Page 23

I had to speak to Victor. He’d know what to do. “I’ll uh . . . I’ll call Leomaris back.”

“Wait, what?”

I dashed for the door, and heard Jake say into the phone, “He just ran off.”

Okay, that was bad too. “I’m not running. I just . . .” Stopping, I whirled on my heel. “You know what, it’s fine. I’ll take the call.”

“Oh.” Jack frowned at the phone, then me. “The agent just hung up.”

I whirled and headed for the door. Again. Talk to Victor.

The loup-garou was in my home, being me. What if they’d hurt Madame Matase? Would they fool Tom Collins? Would Tom Collins even care if I wasn’t me?

Victor . . . I had to get to Victor . . . I grabbed the diner’s door handle and looked up just as the roar from a parade of shiny pickups pulled me up short. The line of trucks stopped at the pumps, cutting off my route to Victor and Zee. The people inside these trucks were different to the men who had attacked Hooper. These guys were shorter, for one. Better dressed. Riding in expensive, identical trucks.

The troll mafia.

Ducking my head, I turned on my heel again.

“You want me to call the agent guy back?” Jake asked.

“Uhm, no, thanks.” I dropped back into my booth. “I forgot my coffee, is all.” Keeping my head down, I sipped from the mug.

The diner’s bell dinged as the gang of trolls filed in, rowdy and in good spirits.

Jake didn’t look pleased as he headed over to take their orders.

I counted nine new customers. Some of them had handguns tucked into the back of their pants. Were they looking for us? I could probably slip by them unnoticed, but Zee was too conspicuous. Victor was pretty distinctive too. The three of us together would be unmistakable.

But if I could slip out the back now, without anyone noticing . . .

There had to be a back door . . .

“You alone tonight, Jake?” one of the trolls asked the server.

“Oh, you know, not really. Cal’s in later.”

Jake’s mumble sounded like a lie.

“Sure you are. Kim’s too tight to pay two for a night shift when hardly anyone comes in here.”

Jake laughed along, probably just trying to get through this. Nobody had noticed me. Yet.

I spotted a sign for the restroom, and figured they’d at least have a window back there, something I could squeeze out of. Or I could make my own exit in a wall, if it came to that.

I scooted out of the booth, and with my hands in my pockets and my head down, I headed for the restroom door. Nothing to see here. Just a boring, average guy.

“Oh hey, you guys know we’ve got a celebrity here?!” Jake announced, eager to switch the trolls’ attention off him.

“Is that so?”

I could feel their gazes settle on me. Oh dear.

“Yeah, this here’s the dragon from San Francisco,” Jake announced.

Hands still in my pockets, I turned and attempted to look a bit confused, and not all that interesting. A whole lot of curious faces peered at me from across the diner. “I’m uh . . . just gonna use the restroom.”

“We’re looking for a dragon, as it happens,” the chatty troll said. “Can’t be that many around.”