But I need to know where his head is at.
And maybe that’s the most dangerous part of all.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Knox
By the timewe finally close the kitchen, my legs are on fire, my back feels like it’s made of bricks, and my heart’s still a little raw from that half smile Josie gave me when I tried, again, to talk to her after shift.
She shut me down.
Softly.
Nicely.
But shut down all the same.
And I’m not sure which is worse, her turning me down, or the way she keeps pretending it’s about work.
I know there’s something else. I feel it. But she won’t say, and I can’t force her.
So now I’m sweaty, tired, and stuck in my own damn head. All I want is a hot shower, a dark room, and maybe an icy dunk if I’m still breathing in ten minutes.
But of course, fate has other plans.
The back door slams open like a grenade just went off.
Clap, clap, clap!
“All right, my beautiful, boring bastards!” Jace bellows, marching into the kitchen like a linebacker high on espresso. “You’ve officially survived another night in the culinarytrenches. Which means it’s time for a morale boost. We’re going out.”
I blink at him, fully dead inside. “Jace, it’s nearly midnight.”
“Exactly. The hour when the best stories start and the worst decisions get made. You coming or what?”
I rub my face. “Hard pass.”
“Nope. I already rallied the troops. Nova’s in. Dee from the inn says she’ll show up if we promise not to play any EDM. I’ve even convinced the glittery hostess to leave her house. She said she owns a leather jacket. I need to see this.”
He drops the duffel on the prep counter and unzips it. Out comes a shaker bottle, six plastic shot glasses, and a tub of green powder that looks like it’s been banned in several countries.
“I brought cocktails,” he says, like that explains anything.
“Jace,” I say flatly.
“Protein shots with a splash of tequila,” he replies, like that somehow makes it better. “Balance, my friend. Fuel the muscles, numb the brain.”
He pours the mixture into tiny cups. It smells like lime-scented gym socks and cheap tequila.
Thank God I’m sober.
Nova walks by at the exact wrong moment. “Oh no. Not the green sludge again.”
“There’s greatness,” Jace insists. “And a hint of lime.”
Nova downs hers without flinching. “Tastes like gym regret.”
“She says that, but she’ll be dancing in twenty minutes,” Jace says, already downing his with a grin. “Now move it, Knightly. The night waits for no man.”
