Sighing, she twisted her arm out of his hold. "Stop with the nonsense, Nick. You know I can't quit. We need the money."

"No, Ma, real y. Mr. Hunter's going to pay me four thousand a month to work for him."

Her jaw went slack as her eyes narrowed in anger. "Doing what?"

"Running errands, like he said."

"Oh no, no, no. I'm not having any of that. No one pays that kind of money for running legal errands. I want you to quit first thing tomorrow."

"No, Mom. It's al legal. I promise."

Stil she refused to believe him. "Not for that kind of money it's not. What kind of fool do you take me for? I wasn't born yesterday. I-"

"Mom, listen. Please. He real y is loaded like you've never seen before. Ash told me that Kyrian thinks I'm underpaid. The guy has no concept of how much money he's paying me.

Real y."

"No one is that loaded, Nick, that they'd just throw forty-eight thousand dol ars a year at a kid for running errands. Think about it."

A day ago, he'd have been right there with her. But after today ... for some reason he believed in Kyrian and his intentions. "Yeah, he is. Trust me. I saw the house and you ain't never seen nothing like it. So you can quit dancing. I'l be making enough working part time that you won't have to do anything but stay home." Just like they'd always dreamed of.

His mom hesitated. "I don't know."

"Please, Mom. Trust me."

Her features softened as she cupped his cheek in her hand.

"Tel you what. You work for him for a couple of weeks and after you get your first paycheck then we'l see, okay?" Nick curled his lip as he realized her tactic. She was shutting him down and not real y listening to a word he said.

"Why don't you believe me?"

"I think you misunderstood him."

"I didn't."

She brushed his hair back from his face. "We'l see, Nick.

We'l see."

G.o.d, he hated that tone she used. It was so condescending and what she was actual y saying is that he didn't know what he was talking about. He wasn't stupid.

Whatever. He was too disgusted to keep arguing when it was obviously futile.

She went to go dress. "I left you some eggs and cheese on the stove in case you're hungry."

Nick cringed at her words. He should have thought to bring her some of Rosa's gumbo. She wouldn't have forgotten about him.

Next time ...

"I'm ful if you want some more. Kyrian's housekeeper fed me about an hour ago."

"Was it good?" she cal ed from her room.

"Yeah."

She poked her head out of the door. "Better than my cooking?"

He started to say yes, which was the truth, but self-preservation kicked in. He'd made the mistake of saying Menyara made better biscuits once and his mom hadn't taken it wel . "No. No one's gumbo can touch yours." She winked at him before she closed the door.

Nick let out a relieved breath that he'd sailed past that land mine without getting his b.u.t.t kicked over it. It wasn't often he pa.s.sed those tests. I'm getting better at dealing with women.

Today his mom. Tomorrow an actual girlfriend. ...

Like Kody.

Maybe I should call her? Since he hadn't seen her at school, he stil had her Nintendo in his pocket.

You know you don't have her number.

Oh yeah. That was a problem. One he'd fix first thing tomorrow when he went to school. And this time, he wouldn't wuss out. He'd actual y ask her to go have beignets with him.

Nick headed to the counter and picked up his worn-out copy of Hammer's Slammers, then headed to his room to read. He was just skipping ahead to where he left off last night when his mom pushed back the blanket.

"I'm heading out. You need anything before I go?"

"I'm good."

"Okay. Mennie said she'd come by later and check on you.

I'l be home a little after dawn."

Nick set his book down as he thought about her taking the streetcars to and from work while more zombies could be out on the street. His mom would barely be a snack for them.

"Would you mind if I went in to work with you tonight?"

"You need to rest."

"Yeah, but with al this weird sh-" He caught himself before he said something she'd ground him over. "-stuff going on, I'd feel better if you weren't by yourself." A slow smile spread across her beautiful face. "You going to be my protector?"

"That's my job, isn't it?"

"Al right. Grab a jacket and I'l tel Mennie." Nick did as she ordered. She didn't often let him go to the club on school nights, but he'd meant what he said. He didn't like his mom out by herself. New Orleans could be dangerous on its best nights and since she was al he had ...

He'd guard her with every breath in his body.

By the time he had his jacket on over his bad arm and had reached the porch, Mennie was outside with her.

"Why don't you borrow my car, chere?" His mom hesitated. "You know I don't like being responsible for other people's property. Besides, it's hard and expensive to park it in the Quarter. Bourbon Street's already blocked off."

"Then park it on Royal. Please, Cherise. I'd feel better if you two weren't roaming the streets in the wee hours of the night by yourselves. Think of poor Nicky."

His mom looked at him before she nodded.

Menyara handed her the keys, then kissed Nick on the cheek. "You watch over your mom."

