Chapter 5
When I left the office and returned to the main room, Shiloh sat across from James in a booth along the wall. A mixed drink sat in front of each of them with glasses of water off to the side. James’s eyes met mine, and Shiloh turned to watch me approach the table—and their eyes traveled over my body.
“Keep staring like that and I’ll have to walk away again,” I teased, sliding into the booth next to James.
Shiloh’s cheeks flushed red and they buried their face in their drink. “I’m sorry! I’m so fired.”
“You’re not fired,” James assured them, his hand finding mine. I sat back, relaxing into his touch.
“I got caught blatantly checking out my boss. Can this get any more embarrassing?”
My face hurt from smiling.
“Relax, Shiloh, it’s Ryder—he loves the attention.”
Shiloh looked at me with those big, brown eyes… and turned even redder when I winked at them.
Oh, this is going to be fun .
“Like he said,” I drawled, “relax. I’m not your boss.” I took a sip from the drink James offered me.
Shiloh cocked their head in confusion. “You’re not?”
“Ryder’s my best bartender,” James offered.
I snickered. “I’m your only bartender.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to say you’re the best, does it?”
“It does because I can mix circles around you and you know it.”
“Shut up and drink.”
James made me choke on my retort by tipping my glass against my lips, forcing me to either swallow the liquid or wear it. Shiloh’s attention bounced between us like they were watching a tennis match. I met their eyes and slowly wiped my mouth with my thumb, holding their gaze—until they quickly dropped it into their mojito.
“You don’t have to play shy with me,” I told them, instinctively reaching across the table to lift their chin.
My hand was snatched out of the air by James, who tutted. “Ryder, you can’t just grab people and make them look at you.”
Shiloh’s head snapped up, and I admired the way their freckles stood out against the deep red of their cheeks. “It’s fine.”
“Don’t encourage him.”
I sat back with a grin. “Please encourage me. Can I call you Shi?”
“Um, sure.” Cheeks aflame, Shiloh’s enchanting eyes darted between us, finally settling on James.
James tangled our fingers together and placed our hands on my thigh, pinching me hard in rebuke. “Don’t be nervous, Shiloh. Most people learn to ignore Ryder or spit back at him. Don’t let him get under your skin. But if he does, I promise I’ll give you free drinks to throw in his face.” I winced and attempted to pry his hands away from the death grip on my thigh. Shiloh clearly thought the situation was hilarious .
I shot a glare across the table. “Keep laughing, Shi.”
They stopped so abruptly they started to choke. James glared at me and nudged a glass of water closer to them. “Keep acting up and I’ll take you home.”
“Is that all I have to do to get you back in bed?”
Shi coughed on an inhaled sip of water, smiling when they recovered. “You two might actually kill me.”
The three of us fell into easy conversation about the bar, Shi’s duties, and what they could expect for the first few shifts. As James’s first drink disappeared, I made my way over to the bar and mixed us a second round, and James offered to make the third.
He hooked a finger in the collar of my shirt, pulling until I leaned into him. “Behave,” he whispered, nudging me to let him out of the booth.
Shiloh looked at me with a bashful smirk as I sat back down. “You’re not going to behave, are you?”
“Fast learner.”
“Good thing I know how to bite back,” they muttered in a tone they likely thought I couldn’t hear before taking a sip of the same mojito they’d been nursing all afternoon.
“You sure you don’t want another one?”
“I’m a bit of a lightweight.” They gave a nervous laugh before they continued. “I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of you on the first meeting—um, again.” They nodded toward where James mixed drinks behind the bar. “How long have you two been together?”
“Hm?”
They gestured to my neck. “The love bites and the shameless flirting? You two are clearly some kind of something.”
My eyes drifted to James. He took his time mixing his drink. I could see the concentration in his brow, how his muscles flexed under his sweater. I coughed against those stupid little butterflies in my belly. “It’s complicated.”
Shi scoffed. “There is nothing complicated about the way you look at him. Trust me, I know complicated.”
I broke my attention away from James and cocked a brow at Shiloh. “Care to share?”
“Nope.”
Wow—not even an attempt to deflect. Color me impressed.
