“I said areallyscary guy,” Justin corrects me. “I’ve seen him here before, a couple of times. Big dude. Like,bigbig. Buzz cut. Lots of scars.”
My stomach flips. “A scar on his face?” I ask. I trace my finger over my forehead, following the familiar pattern. “Over his eyebrow?”
Justin taps his nose. “That’s him!”
Viper.
Jade and I share a look.
“What was that?” Justin demands, glancing between the two of us. “What was that look? Is this guy a problem, or something? Do I need to kick him out?”
The mental image of Justin trying to get Viper to do anything is so comical I have to bite back a laugh.
“He’s Sydney’sotherboyfriend, the one from the club,” Jade supplies, with a devilish grin. I shoot her a murderous look, but she laughs and says, “What? He’s going to find out about all of them eventually.”
“Yourotherboyfriend,” Justin repeats. His expression goes completely blank. “Huh.”
“Do I need to repeat the shop rules?” Jade asks, voice turning hard. “In this store we donotslut sha?—”
Just cuts her off, raising a hand to stop her from saying anything more. “Nope! No need to repeat anything. I was just…counting. We’re up to four, then, aren’t we? Are there any others I should know about?”
I ignore that. “Where is he?” I ask.
“Uh, classics. In the back.”
“I’ll handle it,” I assure him, already moving. “And he’snotmy boyfriend,” I add, glaring at Jade. But it sounds like a lie, even to me.
“You want backup?” Justin offers.
I think about the knife Viper pulled out at the club when Jade told him no. I swallow, palms sweaty.
Line, Viper.
“No,” I tell Justin. “I think it’s better if it’s just me.”
Viper is exactlywhere Justin said he’d be—standing in our classic literature section, leaning against the bookshelves and reading. As I watch, he brings his thumb to his mouth and slides his tongue over it, wetting it before he uses it to turn the page.
Just talk to him. He’snotthat scary. Just talk to him like a normal human being. Just climb on top of him, pull his clothes off, and…
God, Syd, do you have a death wish? What is wrong with you?
I take a deep breath to steady myself.
But before I can step forward, I notice he’s not alone. Bea circles his ankles, coming into my field of view. She rubs the side of her body against him, coming up on two legs to reach as high as she can.
It’s…cute. Okay, more than cute. It’s downright adorable. She trills musically and rolls onto the top of his boot, kicking her hind legs against him and gnawing furiously on one of his shoelaces.
Then Viper leans down and scoops her up, and my heart leaps into my throat.
She looks so tiny and helpless in his grasp, legs dangling in the air. I can’t help but step forward, ready to snatch her away if he hurts her. But he doesn't, doesn’t even seem tempted to. He holds her gently, one big hand braced around her middle, and presses a soft kiss to the top of her head.
Bea purrs so loudly in response, I wonder if they can hear it in the café.
“I didn’t know you liked cats,” I say, a warm feeling rising in my chest.
“What kind of monster doesn’t like cats?” Viper asks, murmuring the words into her fur. She kneads happy biscuits in the air, thrilled with the attention. He kisses her again and then sets her back down on the ground.
Since we adopted her, Bea has been skittish around the customers, at best. A criminal nuisance, at worst. I’ve lost track of the number of mugs she’s broken this week, and just the other day, I swear she tried to take off with a customer’s wallet. Soon we suspect she’ll graduate to major felonies. I’m not sure how to feel about the way she arches against Viper’s hand, begging for more attention, clearly enamored with him.
