17. Chapter Seventeen - Wilder
Five months haven’t dulled Furies’s charm.
The same fabric-covered barstools line the antique wooden counter, with brass footrails gleaming.
Servers in white shirts and black shorts deftly navigate the crowded space, delivering magically chilled beer bottles to patrons.
Despite the ongoing blackout, the place is brightly lit.
In the distance, a backup generator rumbles while candles adorn the tables.
Even with the trivia night pandemonium, we get lucky and snag a recently vacated table in the back.
Gianna wipes away the previous occupants’ water rings with spare napkins before propping her elbows on the table.
“This is Furies?” she questions.
The competitive buzz of trivia night greets my ears, punctuated by cheers and groans with each new question.
“Yeah, the Erinye sisters run it,” I yell over the noise.
“It was inherited from their dad, a Sea Witch. They’ve kept his tradition alive, occasionally tweaking a recipe.”
Gianna scans the sticky bar menu.
“Pomegranate infusion. Sounds yummy.”
“Want one?” I offer.
It’s one of the mocktail options.
I’ve noticed Gianna abstaining from alcohol since returning from treatment.
Though she went to rehab for drugs, not drinking makes sense.
It lowers inhibitions, and our brain’s reward system doesn’t discriminate.
One substance can easily trigger cravings for another.
Her look turns contemplative.
“What are we doing here, though? Aren’t you supposed to be at the power station? And what about Stellan?”
I lean in.
“That’s exactly why we’re here. My friends are around somewhere, and with some luck, they’ll help.” Brigid can assist me in convincing Eddo, and he likely knows where to find Stellan—who’s been hard to track since he no longer works as a journalist for mayor’s office and his paper only uses a PO Box.
Gianna hums.
“I guess that’s a good idea.”
“It is.”
She points at the menu.
“I’ll take one of these.” It’s a soda.
“Coming right up,” I say, then head for the bar.
Squeezing between patrons, I try to catch the bartender’s attention.
He’s a young guy with frosted tips and a face I don’t recognize.
Suddenly, an earth-shattering screech tears through the bar, causing him to fumble, and drop his shaker.
Both of us look toward the source of the commotion, and I break into a smile.
“Hey, Alec,” I yell over whirring blenders.
Alec Erinye, one of the trio who own the place, finishes setting a vat of freshly cleaned glasses on the bar, rounds the corner, and throws herself into my arms.
Despite her towering platform boots, she’s tiny, not even hitting the five-foot mark.
For fun, I spin her around, almost bumping into a group waiting on their drinks from the fresh-faced bartender.
After setting Alec down, she playfully slaps my arm.
“When the hell did you get back?”
“Today. I just ran into Eddo. He mentioned trivia night was still on.”
She puts a hand on her hip.
“Hell yeah, it is. The blackout couldn’t stop us. Are you back for good?”
Before I can reply, Megaera or Meg, Alec’s sister, strolls toward us with a guarded expression.
Towering at almost six feet tall, she’s almost always in sneakers, regardless of her outfit.
The Erinye sisters share striking black hair, tanned skin, and deep, dark eyes.
Meg is the eldest, Alec falls somewhere in the middle, and Phe, currently unaccounted for, is the baby.
“Hey, Meg, it’s good to se?—”
Meg’s punch lands squarely on my jaw.
“What the fuck, Meg?” Alec screeches.
I rub my face, reeling from shock more than pain.
Meg points an accusing finger at me.
“That’s for breaking Brigid’s heart.”
I roll my eyes.
Brigid and I were never an official item; it was always casual.
After her failed relationships, she wanted to keep things noncommittal.
I wanted to forget about Isolde.
We were friends, finding solace in each other as we nursed our broken hearts.
When I ended things before returning to Borealis at the end of last summer, she agreed it was for the best—at least, that’s how I remember it.
But Meg’s cold shoulder and Eddo’s biting comments suggest a different story.
Could I have misread the situation?
Brigid always had a knack for making others see her version of events, and if she convinced everyone I broke her heart .
.
