Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Neit, God of War and Mom’s hot ex-boyfriend stepped into the shop. The bundle of dahlias I held slipped from my hand and onto the worktable, scattering petals from damaged blooms. It was still just me and Moira but today was less busy than the day before.
I wasn’t surprised to see him. What stunned me was Neit’s appearance.
He’d foregone his typical dark, rune-riddled armor, and had chosen a pair of charcoal-grey jeans, black tennis shoes, and a forest green pullover sweater.
His dark hair was brushed neatly away from his face, and he wore a knitted scarf tossed casually around his neck.
“You look like a clothing model,” I blurted.
Neit’s smile was darkly amused. “I tire of using glamour. Fitting in is the best way to enjoy my time here.” He patted his stomach. “Plus the smell of that cafe finally won me over.”
“Marnie’s place is amazing,” I admitted. “Try the Shepherd’s pie next time it’s on the menu. It’s amazing.”
Neit inclined his head. “I’ll do that.”
Silence fell between us, and I realized he had a reason to be here, one he seemed nervous to broach. “Coffee?” I offered.
“Please.”
Moira held her hand up. “I’ll get it. Why don’t you two have a seat?”
She gave me a meaningful look and fanned herself when Neit turned away to find a seat.
While Neit was smoking hot, all the gods were.
I think it was part of their genetic blueprint or something.
I always appreciated a little eye candy at breakfast time, but Neit was involved with my mom and that automatically put him into potential stepdaddy territory.
Neit was off limits and dangerous.
We settled in just as Moira brought two steaming cups of coffee over. Neit gave her a grateful smile.
“Thanks.”
She touched my shoulder. “I’ll be in the back. If the bell goes off, I’ll come back.”
Neit waited to speak until Moira was gone. “Evie, I find myself in a predicament.”
“I’m not sure what kind of assistance I could offer a god.” Nor did I feel particularly inclined to offer any assistance at all.
A small smile curved his lips. “I’m not here to ask for your assistance.”
“Oh?” A tug of trepidation pulled inside me. “I know you aren’t here for our store-bought coffee.”
Neit leaned forward, his massive hands curved around his mug. “I need information.”
“Depends on what it is.” Information wasn’t inherently harmful, but Neit had better ways of discovering info than I did, so I was skeptical of whether I could help him.
“Where is your mother?”
I blinked. “Err. Why?”
“She slipped away from me a few weeks ago, and there’s something I must speak to her about.”
What harm could it be for me to tell him where she was? I mulled the question over. Mom would have no issue with stabbing me in the back, but she’d kept me alive and safe.
Until she hadn’t.
Hell with it. “She’s in her domain.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”
“Unless she’s moved over the last few days, she’s there.”
Neit nodded, a calculating look appearing on his face. “She must be blocking me.”
“Can’t imagine why,” I said lightly. “Weren’t you threatening to kill her not too long ago?”
His grin held a feral edge. “Don’t you worry about that.” He rose, carefully setting his mug down. “Thank you for the information. The game continues.”
“Is there something I should know?”
“Not at all, Miss Quinn.” Anticipation gleamed in his eyes. “I will see you soon.”
In a flash of bright violet light, he was gone.
Moira walked out just then, probably sensing the lack of an extra heartbeat and knowing he was gone. “Everything okay?”
I stared at the place where he was standing a moment ago. “He’s looking for Mom.”
“Uh oh.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think he wants to kill her.” A laugh bubbled from me. “If I had to guess, I’d say he still likes her.”
Moira shuddered. “Your mother? But she’s horrible.”
“People lose their mind over beauty,” I said more to myself than her. “That’s why you rarely see terrible people who are beautiful walking around single.”
Moira laughed. “I’ll give you that one. Too bad Cliona’s immortal. She’ll keep stringing all the boys along with those looks for eternity.”
But Neit was different. I felt it in my bones. Not good or bad, the god seemed to be giving my mother a real run for her money, in whatever game they were playing. I just hoped they kept me out of it.
An hour before closing, a woman I’d never seen before stepped into the shop followed by a shifter who didn’t like me very much. They were arguing in hushed voices, his hand on her arm as he tried to stop her from going deeper inside.
Our eyes met. “Hello, Garrett.”
Caelan’s second was tall, blond, and full of muscle. His amber eyes glittered as I spoke. “Evie.” No head nod, no smile. Nothing but an icy greeting.
The woman he was with was short and pretty, and even though I’d never met her before, there was something familiar about her that I couldn’t put a finger on.
She had dark hair woven in a neat braid and hazel eyes.
Her face was delicate, though the stubborn tilt of her chin and the spark of anger in her eyes told me she was giving Garrett premature gray hair.
She yanked her arm away and straightened her shirt. “Evie. I’m Thalia.”
“Hello, Thalia. Is there something you’re looking for?”
“We were just leaving,” Garrett gritted out.
“No, we are not,” Thalia snapped. “Stop being an asshat and let me look at the flowers.”
My lips twitched as Thalia and Garrett locked eyes in a glaring contest. “How do you two know each other?”
Thalia clicked her tongue. “He’s my unwanted bodyguard.”
A flash of hurt over Garrett’s face. Impossible. The man had no feelings. “I’ve been assigned to your protection,” he spat out. “As much as you hate it, you’re stuck with me.”
“Are you running from the law or something?” Why in the world did this innocent looking young woman need a protector like Garrett?
She snorted. “No. Just an overprotective father.” Thalia rolled her eyes. “I have to drag this guy everywhere.”
That would piss me off, too. Especially if I got stuck with Garrett. “She’s fine here if you want to take a break,” I said to the shifter. “You know as well as I do that I can protect her if something happens.”
“I’m not leaving,” Garrett growled.
