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He took a couple of seconds to do a deeper search of the room and she was right. Not only were there large women serving the clientele but several average-sized women who were with child.
He’d only been inside Gary’s club a few times, but he’d never noticed pregnant women before. Of course, he hadn’t been looking, either. Connor’s work was centered on drug-running, not sex-for-sale enterprises. Any business he’d had with Big Nuts would have involved seeking information about a runner.
~ ~ ~
Iris tried to ignore the smells assaulting her from within the oh-so-fine establishment. She smelled sex and a variety of body odors, a cigar stench and somewhere a layering of beer and vomit.
Having reached the opposite side of the room and passed down a narrow hall, Alejandro stood outside a doorway. Two plump, naked beauties held back a pair of blue velvet curtains. Iris half-expected Big Nuts to be reclining on pillows with several women servicing him.
Instead, he sat behind a desk, smoking a cigar, his eyes narrowed as if in some discomfort. Four bodyguards, in addition to Alejandro, were stationed around the room.
She forced herself to take deep breaths, not because she was frightened, but because the wood-paneling of the room was trying to talk to her, screaming at her.
Violence was part of night-life in the Row. So of course the organic elements of the room would try to gain her attention, to warn her away. She even thought about attempting a calming spell. But she knew the moment she lit up her witch skills, one of the vampires present would probably cut her throat.
Big Nuts looked her up and down. He was bald, had a wide nose, and wore a black tank like Connor that showcased his shoulder tattoos, one of them a screaming skull. “You’re pretty for a witch. Too skinny, though.” As an alter species, he could tell she was a witch just as she knew he was a vampire.
He rose from his chair, then rounded the desk to plant his ass on the corner, legs wide. He wore snug, leopard print pants.
Okay, she couldn’t help herself. Her gaze dropped to the bulge across his groin and there they were, about the size of softballs, which was probably the most accurate description possible in every respect. There was nothing sexy in the display, however. Rather, she felt like she was standing next to a cage at the zoo, looking at an animal she’d never seen before.
Gary’s nickname suited him extremely well.
When she could finally lift her gaze to his face, he wore a satisfied smile and took a drag on his fat cigar. It was as though God had given him a single outstanding asset and he worked it like a one-ring circus.
“So you knew the bridge would blow. That a witch thing?”
“My witch thing. Yes.”
“Yeah, you witches have a complete panorama of gifts. I lose track. And I never use one of your kind in my club, in case you’re offering.”
“I’m not.”
Big Nuts’s gaze slid to Connor. “What d’you want, anyway, Officer?”
Connor’s deep voice rolled through the room. “Heard a rumor you sent a runner my way tonight. A woman with a fake jacket. I need to know why.”
Iris felt the tenor of the room change, like a first strike of lightning in a thunder storm. It was a warning from a spiritual plane and she knew she couldn’t ignore it.
She drew her gun, whirled, then settled her back against Connor’s arm. She was essentially at a right-angle to him. He didn’t move, yet she could feel his body had drawn up into a single tense line, ready for action as well.
Big Nuts’s bodyguard force came to attention during the same split-second of movement. Blades came out and a couple of hand guns.
“Back-off,” Iris cried out, “or I’ll start shooting because I don’t give a damn who dies here tonight. Not me, not Connor, not any of you.”
There was a joint intake of breath. A few of the bodyguards muttered a string of expletives. A witch making threats in a Crescent T
erritory establishment was something to be feared.
Gary waved a hand. “Put your weapons away.”
Big Nuts’s force obeyed immediately, though all eyes were on her.
“What are you doing?” Connor asked, nudging her gently with his arm from behind.
“Protecting your ass.”
For some reason, this made Connor chuckle. “Thanks, but I got this.”