Shi followed my gaze. James was wiping down the bar after finishing our drinks. I’d overseen every part of the remodel—James had wanted me to—but of all the parts we’d rebuilt together, the bar was my baby. The new, deep, polished mahogany shone under the lights. The wood had a hint of red, reminding me of how James’s similarly colored eyes swirled with crimson.
Fuck.
This was complicated.
I didn’t get time to dwell on it before James returned to the table with the drinks, and I plastered my cockiest grin on my face before getting to my feet.
“What’s that look for?” he asked, sliding my vodka and Sprite across the table and handing Shi their water refill.
I decided to tamp down the nerves that fluttered in my stomach. “Just remembering your taste on my tongue.” To amp it up, I brushed my fingers along my neck—right over his mark.
“Christ,” he muttered, throwing himself into the seat and downing his double shot in one go.
I stamped a kiss to his cheek, then stood. “Bathroom.”
A few minutes later as I opened the door to leave, I heard a voice coming from the small alcove that hid the bathroom doors. Oh well, too late now. The conversation they were having was clearly stressing them out. I didn’t intend to listen, but… well, they were blocking the path .
“I told you what time I’d be home. No, I don’t need this job, but I want it. You know I’m not the type to—” They noticed me and cut off their sentence with a yip. “I have to go.”
“Everything okay?” I asked as they disconnected their call.
“Fine,” they said, perhaps a little too quickly. I watched them silence their phone. “What’s wrong?”
I indicated the exit behind them. “You’re blocking the way.”
They flushed. Stammering, they skirted around me and into the bathroom. I glanced at their retreating back, but even I knew when not to pry.
“What do you think?” James asked when I returned to the table.
“I like them,” I told him. I knew he must’ve overheard the conversation they were having, too. “Are you concerned about whatever’s going on at home?”
James looked amused. “If I worried about my employees’ home lives, I never would’ve hired you a year ago.”
“Ha, ha.” I was still staring in the direction of the restrooms. Shi opened the door, and I pulled my eyes away, turning to my drink. “Something’s off, though.”
Shi returned to their seat and glanced at me from across the table, silently begging me not to ask any questions about what I’d overheard. “What’d I miss?”
“We were just talking about when you’d be able to start,” James said. “How’s tomorrow sound?”
“Tomorrow? Really?”
James nodded. “You really impressed me in your interview, Shiloh, and I know you’ll be a fine addition to the team. So what do you say? I’ll be here, and Ryder will be behind the bar with you the whole time. I’m convinced you’ll give him a run for his money.”
“Hey! ”
Shi chewed their cheek, glancing down at their phone again. “Let’s do it.”
Skeptical, I asked, “You sure? You can talk it over with your… family… if you need to.”
Shi didn’t take the bait. “No need. I will be here.” Their phone vibrated again and they groaned, scrubbing a hand over their face. “I should go deal with this. Thank you for the food and drinks.”
“Drink,” I corrected. At their startled glance, I grinned. “But there’s always next time.”
As they stood, James gave me a suspicious look out of the corner of his eye. “Do you need a ride home?” he asked them.
“Thank you, but my partner is picking me up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’m not even joking! The police said they would pay us to keep Ryder out of their sight!”
“All right,” I said, hiding my shame behind a sip of my drink, “did we need to tell that story?”
“Of course we did,” Raleigh said, a shit-eating grin on his face. “We’re your best friends. We have to embarrass you in front of the boyfriend.”
I didn’t get bashful very often, but the fact that Raleigh caught the whole incident on video made my cheeks light up like one of my signature flaming cocktails.
James kicked my foot and I looked up at him. His brown eyes sparkled and a heart-melting smile graced his mouth. The tension in my body eased, and I let my leg curl around his. After our afternoon at the bar, we’d brought dinner home so the guys could get to know James. They’d put Evie to bed and we wer e sprawled out on the living room floor, takeout containers littering the space between us. Carlos laid nearby, pretending that he wasn’t hoping for someone to drop something. Raleigh took the idea of “getting to know James” and ran with it like an Olympic sprinter. Angel was… Angel. It didn’t offend either of us that he didn’t speak much because he was always present in the conversation. He sat to Raleigh’s side, quietly smiling to himself.
Even if it was at my expense, I was glad that the three of them were getting along. Angel caught my eye, waving his empty glass and indicating the kitchen. I gave James a kiss on the cheek. “Refill?”
