EVIL VILLAIN (The Royal Court #3) - Rebel Hart Page 0,35
barrel damn near on my nose.
“Whoa.” I held my hands up.
“Who the fuck are you?” the woman growled.
Beyond her, I could see a few additional people inside, one in particular was watching me from the shadows at the far back of the container. “I’m Deon. Venom sent me here to talk to Nico.”
The woman kept her gun pointed out at me, but looked back over her shoulder. “Is that what you were told.”
“Nah,” the man said from the back.
“I know that his wife, Felicity, was supposed to come. She had a client so she sent me instead. I’ve been staying with her while Venom has been trying to help me find Connor Loche,” I explained. Both Nico and the woman were staring at me like they weren’t entirely sure I was telling the truth, so I decided to take a calculated risk. Felicity said I should mention ‘Garrett’ as soon as I got there. I assumed she just meant what I knew him by, but maybe she was being specific. “Trust me. Garrett sent me here.”
Nico jumped up immediately and ran over to the woman, shoving her arm down to remove the gun from my face. He reached out and waved his hands at the other guys to wave them down. “Jesus Christ, kid. Say that shit from the beginning. Do you have any idea how much Venom would kick my ass if he knew I had guns pointed at his kid?” He was a short, muscular man, with faded hair and a clean-cut goatee.
“Sorry,” I said. “I won’t mention it if you don’t.”
“Cool. Come on in. Can I get you a beer or something?” Nico asked.
The woman scoffed. “You can’t get him a beer. He’s not 21.”
“Relax, KT. His own father’s hunting him down and trying to kill him, for god’s sake. The man can have a beer,” Nico said.
“I appreciate it, but I’m okay,” I replied.
Nico motioned to a chair. “Well, come sit. I’ve got a busy schedule today, but I’d like to get boots on the ground for you as soon as possible.”
I sat where Nico told me to, and he returned to the seat he was in when I first arrived. He crossed his arms and looked across at me. Even though he was shorter and less bulky than I was, his aura was intimidating, like I wouldn’t survive just thinking about doing something to him.
“So, Deon, tell me about this man you need me to find. Don’t get me wrong, I know who Connor Loche is, I don’t think there’s a person in the world who doesn’t, but I’m assuming your experience with him is different from the facade he projects to the world,” Nico said.
“That’s an understatement,” I said. “What’s considered helpful? Do I tell you that he’s a murderous, womanizing, abusive asshole, or does that not help?”
He chuckled. “I mean, it’s good to know where his mindset is. There are other things that might be more helpful though. Any places that are important to him?”
I couldn’t help but wish that I could reach out to Nathan and put him in touch with Nico instead. He was probably a wealth of knowledge. Then again, I did like that he wasn’t getting any more sucked into that world than he already was.
“Well, when he kidnapped my brother, he took him to a cabin about an hour north of Postings. I don’t know the exact address, but we took highway 10 all the way until it ended, and then took the first right. There was a cabin all the way at the end of a winding road and that’s where they were. His company is in downtown Postings of course, the address is publicly listed. He’s not at his home, at least not the one where he lived with his family. My brother is still there, at least he was last time we spoke.” I racked my brain for anything else that would be helpful. “The only other thing I can think is that he’s probably still within reach of Postings. I know that’s not hard to do in Maine, but he was tormenting them. Through his men, but I imagine he wasn’t far. I’ve learned he’s a hands-on kind of guy.”