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She stepped around Ronin and forced herself to embrace Violet’s petite frame, engulfed by a cloud of fruity perfume.
“Hi Violet,” Naia said, pinning her focus on distinguishing the discomfort crawling over her skin. “It is nice to see you again.”
You are safe. She repeated the mantra in her mind to reassure her body as the muscles in her chest clenched.
Ronin strolled towards Avi and another male she did not recognize.
“You’re too freaking cute. Call me Vi!” Violet gave her a quick squeeze around the ribcage in return and then pulled away. “If I ever make you feel uncomfortable, just say so!” She snatched Naia by the hand, dragging her to the others.
Avi passed Ronin a dark liquor in a glass before fixing his attention onto Naia. “Glad you could join us! This is Damian.” He pointed his thumb to the stranger beside him. “He works at the brewery, too. Lucky bastard doesn’t have any shifts in the taproom this week.”
Damian sat with his arms stretched along the back of the banquette seat, appearing relaxed, as if he could melt into a puddle on the floor at any moment. The shadowy lighting hindered her view of his features, but she could discern a buzz cut and some tattoos covering his arms beneath the mesh sleeves of his tunic.
One specifically caught her eye. A tattoo of what appeared to be a woman in a similar pose as the one outside Madam Maeve’s Café.
He sized Naia up with an arrogant gleam in his eyes. “Who do we have here?”
“Naia.” She shifted her weight onto one foot to get a better view of his tattoo.
“Nice to meet you, Naia.” He reached over onto the table to grab his beverage and took a swig. “Are you a friend of Ronin’s, or did he pick you up on Roseland?”
Losing her view of the tattoo, she brought her eyes onto his face. Her mouth parted, but she had no clue how to respond. What was Roseland? And why did it sound as if he were insulting her?
“For fuck’s sake, Damian, do you have to be intolerable?” Avi rubbed his temples, flexing his large bicep beneath the pastel pink blazer of his suit as he did so.
“Calm down, Aviel.” Damian jerked his chin towards Avi’s glass on the table. “Take a drink.”
“Ignore him, Naia,” Avi said, expression exasperated. “He enjoys getting a reaction out of people.”
Violet propped herself up on the back of the banquette, swinging her short legs. A sly grin lifted the corner of her mouth with a strange anticipation as her eyes skipped onto Ronin.
He still possessed his casual aura, but Naia could see the grinding of his jaw. He took a sip of his drink, glaring at Damian over the glass.
“I am a friend,” Naia replied to Damian. She cocked her head. “What is Roseland?”
With a roguish grin, he lowered his glass to his lap. “Roseland is a wonderful street. My favorite, if we’re being honest. I think you’d find a bit of business there—” Damian winced.
His carefree demeanor tensed, and he gripped the side of his head, splashing some of his drink on the fabric of his trousers.
Naia gasped and moved closer to him. “Are you okay?”
Damian gave a lousy wave while hanging his head in obvious pain. “Yeah. Peachy.”
A terse breath left her, and she glanced at the others for answers. They were unfazed by whatever episode Damian had. Avi stared down at his own lap, pretending to pick lint off his khaki-colored pants. Violet snapped her fingers and tapped her feet to the jazzy rhythm of the song. Both completely ignoring the situation, which Naia found suspicious.
She spun to look at Ronin, noticing the few timid stares from the passersby aiming in his direction. Fully attuned to the couple sitting at the bar, whispering to one another, their attention fixed on him. A young man mixing drinks at the bar averted his gaze the moment Naia stumbled into it.
“Damian is fine,” Ronin assured her. “Just gets these awful splitting headaches.”
He held out a hand, his expression as neutral as ever, despite the not-so-subtle eyes watching him around the room. “Come on, let’s get closer to the band.”
Naia let him take her by the hand, still confused by what had taken place.
As they walked away, she couldn’t resist peeking back at Damian, slouched back on the seat, his previous taunting prowl now absent in his expression as he massaged his forehead with his forefinger and thumb.
Avi winked with a wave. “Have fun!”
She had a strong hunch that whatever had happened was Ronin’s doing, but the only way to prove it was to directly ask. Something she couldn’t do, considering she’d made him practically swear not to ask her questions. Which was another reason she couldn’t exactly ask why people were watching him out of the corner of their eyes, like he could go mad and raze the entire place in an instant.
