“What’s happening tomorrow night?” he asked.
“The double date we talked about. The four of us.”
Torin bumped me with his shoulder. I pushed back. He turned his head and studied me. “Are we going?”
I shrugged. “Are we?”
He glanced at Cora. “I guess we’re in.” He ordered a drink and angled his head to study me as though searching for something. “Love what you’ve done with your hair.”
I hadn’t expected that. “Thanks.”
“Love the outfit too,” he added.
Okay, he was buttering me up. “This old thing?”
“Too bad the boys you dressed up for won’t enjoy it,” he said and chugged his drink.
I couldn’t have heard him right. “I don’t dress up for anyone.”
“And coming here, I assume it was your brilliant idea? A place where you have absolutely no protection. What happened? You got bored playing it safe?”
The nerve. I wanted to dump the entire contents of my drink on his head. “You’ve been gone for two days without a word and this is how you greet me?”
“I did say I loved your outfit and hair.” He ran a finger down my arm and drew imaginary lines up and down my palm. Heat raced under my skin, and my breath lodged in my chest. “So, are you coming home with me, or do I have to carry you out of here?”
If looks could kill, he’d be a pile of ashes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He turned and glanced around the room, the sexy smirk I usually loved on his lips. Today it was infuriating. “You think I give a rat’s tail about what these people think?”
“You humiliate me in front of our friends, Torin, and I’ll never forgive you.”
“I guess you’re coming home with me.”
“No, I’m not. I came here to have fun, and I’m not going to allow you to spoil it for me.” I stepped around him, my eyes connecting with Cora’s. They were wide. “Let’s dance.”
Cora glanced behind me. “Are you sure?”
My back tingled, which meant Torin’s eyes were on me. It took all my effort not to look back. Who did he think he was? Cora, thankfully, didn’t desert me.
I got lost in song after song, yet I knew the moment Torin came to the dance side of the club. Sure enough, I found him bonding with Heath and another ballplayer by the curtains separating the dance floor from the lounge. His eyes were on me. I waved and grinned.
He didn’t come to the dance floor. I didn’t want him to. One of guys we were dancing with was from our school and knew about me and Torin. His friend was familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Probably a student from another high school. Torin sized them up, then dismissed them and went back to his conversation.
“We can’t stay on the floor forever,” Cora yelled in my ear. “I need a drink.”
“Then get one,” I yelled back.
“Please, go make up already. I keep expecting him to flatten the guys we’re dancing with.”
He didn’t consider them a threat. “Let’s go.”
We excused ourselves and headed for the lounge. I was surprised when Torin didn’t stop me from leaving the dance floor. Back at the bar, someone had put our jackets on the stools we’d been using. We got drinks. My eyes met Andris. He cocked his eyebrows questioningly. I smiled and saluted him.
“Hey, why did you guys leave?” the guy we’d been dancing with asked, easing beside me. A weird chill went through me, and I blamed his sudden appearance. He had the Latin thing going for him, though he spoke with no accent.
“Oh brother,” Cora murmured. “She has a boyfriend, Don Juan,” she added louder.
The guy glanced at her. “I haven’t asked her out.” He smiled into my eyes. “Yet.”
“Yes, Cora. He hasn’t. Would you like a drink?” I asked, aware that Torin was back in the room. He didn’t join us. Instead, he and his friends went to their table. Our eyes met, and he winked. He was amused by my behavior. He couldn’t even give me the satisfaction of making him jealous.
“Are you buying?” the guy asked. He was really cute with intense dark eyes, naturally tan skin, and confidence that said he was an older student. But he was no match whatsoever for Torin. Not in looks or cojones.
I nodded at the bartender. “Put it on our tab.”
“I’m Sebastian Reyes,” Don Juan said and waved to someone behind me. “And these are my cousins, Alejandro and Matias Torres.” Twins. Tall, dark, and handsome.
I glanced behind me and grimaced. The entire room was staring at us. Only Torin didn’t seem particularly bothered. He smirked and raised his glass. Stinker.
“I’m Raine Cooper,” I said and pointed at Cora, “She’s Cora Jemison.”
“So you’re in high school?” Sebastian asked.
“And in a relationship,” Cora added. “Both of us.”
Sebastian grinned. “I think you protest too much, Cora Jemison. Raine doesn’t mind getting to know us. In fact, we’re having a private party at our hotel. Would you guys like to join us? You can invite some of your friends.” He smiled at some of the girls.
Okay. Maybe I had started something that could backfire badly and fast. Cora must have thought so, too, because she reached for my hand.
“Excuse us.” She practically dragged me away from the bar, past tables, and into the hallway leading to the restrooms. “What the hey?”
“Torin pissed me off,” I protested.
“Then smack him or something, not flirt with some loser college boy.”
“I hardly flirted. I was just warming up. Besides, they are cute.” She pushed me toward the bathroom. “I don’t need to go.”
“Then stay. I’ll be right back.”
I studied my reflection. What was I doing? Cora was right. Flirting with other guys was so not me. Torin didn’t seem to care. Or he was hiding it well. He even seemed to enjoy my rebellion.
