Chapter 22
Cecilia peered around the bookshelf in her store. “Did you find anything?”
I held up two books. “Your resale idea was a good one.”
She moved closer and tucked her hands in the pockets of her long brown dress.
“After people read the books, they wanted to know if I’d buy them back.
After consideration, I thought I’d try it out for a while.
I buy them back at a lower price so I can still make a profit.
Then people started bringing me books from their personal collection. ”
“Well, as the only bookstore in town, you can do whatever you want.” When I pulled myself up, I swayed.
Cecilia gripped my arm. “Are you okay?”
“Just a little woozy.”
Her brow furrowed. “Maybe I should call someone to pick you up.”
“Mercy said I could hitch a ride home with her. Nothing like the open road, the wind in my hair…”
“That’s the problem. You might fall off her bike.” She played with the charms on her bracelet, an involuntary habit I’d noticed. “Maybe you could ride home with Bear.”
“He’s working the evening shift, remember? Don’t worry, Cici. I’m fine. Kevin will give me a ride home,” I said with a laugh.
She smiled brightly. “Did you really ride on his back?”
I handed her the books as we walked to the front. “After Salem and I delivered soup and checked on his patients the other day, he got that emergency call way out of town. Since I needed to work on my window, I told him to let me out of the car.”
“I can’t believe he did.” She placed the books in a bag and took my money.
“I’m very persuasive. Besides, it was at the turnoff to our road. During the walk, I got a muscle cramp.” My gaze drifted to the door, and I thought about how my father had lost his ability to walk. It started with foot drop, and eventually his other leg became afflicted.
It wasn’t fair. I always thought I’d make it to fifty, ignoring the fact that it could strike at any time.
“I really hated the idea of riding Kevin, but his horse got all the way down on the ground, and I just wanted to get home. It wasn’t my finest hour.” I took the cloth bag and decided to erase her concern. “Someone at the bar will give me a ride. If that doesn’t work, I’ll call the house.”
She sighed with relief. “Promise you won’t walk home.”
I crossed my heart before leaving the store.
The Rabbit Lounge was only a stone’s throw away, so I ventured down the road, my brown coat protecting me from the frosty air.
Because Cecilia didn’t own a car, she created a schedule with the pack.
Usually either Bear, Mercy, or Atticus gave her a lift since they worked on the same road.
Neither Cecilia nor Archer had any interest in buying a car at the moment and thought it would be a waste of money and gas since they were always able to work something out with their packmates.
I loved how selfless the pack was—how it wasn’t every man for himself.
A peculiar numbness had settled in my right leg, almost like I’d fallen asleep on it. The tingling sensation periodically moved from my calf to my thigh. It had been that way off and on all morning.
I reached in my pocket for the small bag of jelly beans and shoved the rest into my mouth. A little sugar always made me feel better.
In the Rabbit Lounge parking lot, Scott was heading to the doors while tucking his black shirt into his jeans. That’s how I knew it was him. Most men around here didn’t tuck in their shirts, and he always got obsessive about wrinkles after getting out of the car.
With a mouthful of jelly beans, I sounded like a crow when I called out his name. I swallowed my candy and tried again. “Scott!”
He twisted around and waved. His bright smile faded when his gaze sank down to my legs and he noticed my limp. “What’s wrong with your leg?”
“Nothing. I stepped on a rock.” After an abbreviated hug, I gestured to the door while hooking my arm in his. “Buy a thirsty girl a drink.”
“As long as you pick that candy out of your teeth. Let me guess: jelly beans?”
I scraped the gummy residue off my right incisor.
Once I was inside, Calvin greeted me before cussing at a young man for kicking the jukebox. Scott ordered a couple of orange sodas. He knew what I liked, so there was no need to ask.
Holding the bottles, he scanned the room. “Where do you want to sit?”
“Let’s play darts.”
He laughed softly, and we navigated to the back. After setting our drinks on a standing table, Scott pulled three darts off the round board and handed them to me. “Ladies first.”
“Well, in that case…” When I offered him the darts, he gave me a playful shove and guzzled his drink.
After hanging my coat on the back of the chair, I threw the first dart without taking aim. It hit the wall and clattered against the hard floor.
