Maneuvering between the dancers, I make it to the bar unscathed. It’s not hard to catch the bartender’s eye due to both my height and the fact that I don’t resemble a gargoyle like the other patrons.
“A beer, please. Something stout, for the big gentleman over there.” When I bring our attention to Taylor and Mason, they are caught in a spirited match of arm wrestling. With an eye roll I turn to the bartender again. “And a bottle of water, please. On the blonde’s tab.”
His mustache quivers in a grin as he bends down to retrieve the water from an unseen cooler. “What tab? I haven’t charged Blondie for a drink in years.”
Blondie.Oh, she must love that nickname. My eyebrows rise in amusement. Maybe that’s how she tolerates an astonishing amount of whiskey. Practice.
“Haven’t seen you here before,” he remarks in a thick New York accent. “First time?”
“In a manner of speaking,” I reply with a grin. “Got quite a memory, Johnny the Bartender. Is that why they recruited you into the Order? For your powers of observation?”
Johnny laughs good-naturedly. “That and my stunning good looks. Someone has to be on the propaganda posters.” He flips the bottle of water behind his back with flair, catches it and plants it on the counter. He snaps off the cap and slides the glass to me.
I pull down my bandana to take a sip. His fast-moving hands come to a slow halt as he raises a dark eyebrow at me. “What?”
“Now isn’t that something?” He leans in, elbows on the bar and voice low. “What’s a pretty heiress like you doing in a place like this?”
“W—what?”
Panic floods my senses in a rush. It prickles through my pores. I think I can even smell my own fear. Johnny picks up onmy anxiety and chuckles again. “Bartenders talk. Lots of them mention having seen the Lady Piccolo at their bars, especially them swanky ones. Never thought I’d be lucky enough for you to grace one of my barstools.”
“Is there going to be a problem?”
Johnny looks around and shrugs. “On a regular night, yeah, you’d be in big trouble in an Order bar like this. These people itch for a fight on a good night, can’t imagine the frothing they’d do to tack a Piccolo on their list. Luckily for you, these dum-dums are drunker than usual, and none of them could recognize a classy lady even if she woke up in their bed.”
As softly as I can, I inhale the three deep breaths Taylor taught me to calm down my nervous system. “Plus, coming in withBlondiehas to give me some cred, yeah?”
“Damn right. Nobody here’d question her unless they wanted a fist to the face. I’ve seen her tear apart guys twice her size. I know she’s tiny, but she’s scary as hell. ’Sides, I’m a lover, not a fighter.” He looks down, then up with a wink. “And quite fond of my appendages.”
“I’m sure you are.” After a lingering flirty smile, I press further. “She is a bossy little thing, huh?”
He serves a mixed drink to someone a few feet away from me and smirks as he pulls Mason’s beer. “Got that right. The only person I’ve ever seen her defer to was that hot brunette she used to come here with.”
Hot brunette. I file that and drink more of my water. Johnny is probably right that I would go unrecognized by these dusty-looking denizens, but I shield my face from the patrons on either side of me. “Is that why she gets free drinks?”
“I always took care of her and her friends, especially after they recruited these no-good lowlifes. Thieves and killers, most of them. Would’ve ended up on the end of barrel, or dead in an alley with a needle in their arm. Instead, she shaped ’em up andmade them into soldiers.” Johnny scoots to the right to serve another patron, then slides back to me and rests his elbow on the counter. “Not to mention them two used to tear the place up from time to time.”
“Tear the place up?” I ask, visibly bewildered. “As in danced?”
“Oh, yeah. Blondie’d do anything the other one asked her to. Can’t say I blame her, either. She was gorgeous. Could’ve charmed the devil outta hell.”
“Are you trying to make me jealous, Johnny the Bartender?” My motivation for flirting is to keep him talking about this mysterious woman, as I think it might peel back a layer of my captor. Additionally, it’s been so long since anyone has flirted with me, I can’t say I’m not enjoying the attention.
“Not at all. You’re a stunner too, but we both know you’re out of my league.” He grins at me. “And Blondie is shooting daggers at me, so I can take a hint. Tell her I said hi.”
“Will do. Thanks for the drinks.” I raise them in salute and slink back to the table. Mason’s chair is empty, and I place the beer in front of his vacant seat. “Where’s Mason?”
Taylor shrugs and pours her drink into a glass, leaning back in her chair and enjoying a languid sip. The band switches to contemporary blues, which I guess is more palatable based on how many people suddenly swarm the dance floor. Couples dance slowly, with gyrating hips and deliberate steps. I envy them this intimacy, this free expression of attraction. I can’t help but be reminded of when I danced with the woman across the table from me, close enough to feel her heartbeat. Did she like dancing with me? Did she consider, for a moment, whisking me away? Does the desire still live inside her like it does for me?
Seemingly unaffected by my presence, Taylor methodically imbibes her liquor, glass after glass. After about three of them Ithink maybe she’ll be loose enough to start a conversation. “So, the bartender’s chatty.”
She quirks a pale eyebrow at me. “I saw.”
“He told me how you used to be quite the dancer. That true,Blondie?” Her eyes narrow dangerously over the top of her glass. They have their familiar focused quality, but the haze of alcohol lowers the intensity. She drains the tumbler and floods it again from the bottle. “And here I thought our time at the ball was special.”
“What else did he tell you?” Her accusatory tone makes me hesitant to ask her about this random other woman, but curiosity and jealousy get the better of me.
“That you, Mason, and a ‘gorgeous brunette’ used to blow off steam here.” Taylor halts midsip, glass to her mouth. In her eyes, the heartbreaking mix of anguish and anger I’ve seen on her once before, in Lady Leather’s office. “That’s whose room I’m in, isn’t it?”