The door opened, and Cora entered. “I cannot believe that a-hole Sebastian. He refused to give me your jacket. Go get it.”
“Yeah. This whole experiment is over.” I marched into the room, my eyes going to Torin. As though he felt my eyes on him, he glanced over his shoulder, eyes following me.
Sebastian had taken my stool and was holding my jacket on his lap.
“Can I have that?”
“You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?”
“Yes, I am.” I reached for my jacket, but he moved out of the way.
“How about another dance, sweetheart?” he asked, grabbing my hand.
“Let go, Sebastian,” I warned.
“You are a tease, Raine. You led me on and now you want to walk?” His friends crowded me from behind. “Just one dance.” He stood, my jacket clenched in his hand.
I’d bet that once we were on the dance floor, he’d do something stupid and bring Torin’s wrath on his head. If my debit card wasn’t in my jacket pocket, I would have walked.
“Sorry, boys, but I’m done for the night.” I reached for my jacket. He hid it behind his back. We were drawing attention. Most of ball players seemed ready to leap across tables and rip apart these three idiots. The only thing stopping them was Torin.
Our eyes met. He smirked, tapped his watch, and gestured with a finger that I should wrap it up. It amazed me how well he understood me. I swear, he had to be a mind reader. This was a battle, and I didn’t need him or his boys to come to my rescue.
My attention shifted to Pinhead.
“Listen, Sebastian.”
“Call me Bash.” Something about his smile was familiar. Cold fingers crept up my spine.
“I was nice, Bash. I bought you a drink, and now you are trying to bully me into doing something I obviously don’t want to do. You have ten seconds to give me back my property before someone gets hurt.”
The twins chuckled while Bash leaned against the counter and shifted closer. “A sweet little thing like you wouldn’t hurt me over a dance.”
“Eight… seven… six…”
He smirked.
“Come on, Raine.”
“Time’s up.” I engaged my strength and speed runes, grabbed the jacket, and yanked it from his hand with such force his elbow slipped from the counter. He lost his balance, his face a mask of surprise.
I took advantage and nudged him with my foot. It was a gentle nudge. Nothing to make anyone think I was using super powers. He went flying across the floor. People laughed. Those nearby looked down at him.
I turned and faced the twins. “You want to join him?”
They shook their heads and stepped back.
“Good.” I slipped on my jacket and waved to Cora who was standing a few feet away with Echo. He must have arrived while I was having my little showdown.
She closed the gap between us and we hugged. “You are so crazy.”
“He was being a douche.” We both glanced at Sebastian and his friends. They were whispering and glaring at us. “I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I ignored the whispers following me, walked to where Torin sat, and offered him my hand.
He got up, slipped an arm around my waist, and pulled me to his side. “You’re pretty scary when you’re pissed, Freckles.”
I sank against his side. No more playing games with other guys. Torin and I would knock heads from now on without involving anyone else.
“What happened to you carrying me out of the club?” I teased.
“Who said we’re leaving.” He led me toward the dance floor. “I owe you a dance or two. And you owe me an apology.”
“For what?”
“Implying I’m no fun.” As though he’d planned it, the DJ started a slow song. He pulled me into his arms.
12. A SPECIAL BREW
“I brought the picture,” the gray-haired customer from yesterday said. My eyes went to his gothic ring first. It had unique symbols on it. If he noticed my interest, he didn’t show it.
I dragged my eyes from his finger and smiled. “Did you see anything in the catalogue you like?”
“Hmm, no. I’m undecided. I was hoping you’d help me.” He pulled out a portrait of a woman from a large envelope.
The woman was dressed in a leotard and striking a ballerina-pose. She was graceful, her face striking. “She’s beautiful. Who is she?”
“My wife. She passed away five years ago. She was a prima ballerina, the toast of Argentina for over ten years. The ballet world remembers her as a very talented and graceful dancer, but to my boys, she will always be their mother.” He pulled out two more copies of the same picture. These were smaller—five-by-sevens. “I’d like these framed for my boys.”
I spent half an hour working with him. When we finished, he’d selected the perfect frames. He was replaced by another customer. It seemed like there was an endless stream of them. Saturday must be a busy day at the shop.
By noon, they’d trickled down to nothing. I was exhausted, and my mouth was dry from talking nonstop. “Is it always this busy?”
Jared glanced over from where he stood behind the cashier. “Not like this. I think having you here is the draw.”
“What?” What if the customers had all been witches? Most of them had bought something, but every time I’d looked up, I always found eyes on me.
“Pretty girls always draw more customers.”
Okay. So maybe I was being paranoid. “Most of them were old, Jared.”
“Even old people like pretty faces.”
The back door dinged. “Incoming,” I said.
Instead of new customers, Rita and Gina entered the store. I waved to them. Gina whispered something to her sister and walked to the counter. Today she was dressed in a black lacey dress top, striped tights, and canvas boots. The sister just wore a simple maxi dress.
“Raine, we don’t want to bother you, but can we talk?” she asked. She sounded serious. No, scared.
“Yeah. What’s going on?”
