Nick waited outside Smith’s brownstone as the weather turned and a warm breeze started to blow, heralding some kind of storm on the horizon. Part of him wondered if maybe it was a magical storm that started in the Betwixt and would dump all kinds of magic and bullshit on them as they tried to free the ErlKing. It would just be his fucking luck that the last major mission he ran involved genies and magic and all kinds of shit.

He leaned back in the shadows as he watched leaves blow down the street, pulling a cigar from inside his coat to take the edge off. He’d quit smoking for a while but it always seemed to come back when he needed to calm his nerves. He wasn’t nervous for himself. He never was. No, he wondered whether Lacey would be safe. Whether Smith would survive and still be in his right mind. Whether his sister would be fine, and his little niece or nephew would think of him after Nick walked away.

He flicked away some ash and squinted through the smoke at where headlights approached. He thought the witch might be first to arrive, but instead it was Rafe and Ruby and Meadow. Nick hung back, not wanting to frighten Rafe’s mate, though he knew the wolves knew he was there after they sniffed and looked right at him. Meadow shuffled up the stairs and unlocked the grand front door, calling something over her shoulder at Rafe so that the wolf jumped up to go with her.

Ruby remained behind, saying something about needing air, and instead leaned against the stoop banister as she looked right at him. “Lurking in shadows now, wolf?”

“I’m right at home here,” he said. He offered her a smoke but Ruby waved it away, muttering something about her mate having the nose of a bloodhound. Nick smirked and tried to imagine the boss bitch alpha wolf giving a shit whether her mate could tell if she’d smoked. “Didn’t figure you’d go all feminine just for your snuggly lion cub, Rubes.”

“You can fuck right off,” she said, pleasant as pie, and folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t think Lacey liked smelling smoke, either.”

“It’s not something I’m worried about,” he said. He wished—strongly—that someone else would show up. Even if it was Lacey.

Ruby’s dark eyebrow arched. “How’d you fuck that one up?”

“How do you think?” Nick tried to grin, even though the ice around his heart cracked. “My sparkling personality. My charming wit. My swimmer’s body.”

“Bullshit.” The alpha wolf eyed him, then tilted her head at the door. “You want to talk about it?”

“Nope.” Nick studied the end of his cigar, wondering whether he’d have time to smoke the whole thing before Lacey showed up. “Life is life, wolf. It didn’t work out.”

Ruby’s eyes glinted at him and she made a rude noise. “I always knew you were crazy, Nick, but I never thought you were stupid.”

Nick’s wolf started paying attention. Having an alpha challenge him like that always got his beast irked and ready to fight. He could have used a couple of drinks to get ready. “I don’t think we need to rumble before we face down a genie and that pissant BadCreek jerk. So maybe slow your roll, Ruby Leigh.”

“No, I’m not going to. We’re not going to leave anything on the table, dipshit. I’m tired of your lone wolf schtick and your woe-is-me, running-straight-into-danger outlook.”

He pushed away from the wall. “I’ll wait out back. Or down the street. Or in the fucking sewer. I don’t care. Just as long as you’re not there.”

“You’re not actually a lone wolf, you know.” Ruby squared off with him, blocking his escape, and bristled as she managed to look as big as a house. “You’ve got a sister and a brother-in-law, and soon some cubs to look up to you. You’ve got family. Friends. And a mate.”

“I don’t have a mate.” Nick tried to step around her, since he didn’t believe in hitting women unless they were trying to kill him, and even then he avoided it as much as possible. “Everything else is transitory, Ruby, and you know that. Now get out of my way.”

“Not until you get this.” Ruby sidestepped and planted her hands on his chest, shoving him back a step. “I’m surprised Kaiser didn’t try to kick this shit into your head. Maybe it’s a guy thing. Maybe you’re just too stupid to get it. Lacey is your mate. Why the fuck haven’t you fixed this?”

“As I recall,” he said, snapping back as the wolf tore at his control. “You ran from your mate, too. So don’t get judgmental on me, O’Shea.”

She growled and the door to the townhouse opened, Rafe sounding guarded and wary as he called into the night, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Nick and Ruby said at the same, glaring at each other through the darkness.

