway, and tiny fingers crept over the rim of the cannister. Then the little pixie emerged. His wings were a bit crumpled, but a little flutter set them right. His cute-ugly face warmed on seeing me, then he snarled at Victor and Zee.

“Don’t worry about them. They won’t hurt you. I know we’ve had a few misunderstandings but hear us out? We discovered the vampires—” Jimmy hissed at Victor.

“Truth,” Zee agreed. “Little man sayin’ it as it is.”

“—took your family as a gift,” I continued. “I had that happen to me too, so I know how you feel. And we’re going to help get them back. But to do that we need to know your real name. If you, erm . . . have one?”

Jimmy’s lips rippled in a growl.

This was going to be difficult. Did pixies even have names? “I know you’re upset. But we do really need your name, or some way of identifying you from all the other pixies.”

His big eyes blinked. “Grr-dg.”

“He got something stuck in his throat? Getting a name from a pixie is about as likely as getting Sebastien to admit he’s a fuckface. Imma get a drink. Fancy Fangs, you want another Bitch?”

“No thank you, I already have one.”

Zee gasped. “Oh my fucking what?! Did you just . . . You did not just call me a bitch?!”

Victor smirked, as though he was a mere seventy percent innocent.

Zee blinked rapidly, while his thoughts backpedaled. “Why am I so fucking turned on? Ugh.” He flicked his wings and tail, and sauntered toward the bar.

Even Little Jimmy managed a smile. “Grr-dg,” he said again, when he caught me watching.

“Is that your name? Grr Dug?”

The little pixie’s wings fluttered, which could have meant yes, or just that he wanted to stretch his wings. It was going to have to do.

“We’ll get your family back.” I pointed a finger at his chest. “Deal?”

His tiny hand grasped my fingertip, and we shook on it. “Grr-dg,” he said, then fluttered off, behind the bar.

Whether Jimmy—or Grr Dug—would help us with the gremlins or not didn’t matter. I was getting his family back. We all were. Because that’s what SOS Hotel management did.

“You know, most people kill pixies without pause for thought.”

I straightened, and smiled at Reynard’s quirk of the lips. “I think we both know by now, I’m not most people.”

“No, you are not, Adam.”

In our quieter corner, with Zee making a scene at the bar, it seemed like a good time to sneak in some personal time with Victor. I hooked an arm around his waist and sighed against his side when his arm settled around my shoulders. We fit together so well, him and me. But we were definitely missing our third.

“He’ll understand,” Victor’s voice rumbled. “When you tell him.”

“I know, I just . . . When people learn about the real me, they either run away or their knives come out. It’s always been like that, for as long as I can remember. Even you ran.”

“That was . . . another mistake. I fear I’m prone to them when it comes to you.”

At least he admitted he’d run, and didn’t try to fob me off with the excuse, it’s for the best. “I don’t want to lose him, Victor. Zee’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Along with maybe this hotel, and . . . you?” I peered up as he looked down. Mercy, he was handsome. And intense. And I really wanted to climb him like a pole. Later.

“The truth won’t drive him away, but not telling him might.”

“Do you think he believed the spreadsheet explanation?”

“Not at all. But he knows you’re uncomfortable and he will not pursue the matter out of respect for your feelings.”