The Long Way Down (Daniel Faust #1)(77)

Nicky folded his hands behind his head, obviously liking the sound of that. He thought it over for a moment. “I got good news and bad news. Good news is, I can tell you exactly where Lauren and the Box are. Bad news is, they’re opening it tonight, so you’ve only got a few hours. You know the Silverlode, over on Fremont?”

I nodded. “Sure. It’s been closed for what, three years now?”

“Closed, but not abandoned,” Nicky said. “Carmichael-Sterling Nevada bought it up as soon as they hit town, thanks to a little help from yours truly. Officially, they’re renovating it for a summer opening. That’s just a smoke screen for the press, though. The only renovations going on in there are courtesy of that creepy chick Meadow.”

“Puppets?” I remembered her attack on Spengler’s house.

Nicky snorted and tossed back a swig of whiskey. “Try buzz saws and booby traps. She’s like that guy from the Saw movies, but without the sense of humor. They fortified the place just for tonight’s main event. You aren’t getting in there without a small army.”

“Fortunately,” I said, “I’ve got one. Any idea where in the building they’ll be?”

“Top floor. The old Klondike Room. The hotel elevator or the emergency stairs will take you straight to it, but it’s a suicide run.”

“We can manage it,” Caitlin said.

“I can manage it,” I told her. “As long as Lauren has that ring, I don’t want you getting within a mile of her.”

She frowned. “You’re not going in there alone.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be. I’ll have the best backup in the business.”

“What else do you want from me?” Nicky asked.

“You’ve got friends on the force,” I said. “Things could get loud. It’d be nice if the police kinda forgot the Silverlode existed for a few hours tonight.”

“Done and done. And hey, one other thing. Lauren couldn’t use this. She tossed it my way like some sorta tip for good service. I figure you might want it.”

Nicky dug around in his desk drawer and dropped his find on the blotter between us. A leather pouch fringed with turquoise beads. Its dulled pewter clasp seemed to absorb the light. I could feel the raw enchantment from here, a hungry, sucking void, only half-satisfied with the partial meal it had already devoured.

Stacy Pankow’s soul.

I took the pouch. Tiny psychic needles bristled against my palm.

“I’ve been looking for this,” I said, then turned to Caitlin. “Shall we?”

She rose and walked with me. I was halfway out the door when Nicky called out.

“Hey, Dan?”

I looked back at him.

“We good?” he asked, wringing his hands and giving me puppy-dog eyes. I had to think about that.

“I don’t know, Nicky, are we? You told those feral cambion where to find me.”

He shrugged, biting his bottom lip. “You pissed me off. I mean, you know me—I get irrational sometimes. Besides, I knew you could handle those punks. I figured they’d just scare you a little. And I was right. Right?” He sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have done that, and I won’t do it again. We’ve known each other since old times, Danny. It bothers me, us being at odds like this.”

Nicky and I would never be friends again—we had too much bad blood for that, too much wreckage between us, but I didn’t need any more enemies.

“Yeah,” I said, not feeling the words. “Yeah, Nicky. We’re good.”

I pined for air-conditioning the second we left the club. Taking out my phone as we crossed the parking lot, I squinted against the sudden return of the sun.

“I’m texting everyone, calling for an emergency meet-up. We’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

“Go,” Caitlin said. “Call me when you’re done and let me know what the plan is.”

“Huh? You aren’t coming?”

She stopped next to the car, turning to look at me, her gaze unreadable.

“Daniel, introducing me to your friends, your community, would raise some very uncomfortable questions for you. I don’t need to put you in that position.”

I had thought about that. Yeah, it wasn’t going to make me very popular, and Bentley would hit the roof. I might have a hard time feeling welcome at the Tiger’s Garden for a while. Maybe ever again.

I put my phone away and rested my hands on her hips. Holding her close.

“We both knew,” I said, “this wasn’t going to be easy, you and me being together. This isn’t the first challenge we’ve faced, and it sure as hell won’t be the last. But I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. My friends will stand by me, and if they don’t, then f*ck ’em because they weren’t really my friends to start with.”

She leaned in. Our lips brushed, soft as petals. She smelled like the ocean.

“All right,” she said, “let’s go meet the family then.”

? ? ?

I decided to skip our usual haunt. While its entrances move on a regular basis, the Tiger’s Garden usually hovers somewhere about a block away from the Silverlode. Lauren’s people would be watching the street like hawks, and I didn’t want to give them any sign that the Vegas occult underground was mobilizing for war.