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"Work," Bash said, staring right back at Arden and refusing to look away. "Nights here are always crazy."
Arden looked between him and Micha before he narrowed his eyes. "We don't drink when we're about to work. Sobriety works best when running a business. If I catch you doing it again, I'll fire your ass so fast your head will spin. Get back to work. Both of you."
Micha nodded hard. Bash simply shrugged and the man stalked off, grumbling under his breath. He'd noticed that Arden was growing more agitated lately, but he had no idea what had crawled up the man's ass.
"Thanks," Micha whispered once Arden was gone. "I don't want to be fired. I can't lose this job."
"Well, you almost cost memyjob," Bash snapped. "So don't ask me for another drink before work."
Micha blinked up at him and his eyes watered. "Sorry, sorry you're right. I shouldn't have done that," he said, his voice wavering. "I was so nervous, stupid," he muttered to himself. "I'm so stupid."
Bash felt anger welling up in his chest. Not because Micha had gotten him in trouble, but because he was beating himself up. The feeling was illogical, but he couldn't help the way it settled in him. He reached across the bar and grabbed Micha's fidgeting hands. The Nephilim gazed up at him, his teary pink eyes like sparkling diamonds, and sniffled.
"Stop crying," Bash ordered. "I shouldn't have given you the drink in the first place, I know the rules. Stop calling yourself stupid. If you needed a drink, you needed a drink. Fuck what Arden says."
Micha's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "You can't say that!" he whispered, his eyes darting around wildly as if the man was going to suddenly appear behind him. "If he hears you then you'll really get in trouble!"
Bash let out a short chuckle. "You're a worried little thing. It's fine." He nodded toward the floor. "Get ready for work. I still need to shower before the doors open."
"O-okay," Micha said. "Um, thanks again. For saving me."
Bash's heart raced and he could only grunt in response. Micha smiled softly before he turned and walked over to Spooky. As they talked, Bash couldn't take his eyes off of them. He'd always had a thing for soft, sweet men; the ones that seemed as if they could easily break. Some part of him wanted to save men like that and Micha screamedfragile.
Micha glanced over his shoulder and gave Bash a nervous smile. The man's heart almost stopped entirely. He bared his teeth, a low growl in his throat and Micha jumped and turned around quickly.
Shit. What was that?
Why couldn't he be normal? Bash shook his head, cleared his throat, and froze when Eldon stared at him. The vampire grinned, his jewelry and tattoos looking misplaced against the big, bright smile he bore. Something about him irked Bash to his core.
"What?" Bash asked.
"You're so awkward around Micha." He chuckled, resting a hand on his cheek and sighing wistfully. "Watching that was adorable."
Bash's face grew hot and he stormed past Eldon. "Mind your business, bloodsucker."
Eldon's chuckle followed behind him. "Hey, he smiled back at you! Maybe he has a little crush on the big, grumpy new guy."
Bash walked faster, anything to get away from Eldon. He didn't have time for silly crushes and flirty little angels. This was a job, a place for him to start over and try to have some kind of life that wasn't behind the bars of a cage. If he allowed himself to get distracted, he could end up being some human's plaything again and he didn't need that shit.
Bash grabbed a stack of clean clothes out of the room he'd been given and made his way down the hall to the bathroom. Steam still hung in the air. but there was a hint of something more. He turned the corner and Gamble jumped, a joint dangling from his lips as he grinned sheepishly.
"Shit, I thought you were Arden," he said as he blew out smoke and looked Bash up and down. "You're uh-"
The man rolled his eyes. "Bash," he growled. "How many times do I have to tell you that? Maybe you should put down the weed and you would have a better memory."
Gamble shrugged. "Probably, but sometimes it's better to forget stuff, you know?" He held the joint out. "Want a puff?"
Bash stared at the joint before he grabbed it and took a long, slow drag. The smoke-filled his lungs and he was transported back to his younger days when the worst thing he worried about was getting caught by his mother with one of those things. Or having his father yell at him when she told him what happened. That was before his world was shattered. A lifetime ago.
Gamble was right. Sometimes it's better to forget.
He took a few more drags. "Arden was looking for you. How long can you hide from him in the same building?"
"It's already been a week. I'm sure I can go another week or two if I play my cards right," he said with a serious nod. "Anything is better than him getting his hands on me after what I pulled."
Bash raised a brow. "What'd you do?"
"Trapped him. In an illusion," he said, rubbing the back of his neck before he took his joint back and inhaled sharply. "For a couple of hours."
