The smile she’d given Viper when he first arrived morphed into a scowl as she jerked a thumb behind her toward Bishop.
“His.Thanks for doing this for me.”She was mad at Bishop for being so high-handed and making decisions without her, but that didn’t mean she had to take her anger out on Viper.Or anyone else other than the bossy-as-fuck asshole behind her.However, she would find a way to make Bishop pay.
“No problem.”Viper shrugged and headed for the stairs.She watched him go, wondering if she should follow him up and unpack or if she would even be here long enough to bother.
She could stay a few days, get some work done, hopefully get a little cash, then move on.She didn’t think Kevin would follow her if she left Phoenix, or maybe even all of Arizona.Which sucked because she was finally starting to make friends.Kind of.
She was friendly with Stacy at the grocery store and Mirabella worked at the coffee shop where she sometimes went.It helped to get out of the same four walls sometimes.Then there was Kristen.She hadn’t talked to her as much because they didn’t always end up at the gym at the same time, but if she left town, hell, she didn’t even have to leave town to never see them again.So many people never even left the neighborhood where they lived.If she stayed here with Bishop, she may never see any of them again.The idea was enough to make her need a drink.
“Give me another of whatever you gave me earlier,” she said to the prospect behind the bar—Billy, she thought Bishop had called him, but maybe this was Frank.
“The shot or the beer?”He watched, waiting for her reply.
The shot sounded really good but it wasn’t even three yet, too early to start with the hard shit, or she’d be totally fucked up before dinner.“Just the beer.”
“Coming up.”He set a frosty bottle in front of her a few seconds later, without another word.She picked up the bottle and tilted it, only to realize an instant before she tried to take a drink that the lid was still on.
“Do you have an issue with opening bottles around here?”She glanced around, resisting the urge to slam the bottle down on the counter and demand he do things right.She was pissed at Bishop, not this kid, she reminded herself.Plus, that would just shake the drink and make it spew everywhere when it did get opened, wasting it when what she wanted was to drink.
“It’s a safety thing, Spitfire.”Bishop reached over her shoulder and used the ring on his middle finger to pop the top off before he released it.“If you break the seal, you know it hasn’t had anything added.It hasn’t been spiked.”He didn’t step away but moved to one side so he stood beside the stool she’d hopped onto before ordering her drink.
“He could just open it in front of me.”
“He could, but someone halfway decent at sleight-of-hand could still drop something in as they opened it or handed it to you.It’s safer to open your own drinks.”
She scowled at him, then picked up her bottle and took a long pull.Only then did she set it down.His arm on the counter made her wonder.Picking up his hand, she flipped it over so she could see the inside of the ring he wore.To her surprise, it was just a plain band.
“What?”he asked, looking down at her.
“I just wanted to see your ring.”
“The underside?”He lifted one brow.
“I was wondering if it was one of those bottle-opener rings.”Her face heated, though she wasn’t entirely sure why.
“I’ve seen a couple of the guys with them but I learned to do it long before I knew those existed.”He lifted his shoulder in a dismissive shrug.“Got stuck without one on a trip, had to learn to make do.”
She kind of wanted to learn but she rarely wore rings, and when they did, they were usually soft metals like silver or gold.She wouldn’t want to tear them up.Not sure what else to say that wasn’t telling Bishop off for making decisions for her, she sat and drank her beer in silence.
