Page 14 of Loki's Flame
“Hey,” I said, coming into the room.
“Hi, what are you doing here?” she looked perplexed, holding the glasses on her tray.
“I wanted to see how your first day was?”
“Do you check on all your new employees on their first day?”
“I’m a very conscientious boss.”
“Well, not my direct boss, right? So maybe you should start delegating that task. Might free your time up for more interesting things,” she said, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Those eyes were beautiful with specks of brown that were surrounded by green. I imagined they changed colors depending on her outfit.
“I’ll take that under advisement. I heard you wanted a tour of Hel. I can take you there.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” I wondered why she never just answered a question straight on.”
“I think we established you are a busy man. Why take me on a tour?’
“Do you never just say yes to a question?
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, placing the tray on the table.
“Here, let’s practice - Loki, I’d love to go on a tour with you. I appreciate you asking.”
She rolled her eyes and put a right hand on the hip. Chick was sexy as all hell. I loved her legs glowing in the room's lighting.
“Here’s a question, Loki, does the Valhalla Heathens sell heroin?”
It stunned me for a few seconds. What the hell? “We don’t deal drugs, Ivy. Why would you ask that?”
“I have my reasons. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta finish up here. My feet are killing me in these heels and I just need to go home and get a shower.”
I let her go without another world.
Chapter 13
Bridget Ivy
The motel had a small pool, and I was reclining on a lounge chair that had a faded yellow umbrella sitting behind it in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The sun felt good on my skin, but I was thankful that the umbrella helped shield me from some of the intense rays. I was flipping through a Cosmopolitan magazine, which reminded me of Shannon as a teenager.
It was my day off, and I’d been working at the club for about two weeks. The only thing I’d learned so far was that people flocked to Ragnarök. I worked with another waitress most nights named Cindy, who was really sweet and loved to chat. She was attending LSU and told me that Hel was a BDSM playroom that had an exclusive member list. Hearing that didn’t surprise me so much as disappoint me because I’d hoped it was for more casual parties where stimulants were common.
The truth was, I no longer thought drugs were part of the menu there. The Valhalla Heathens weren’t completely off my list yet, but it seemed less likely they had anything to do with that trade. Not that I was taking Loki’s word for it. This was all based on what I’d seen and heard during my shifts.
The part that was frustrating me was not having any reliable sources in the area. I’d still not found anyone who knew Virgil Williams. Patrice, Marcel’s former backup singer, was the one who got back to me to say she knew Shannon was seeing someone in the last few months of her life, but she was really hush-hush about it. I sighed and closed my eyes as my thoughts churned and I threw the magazine down on the cement by my chair.
It startled me when I heard the buzzing of my cell phone vibrate on the metal table next to my chair.
“Hello?”
“So, do you love me or what?” Michael sang on the other end.
“Depends…” I smiled.
“Ragnarök is owned by Erik Anderson. I saw a picture of him on the net and mercy. Is he ever delicious? Tell me you’ve met him?”
“If the picture is of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy that looks like a Viking, then yes, his nickname or whatever is Loki. He’s never introduced himself with his real name.”