.
I push away the unease settling in my stomach.
My time in Aurora might be more complicated than I thought.
“Brigid is fine, I promise,” Alec tries to reassure me, but Meg’s worry is written across her lowered brow.
“Where is she?” I ask.
Then Gianna appears, drawing the attention of half the bar.
“I’m thirsty,” she declares, clearly frustrated.
“Did you forget my drink?” Alec and Meg fall silent, sizing Gianna up and down.
“Hello, I’m Gianna.”
Alec whistles.
“Yeah, we know who you are.” She gives me a questioning look that asks, “ Why didn’t you tell us she was here?”
Gianna laughs; it is an uncomfortable sound.
A nearby table of refinery workers is watching her and whispering.
“I wish people would stop staring at me.”
Meg blurts out, “But you’re beautiful.” Immediately, her face colors.
Usually, she is far more reserved.
Alec swoops in and links arms with Gianna, turning her toward the bar.
“Are you here with Wilder?”
“We came together, if that’s what you mean. Wilder’s with my best friend.”
“The queen?” Gianna confirms with a nod.
“What’s she like?”
“I . . .” Gianna glances back at me, and I shrug.
“I don’t know, she’s Leigh. She’s a combination of confident and suspicious.”
Alec’s eyes glimmer.
“She’s so pretty. Like a model.” Gianna offers a noncommittal noise, and Alec slaps the bar to get the bartender’s attention.
“Yo, get my new friend Gianna whatever she wants. On the house.”
“Where’s Phe?” I ask Meg.
“With her husband.”
I quirk a brow.
“She’s married?” Before I left, Phe hadn’t had a boyfriend.
“Whirlwind romance,” Meg answers.
“She’s a romantic.”
I nod but notice how Meg keeps watching Gianna.
It’s hard to hear them over the commotion.
Gi smiles at Alec while Meg plays with her hair.
If Gi can get along with my friends, having her around will be easier.
After Elio’s arrest and subsequent death, followed by her mom’s swift departure, Gianna has only Leigh.
If she could make more friends, maybe she’d realize she’s not so alone in this world.
Plus, if she can talk to Stellan and learn more about her biological dad, she might lose some of that attitude.
“Is Brigid here?” I ask Meg.
“No,” she says with a scowl.
“But she’s on the way. So is Ry.”
Good.
I’d like to see them both.
The bartender offers an awkward smile to Gianna, who finally orders for the both of us.
Drinks in hand, we head back to our table with promises from Meg and Alec that they will join us soon.
However, it’s their bartender’s first week, so they can’t leave him alone behind the bar for long, especially while it’s busy.
Due to the blackout, many patrons are out of work, causing the bar to be more packed than usual.
I sip my drink as the person on the microphone asks, “What’s the rarest gemstone?”
The table next to us debates if it is a diamond or an emerald, and Gianna rolls her eyes with a mumbled, “Painite.”
“Huh?” I ask.
“The answer,” Gianna says a little louder, drawing attention from the party beside us.
“It’s painite. Only one thousand have ever been found. Mama has one.”
I laugh.
Of course she does.
“You should sign up to play. You’d be an asset to any team.”
Gianna sips her soda through a straw.
“I find that hard to believe.”
I open my mouth to ask her how she feels about uncovering her past.
However, before I can voice my thoughts, Gianna voices hers.
“What was it like living. . .” Her question hangs unfinished as two hands suddenly cover my eyes from behind.
I tense up.
A girl’s voice teases, “Guess who?”
“Ugh, Brigid?”
“Yes!” Brigid squeals in delight, and drops into my lap, disregarding the empty chair beside me.
“I knew you’d be back! I missed you so much. Did you miss me?”
Gianna’s expression darkens at the sight of Brigid clinging to me, though Brigid seems oblivious to the tension her closeness creates.
She flings her coarse, waist-length brown-black hair, which she usually has up in a topknot, over her shoulder.
I resist the urge to drop her onto the dirty floor.
“I just ran into Papa, he said you were back. I checked your old room, and when I didn’t find you there, I knew you’d be here.”
