“So . . . what are you doing here, partner?” I said, trying to sound casual.
“I was looking for you. It occurred to me that you might need a sympathetic ear while you figured out what to do next.”
Again, a small warning gong went off in the back of my mind. Of all the phrases that might occur to me to describe Aahz’s interaction with me in the past, “a sympathetic ear” wasn’t one of them.
“How did you know where I was?”
I was dodging the issue, but genuinely curious as to how Aahz found me. I had taken great pains to slip down to the Royal Stables unnoticed.
“It wasn’t hard,” Aahz said, flashing a grin as he jerked his thumb at the door. “You’ve got quite a crowd hanging around outside.”
“I do?”
“Sure. Pookie may be a bit mouthy for my taste, but she knows her stuff as a bodyguard. I think she’s been tailing you from the time you left your room.”
Pookie was the new bodyguard I had acquired during my recent trip to Perv . . . before I knew she was Aahz’s cousin.
“That’s funny,” I scowled. “I never saw her.”
“Hey, I said she was good,” my partner winked. “Just because she respects your privacy and stays out of sight doesn’t mean she’s going to let you wander around unescorted. Anyway, I guess Guido spotted her and decided to tag along . . . he’s been following her around like a puppy ever since they met . . . and, of course, that meant Nunzio had to come, too, and . . . Well, the end result is you’ve got all three of your bodyguards posted outside the door to see to it that you aren’t disturbed.”