Rayna leaned in, and I found myself leaning in as well. I wanted to hear what she said.
“No one says a word,” Rayna hissed. “That means you, Sasha.” Her gaze slid to Hunter. “And you. Any of you open your mouth, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”She straightened, slung her purse over her shoulder, and walked toward the exit without looking back.
Reed followed after her, shaking his head.
Zane and I exchanged a glance. Without a word, we hurried after them, but at a distance so they wouldn’t know we were following them. When we stepped outside,Rayna and Reed were standing near the far end of the building. I couldn’t make out their words, but their body language said plenty. Rayna’s arms were crossed tightly over her chest. Reed kept running a hand through his hair, gesturing with the other. Whatever he was saying, she wasn’t having it.
Headlights swept down the road, and a car pulled to a stop near the curb. Rayna turned on her heel and climbed into the back seat without so much as a glance at Reed. The car pulled away from the curb and disappeared down the street.
“I didn’t know we had Ubers in Mystic Cove,” I whispered.
Reed stood on the sidewalk for a long moment, staring at the taillights. He then turned and walked down the sidewalk, away from us. He stopped near a truck, climbed inside, and drove off in the opposite direction.
“That was intense,” I said. “You really know how to show a girl a good time, Fallen Angel.” I waved my hand over us and dropped the glamours.
Zane ran a hand down his suit jacket and smiled. “Welcome back, old friend.”
I snorted as he opened the front door of Bottoms Up and we walked inside, this time as ourselves.
People were gathering their coats, finishing last sips, saying quiet goodbyes. The banner still floated near the ceiling, but its glow had dimmed, the spell slowly losing its charge.
Hunter and Sasha were still at the table, sitting close together, talking in low voices. The chairs around them were empty.
Eliza stood near the bar, watching as others gathered their items.
Zane and I walked over to where she stood.
“Oh, hi.” Eliza blinked, straightening when she saw us. “Glad you made it. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of people are leaving.” She tucked her phone into her purse. “It was a weird night.”
“How so?” Zane asked.
Eliza glanced over at the table where Hunter and Sasha still sat. “I don’t know. Just...strange.” She paused, and something flickered across her face. “You ever get the feeling you’re the last person to get a joke?”
“Sometimes,” I said.
Eliza nodded slowly. “I have a feeling I’m that last person.”
22
“Ineed another charm, Valkyrie,”Savage said as he sashayed into the kitchen the next morning.“Preferably a diamond or emerald this time.”
I snorted. “Dream on.”
Savage stopped and looked at me…or rather, looked down his nose at me. Which was saying something seeing as how his nose was about a foot off the ground. Yet, somehow he managed to pull it off.
“Are you trying to sabotage my first true love? Is that it? You’re jealous and don’t want anyone else to be in love?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head before dumping the last of the tuna into his bowl. It was seriously too early in the morning for this kind of nonsense.
Savage gasped as he leaped onto the barstool.“That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want me to be happy. You want me all alone and miserable so you can feel good about yourself.”
“You found me out, Savage. Way to foil my big plan.” I set the bowl of tuna on the kitchen floor. “Now I’ll have to find another way to make your life miserable.”
“You’re doing a fine job as it is, Valkyrie.”He hopped down onto the floor and over to his food bowl.“Pretty soon, you’ll be giving me dry cat food and non-filtered water.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I deadpanned.
Grabbing my cup of coffee, I headed to my bedroom to get dressed for the day. On Sundays, I usually skipped breakfast at Zane’s, unless Alfred is doing something special. But I liked having my Sundays to myself and to get dressed at a leisurely pace, sip my coffee, and just find peace in the day.