“Nice,” he said. “Real professional. I’m gonna sign you up for a league.”
The second dart landed on the outer edge. “I heard you caught that guy. How did you know he was the bomber?”
Scott rested his arms on the tall table.
“Everyone was running out. It was chaos. A bunch of people left, but others stuck around and watched to find out what the hell had happened. Yours truly included. When I rested my hand against the side of the building, I felt that intense heat you get with hate. It was mixed with excitement and satisfaction—not emotions you’d expect right after a bombing.
” Scott picked up his frosty drink. “When I looked behind me, I saw him leaning against the building. I wasn’t sure if those emotions belonged to him, so I moseyed over for a chat. ”
“Moseyed?”
“Yeah, I mosey sometimes. There was a lot of confusion, but he was acting all sketchy.”
“Sketchy how?”
“His attention was nailed to the front door. Everyone else was helping the injured or speculating about what happened and recalling what they’d seen.
But he bitched at me to move out of the way as if he was waiting for something.
He could’ve been rubbernecking to see what was happening, but I got a bad feeling.
I pretended to be concerned and gripped his shoulder, asking if he was hurt.
That’s when I felt his raw emotions and knew he did it. I hope he gets what he deserves.”
“Oh, he will.” I blew on the rim of my bottle until it made a musical sound.
“How do you know?”
“Because I live with the Councilwoman. The Council wanted to hand him over to the Mageri and let his Creator deal with the consequences, but his Creator’s dead.
There were two fatalities: the intended target and some poor guy who was sitting at the wrong table.
Because of that and all the injuries, the Mageri handed it back to the Shifter Council to decide. ”
“I’m surprised they didn’t execute him for murder.”
“Well, according to Eden, the Vampire who was targeted had a criminal record dating back to the Middle Ages, so the Mageri didn’t care to get involved. The Council gave him sixty years. I think he’ll serve thirty in this jailhouse before they transfer him.”
“Should’ve been two hundred years. He killed people, and more could’ve died.”
I snorted. “Can you imagine the resentment if you served two centuries in prison? I mean, those jails aren’t like the ones you see on TV.
They never get to leave their cell except to shower, and Eden said the only thing they let them have are self-improvement books.
They thought restitution would be a better punishment. ”
“How does that work when he’s in jail?”
“Well, they located his banker, so every penny is going toward the victims. When he’s released, they have plans for him, but I don’t know much about all that stuff.” I twirled the last dart in my hand. “I’m glad you’re okay. I wasn’t sure if you were hurt when I saw you leave.”
He jerked his head back. “You were there?”
I threw the dart, and it landed close to the center. After taking a seat in one of the high stools, I kept my hands off the table so he wouldn’t feel my emotions, especially since I was worried about my leg and didn’t want him asking intrusive questions. “Salem and I were having a date night.”
“Ah.” He gave me a skeptical look before picking up his bottle. “Your… mate.”
Salem had proposed, and I had accepted. As far as I was concerned, that made it official. But Scott wasn’t buying it, and the only thing that would convince him was seeing the official paperwork. The Shifter Council would never provide him confidential paperwork, and he knew it.
“Salem is my one true love.” I briefly touched his hand so he could feel the truth.
Scott pulled away and marched up to the dartboard. “My turn. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
After Scott and I played a few rounds of darts, we caught up.
He was a great storyteller and filled me in on all the happenings in my former town.
I didn’t mention the favor between us, mostly because I wanted to have a normal conversation with him and get a sense if he was ready to let me go.
Maybe if he could see my happiness, that would be enough.
We had a long-standing friendship, but it was still tainted with this favor trade.
I wished it had never happened, but it led me to Storybook, which led me to Salem.
Maybe all things happen for a reason.
Scott parked his car by the Arrowhead gate. I stared through the windshield at the dirt road that led to another territory, the evergreens dotting the road on both sides. The sun tucked itself behind the cover of clouds. We sat that way for a long time before he finally broke the silence.
“Quinn, I’m not giving up. Maybe you love this guy, but he doesn’t know you like I do. I remember what your father went through and how he died. This Shifter can’t take care of you like I can, and I still don’t believe he’s your mate.”