Rafe grunted and said, “Two of them. Just fucking wonderful. Why don’t you call everyone else so we can get this shit moving?”

The door shut and Ruby didn’t wait two seconds before she caught the front of Nick’s shirt and jabbed her finger in his face. “Do not walk away from her. Trust me on this. It’s worth it. Take the chance.”

Then she shoved him back and turned on her heel, striding off down the street, and pulled out her cell phone to call someone. Nick leaned back against the brownstone as her strident voice filled the night as she demanded to know where Carter and Eloise and everyone else was.

Nick scowled as he rubbed his chest and flicked the coal off his cigar. He continued to lurk outside until two cars rolled up, the dark sedan driven by a uniformed driver and bodyguard disgorging Ruby’s mate and the gorgon and her mate and Lacey, and the yellow cab coughing up the witch.

Nick wanted to laugh or make a joke or something, since he’d never imagined witches would have to take cabs, but there wasn’t much mirth in any of the people who strode up to the brownstone. The witch hardly blinked when he materialized out of the shadows, and the gorgon glared at him even with the sunglasses she wore.

Benedict Chase put his arm around Eloise and pulled her back a bit before the gorgon could do anything, and Nick wondered why she had already decided to be so damn angry at him. Especially since Lacey didn’t look pissed anymore. So Nick grinned at the gorgon and slouched his way over, eyeing her up and down like she couldn’t turn him into stone with a single sneeze. “Well well well. Look what the cat dragged in.”

“I always knew you had a death wish,” Carter said. His muscles bulged as he held both Benedict and Eloise back, though the gorgon kicked a foot in his direction, like she could have somehow bridged the ten feet between them. The lion tried to propel the gorgon and her mate into the house, scowling at Nick over his shoulder. “How about we focus on the real problem tonight?”

“Yeah,” Ruby said, almost rolling her eyes. “We can all do some yoga in the morning. But right now we need to focus.”

Lacey glanced between them and gently took Eloise’s arm to steer her away from Nick. “We don’t need another statue, El. Especially another wolf.”

The gorgon muttered under her breath as she stormed up the stairs, and the rest of them followed until it was only Nick and the witch at the bottom of the stairs. Deirdre looked up at the brownstone, her young face serene. “An interesting group you’ve collected, wolf.”

“I thought you were bringing other witches with you,” he said. He squinted down the street, hoping there were more cabs waiting. “Did everyone lose their brooms?”

“Funny,” she said. She pulled off a dainty pair of gloves and started up the smooth stone stairs. “It’s just me. No one else felt inclined to get involved.”

Nick followed her, his heart starting to kick against his ribs. “Then what does that mean for our chances?”

“I imagine it narrows them slightly,” she said, not looking back. “Does that concern you?”

“Of course it does,” he snapped. “This has to work.”

“Oh?” The witch stopped at the front door and looked back at him. “Why?”

“Because otherwise we don’t get Smith back,” he said. Maybe he could shake her. Maybe witches wouldn’t mind being shaken to knock some sense into them. The wolf thought biting and chasing was a much better option. “And BadCreek remains a problem.”

“And the hyena stays behind,” she added, arching a perfectly-plucked eyebrow. “Though your wandering feet are already searching for their next trail.”

“How does everyone know everything about everything?” He gripped double handfuls of his hair and managed to check his watch. “We’re running out of time. Get your ass inside so we can start this.”

The witch’s expression cooled and he reconsidered the shaking plan. Did witches carry tasers? Maybe they didn’t need them. Or pepper spray. Something about the way her eyes narrowed made him think she didn’t need pepper spray or a taser to protect herself. Deirdre tapped a single finger against her chin as she considered him. “Being distracted during something like we are about to do will get you killed. Will get all of us killed. And I don’t feel like dying tonight. So it is very much my business whether you and the hyena will be able to keep your attention on the business at hand. Will that be a problem?”

“No,” Nick said, gritting the words out between his teeth. He might have cracked a molar, trying to keep from cursing. “It’s over. She made her choice. We’re going to clean this up and that’s the end of it. Okay?”

“Very well.” Deirdre inclined her head and went into the house without another word.

Nick scrubbed his hands over his face and took a steadying breath. Maybe dying in the middle of this particular mission would be the least worst thing to happen that night.