“Please.” He downed the rest of his drink and handed his glass to me.
Raleigh slid over to my vacated spot as Angel and I went into the kitchen.
“Is everything okay after this morning?” he asked.
My brow furrowed. “Nothing happened,” I deflected.
When I was met with silence, I turned to see Angel giving me one of his “cut the shit, Ryder” looks. His icy glare never failed to make me falter.
“Everything’s fine,” I amended. “Hand me that whiskey?”
“I’m glad,” Angel said as he passed the bottle. “It can’t be easy for a human to date a vampire.”
The bottle of Jack clattered to the counter, though thankfully it didn’t shatter. I righted the bottle and stared at him. He was watching me with one brow raised.
My heart thundered. James must have heard him—with his supersonic hearing, there was no way he hadn’t. I waited for the inevitable confrontation, for him to storm into the room and demand answers, but it didn’t come.
“Y-you know?” I fumbled for words. My eyes must have been the size of walnuts. “Wait, you know vampires exist ?”
Angel smiled softly before nodding. I waited for him to elabor ate, then remembered who I was speaking to. “How? He looks like an ordinary human.”
“Most times.” He sighed at my stunned stammering. “How do you learn things about people? How can you tell if someone’s a kind person? They act, and you observe. How can you tell if someone is a vampire? You observe.” He shrugged. “It takes practice. The signs are there, once you know what to look for. The silver chain, the speed, the way he talks, the red haze in his eyes when he looks at you.” An uncharacteristic blush heated my cheeks. “If you look close enough, these things give him away.”
I stared as he nodded knowingly. He’d said that last line with a finality I’d come to recognize in my years working with him, so I knew better than to press. It never ended well for anyone who pushed Angel. Besides, he’d damn near reached his daily quota of words.
Still, my mind reeled. How did he even know vampires existed ?
Raleigh appeared in the doorway. “Everything okay, you two?”
“I think,” Angel said, stepping up to his husband and putting his hands around the bigger man’s waist, “Ryder’s learned to get his head out of the clouds.”
Raleigh eyed me over the top of Angel’s head, pressing a kiss to his hair. They’d always had their secret looks, but something about how they watched me now… was I missing something? I shook the feeling away. I had a vampire waiting for me in the other room—and I needed to have a conversation with him. I grabbed the drinks from the counter and returned to my spot on the living room floor.
“Is everything all right?” James asked, nuzzling my cheek.
Was it? The Jenkins men reentered, Raleigh sitting on the floor, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Angel knelt behind him, wrapping a tattooed arm around his chest. Tattoos of the all-seeing eye cascaded down both arms and, from what I’d seen, across his back as well. I’d never learned the reason behind his obsession with the symbol. As I sat there and watched Angel curl into Raleigh’s neck, I swore one of those tattoos blinked . Stunned, I set my drink down and rubbed my eyes. Exhaustion. It had to be. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind, and I was running low on fuel. It was the only explanation for seeing Angel’s tattoos move .
Right?
“Love?” James’s hand on my back brought me back to reality. I glanced around the room, at everyone watching me expectantly.
Then Angel smirked.
I was definitely missing something.
“I think I’m just tired.”
“I’ve hit my limit too,” Angel said, stamping a kiss to Raleigh’s cheek and getting to his feet. “I’m going to check on Evie and get to bed. Goodnight, bloodsucker.”
“Goodnight, glow stick!”
My brow furrowed as I looked back and forth between James and Angel’s back, which was quickly disappearing down the hallway. Sure enough, a warm halo illuminated the dark walls to either side of him. He looked over his shoulder, tossed me a wink, and vanished through the bedroom door.
I probably looked like a cartoon character as I shook my head, turning back to Raleigh. “Angel’s, um…”
“ So much more than a name,” he breathed, dreamy eyes staring into the space his husband had vacated.
“I-I don’t understand,” I said, swallowing a protest when James cupped the back of my neck .
“Come on, love,” he said gently. “Let’s talk.”
“Okay.” Stunned, I stood and reached for the containers.
“I’ll take care of that,” Raleigh said. “You two go ahead.”
I didn’t even have the mental capacity to be a good host and argue. With James’s hand on the small of my back, I let him guide me to the bedroom.