AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There are only a few empty tables inside, two Aelyd men standing behind a counter. The bigger one grins widely at Keon and raises a bronze hand, a puff of flour—or its Aelyd equivalent—erupting from the apron he wears over his wide chest and stomach.
“Keon!” he says. “Didn’t expect you tonight.”
“Sorry to drop by unannounced,” Keon says. “Is my usual spot available?”
“Of course,” the man says. “Right this way.”
The other flashes me a shy smile, but says nothing as the first man guides us back through a shabby red curtain just beside the counter. I’m half expecting to find the opulence I associate with the Ganivets here, but it isn’t what I find—Keon’s ‘usual spot’ is just another table in a private room, probably more for discretion than anything else. Keon pulls out a chair for me and I take a seat, then he joins me in the opposite seat.
“A bottle ofincarnetplease, and two glasses,” Keon says.
“Any food?” the owner asks.
Keon looks at me. “You hungry?”
My stomach grumbles in response. “Starving, actually.”
“Yes, then,” Keon says with a smile. “Let’s start with a plate oftalana, and we’ll go from there.”
The waiter nods, then leaves us alone. Keon’s look goes vacant for a moment, and I feel a ripple of electrical energy that moves outward from him, then back in.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Just a sweep for any intrusive tech,” he says. “I trust the people here, but you can never be too careful.”
I lean back in my seat, my brow furrowing as I stare at him. “I have to admit…I don’t think I really had you figured out,” I say. “I thought you were just some playboy.”
“I am,” he says. “That much is true. If I didn’t have to do all this and I could just be a rockstar, I would take that life in a heartbeat.”
“But—”
I pause when the curtain opens and the owner walks back in. He has a bottle of the lavender liquid from last night and two glasses in one hand, and a plate of something that looks kind of like bruschetta in the other. He puts the plate down between us, then pours us each a glass ofincarnetbefore leaving again.
“Anyway,” I say. “I…well, I guess I just have questions.”
Keon picks up his drink and swirls it in his glass before taking a sip. “Ask away.”
“Okay,” I say. “You mentioned that you were part of one of the attempts on Atlas’ life. So how did you get away with it?”
Keon snorts. “Oh, I didn’t get away with it,” he says. “I’ve always been next in line after Atlas, and the man in charge before him—Titian—was a cruel man. I thought I could take them both out and assume control of the Family. I was wrong, of course…and Titian made me pay for it. But it was Atlas that freed me, and thus, I owe him my life.”
“And he just trusts you now?”
“Not at all,” Keon says. “In fact, he’s probably pissed at me right now, since I kidnapped his bride.”
My stomach drops, and I lick my lips with a touch of anxiety. “I hope you’re kidding.”
“Calm down, Penn,” Keon says. “I’m not going to spirit you away to some faraway villa to ravish you…unless you would like that.”
“You aren’t?”
He smiles at me, taking a drink gracefully, tilting his head up when he does. I watch him swallow, the muscles in his throat working, and I immediately feel a shiver of electricity down my spine, but I think that’s me. Watching him use that tongue on anything almost feels like it’ll turn me on no matter what.
I cross my legs and close them tightly. I need to remember that this is work. It doesn’t matter how good-looking he is, or how much I want to feel his electric touch on me again, I’m here to help my best friend.
And he knows more about her than he ever told me, so I need to make sure to extract as much information as I can from him.
But I can’t just ask him. I know there’s a chance he’s not going to be honest. He told me that Layla is alive, and I’m glad to hear that, but I don’t have any reason to trust him.
