Elspeth smiled wryly, thinking he might be right. After all, she wasn’t the only example of God’s sense of humor. There was G.G. himself, a mortal whose mother had been widowed while he was still a boy, and then found herself a life mate to an immortal. She’d allowed the immortal to turn her, and then, when G.G. was eighteen, had offered to use her one turn to turn her son. But whereas most mortals would give a lot for such an opportunity, G.G. wasn’t interested. Of course, that had crushed his mother. She didn’t want to have to watch her son grow old and die. So his stepfather had bought The Night Club and given it to G.G. on his eighteenth birthday with the hope that one day, an immortal would walk in that G.G. might be a life mate for, and he might yet agree to be turned.
“Wow, this place is something special.”
Elspeth turned at that comment as Wyatt returned from the washroom.
“The bathrooms are first class, and I spotted a room through a glass door on my way there that looks like a high-class New York dance club.”
“If this place is anything like The Night Club in London, there will be other rooms too, all with different themes,” Elspeth said with a faint smile and then glanced to G.G. “Are there?”
He nodded. “Lucern had it set up pretty good, but I did redecorate a couple of rooms to my own taste when I bought it.”
“You own this place?” Wyatt asked with amazement.
G.G. nodded.
“Wow,” he breathed, and then said solemnly, “Well, you have a real classy place here. Nice job.”
“Thank you,” G.G. said with dignity.
“We should get going,” Elspeth said, standing up. “My mother and sisters are probably still with Merry, and I wouldn’t want to inflict them on your grandmother for any longer than necessary. Besides, I do have to get to work eventually.”
“Yeah.” Wyatt got up and pulled out his wallet. “I’ve got our drinks.”
Elspeth exchanged a glance with G.G. and then quickly rolled up the money she’d taken out earlier and passed it to G.G. in a handshake as she murmured, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” G.G. said solemnly, but held on to her hand. “You’re going to have to confront her, Elspeth. I know there’s a reason for her behavior, but this isn’t healthy for any of you. Not only is she making you and your sisters’ lives miserable, she’s hampering your development. The twins are like a couple of sixteen-year-olds, and you . . .” He shook his head. “This has to end. You have to find a way to end it.”
“Yes,” she said on a sigh, and withdrew her hand when he released it. Noting the curiosity on Wyatt’s face, she forced a smile. “Shall we go?”
Nodding, Wyatt held a fifty out toward G.G. for what he thought were a Coke and four power drinks. “Will this cover it?”
“It’s all good,” G.G said, waving the money away and walking around the bar. “I’ll see you guys out and lock the door.”
Wyatt tried to protest, but fell silent, his eyes widening incredulously when the man reached them. Wyatt was probably an inch over six feet tall and well built, but G.G. was a giant in comparison, and twice as wide.
Grinning, Elspeth took Wyatt’s arm and urged him toward the door. “Come on. Let’s get moving and let G.G. finish prepping for the rush.”
Five
“Jesus, that guy’s huge,” Wyatt breathed as they stepped out onto the sidewalk and heard the door lock behind them.
“That’s why he’s called G.G.,” Elspeth said with amusement, and then explained, “It’s short for Green Giant.”
“Green Giant?” Wyatt asked with surprise. “You were calling him G.G.? The whole time we were in there I thought you were saying Gigi, like the girl’s name, and couldn’t figure out who would be stupid enough to name him that.”
Elspeth chuckled as they wound their way toward the curb, maneuvering around the pedestrians walking past. “His real name is Joshua. But someone nicknamed him Green Giant because of the green Mohawk and his size, and then it was shortened to G.G. and it stuck.”
“Hmm,” Wyatt murmured and then grinned and asked, “Did he kill the guy who called him Green Giant?”
“Not that I know of,” she said with a laugh as they reached the curb.
Wyatt smiled. He liked her laugh. He’d forgotten how musical and sweet it was. He was glad he’d followed her this evening. He still hadn’t got the answers to a lot of his questions, but at least he knew she hadn’t rushed off to drink or pick up men at The Night Club tonight. Also, he believed what she’d said. Her renting from his grandmother was nothing more than coincidence, and—
A startled yelp and Elspeth suddenly falling out into the road in front of him brought Wyatt’s thoughts to an abrupt halt, and then horror crashed through him as she disappeared under the wheels of a car. It all happened so fast he was left gaping briefly, his heart and lungs coming to a full stop, and then slamming back to work as the car skidded to a halt and alarmed shouts and concerned cries rose up around him.
Wyatt hurried to the back end of the car, but Elspeth wasn’t there. Dropping to his knees, he peered under the vehicle, his heart stuttering in his chest when he saw her pinned under the back tires.
“I’ll lift the car. You’re going to have to pull her out.”
Wyatt glanced around with a start and found G.G. kneeling beside him. Obviously, he’d seen what had happened and come out of the club to help, Wyatt thought as the man got to his feet and bent to grab the back bumper.
“I won’t be able to hold it up long, so you have to be quick,” G.G. warned. “Are you ready?”
Shaking off his shock, Wyatt nodded and dropped onto his stomach on the pavement. He then reached for Elspeth’s hand. She was lying on her back with the car tire on her lower leg, but her arms were free and the one on this side was lying thrown out toward him, as if she were reaching for him. Her eyes, though, were closed, and her face . . .
Wyatt ground his teeth together, and turned his gaze determinedly away from her battered face. He didn’t know if it was road burn, or from the bottom of the car, but Elspeth would never be the same. Reaching for her hand, he clasped it firmly, and then glanced up at G.G. and said, “I’ve got her. Go ahead.”
Nodding, the huge man took a deep breath, bent to the job, and began to pull up with all his might. For a moment, Wyatt was afraid G.G. wouldn’t be able to manage it, but then the car began to rise. Still, he was relieved when a couple of passersby rushed to help hold the vehicle up. It made Wyatt a lot less nervous about the possibility of the car dropping on Elspeth while he worked to retrieve her, which he did now, pulling her toward him as far as he could, and then releasing her hand to catch her further up the arm, and then by the belt buckle to drag her out.
The moment she was clear, the men released the car. It slammed down with a crash and Wyatt was glad they’d waited until he had Elspeth completely out. He was quite sure the rear end had bounced off the pavement when it landed.
“Has someone called an ambulance?” he asked, peering over Elspeth’s bloodied body with concern. Dear God, he’d seen a lot while in the army, but he’d never seen anything like this. She looked like she’d been chewed up and spat out.
“I’m sure they have,” G.G. said, but didn’t sound happy at the thought.
“G.G.? What’s going on?”
Wyatt glanced up to see a young woman pushing her way through the surrounding crowd to reach them. She had long white hair that was scraped back into a ponytail, but her face was youthful, as was her figure in the jeans and T-shirt she wore.
“Sofia,” G.G. said with relief. “We need some help here.”
The woman’s gaze shifted speculatively to Elspeth. “Is she an imm—?”
“An Argeneau,” G.G. interrupted and stood up. Nodding to Wyatt, he added, “And he’s her LM. Can you deal with the crowd while we take care of her?”
“Of course,” she said at once.
“Thank you,” G.G. said and then turned back to Wyatt. “Can you carry her? Or do you want me to?”