“Luxe, sit the fuck down,” Flora says, grabbing her arm and slamming her back into the seat. “I texted Dylan. He’ll be here soon,” she murmurs.
“A killer, Luxe? Really?” I say, trying to act normal, and maybe, just maybe, Ghost is not here for me. Maybe he is just getting a bite to eat.
“Really! don’t forget I’ve got an Alpha bark.” It is a gift Alphas and Lunas have. A way to control even the rowdiest of shifters. Respectable leaders don’t need to use their bark on their Packs, but it comes in handy once in a while.
“What if he’s an Alpha?” I ask as I try not to duck my head or appear obvious. My auburn afro is hard to hide, and evenharder to not... identify, but there might be a chance he doesn’t recognize me.
“What is he doing here?” I mumble, picking up a menu to hide my face even though he must be sitting behind us since I can’t see him.
“You would have a better idea than me,” Luxe mutters back, following my lead and picking up a menu, too.
“Act normal ladies, this is a public place, there is only so much he can do,” Flora says, biting her lip nervously as if that is completely normal behavior.
“You’re right. Act cool,” Luxe agrees, her leg shaking under the table. I can hear her shoe tap on the floor.
“Yeah, act cool with a killer sitting a few booths over,” I whisper.
“Not helping, Willow,” Luxe says as she stops her shaking and sits up straight now, flipping a strand of her hair over her shoulder.
“I’m just saying,” I say, and I get a whip of cool confidence through my veins. This man tried to kill me twice. He gets to walk around, stalking Layla, and hurting me, and he gets to be what? Free?
I sit up, wanting to confront the monster behind us. How dare he come and threaten me and Layla? What kind of person is he for working with someone like Milo? And how dare he come into this diner thinking I won’t attack? I should prove him wrong.
“I think he’s staring right at us,” Luxe says. She glares in his direction. “Is he fucking waving at us?”
She shakes in anger, and I see her claws scratching the diner table. They are going to kick us out at this rate, but I’m ready to show this guy he can’t hurt us.
“Felix is walking through the door,” Flora says, confusion wrapping its way around the whole table and stopping me mid-move. What the hell is Felix doing here? I’ve only met him a handful of times, but he’s the Enchanted member covered in tattoos and is extremely tall. That tends to be hard to forget.
“Sit back down and play it cool. Pretend you know nothing,” Felix says, guiding Luxe to sit back down as he slides in next to me.
“Why are you here?” Luxe asks.
“I’ve been going through security footage at the tattoo parlor, and guess who I fucking found? Ghost, leaning against a black Audi, and then staking out here, I see that fucker pull up,” Felix says. He peaks over his shoulder in the direction Ghost is with a menu in his hands.
“Why didn’t you come in and have lunch with us?” Flora asks, scrunching her eyebrows.
“Because Eddie said this was a ‘girls only’ lunch,” Felix nonchalantly says.
“Okay, let’s go get him,” I mutter, and I move to get up, but Felix remains rooted to the seat. It’s a booth, there’s no way for me to get out besides climbing on the table, and I didn’t want to draw more attention this way.
“Felix, move, please,” I say, half standing.
“What the hell are you doing? This is our chance,” Luxe says, giving the man her wide eyes and barely containing a snarl.
“Our chance to mess everything up. Think for a second, Luxe. Why would he be this damn obvious?” Felix says, refusing to move and staring at Flora to ensure the Luna stays in her seat.
“I can’t find out if y’all go brawling and kill the man. We need him,” Felix says, stealing the menu from Luxe’s hands.
“So, what should we do?” Flora mumbles her question. My shoulders are tense, and I can hardly focus on the discussion. Ghost is here. He’s in the diner. He’s within my reach.
“You should stay here. I’ll handle it,” Felix says, his eyes trained everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
“Just ’cause you’re a man, you think—” Luxe gets heated, but I can’t contain my anger at Felix either.
“You are kidding me, right?” I say, my eyes glaring into Felix’s. “He tried to kill me, and you want me to stay here? And do nothing?”
“Yes, I want you to stay right here,” Felix says with a shrug, leaning back in the seat. The action only pisses me off. I make a move to stand again, but Felix blocks my way. Flora reaches a hand over to me, silently pleading for me to stay.
