Page 9 of Deck the Skulls

“Be safe, Rissa,” Anatoly ordered. “If you need anyone beaten up, you come to me. I don’t want you breaking your fingers on anyone’s nose.”

“That's nice of you to offer,” Rissa said. Zan could tell she was trying to be sarcastic, but he could hear a note of real intrigue in her voice.

The moment they were behind a truck, Anatoly stopped short. “Her car is a death trap, and we don’t know where she lives. I’m not happy about this.”

“I know,” Zan said. He could hear her fumbling around in her car and then starting it up. “You need to shift and follow her home, then text me the address. I can come pick you up in the car after I kick everyone out and shut down the bar for the night.”

“We’re going to watch her?” Anatoly asked with a happy smile curving his lips. “Guard her?”

“Yeah, we should. Now hurry up and shift so I can toss you in the air.” Zan wasn’t looking forward to an uncomfortable night in the car but hated the idea of letting Rissa be vulnerable for even a moment.

Anatoly grumbled under his breath but did as Zan ordered. Soon he was throwing Anatoly’s owl form into the air again. At least there weren’t any powerlines he needed to avoid, only a tree. He peeked out from behind the truck to watch Rissa’s taillights move down the street with a great horned owl following in the sky above her. When he couldn’t see the car or owl, he turned and sprinted back to Sanguine.

There was a lot he needed to do and little time to get it done.

Chapter 4

Rissa

Even though she’d been exhausted when she got back to her apartment, the raging party going on above her didn’t die down until dawn.

Despite the lack of sleep, she wasn’t able to stay asleep even after the party was over. A childhood full of inconsistency had made her obsessed with being on time as an adult. She woke up every twenty minutes to check the time. By ten a.m., she gave up and started her day. Now it was time to start her new job.

Bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived, Rissa opened the door of Sanguine at exactly 3 p.m. The inside looked the same as it did last night except for the lack of customers. There was only Zan standing behind the bar, staring down at a laptop. The open, enthusiastic smile he gave her as he looked up made her freeze in place.

He really was a beautiful man.

“Good morning, or afternoon, I guess,” he said, walking out from behind the counter. The pass-through she’d smashed lastnight was gone and the hole in the wall was covered with a framed piece of art.

“Hi,” she responded, stepping all the way in.

He was frowning a little as he met her halfway between the bar and the front door. “You look tired.”

“I’m fine,” she said quickly. The money he’d given her had paid her overdue rent, but she was still behind on a few bills and couldn’t afford to be sent home.

He didn’t stop frowning, and when her stomach grumbled, his frown turned into a scowl. “Did you eat lunch?”

“Yes,” she answered. Lunch was the last egg in her fridge and the remaining half piece of bread she had after removing the mold.

“Well, lunch was probably a while ago,” he said as he pulled out his phone. “The place down the street makes great food. Let me order us some early dinner. What do you like? I’m friends with the owner, so they’ll put together just about anything for me.”

“Um, that’s okay. I don’t—”

“You’re not going to make me eat alone, are you?” he asked, giving her irresistible puppy dog eyes. “I hate eating alone. It’s the worst.”

“I guess not,” she said, amused by his dramatic words. “I’ll take a club sandwich or hamburger. I’m not a picky eater.”

“I’ll get both, and chips and French fries,” he said, tapping on his phone. “I’ll get some potato salad and a Caesar salad. Oh, and you’ve got to try their cinnamon rolls. They’re so good.”

He was ordering a lot of food, but he probably needed to eat a lot considering his size. When he finished ordering, he looked up at her with another of those brilliant smiles that made his brown eyes sparkle.

“Let me show you around while we wait for the food,” he said.

Sanguine was a small place, so it didn’t take long for him to show her the storage room, small office, and back door to the dumpster in the alley.

“Where does that go?” she asked, pointing to a set of stairs.

“Anatoly and I live on the third floor,” he explained. “The second floor is another apartment, but no one’s living there right now.”