As they got their food and made their way to the group of long tables, there was some debate over which table to sit at. Finally Lacey chose a half-empty table and they sat at one end. All three of them gave a basic greeting to the other five women sitting at the table. They sat down so Mia was on one side Lacey and Melissa on the other. So they would be evenly across from each other. It would be easier to hold a conversation.
After a few seconds of sitting there with her coffee Mia was able to zone in on the conversation the other women at the table were having.
A woman named Abigail, who was relatively new to the church was speaking. "No, I saw them. We were coming back late from the main cabin. It was Ruth, Sybil and I. These three guys came running through the woods. And this blonde guy is chasing after them. It was the weirdest thing. Don't get me wrong the last guy was incredibly hot. I mean really, really hot. He chased the three guys over the fence before stopping. Then he turned back around before he seemed to see us. He smiled and let us know that he was extra security. He then asked if we wanted him to walk us back to our cabin. Of course we said yes. I flirted my butt off and all he did was smile. No flirting back. No payoff at all. If that man is what passes for security now days. I would like to be detained any time."
All five women giggled. Mia wasn't going to say anything about what it happened to them the night before. But apparently Melissa had other plans.
"We saw them too!"
Everyone's attention pivoted to Melissa.
"No seriously. I was going to the bathroom. And on my way back these three guys came out of the woods at me. I started freaking out. I wasn't sure what to do. Then Mia comes running from of the direction of our cabin. I don't know how she knew but somehow she knew I was in trouble. And she started squaring off against these guys. I guess it's all those self-defense classes she takes. She challenged these guys. And when it didn't seem like they would leave, that same blonde guy popped out of the tree line and punched one of the guys in the face so hard you could hear the crunch that broke his nose. He gave us the same story. Only he said he was a friend of Lucia's and was doing it as a favor to her."
Lacey gaped. "Why is now the first I'm hearing of this?"
Mia knew she was looking directly at her, so she simply shrugged. Mia wasn't one to gossip or tell stories. Not to mention, she didn't want to go in to how she knew Melissa was in trouble.
Mia had an intuition about things. It was a gift that ran her family. Early this morning when she woke up in a cold sweat thinking about Melissa, she had known something was wrong. She put on her shoes and ran out of the cabin. Trusting her instincts to guide her to where ever Melissa was.
Both Lacey and Melissa knew she had a knack for that kind of thing. The three of them met roomed together their freshman year in college. So they had seen her in action. They also both knew she didn't want to talk about it in public.
Lucky for Mia they were saved from further discussion, or at least she was saved from further discussion about it by the arrival of Lucia.
Lucia didn't normally interact with either the ladies next to them nor Mia and her friends. So the fact that she came and sat right next to Mia seemed a bit odd.
Lucia ripped open her yogurt cup and poured in a bunch of granola she had on a napkin, before stirring it with a spoon. "Good morning Mia."
She then said good morning to everyone else at the table but her voice did not have the same inflection. Mia wasn't sure if anyone else noticed.
It didn't take long for Abigail to pounce on the other woman. "Lucia, what can you tell us about this mysterious man you hired as security? He's incredibly hot. And apparently went out of his way to save Melissa and Mia last night. As well as chase off some hoodlums."
Everyone at the table turned their attention to Lucia. She seemed to be simply looking at Mia before chopping her spoon through her yogurt. Lucia's expression was more curious than anything else.
Mia watched her out of the corner of her eye making it look like she was concentrating on spreading the cream cheese packets on her bagel.
"So you all met Viking?"
Abigail chimed in again. "That depends, if this Viking is a guy about six feet tall, medium muscular build and totally hot, then yes. But met is a strong word. He walked me, Ruth, and Sybil back to our cabin late at night. I don't know how much interaction Mia and Melissa had with him."
Mia couldn't help but wonder what type of name that was. She really hoped it was some kind of cheesy nickname. Because she couldn't think of any parent who would consciously give their child that name.
Lucia actually chuckled. "Yeah, I had him come. When we switched locations at the last minute I was concerned. When I read up on this place it didn't necessarily have the safest reviews. And since Viking does that kind of thing I figured he'd be kind of like a security blanket. He didn't bother you did he?" Her tone actually sounded more amused than curious.
Mia wasn't sure what to think or how to act.
Abigail snorted. "No, though I wish he had! He just chased off some thugs. If he is who you say he is. I am sure we would all like to thank him in person."
Mia knew that was a ploy. Which sucked because if his story checked out, she planned on asking Lucia if she could thank him in person.
He had been cute. Well, more than cute. But she had so much adrenaline running in her system at the time that it had been the driving force behind their interaction. He stood between her and Melissa and some thugs who very easily could've pummeled them. It was brave of him.
Lucia actually looked amused. She stood up, yogurt in hand. "Yeah, sure, he's a manager at a bookstore outside Bellevue." As she turned away she whispered so only Mia and her friends could hear. "It's called Warrior Books and Coffee. He is usually working the floor making sure people are not stealing or causing problems." Then she walked away.