“You went into my room?” I shift uncomfortably, aware of Gianna clenching her glass tight enough to suggest she’s fantasizing about dousing Brigid with its contents.
“Is that a problem? It never was before.” Brigid feigns innocence, but her gaze suggests something more sinister.
She runs her fingers through my hair.
“It’s getting longer.”
“I thought I made it clear before I left that we needed boundaries, Brigid?” I ask.
When I ended things, she agreed wholeheartedly, saying I was a nice distraction but not the settling down type.
After sleeping with her for months, I expected her words to sting, but I felt nothing but indifference.
“Relax, babe, I didn’t touch anything. I’ll wait until you ask me to.” Brigid winks.
“Ugh, could you . . . move?” I ask, giving her a nudge for some personal space.
Brigid’s always been flirty, but I’m not here to rekindle anything.
I need her help with Eddo.
That’s it.
Brigid blinks, momentarily taken aback, but then hops off me gracefully.
Her eyes lock with Gianna’s, and the air crackles with an unspoken challenge.
“Who are you?” Brigid asks.
Gianna’s response is cool; her smirk sharp.
“I’m Wilder’s girlfriend’s best friend. Perhaps you’ve heard of her? Leigh Raelyn, your queen .”
Shit.
Angering Brigid before I could win her to my side wasn’t the plan.
Brigid laughs.
“I’m aware of who she is. Not that she’ll be my queen for much longer.”
I stiffen.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Brigid cups my cheek.
Her thumb is dangerously close to my mouth.
“Oh, baby, there’s so much you don’t know. How about we catch up tomorrow? Coffee before work?”
I peel Brigid’s hand off my face.
“I was hoping to talk tonight.”
“About?”
“I need to check out the damage at the power station. Speak to Michael, but Eddo is being difficult. I hoped you could speak to your dad to set up the meeting.”
Brigid cringes.
When I first moved to Aurora, she had just broken up with Bryant Bersa—son of Michael Bersa, the power plant owner.
Now, Bryant is serving time for trying to frame Brigid for a crime she didn’t commit.
Solving that case and proving her innocence was our first collaboration, and it cemented our friendship.
I hate reminding her of that dark time when her freedom was on the line, but it’s not as if I asked her to accompany me to the station.
I can handle with Michael alone.
“I might be able to do that,” she says.
“If you agree to have breakfast.”
“I thought Blades were against extortion?” Gianna mumbles.
Brigid glowers at her.
“Seeing as you are Elio’s daughter, you’d know all about that.”
Gianna gapes at Brigid.
So do I.
“I thought you didn’t know who I am?” Gi asks.
“Babes, I know all about you. Which is why—I hate to ask—but should you even be drinking?” Brigid’s gaze lands pointedly on Gianna’s drink.
“Didn’t you just get out of rehab?”
I suck in a breath.
“Brigid, what the fuck? Not cool.”
“Not that I need to explain myself, but it’s non-alcoholic,” Gianna retorts.
“Congratulations,” Brigid says with zero enthusiasm.
“Daddy must be proud you’re sticking to the program.”
Gianna’s hands make fists, but Brigid smiles, eager for a fight.
“You should go, Brigid,” I encourage.
Her eyes widen, as if she’s hurt I’m choosing Gianna over her.
I’m trying to avoid turning Furies into a boxing ring.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
With a triumphant smile, Brigid stands.
“Looking forward to it.” Then she joins a nearby table of Blades I recognize.
Gianna speaks first.
“I’m guessing you two had a thing, and I don’t need to guess that she still isn’t over it. I suggest you nip that in the bud before Leigh finds out.” I open my mouth to explain, but she’s already moving on.
“Where’s the fucking bathroom in this place?”
Once I’m alone, I bury my face in my hands.
What the hell just happened?
Angering Brigid couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I need her help.
At the same time, upsetting Gianna, who I still suspect is here as some sort of spy for Leigh, is also not a good idea.
By the end of this trip, these girls will tear me in half.