Hope flared over Thalia’s face. “Yes! You heard her! Give me twenty minutes.” Her imploring look softened my heart. “For girl talk. And shopping without you snarling about how much everything costs. Please, Garrett.”
But the shifter was a boulder, unable to be moved. “Sorry, peach. You’re stuck with me.”
The look of disappointment on Thalia’s face broke something in me. Knowing I might regret this, I pulled my cell out.
Garrett saw the motion. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
I hit the speed dial button for Caelan. “Sorry. Us girls have to stick together.”
The Shifter Lord answered on the first ring. Garrett’s muscles tensed.
I held up a hand. “You know as well as I do if you come for me, I will flatten you.” A crazy smile tipped my lips. “And we both know how much I would love to do it.”
“Ooh,” Thalia breathed. “You guys hate each other, don’t you?”
“Let me guess,” Caelan’s voice rumbled over the connection. “Garrett’s there, isn’t he?”
“Yes. Has he kidnapped this girl? Do I need to stage a rescue while I wait for you to come gather your errant wolf?”
“I’m going to kill you one day,” Garrett said softly. “Right when you least expect it.”
“Tell my wolf to stand down,” Caelan rumbled, fury tightening his voice.
“I don’t need your assistance to deal with your guard dog,” I said.
Thalia laughed out loud. “Did you guys used to date?”
“No!” We both barked at the same time.
“Any time you want to dance, darling,” I drawled. “Let’s dance.”
“Evie…” Caelan said. “Please stop fighting with my Second.”
“He started it.”
His long-suffering sigh made me laugh. “I’m calling to see if you can relieve Garrett of duty for a little while and let this poor woman shop.”
“You’ve met Thalia.” There was an odd note in his voice.
“Yes. Why is she under Garrett’s protection?”
“It’s a long story,” he said tightly.
“I’ll have time tonight if you want to come over.” Couldn’t wait to hear how Caelan had gotten roped into babysitting. Or whatever this was.
Thalia’s eyes widened. “Are you doing it with the Shifter Lord?”
Garrett pinched the space between his brows.
A long pause came over the line. My heart thudded in my chest. Something was wrong. “Caelan?”
A soft sigh. “I’m sorry, Evie. I can’t tonight. Something came up.”
I swallowed and tried to shake off the rejection. There was no reason for me to be weird about this. Caelan was a Lord. He couldn’t always come over every time I asked him.
But he always had before, a negative voice whispered through my brain.
“Alright,” I said, ignoring the knot in my stomach. “We’ll catch up another time.” I turned away. “And Thalia? Can you call off your dog for a little while? She wants to do some shopping.”
“Yes, she does!” Thalia called. “And I still need some clothes!”
“How long?” Caelan asked.
I thought about it. “Two hours?”
“No,” Garrett growled.
“An hour,” Caelan bargained.
“An hour and a half. Final offer. If you say no, I’m growing a new vine and trussing up your Second and going anyway.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Garrett muttered.
“Take the girl shopping and do not let her out of your sight.”
“You got it,” I agreed.
“Bye, Evie.”
My stomach lurched. He sounded odd. “Everything okay?”
Another too long pause. “Everything is fine.”
I knew he was lying to me. “Alright then. Take care.”
I turned to see Garrett watching me, an odd expression on his lean face. Ignoring the knowing look in his eyes, I smiled at Thalia. “We have an hour and a half.”
The young woman clapped her hands together. “Awesome! Is there a discount store around here?”
Moira popped out from the back. “There’s a shopping strip right outside town. You’ll find plenty of stuff there.”
Thalia gave me a hopeful look. I shrugged. “She’s right. Ready to go?”
And that was how I ended up taking a perfect stranger on a shopping spree with a pissed off wolf pretending he wasn’t following us.
An hour and a half to the dot we were back at the shop. Garrett leaned against the passenger door of his pickup truck, a blank expression on his face, but I could almost feel the burning fury beating from him when our gazes met.
“Uh oh,” Thalia breathed from the passenger seat. “Why doesn’t he like you?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. He’s always been like this.” I opened the door. “I’ll help you carry your stuff over to his truck.”
Thalia groaned. “Do I have to go back?”
“I can only push the Lord so far.”
At Thalia’s disgruntled look, I laughed. “Besides, Garrett is just doing his job.” I didn’t like the man, but I knew how hard he worked to keep Caelan and the Pack running efficiently.
“Yes, but he’s being super annoying about it.” Thalia rolled her eyes and grabbed a few bags. “Thanks for taking me. It was nice to hang out with someone who isn’t worried about what I can do.”
My hands stilled. “What can you do?”
Thalia blinked. “No one told you about me?” A bright grin creased her face. “This goes against everything I’d heard about small towns.”
“Let’s go,” Garrett demanded, reaching over and plucking the bags from Thalia’s hands. The shifter didn’t bother to take any from mine.
I rolled my eyes and walked over to Garrett’s truck to dump her bags in the backseat.
When I turned, Thalia stood there. She threw open her arms and brought me in for a tight hug. “Thank you, Evie. I’m so glad I met you.”
Blinking in surprise, I pulled away and smiled at her. “Enjoy the new clothing. If you ever want to go shopping again, drop by the shop or give me a call.”
“Only if I get to escape from Captain Grumpy Pants again.”
Garrett shook his head and slid into the driver’s seat. “Wrap it up, girl.”
Thalia shot him a dark glare. “I’m not a girl.”
He started the car, the engine rumbling loud enough to drown out the rest of her words.
I bit down my smile. “See you around!”
On my way back to the shop, I turned to give Garrett a mocking little wave.
He raised his middle finger and waved back.
I burst out laughing, even as I didn’t envy him.
Thalia, as much as I liked her, seemed like she could be a real handful.