"Well that certainly wasn't very helpful." Abigail scoffed before the five women turned in and started discussing something quietly amongst themselves.
Mia looked to her friends as she took a bite out of her bagel. "That was weird, right?"
Both women nodded.
"Yeah, that was pretty strange. I am not entirely sure why she said that so only we could hear. Or why she said it all." Lacey narrowed her eyes. "Or why no one told me what happened last night." The last was said in a much sterner voice.
Mia shrugged. She hadn't wanted to worry the other woman or stress Melissa out more. Plus she figured they were going to discuss it in the car.
"Sorry. I think we assumed we would talk about it in the car." Melissa sputtered.
"Oh we're going to." Lacey answered.
The rest of breakfast was fairly light after that. They deliberately kept the conversation trivial. But on the ride home the three of them rehashed the events from the early morning. Lacey wanted to hear every detail. Melissa was more than happy to provide most of them. Which was fine with Mia.
Eventually she dozed off after a good ten minutes of speculating why Lucia had come over to talk to them, and why she felt the need to tell only them where this Viking worked.
Mia had already resigned herself to the idea that she would to visit the shop. She did want to thank him in person. It seemed like the right thing to do. But she knew it wouldn't be until later tonight. She had to check in on her own bookstore and she promised Lacey, Melissa, and two of their friends, who couldn't make it to the retreat, that they would have lunch together.
She wasn't sure what about the whole situation was doing it, but her intuition warning bells were chiming a little. Mia hoped that would end once she saw this Viking. But something told her it would not be that easy to shake.
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Mia's lunch with Lacey, Melissa and their other friends ran long. So at eight o'clock at night she was closing her own store with the employee, Rachel, who worked weekends. No bookstore she knew anywhere would be open at eight o'clock on a Sunday. Unless it was a chain store. Which, since she'd never heard of Warrior Books and Coffee,
was probably not likely. So instead of heading up to Bellevue she stayed in her Renton townhouse. Telling herself that she would visit the bookstore first thing Monday morning. Or at least first thing Monday evening.
She thought it was kind of ironic actually. Seeing as how she owned an independent bookstore herself. Although she very much doubted this Warrior Books was like hers. There was only one other store in the Puget Sound similar to hers that she knew of. And that was That Occult in Bothell. They were not all that similar except there was some overlap in stock.
Mia's bookstore, Thoughtful Philosophy, specialized in all things spiritual, philosophical and religious. She made sure the store didn't cater to just one group but instead covered everyone. Anyone could come into her store and get information on most world religions.
She received her doctorate in Comparative Religions at the tender age of twenty-five. In her classes all she found were people who were using a study of religion to make sure their own seem to trump the others in their mind.
Mia hated that. So instead of taking a teaching job like she always thought she would, she looked into opening her own store.
There were several classes a week on different philosophies and practices. People could come to her store to learn about other religious experiences. She had an open door policy available for anyone. And that philosophy suited her well. A Thoughtful Philosophy was earning quite the pretty penny since she'd opened it four years ago.
She'd been written up in multiple local and national magazines. Granted most of the national magazines were spiritual in nature but Mia would take any publicity she could get.
She couldn't help but wonder what were the odds the guy who saved her and Melissa worked in a bookstore as well? For that matter what position at a bookstore would give him experience in security?
Mia shook her head to clear her train of thought. This wasn't getting her anywhere and she had bookkeeping to do. While her shop was doing well, she did only have four employees. Which meant she was had to do a little bit of everything. But she didn't mind so much. She enjoyed getting her hands dirty as it were. She couldn't help herself though.
She also still had to catalog new books that came in on Saturday on clean eating and spirituality while she was at the retreat. She powered on the office computer.
After the ancient machine rumbled to life she opened an Internet browser and googled Warrior Books and Coffee. She was somewhat surprised to see she recognized the owner. Granted she had to click around a bit to find the owner's name.
She'd met Gwen at a yearly convention in Seattle. What were the odds? This just seemed like one huge coincidence after another.
Firming her resolve she checked out the hours for Monday on their site. If there was a time to believe in signs, this was it. She was surprised to find out they were open twenty-four hours a day. That would be perfect, since her little shop closed at eight. Closing down her internet browser, Mia smiled to herself. She was acting like a teenager. Giving herself a heavy sigh she got up from the chair and walked over to the books she needed to catalog. It took more effort than she would have liked to admit to push Viking from her mind.
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Warrior Books and Coffee was huge compared to her shop. A Thoughtful Philosophy was a moderate bookstore with a small area that could seat about eighty people if they used folding chairs. It was by no means a shabby small space.
But Warrior Books was huge, it was its own building. Mia was almost overwhelmed when she walked in the door. She could see four cash registers to the left. Several doors on the back left wall with signs that noted card readings. A huge area for books to her right. And there was a coffee shop with at least half a dozen tables and its own small entrance.
