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"So this guy takes a seat. I go over there to take his order and get a feel for what's going down. Damn, Menolly, I got the creeps so bad that I made Chrysandra take his order over. She came back smiling like she'd had a shot of joy-juice. Guy gave her a twenty-dollar tip."
Luke had a high fear threshold, so the fact that he'd been spooked by the stranger was as good as a warning.
"A twenty-dollar tip? What did he order?"
"Nothing odd. A glass of cognac, that's all." Luke paused, looking confused.
"What? What aren't you telling me?"
"It sounds a little nuts, though considering the crowd we get in here, I guess it shouldn't." He blinked and stared at me, unafraid. I liked that he didn't fear me. But then again, he'd never seen me with fangs out.
"Oh for cripes' sake… just tell me what happened. You know who you're talking to. I won't think you're nuts." I folded my arms and waited.
"Okay, here's the deal. When I took his order, I… Menolly, you know I'm straight. You know I'm real straight, but damn, I wanted to crawl into the booth and make out with the guy. And then he looked right at me and said, 'Tell the pretty lady who owns the bar I need to talk to her.'"
I frowned. No wonder Luke had been spooked. When he said he was straight as an arrow, he wasn't kidding. The guy was almost homophobic, which led me to wonder if he wasn't latent.
"So the strange Fae wants to talk to me?" That alone set off my warning bells. "Was there anything else you noticed? Anything at all?"
Luke frowned. "Let's see… yeah… I never saw him come in."
"Well, that's not so strange. You're busy, the room's full."
"Yeah, but here's the thing—I was keeping an eye on the door because Tavah was due to come in and I needed her help to get something off the top shelves in the storeroom. I didn't want to miss her." He paused, wiping the counter with his rag. "Next thing I know, the dude's having it out with the other guy. Neither one was in the room before that. I guarantee it."
I trusted Luke and his powers of observation. And the more I stared at the man in the booth, the more I realized he was no more Fae than Luke was.
"I'll be damned," I said, as a faint flicker of recognition tickled the back of my mind.
"Something wrong?"
"With my luck? Probably. Let me go talk to the guy." I handed Luke the drink order I'd just started to prepare and wove my way through the room, heading for the booth. Most of the customers recognized me and quickly moved out of the way. My reputation was set in granite and it was common knowledge that I was a vampire. Nobody gave me grief and when I was on shift, we didn't need a bouncer because everybody was too afraid of me to rock the boat.
As I approached the booth, I glanced at the man. He wasn't Fae, not entirely, and definitely not one of the Sidhe, but he had a wild look to him and probably came from a feral branch of the family tree. His eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down, but he merely inclined his head and said nothing.
"I hear you're looking for me," I said, pulling up a chair. I turned it around and straddled it at the end of the booth. "Hear you had some trouble earlier. Luke was about ready to get out the shotgun. I don't like it when Luke has to get out the gun so maybe you'd better tell me what went down." I flashed him a hint of a smile and let my fangs down, just enough for the tips to show. "And introduce yourself."
The man blinked twice and then straightened his shoulders. Wearing a long black leather duster, a pair of indigo jeans, and a gray turtleneck, his brunette hair fell to his shoulders, and his eyes were green and glimmering with magic. "The name's Roz."
It was my turn to stare. "You're from Otherworld, I assume? What alliance do you claim?"
He gave me a faint grin. "None. I'm a mercenary. I work for the highest bidder, and currently I'm employed."
I leaned in, wary of the smug look that flickered in his eyes. "Maybe you'd better tell me who hired you before I decide to kick you out of the bar. There are certain groups from OW that aren't welcome in the Wayfarer."
Roz let out a snort. "Don't try your tricks on me. I know who you are, I know what you are, and none of that matters. I'm not in the Opium-Eater's hire. She's the least of our worries… but then, you know that."
He swung out of his seat and swaggered over to the jukebox, where he plugged a quarter into the slot and chose a song. Turning back to me, he held out his hand as he nodded to the dance floor.
Feeling like I was walking in a fog, I joined him as the industrial wailings of Yoko Kanno's "Lithium Flower" started. Roz took my hand and led me to the floor, pulling me close as the beat enveloped us in a frenzy of electronic thunder. He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his head down to burrow close to my neck. The smell of his cognac-soaked breath, the feel of his pulse as it raced through his fingers, intoxicated me as he swayed to the music, pulling me along with him, grinding his hips against mine.
"Why are you here?" I whispered, knowing he could pick up my words even though they were buried by the music.
"Queen Asteria hired me to come here and help you. I'm a bounty hunter. I specialize in vampires and greater demons."
There was something off about him, though, and I tuned in, trying to pick up on his energy. And then, I knew. "Not Fae. You're a minor demon."
He cocked his head. "Do tell?"
