"I doubt it."

If the stranger only knew ... "Yeah, wel , I don't. I happen to have known the woman since the day I was born and she's going to beat me until I bleed." He looked up at the stranger who'd saved his life.

He was huge. Probably around six-four with short blond hair, he was dressed al in black. High-end black. Nice pants, Ferragamo boots and, unless Nick missed his guess, the b.u.t.ton-down shirt was silk with leather cuffs and col ar-not that fake stuff they sold at the Dol ar Store where he and his mother bought clothes. As for his coat, the leather was so soft, it didn't even make that crackling leather sound.

This guy was definitely loaded.

"Why can't I move my arm?" Nick was starting to panic.

"You were shot."

"Where?"

"Your shoulder."

Before Nick could say another word, he heard his mother's distressed cry. From the side where his vision was blocked, she appeared and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh my G.o.d, baby. Are you al right?" She bawled as she saw the bandage on his head and over his eye. "What did they do to you? Why weren't you at home like I told you?

Dammit, Nicky, why don't you ever listen to me? Just once in your life!"

"It wasn't his fault."

His mother released him instantly. She turned toward the stranger, who was stil in the far corner of the room. "Who are you and why are you here?"

He held his hand out to her. "Kyrian Hunter. I'm the one who cal ed you."

She shook his hand. There was a stark contrast between her tan secondhand frayed wool coat, cheap white vinyl boots, and the red sequined polyester skirt Nick knew belonged to one of her dancing outfits. His tiny mom was a beautiful woman, but the heavy, overdone stage makeup made her look a lot older than her twenty-eight years and he hated when she teased her blond hair out for shows. It made her look cheap and his mom was anything but. "Thank you for that, Mr. Hunter.

Where did you find him again?"

Nick panicked. If Kyrian told her where he was when he'd been shot, she'd shoot him again just for good measure.

"He was in the Quarter, trying to protect an old couple from being mugged. They got away and the sc.u.m who'd held them up was beating on him when I saw them and stopped it." Tears glistened in her eyes. "You saved my baby?" Kyrian nodded.

She sobbed even harder.

Nick felt like total c.r.a.p. It was a good thing his dad wasn't here. He'd cut his throat for upsetting her like this. "Don't cry, Mom. I'm so sorry I got shot. I should have done what you said and gone home. ... I'm just so sorry."

She wiped at her cheeks where her makeup was now streaked by the tears. "You didn't do nothing wrong, baby.

You're a hero. A wonderful hero and I couldn't be prouder of you."

Nick winced at the lie. He wasn't a hero. I'm a hoodlum . . .

just like my sc.u.m-sucking father.

He met Kyrian's gaze and something in his eyes made him think that Kyrian might actual y know the truth. If he did, he didn't bust him for it, which only made Nick feel al the worse.

His mother drew a ragged breath. "The doctor told me you'd have to stay here for a few days, maybe a week or more. I don't know how we're going to afford-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm taking care of the bil ." She narrowed her eyes at Kyrian. "I can't let you do that."

"It's al right. Least I can do for him. There aren't many kids his age who'd take a bul et to keep a stranger safe." Stil , she looked doubtful.

Kyrian offered her a kind, tight-lipped smile. "I have the money, Mrs. Gautier." Wow, unlike Peters, he didn't sneer her name. He actual y said it like he respected her. "And no one to spend it on. Trust me. You're not taking a dime from me or my family that'l be missed."

She bit her lip. "That's mighty kind of you. Especial y after everything you've already done getting him here and al ." She took Nick's uninjured hand into hers and squeezed it. "I can't thank you enough for saving my baby, Mr. Hunter. Nicky's al I got in this world. I'd die if anything ever happened to him." Something dark flitted through Kyrian's eyes that reminded Nick of a ghost tormenting him. Some past pain that his mother's words conjured up.

Kyrian pul ed out his wal et and opened it. "This is my number." He gave his mother a smal business card. "If you need anything at al , don't hesitate to cal me. Any time, day or night. I don't sleep much so don't worry about disturbing me." She tried to give it back, but Kyrian wouldn't al ow it.

"Look," he said firmly. "I know you don't know me or trust me at al . I don't blame you. But there are people in the world who can give without asking for anything back. I'm one of them." She shook her head. "And I know how much stuff like this costs. I can't take that kind of money from you or anyone else.

Ever."

Kyrian's dark brown gaze went to Nick. "Then let him work it off."

Nick sputtered indignantly. "Excuse me?" They ignored him.

"Don't be ridiculous," his mom said. "It'd take him forever to earn this kind of money back."

Uh, yeah ... Last thing Nick wanted was to be indentured over a doctor bil .

Kyrian returned his wal et to his pocket. "Then what do you want to do? Have the hospital turn him out into the street before he's ful y healed? Wounds like that, he could get gangrene and lose a limb or die."

Hopeless despair glistened in her blue eyes and the sight kicked Nick straight in the gut.

"Mrs. Gautier ..." A tic worked in Kyrian's jaw. "I know you can't tel it by looking at me, but I've had a hard life. I've lost everyone who was ever important to me and I know what it's like to be kicked hard when you're down. You've got a great kid there. He deserves a chance. Let him work for me, part time, after school for a year, and we'l cal it even." She glanced at Nick, who wasn't so sold on this idea.

"Doing what?"

"Washing my car. Running errands."

His mom scowled. "What kind of errands?"

"Yeah," Nick interjected, "I ain't no babysitter or dog walker." Kyrian rol ed his eyes. "I don't have kids or a dog." He returned his gaze to Nick's mom. "He'd pick up groceries.

