Page 8 of Deck the Skulls

“Bartending at the Sanguine. Anatoly isn’t into customer service, so he’s always grumpy when I ask him to fill in for me. I’m sure he’s driven off a ton of customers. You’d be helping me out if you said yes!”

“I’ve never bartended before,” she warned him.

“I can teach you,” he promised. “It’s not that hard. Most of the people you’ll serve will be easy. Give them a cold beer and a bowl of nuts and they’re happy. I wanted Sanguine to be a friendly, safe place. I think you could help me do that.”

“You own the place?” she asked.

“We both do,” he said, gesturing to Anatoly with a thumb over his shoulder. With his superior shifter hearing, he could hear Anatoly talking to the cop. The vampire was using thrall and instructing the man to fill out a report that made Rissa the victim and the man she hit the attacker. He was also getting the man's name and address. No doubt Todd Brandon would be getting a visit from Anatoly soon.

Hampered by her limited human hearing, she wouldn’t know any of this.

“If I say yes, do I have to sleep with you guys to keep my job?” she asked.

He gave her the biggest grin. “Only if it’s a fantasy you want to play out.” That finally got a chuckle out of her. “Working together will be the perfect way to get to know each other. If you decide you want us but not the job, we’ll help you find another one.”

That was a complete lie. Once she was working for them, they’d never let her go anywhere else!

“How much does it pay?” she asked. He named an hourly wage twice the minimum, making her eyes go wide. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, it’s reasonable,” he said. “Our customers probably won’t tip you because I’ve never accepted tips. The extra money is to make up for that.”

“That’s a lot of extra,” she said, and he could tell she was about to accept. She needed the money, and he was promising plenty. Worrying about her financial state made him reach for his wallet.

“It’s really not,” he said, pulling all the cash out of his wallet. Being old-fashioned, Anatoly insisted he carry a lot of cash around, even though he used his phone to pay for most stuff. “Here, take this. Consider it an advance.”

She stared at the money he held out. Then she snatched it from him and shoved it down the front of her blouse to tuck into her bra.

He’d never wished he was money before.

“How do you know I’ll show up?” she asked.

“Because you will,” he answered. “I can tell. You’d already decided before you took the cash, or you wouldn't have accepted it.”

She frowned at him. “You’re too trusting.”

“Yes, he is,” Anatoly agreed, appearing next to him. It was only because he was used to Anatoly’s fast movement that he didn’t startle while Rissa jerked back.

“Whoa, you’re sneaky,” she said, looking past them. “You got the cop to leave! What did you say? How did you do that?”

“I simply pointed out that you were the victim, and he should look into the situation again,” Anatoly said. “Did I hear that you’re going to work at Sanguine? That’s an excellent idea. I never want to pour another drink. Unless it’s for you, that is.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m going to learn to be a bartender,” she said, glancing down at her car. Zan could tell she needed a break. A lot had happened, and she wanted to be in a place she felt safe.

Hopefully, their home would be her safe place soon.

“We should probably get back to Sanguine,” Zan said, tangling his fingers with Anatoly’s. He felt the vampire's reluctance, but he pressed insistence back through their link. “We left the bar unattended, and you know Danny will drink down an entire bottle of that brandy he likes.”

“I suppose,” Anatoly said, but didn’t move. “Can we give you our numbers? You can call for any reason. Even if it’s because you need a spider removed from your home.”

“You probably don’t have problems with spiders,” Zan said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at Anatoly. “But it would be good if we exchanged numbers. You know, because you work for us now.”

Nodding her head, she rattled off her number. Zan didn’t bother trying to remember because Anatoly already had his phone out and was skillfully entering in the information with one hand.

“I’m texting you Zan's number,” Anatoly said as he typed. “Now you can call either of us.”

“Come to the bar at three tomorrow,” Zan said as he started to back up, taking Anatoly with him. “We’ll start your training.”

The vampire briefly resisted his tugs but gave in.