Reaver held my gaze for another moment, narrowing his eyes on me. I narrowed mine right back. Finally, he turned to Shem. To my absolute shock, his entire demeanor changed. His shoulders relaxed, and he slid one hand into his pocket, running the other hand through his thick, dark hair.
He gave Shem a dazzling smile that honestly would have made my panties wet if I didn’t hate him so damn much.
“Sure man. I’ll meet youover there. I just need to grab my shit.” Reaver brushed past me, seeming to intentionally bump me on his way by. He knocked me so hard I almost dropped the till again.
Asshole.
“Come on, Lilith, let’s get this done so we can lock up,” Rafael said, and I slipped into the cramped office. I dropped the till on the desk, and Raf dug into my receipts to staple them together.
“How much of that did you hear?” he asked conversationally. Shit. He knew I had been eavesdropping.
“Enough to know that you’re worried about the upcoming quarterly,” I said, and he pursed his lips, nodding gravely.
“We’re in a tight spot. With Jezebel gone and now Sam too, we’ve lost two of our best people. We need to make sure we’re ready for when Eloah comes for our review. All the bartenders need to have passed all their training exams by then.”
Bartenders at Voodoo were tested on their cocktail knowledge and had to pass a practical that included free pour tests, as well as practice service sprints. We were also tested on things like the appropriate amount of time for a guest to wait for a drink, an app, and a main.
I had passed all my exams with flying colors, but it had been weeks of studying and hard work. I wasn’t feeling super confident that Reaver had the dedication necessary to make it through all the required tests. I also had a feeling he was going to get off on making my life a living hell.
“You wantmeto train Reaver?”
Raf put down the receipts and nodded. “Yes. I saw you tonight, you really impressed me. I think you’re the best we’ve got right now. You throw your heart into everything you do. I know you can get Reaver up to speed in time for us to pass this review without a hitch.”
I hesitated. “Rafael, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Reaver doesn’t seem to like me very much. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get him to listen to me.”
“You let me handle that. I’ll have a chat with him and let him know that if he wants to work here, he has to listen to you. I know he’s a little rough around the edges, but I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a great bartender. We just need to get him up to Voodoo’s standards.”
“Is that how he knows who Eloah is?” I asked, and Raf nodded.
“Yeah, we all go way back. We’ve been in this industry for years.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.” I frowned and tugged on the hem of my skirt anxiously, making sure it didn’t ride up and expose one of my scars. “I heard you say something about both of our heads being on the chopping block if I fail at training him… is that true?”
Raf gave me a sympathetic look and patted my hand. “I’m not going to lie to you; it is a risk. As a senior bartender, you will be graded on your ability to leadand train the people under you. It doesn’t look good if your trainees can’t pass their tests. You might not necessarily lose your job, but we may have to take you off the bar and have you serve again. Or maybe just have you stick to weeknights. We reserve primetime for the best, and that includes training and team development.”
I sighed. Well, shit, I guess I didn’t have much of a choice. So much for just cruising. It was looking like I was going to need to fight tooth and nail to keep this position for as long as I wanted it.
“Alright, Raf. I won’t let you down.”
Rafael smiled at me, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. “I know you won’t, Lilith.”
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
—RUMI
Imade my way back to my apartment. I was feeling uneasy about everything. No one had heard from Sam yet, and my new task of training Reaver in time for the quarterly review with Eloah seemed impossible. It was really important that I managed to somehow pull this off, but my thoughts kept wandering back to my demon stalker.
It was happening again. I knew he killed Sam. I would likely hear about it tomorrow on the news or find my shift interrupted by a couple of uniforms looking to ask questions. I had enjoyed four years of peace, and now he was back.
I was feeling jumpy and suspicious of every shadow I passed on the street, all the way up to my door. It felt like I was being followed, and I supposed I probably was. It wouldn’t surprise me if my demonic stalker was creeping behind me, just out of sight.
Watching.
He was always watching.
The tiny hairs on my arms stood on end as I entered my apartment. It didn’t feel as safe as it once did, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I found Chaos waiting for me. He was perched in the shape of a perfect little loaf on the couch, peering up at me with those large, green, marble-like eyes. With Sam’s disappearance, thehorrible guilt I felt every time someone was killed for simplyknowingme returned and was screaming at me to punish myself.
I dropped my bag next to him, scratching him between his ears as I drifted past. Making my way into my bedroom, I rummaged around under my mattress until my fingers wrapped around the cool metal handle of a box cutter.