As she did her scan of the semi empty shop she didn't see the man Lucia called Viking. Setting her resolve and stomping out a few little butterflies she felt in her stomach, Mia headed in the direction of the cash registers.
Currently only one was open so Mia stood in line and waited behind the two other groups. The man at the register was interesting and vaguely familiar.
He was clearly of Middle Eastern descent. With a long black hair in a braid he kept tossing over his shoulder. She couldn't quite tell from her vantage point whether his nose was pierced. He was attractive. Very attractive. There was this air about him that Mia could almost feel as physical pull. And obviously she was not the only one. Women in the store kept glancing his way and the women standing in line were almost overtly staring. He seems to flirt with the women that came up to the register. Clearly used to being a ladies man.
Mia almost felt that rub her the wrong way. Though the man who went by Viking was less attractive physically she found that this man's arrogance more than balanced the scales in Viking's favor.
When she got up the register she plastered on a smile. The guy looked at her lack of books and his eyes seem to crinkle mischievously.
"May I help you with something? I mean, if you came up to talk to me that is perfectly well and good. But usually people have merchandise to buy when they come to see me."
Mia wanted to smack him just on principle. Years of being in academia made her have a shorter tolerance for men with huge egos. But instead she reinforced her smile and gave the man direct eye contact.
"My name is Mia, I'm here to see someone who goes by the name of Viking? Lucia told me he worked here."
Flirting dropped from his expression but the smile itself didn't seem to disappear, if anything it grew more mischievous. "Viking huh. Well, it certainly has been a while since he's had a female visitor looking for him. Let me see if I can hunt him down for you." He pulled a radio from somewhere below the register and put it up to his smiling lips. "Hey, has anyone seen Viking? I have somebody at the register looking for him."
It was maybe five seconds before some other male voice came over the radio. "So help me Poet if I come down there and you are just yanking my chain because you think that if you're in the shop I have to be in the shop too I’ll mop the floor with you and then make you work a twenty-four hour shift."
The man in front of her's smile grew. "Now would I lie to you?"
Mia wasn't sure how many there were but multiple voices came over the radio right on top of each other stating the affirmative. That just seemed to make Poet's smile grow. What was with these names?
Mia wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this. Part of her wanted to just back out of the store now and another part of her, the part of her that it always listened to her grandmother when her grandmother told her the proper way to do things, wanted to stay put. This man saved her and Melissa. It was the right thing to do for her to say thanks. So she waited. She moved out of the way of the register as more customers came up to pay for their items.
She took the opportunity to check out the store. After two initial scans she was able to spot which people were employees versus customers. She reached what she thought was seven when she felt somebody looking at her.
She turned to her left and out of a back door labeled employees only, came the man from the night before. This time he was dressed in slacks and a button up blue shirt.
She had not noticed the night before just how blue his eyes were. The shirt just made it more obvious. She really found that she liked the jeans and T-shirt from the night before better than this slightly more dressed up outfit. There was something about the way the jeans fit him that made her blood heat.
His expression was curious and confused. Mia could tell he wondered what she was doing there. When she first walked into the store she wondered if he would even recognize her. That question went out the window once she saw him. He clearly remembered her.
When he stood next to her he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Mia found he was just too close. Or at least too close for a man as attractive as him. It had been a while since she'd been on any dates worth mentioning. That void only seem to emphasize just how attractive the man bef
ore her was.
Clearing her throat, she plastered on the same smile she initially gave the man named Poet. "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you in the middle of your work day but Lucia told me you worked here. Since I know now you were legitimately there to help us and not some crazy guy out in the woods I wanted to come in person and thank you on behalf of my friend and myself."
The man in front of her didn't have a chance to speak before there was a scoffing cough from behind her. Mia turned to see the guy behind the register desperately trying to hold back a laugh. He actually had the indecency to start coughing from the effort. She could almost feel Viking glaring from behind her back.
When Poet seemed to recover he waved his hand in their direction. "Sorry, sorry just what exactly did you do, Viking, for this woman and her friend? Scratch that. I don't actually want to know. Anything you tell me is not going to be as amazing as what I can imagine." With that he turned back to the people at the register in front of him.
Mia watched him for a second. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that guy. Then she turned and faced Viking again. The blonde man looked at her thoughtfully.
"It's not a problem, really. I appreciate you coming all this way to thank me but that's what I was there for."
Now Mia felt uncomfortable. She almost felt as if he thought her strange for coming to say thank you. Maybe she was. Taking a deep breath she stuck out her hand. When in doubt always leave the situation gracefully.
"Well be that as it may I wanted to say thank you anyway. By the way my name is Mia it's nice to actually meet you Viking, officially."
He looked at her a moment as if trying to decide whether he wanted to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you as well." Then he reached up and shook her hand but he jumped as he did so.
Static electricity jolted through her from his hand. Apparently the static charge caught him more off guard than it had her. She hadn't even noticed his grip tighten until he loosened. Then he dropped his hand like a rock and took two swift steps back.
Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) Page 2
