I turned to leave
the counter at The Internets--a delightful little café in the building shared
by my new job--and found myself face to chest with a werewolf. I lifted my gaze
to his handsome face and barked out a laugh.
“Wow,” I said,
jerking my head to indicate we get out of the way before the others waiting in
line barreled through us. A need for coffee this early in the morning could
make anyone violent.
He turned his
smile briefly on the woman behind me and then wrapped his arm across my
shoulders and led me away. I chuckled, choosing a seat along the back wall.
“This is a
surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure, Mel?”
“You remember my
name? I’m touched.”
“As I remember it,
we both got touched.” Mel winked down at me, puffing his chest with pride. I
patted his hand on my shoulder as we hit the table. “Besides, who could forget
your pretty face?”
I sat. Mel
grinned, sliding into the chair next to mine.
“Now, what was your
name?” Mel made a show of pretending he couldn’t remember, shaking his head
slowly before snapping and pointing to my face. “Sugar!”
“Chloe,” I
laughed, though that hadn’t been the name I’d given him before. He didn’t
mention the difference. “So what are you doing here?”
“I work here, a
few floors up. Also, I own the building.”
“Impressive.”
“It pays the
bills, though not as well as your job I would guess. Another mob boss making
trouble?”
“Why?” I asked
with a wink. “You hoping I’ll put you on a leash again?”
“It could be
arranged.” Mel leaned in and ran his fingers over the back of my knuckles. I
shook my head as I turned my hand up to give his a quick squeeze.
“I’m out of that
business. Just a civilian now. I’ll be working upstairs as well, actually.”
“I don’t buy it,”
Mel said, sitting back. He made a show of considering me. “You were enjoying
yourself a little too much the last time we saw each other.”
“That’s because the
last time we saw each other you were naked. You can be naked while I’m a
civilian.”
“Well, yes, but
you know what I mean. You’re not the office type. I saw how happy it made you
to huck grenades and beat a man unconscious with a fish tank. You’ll get
bored.”
“Nah.” I shook my
head, lowering my gaze. I didn’t want to get into my reasoning for why I’d left
my last employer, especially not with someone who could potentially tell my new
boss that I wasn’t entirely on the up and up. “Look, I need you to keep quiet
on the exploding mobster thing, all right?”
“What’ll you give
me for my silence?”
“I already gave it
to you, and good.”
Mel laughed. “Fair
enough. Any reason?”
“I’m pretty sure
Gwen—my boss—has something a little extra.” I gestured toward Mel. “You know
how I mean. My guess is it’s something mild. Some fae blood, probably. But from
what I can tell she’s got no idea what’s going on behind the scenes. On top of
that, my old job isn’t exactly one you can go blabbing about in polite company,
you get me?”
“I got you.” Mel
smiled wickedly. “And good.”
I rolled my eyes
over a smile. “So mum’s the word, alright?”
Mel mimed zipping
up his lips and stuffing the key down his jeans. I was immediately glad it
wasn’t a real key. Werewolves will let just about anyone into their pants. We
were quiet for a few seconds before he jerked his thumb toward the ceiling.
“So what’s this
new boss of yours do?”
“She’s a
therapist. We just got the keys to the office yesterday, in fact. Have you seen
her around? Dark hair, green eyes, a little pudgy?” Mel shook his head, looking
like he was really concentrating. “Really likes cake?”
“Well, this is the
perfect place, then. Madeline makes an amazing range of them.”
“I think that’s
half the reason Gwen chose this building.”
“I’ll have to keep
an eye out for her.” Mel seemed to consider again for a moment. “What makes you
think she’s fae spawn?”
“I’m thinking whatever
power she has is something mental: mind-reading or maybe empathy. If there’s a
large crowd, she gets scattered, responds a little slower. I went with her to
look for an office space and some of the buildings left her twitchy or angry,
even though they were nice enough.”
“You haven’t asked
if she’s different? Made sure she’s not just in need of medication?”
“No. Like I said,
I don’t want to get into that side of things with her if I don’t have to.”
“So I shouldn’t
introduce myself as Mel Somerset: Werewolf Extraordinaire?”
“Probably not, no.
Though, if she’s a mind reader, she’ll already know.”
“All she’ll know
if she reads my mind is that I’m wondering what she looks like naked.”
I shrugged like
he’d made a point I couldn’t argue with and then lifted a brow. “You’re
picturing me naked right now, aren’t you?”
“Since the moment
I walked in the door.”
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