Chapter One
“When the universe is ready for me to have a man in my life, it will put him square in my path. I just hope I don’t run him over with my car,” Summer Donovan said a week later as she set her best friend’s drink in front of him.
Vincent Barnes stopped into The Gin Room where she worked each night just before closing time.
He’d just finished his set at the burlesque drag show the next block over.
Vincent allowed himself to indulge in one fancy cocktail to relax and then he read on his phone until Summer finished working and was ready to leave.
They would then walk back to the apartment they shared together. Having a six-and-a-half-foot tall best friend act as her bodyguard made Summer feel better about the night shift. That, plus making nearly triple the tips than when she’d worked earlier in the day.
“But, Summer, my sweet, you don’t own a car,” Vincent said before taking a sip of his drink. “Mm, yummy as always.”
Summer waved a hand as if shooing away a fly. “Don’t confuse me with logic. You know what I mean. I’m not sure there’s a man in New York for me. Maybe it’s time to think about moving to Atlanta or Seattle or Dallas.”
“You can’t!” Vincent yelled, causing the three men sitting in the darkest corner of the room to startle and glare in his direction. “You can’t leave. What would I do without you here for advice and to make me the perfect Monkey Gland cocktail every night?”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere. You need money to move and even working the night shift, I’m barely making the rent,” Summer said as she wiped down the bar as Vincent finished his drink.
He whirled around on his seat to look around the empty bar. The clock on the wall by the front door caught his attention. “Snap, it’s closing time. I’m supposed to be home asleep already. There’s an audition tomorrow morning at 9:00 and I can’t miss it. Are you going to be okay getting home alone?”
Summer smiled. “I’ll be fine. Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow after the audition once I wake up.”
Vincent leaned across the bar to kiss her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, angel.”
“Good luck. Be safe going home,” Summer returned.
Once Vincent was out the door, she began working through the checklist of chores to close down The Gin Room for the night.
The three men in the corner were her last customers.
They sat in the corner talking until a few minutes before the posted closing time.
She’d noticed they came in every night for the past week, always ordering two rounds of the imported Norwegian mead the bar stocked.
The honey-based ale had never been a big seller until they began coming in.
Once they’d left, Summer cleared their table and wiped it down.
The hundred-dollar bill tucked under the bowl of pretzels she brought each night with the first round didn’t surprise her.
Their tab was less than half of that, but she didn’t argue.
Every extra tip allowed her to buy more than ramen soup and ingredients for peanut butter sandwiches.
An hour later, Summer stepped out of the bar and started the walk home. Not having Vincent beside her meant she could enjoy the relative silence of the neighborhood at 3:00 in the morning.
While The Gin Room was in a decent area full of business and apartment buildings, a few blocks away the neighborhood was beginning to become neglected and run down. Rumors also flew around that the paranormals were moving in and humans should stay away for their own safety.
In the year and a half that she’d been living with Vincent, she’d never encountered anything on the walk home to be afraid of at this hour in the morning.
But tonight, the back of her neck was itching, as if someone was watching her.
She stopped and turned in a circle but did not see anyone in the small spots of light the streetlight gave off.
Looking beyond the reach of the lights, Summer thought she saw darker shadows moving within the shadows.
Picking up her pace, she turned away from her usual route home. If someone was following her, the last thing she wanted was to lead them straight to her apartment, even if they didn’t own anything of value.
At the corner she took a right and crossed the street instead of going straight. She thought she heard a soft snarling sound behind her. Pausing in the middle of the road, she swore she could hear the click-click-click of nails tapping on concrete.
Her fear began to spiral higher, and she wished she’d closed and gone home with Vincent earlier. Though the drag queen had more fears than she did, at least he was more than a foot taller than her five foot five. Besides, two people walking together were always safer than one.
Halfway down the next block, she heard a distinctive growl in the shadows ahead of her. Turning right into an alley, she began to run. After a dozen steps, she wished she’d kept up with her exercise since moving to the city.
By the time she crossed the next street, she began thinking that tonight was the night she was going to die. She wasn’t sure if it would be from the heart attack running longer and faster than she ever had before would cause, or from whatever was chasing her.
Looking around for an open store to duck into or someone else out in the wee hours of the morning, Summer found she was alone, except for whatever was behind her.
At the next corner, a growl from the shadows to her right had Summer turning yet again, though she had slowed to a trot instead of trying to maintain a faster pace.
Looking around, she didn’t recognize the area but had a feeling she’d crossed the line and had moved into territory claimed by the paranormals who lived in the city.
There were no exterior lights on the buildings and every other streetlight was out, causing the street to be more shadowed than light. As she continued forward, Summer swore that whatever was following her seemed to be herding her to somewhere specific.
The apartments and shops had given way to a more warehouse type of neighborhood, though even these buildings were many stories tall.
Turning yet another corner, Summer smiled when she saw neon lights glowing halfway down the block on the other side of the street. She jogged toward the lights, hoping someone there would help her get an Uber or a taxi so she could get home.
As she approached, she saw the neon spelled out Dante’s Warehouse in glowing red letters over a set of large double glass doors.
Two men who looked like football players or body builders stood in front of the doors.
A handful of people carrying suitcases, duffel bags, or backpacks were lined up on the sidewalk in front of the building.
These were the first people she’d seen since leaving The Gin Room.
It was as if the entire city had gone to sleep around her.
Pausing only a few seconds to debate, Summer jogged across the street to what she hoped would be safety.
Stopping at the end of the line, she worked to catch her breath and overcome her fear.
Looking over her shoulder, Summer froze when she saw a man and what she swore were two wolves saunter into a pool of light at the corner of the building. They stopped and stared at her for nearly a minute before disappearing around the corner of the building.
The line moved quickly and in a few minutes she faced the men guarding the door. A glance behind her showed there were three men crossing the street toward her. Frowning, Summer studied them as they approached. They looked familiar.
Were those the men who’d been visiting the bar every night for the past week?
“Name?” The grunted question had her turning to face the two men.
“Summer Donovan, but I’m not on the list. C-Can I go in anyway?” She looked from the one on the right wearing his white-blond hair in a braid that trailed over his left shoulder to the one with sandy brown hair that appeared nearly as long, but was worn loose down his back
“ID, please.”
Summer fumbled to pull out the small wallet she always carried in the front of her work pants. Opening it, she handed over her driver’s license to Blondie while the other pulled a clipboard off a hook on the wall beside him.
She waited as the two men studied her from head to toe once again before looking at each other. They seemed to be holding a silent conversation for several seconds.
“I’ll vouch for her. She’ll be my guest for the hibernation.”
The deep voice spoke from directly behind her.
Summer froze, afraid to turn around and confirm they were the men who’d sat in the corner of The Gin Room every night she worked for the past week.
The ones who’d given her weird vibes as they watched her work each night, leaving just before closing time.
“Yes, Konungr,” the two men said in unison as they bowed low.