Some dry cleaning. He can work with my groundskeeper tr.i.m.m.i.n.g hedges or help my housekeeper clean the outside windows. Nothing dangerous or il egal." That didn't sound too bad, but Nick already had a job that he liked most days. "What about Ms. Liza, Mom? Who'l help her in her store?"

Kyrian frowned at him. "Liza Dunnigan?"

"You know her?" Nick asked in surprise.

Another tight-lipped grin broke over his face. "Yeah. We go way back. And I think she'd understand if you worked for me for a while."

His mom's hand tightened on his. "I don't know ... what do you think, Nicky?"

Nick looked at the sling on his arm. There real y was no way they could afford this bil . If Kyrian would pay and his mom wouldn't have to suffer ...

"As long as he's not a pervert and Liza doesn't mind, I can work for him, I guess."

Kyrian laughed. "I'm not a pervert."

"You better not be 'cause I'l quit if you are." Kyrian shook his head. "So it's settled?" Indecision played in his mom's gaze before she nodded.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Now if you two don't mind, I have an appointment I need to keep."

Nick frowned.

"This late?" his mom asked suspiciously.

Kyrian nodded. "I do a lot of international business that requires me to work late at night. Like I said, I don't sleep much." And with that, he was gone.

Now that they were alone, his mom gave him her ful attention. "What do you real y think?"

"I think I'm real y glad I'm not dead and you're not kil ing me over getting shot and being in the hospital, running up bil s we can't afford."

Her lips trembled. "Baby, how could I be mad at you for something like this? I just wish I made enough money that you didn't have to work too. If you'd been at home-"

"Don't, Mom, please." The guilt of it was kil ing him.

She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his bruised knuckles. "Al right, sweetie. You just rest. Don't you worry or think about nothing except getting better." She pul ed one of her black hair bands from her pocket and slicked her hair back into a sedate ponytail.

Nick smiled, knowing she did that for him so he wouldn't be embarra.s.sed by her over-teased hair. Then she went to the sink to wash off her makeup and pul off the fake glitter eyelashes. She was so much prettier without al that goop on her face that he didn't understand why they made her wear it.

Once she looked like his mom again, she slid into the bed beside him and held him close.

Normal y, he'd be pushing her away 'cause it felt like she was stifling him. But tonight, while he ached and hurt, he was glad to have her hold him close.

It'd always been just the two of them in this world. Team Fabulous. That's what she'd cal ed them as far back as he could remember. Together they could make it through anything.

She brushed his hair back from his temple and gave him a light kiss there. "You are my little man, Nickyboo. And I'm so grateful I have you. You're the only thing I've ever done right in my entire life and if anything ever happened to you, they'd have to dig two graves 'cause I couldn't live a single day without my baby beside me."

Her words almost succeeded in making his eyes tear up, but he was too tough for that. Nothing could make him cry.

Nothing. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, baby. Now go to sleep. You need to get better so I can beat your b.u.t.t for getting hurt." Smiling at her empty threat, Nick closed his eyes, but he couldn't sleep. His mind kept replaying the look on Alan's face as he'd pul ed the trigger. The creep had tried to kil him. ...

And if it was the last thing he did, he was going to get even.

As his dad would say, Our blood don't run. Sometimes we want to. Sometimes we ought to. But we don't ever run from anyone or anything.

Next time he met up with Alan's "crew" they were going to feel the ful wrath of Nick Gautier. ...

CHAPTER 3.

Nick learned a new lesson in misery as he lay in bed, alone, in the hospital for days on end, bored out of his mind. His mom stayed with him as much as she could, as did Menyara, but they couldn't be here constantly. Kyrian would stop in and visit at night and some of the dancers from his mom's club in the daytime. Stil , he spent most of the time by himself.

Scariest part?

School was starting to look good. He shivered in revulsion of that awful thought.

"Hi ... um, Nick, wasn't it?"

He opened his eye to find Nekoda of al people standing in the doorway. With her hair pul ed back into a thick ponytail and dressed in a volunteer's uniform, she came deeper into the room.

Heat stung his cheeks as she looked at his ragged state of ick. Nick cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's me, but I like to think I looked better when we met. 'Cause right now, I'm pretty much hogging al the ugly."

She laughed. "No offense, but yeah, you did look a bit better. But I have to say you real y rock the crazy headgear you have going right now. Not an easy thing to do to make that look good." She winked at him.

He could only imagine how foul he appeared. His head was stil wrapped up, his exposed eye bruised and swol en. One shoulder was in a sling to keep it stil and the other arm attached to monitors and an IV. He had a faded-out hospital gown that was freckled with the oh-so-manly-looking flower things al over it. Gah, at this point, he'd rather be back in his orange Hawaiian shirt.

Al he needed to look like a bigger goober was to drool on himself. Which he might do if she kept talking to him.

She stopped next to his bed and glanced over al the monitors that beeped and hummed. "So what happened to you?"

"I got shot."

Her brows arched high. "In the eye? Is that why it's covered?

"No. I got hit there with a board, a fist, a foot, and probably a few other things. There's a bunch of st.i.tches above my eye.

Doc says the bandage for that can come off tomorrow. I'm sure I'l look even better then." His voice was thick with sarcasm. "I was clipped in the shoulder."

"Oh," she said, calming down as she scowled at his sling.

"Did it hurt?"

He wanted to say no, duh, but his common sense caught his tongue before he insulted her. Even though it stil hurt, he straightened up into his tough posture. "Nah. I took it like a man."

She shook her head at him and didn't comment on his bravado. "So why did you get shot? One of your witticisms go awry?"

Nick wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't want to take credit for something he hadn't real y done-like saving people he'd helped put in harm's way. So he settled on a lesser truth.

"Wrong place. Real wrong time."