Kick Back - Susi Hawke Page 0,31

pub in an older neighborhood. As soon as we parked, Gil hopped out and slid open the back door. "Come on, we can talk inside. My cousin owns this place and you haven't lived until you've tasted his shepherd's pie. It's better than my mom's, but don't quote me on that or I will end you."

I laughed and reached for Nathaniel's hand. "Are you kidding? I would say that was some awesome blackmail you just gave me but your mother would shoot the messenger if I ever tried to rat you out."

The place was clean and smelled amazing. Marcel and Tony didn't seem too worried as we all took our seats around a table in the back. I liked the fact that Marcel wasn't snooty. He seemed just as comfortable here as he would in a five-star restaurant. To me, that spoke volumes about his character.

Gil didn't say anything until we all had a pint in front of us and our order had been taken. He took a long drink, sighing with pleasure as he wiped the foam from his lip with the back of his hand. "Much better. I was stressed for a minute back there when I thought I wasn't going to get you out in time."

Despite my sense of urgency, I made myself remain calm while Gil got comfortable. "Okay, now are you ready to tell me why you intercepted me on the way to deal with Saul fucking Everly?"

Gil winked. "That’s simple. I did it because I didn't want to see you die. Don't be daft. The duke isn’t even home, he's at a council meeting in Paris this week."

I frowned at the news. "Are you sure? My sources say that he’s home this week."

"Nope." Gil made a point of popping the p. "A guy who looks like him is holed up in there this week, but that man is an assassin from Algiers. And he's accompanied by a brother and sister act that don't normally play in our leagues. I had one of my brood get cameras in the place a few weeks back. Boy, did that pay off. I recognized them as soon as they moved in and got set up to grab you after you were spotted at Heathrow."

I leaned back in the seat, feeling twitchy at the idea of how close to danger we had been. "And Saul knew about this?"

Gil shrugged. "Not that I could tell, but who knows. He left and a couple hours later, Henri—that's the assassin from Algiers, and before you ask, I don't have his last name—showed up with the other pair. Saul's staff were sent away for what I'm guessing is a few days and the brother and sister are posing as a servant and a chambermaid. They weren't taking chances. They were going to lure you in there and take you out before you saw it coming. Even with your skills and the four of you outnumbering them, I didn't like your odds because they have all sorts of traps set up inside that house right now."

Nathaniel took my hand, and I could feel his tension through our bond. "Thank you for rescuing us, Gil. Do you know if the duke is the one who took the contract out on me?"

Gil's expression grew serious as he shook his head. "No, he's really just a horny old man who wanted an omega who didn't have enough standing to get help if he turned up with injuries from time to time. Did I mention the fact that he's into some kinky shit? I won't go into detail, but you know damn well that if it shocked me then it was no place for an innocent omega to wind up."

I shuddered, not wanting to imagine what kind of dark kink would be so bad that Gil didn't want to discuss it. Especially when he wasn't one to judge another person’s idea of a good time. Shaking my head, I pushed that thought out of my mind and focused on the matter at hand. "So you told us what you know. And now I'm back to square one. Unless you have anything else to share besides the shepherd's pie you raved about?"

"You know me so well." Gil smiled almost fondly before sobering again. "Yes, I was actually saving the best news for last. It took a lot of digging and I called in more than a few favors but I not only know who—I know why."

Now we were getting