Chapter 19
LARK
Iwas nervous.
It was weird. I didn’t get nervous. Not when I’d parachuted from a plane. Not when I’d snuck through the high-tech security of a terrorist cell. Not when I’d hidden for hours hunting a target while vicious guards dogs had prowled the grounds.
But holding Bastian’s hand and walking into the Styx restaurant with Georgie and Nash made me nervous.
We were going on a double date.
I’d never been on any sort of date. I was probably going to suck at this.
A glossy, smiling hostess greeted us and showed us to a table. The best one in the restaurant, of course. The restaurant had a giant wall that was a massive aquarium, filled with vibrantly colored fish. A lazy starfish was climbing up the side of the glass.
The bottom of the aquarium was dotted with rocks, and I realized, small, weathered statues. There was a fierce, three-headed dog. And ancient Greek temple nestled in the shadows of a rock. There was an elegant boat, the oar manned by a man in robes. I could just make out his skeletal face.
I smiled. Charon, the ferryman in Greek mythology who carried souls to the afterlife across the River Styx. Charon was often depicted in a similar way to the Grim Reaper. He was aided by Hades’ three-headed dog Cerberus, who would devour souls that tried to escape the Underworld.
I loved how Bastian had leaned into the underworld theme at the Avernus.
He held out a chair for me before sitting beside me. Across from us, Nash rested an arm across the back of Georgie’s chair. The woman smiled at him, leaning into him.
She showed her feelings so easily.
I fiddled with my napkin.
“The lobster here is excellent, Lark,” Bastian said. “I know you love it.”
“You like lobster?” Georgie asked. “It’s a favorite of mine, too.”
“I do.” I eyed him. “I didn’t know you knew that.”
“I know lots of things about you.”
I stared blindly at the menu and realized this man knew me better than anyone on the planet.
“Lark, I take it that you and Bastian…cleared the air,” Georgie asked cautiously.
“We did.”
“Good,” Nash said. “I wasn’t looking forward to killing you.”
Bastian growled.
Georgie gasped. “Nash.”
Nash’s face hardened. “I’m not going to let her kill my best friend.”
“I said I’m not going to kill him.” I sipped my water. Dinner was not off to a good start.
Thankfully, a smiling server arrived to take our orders.
“So Lark, where’s home for you?” Georgie asked.
“Oh.” I didn’t have a home. “Well, I travel a lot.”
The blonde woman blinked. “Of course.”
Great. She probably thought I was the worst person. A woman who had no home, no friends, no family, who’d tried to kill Bastian.
God, his friends must really hate me. Under the table, I fiddled with my new bracelet.
“Georgie recently started working here at the Avernus,” Bastian interjected smoothly.
“Right.” That was a safe subject. “How’s that going?”
“Great.” Georgie’s beautiful face lit up. “I’m working with the Events team. It’s such a great group of people. We’re currently working on the opening of the new Isis and Osiris show.”
I resisted pulling a face. My hand resting on the table curled around the knife on the place setting. Without realizing, I pulled it under the table and imagined skewering that wannabe-Cleopatra in the eye. “I saw some of the set and actors today.”
Under the table, Bastian smoothly gripped my hand and confiscated the knife. Then his fingers grasped my thigh through the denim, squeezed. Goosebumps broke out on my skin.
“What did you think?”
I realized Georgie was talking to me. What the hell had we been talking about? “The show looks great.”
“Fabulous, right? Ticket presales are going through the roof. The Avernus only puts on the best shows.”
“Sounds like a dream job.”
“It is. I studied hospitality at college, but I hadn’t had a chance to put it to use. Did you go to college?”
The sense of not fitting in hit me again. “There are no degrees for assassins. It’s more on-the-job training.”
Georgie blushed. “Of course.”
Thankfully, the food arrived. I picked at my lobster. The flavors were excellent, but I suddenly realized I was…dysfunctional.
I’d never felt that before. I enjoyed my job. I liked the training and the travel. Someone had to do the work I did. I put down bad people, and I didn’t regret it.
But Bastian had gotten out. He’d built a business, he had friends, he gave money to charity.
He created things.
I ended things. I killed.
Why the hell was he even spending time with me? All I was doing was dragging him back into the life he’d left behind.
“Lark?”
Bastian’s voice made me look up. I realized he and the others were looking at me.
“Sorry. I was daydreaming. The lobster is awesome.”
He watched me like a hawk.
I forced a smile and stood. “I’m a little tired. I think I’m going to head out.”
He rose, placing his napkin on the table. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I could feel Georgie and Nash watching us. “Please, stay.”
“Please don’t go,” Georgie said, a worried look on her face.
“I have work to do.” Someone to kill. It was the only thing I was good at.
Bastian stepped closer and I steeled myself for an argument.
Then both his and Nash’s cellphones beeped. Both men cursed.
“We have a security issue,” Bastian said, pulling out his phone. Nash rose, doing the same.
“Go.” I took a few steps back. “I need to get back to my laptop. I have plenty of research to do.”
“I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he murmured.
I nodded. “Bye, Georgie.” I nodded at Nash. “Thanks for dinner.”
I felt Bastian watching me as I left the restaurant.