"Always."

His mom smiled at her. "I'l leave the keys on the counter so that you can get them in the morning."

"Sounds good."

His mom turned and led him down the steps to where Menyara's dark blue Taurus waited next to their beat-up red Yugo that needed repairs they couldn't afford at present. Nick got in first. It was weird to be in Mennie's car without her.

Normal y they only rode in it whenever there was a hurricane coming and they needed to evacuate when their own car was broken down.

Or Nick needed st.i.tches.

Not wanting to think about that, he buckled himself in while his mom started the car.

She ruffled his hair. "You know, since I have the car, you could stay home."

"Nope. You stil have to walk from Royal to Bourbon." She shook her head. "My fierce little bul dog."

"I'm bigger than you."

"I'm meaner."

She always said that, but it wasn't true. His mom was the kindest person he'd ever met. It was one of the reasons why he was so protective of her. In many ways, she was stil a doe-eyed innocent who only saw the good in people.

Impossible to believe, but she even defended his dad and there real y was nothing good to be said about that man. He was like the devil himself.

Closing his eyes, he listened to the zydeco playing low on the car radio. That and Elvis were his mom's favorite kinds of music. Zydeco, she said, because it spoke to her Cajun roots.

Elvis because it reminded her of being a little girl and playing with her cousins and sister. Apparently they used to get together and try to out-Elvis each other. And that thought made him grimace as the Mojo Nixon song "Elvis Is Everywhere" started echoing in his head-it'd take him days to get that to stop torturing him.

And it didn't make sense that they impersonated Elvis since they were al girls, but far from him to interject sanity into anything, especial y after the day he'd had.

They reached Royal Street and parked two blocks from her club. Nick got out and scanned the street where tourists were walking, some stopping to browse in the windows of the antique and jewelry stores that lined the street. They were only a few blocks away from Liza's store. She should be closing up right about now and getting her receipts together for her deposit.

He walked his mom to her club, then hesitated at the back door as she knocked for admittance. "Do you mind if I go check on Ms. Liza?"

She gave him a suspicious scowl. "Is that real y what you're doing?"

"I promise. I don't like her dropping cash at the bank alone." His mom kissed him on the cheek. "I don't know how I raised such a great son. Go on, but don't be gone long."

"I won't." He nodded to John as he let his mom in, then reversed his tracks back to Royal Street and over to the dol store.

Just as he thought, Liza was at the counter batching her credit card machine. She looked up and smiled at him as he knocked on the window.

Crossing the shop, she came to the door to let him in. "Wel , isn't this a surprise. What are you doing here, sweetie?"

"I came to work with my mom and just wanted to see if you needed me to walk with you to the bank." She locked the door behind him. "How thoughtful of you and yes, I'd love to have company. I'm just about done. You want a cola or something while I finish?"

"You got any cookies?"

"Always."

Nick skipped around her to go to the back room where she usual y kept her fresh-baked cookies. Oh yeah, now this is what he was talking about. ...

He didn't know what she put in them, but they melted in his mouth and left him aching to eat his weight in them.

"By the way," he cal ed out as he grabbed a handful.

"Thanks for sending some to the hospital. They made my day."

"You're quite welcome, Mr. Gautier. Have you been to Kyrian's yet?"

"Was there earlier." He came out of the room to stand with her behind the counter. "Met a friend of his named Ash Parthen-something I can't p.r.o.nounce."

She went completely stil .

Nick wondered what that meant. "You know him too?"

"I do." She tucked her bil s into the blue envelope she used to hold the deposit money.

"Any idea how to say his last name?"

"With great respect." She winked at him. "It's Pahr-thin-oh-pay-us. Ack-uh-ron Pahr-thin-oh-pay-us."

"Yeah, that's a mouthful. I don't think I even want to know how to spel it. Can you imagine having to learn that in kindergarten? And I thought Gautier was hard. I was almost ten before I stopped putting an 's-h' in it." She laughed.

Nick had just finished the last of his cookies when she reached for her jacket. Shrugging it on, she went to set the alarm while he waited by the door. As soon as it was beeping, she led him out and locked it tight.

Liza wrapped her arms around his good one. "You know, I miss these walks with you. Any chance I can steal you back from Kyrian?"

"You'l have to talk to him about it. Since he paid for the hospital, he kind of owns me."

"I'm sure he pays better too."

"A little bit. But he doesn't bake me chocolate chip cookies.

Laughing, she stopped at the ATM and made her drop.

Nick escorted her back to her car and waved to her as she got in and left him on the street in front of her store. He was just about to head back to the club when he heard a strange sound coming out of the al ey that cut between her store and the one next to it.

It sounded like a dog. ...