Gina glanced at Jared and lowered her voice. “Privately?”
The store offered no privacy. “Just a second.” I left my throne behind the desk, knocked on the office door, and peered inside the room. “Can I take a break?”
He scowled. Seriously, didn’t he ever smile? “Sure. Where are you going?”
“To Café Nikos.”
“Oh. That’s okay.”
That was too easy. “You guys took care of it.”
“Of course. St. James knows you visit it when you’re at the shop.”
And whatever Torin says goes. “Okay. I’ll just pop over there for a minute. If you need me, I have my cell.”
“I’m sure Jared can take care of things until you return.”
Back on the main floor, Gina and Rita were conferencing. “My boss said I can take off for a few minutes. There’s a café a few doors from here.”
The front of the stores all the way to Café Nikos were runed. Thank goodness no one could see them; otherwise the storeowners would go ballistic. Nikolaus saw me and hurried over.
“Koreetsi mou!” He kissed my cheeks one at a time. It was über awkward because he was shorter than I and I had to lean down. “How are you doing?”
“Fine, Nikolaus.”
“And your father?”
“Still hanging in there,” I said.
Nikolaus shook his head. “He’s a strong man, your father. Always has been. He’ll pull through this. Just wait and see.”
I couldn’t bring myself to correct him. I pulled out my credit card. “We want some of your yummy baklavas.”
“Put that away,” he said, waving at my credit card. “Order anything you want for you and your friends.” He smiled at the two witches, his eyes lingering on Gina. I could just imagine what he was thinking: Dad was sick, Mom was in mental home, and I was hanging out with a Goth girl. Intervention anyone?
Once we got our drinks and the pastries, we found a corner table. Just vacated, too. The place was packed with the lunch crowd, and since it was a Saturday, there was a constant flow of customers. I sipped on my caramel frappe and studied the two girls. Gina stared right back, her drink untouched. Rita played with her straw, her head down. She talked a lot more when her sister wasn’t around.
“Your father is sick?”
I nodded. “He has cancer.”
“Is he going to be okay?” Rita asked, speaking softly.
I shook my head, pushing down the sudden urge to cry. Every time someone asked about him and showed sympathy, tears rushed to my eyes. “So what’s going on?”
They looked at each other and communicated with their eyes. I hated when people did that. It usually meant secrets.
“What is it?” I asked impatiently.
“I feel bad asking you now that I know about your father,” Gina said hesitantly. Rita sucked on her drink and refused to meet my eyes.
“Ask me what?”
Rita looked at her sister and shook her head. Okay, this was ridiculous. I didn’t know these two girls from Adam, but I’d gotten my first clear vision when I was with them and I wanted to know why. “Is this about a vision?”
Gina nodded. “Rita is ill. The doctors can’t find anything wrong with her, yet she grows weaker and weaker every day. She wants…” Her voice trailed off, and she glared at her drink. I could swear she was fighting tears. Rita reached for her sister’s hand and squeezed.
“I want to know when I’m going to die,” Rita whispered, glancing at the people at the neighboring tables. “Mom won’t let us see the Seeress in our area. It cost too much money.” She reached into her purse, pulled out several ten and twenty dollar bills, and placed them on the table between us. “We have one hundred dollars between the two of us.”
“It’s our lunch money for school, but this is more important,” Gina added.
“I know it’s not much, but could you?” Rita asked. “Please.”
This was jacked up. I couldn’t see my father’s future no matter how often I tried, yet here were these two, giving me all their lunch money to get a reading. I pushed the money back t
o Rita. “Put that away. I would never charge anyone for something that’s both a gift and a curse.”
“A curse?” they asked at the same time, not masking their horror.
“Yes. Well, you have no idea what it’s like to be me.” They still wore shocked expressions. “Anyway, my visions are unpredictable. I’m never sure whether I’ll see the past, present, or future, and most times things are blurry.”
“We don’t care,” Gina said and pushed the money toward me. “Try, please.”
“Please,” Rita added.
Dang it! They were drawing attention. This was the worst place and day to hold a séance. But I couldn’t invite them to my house or go to theirs. The office was out of the question because Hawk would tell Torin.
“Okay.” I planted my finger on the bills and pushed them toward Rita. “Only if you put this away.” I watched her take the money and put it back in her purse. “Okay. Um, let’s trade places, Gina.” I didn’t want anyone at the restaurant seeing my glowing eyes.
Once we traded places, I pointed at her amulet. “I need that or something that’s personal and magical. Do not panic when my eyes glow, or if I faint.”
Gina frowned. “Do you faint?”
“Sometimes.” I slid my hand along the table. Rita removed the amulet from around her neck and placed it in my palm. The power of protection in the object was strong.
Okay. Here goes nothing. I closed my palm.
Scene after scene played out, but the best part was they were clear. I was the fly on the wall looking at Rita’s life. The birth, which I really didn’t need to see, totally ruined OB/Gyn as a possible profession for me.
She received the amulet on her sixth birthday. From the party decorations in her backyard, her parents had gone all out. Scene after scene, her life unfolded. She was around fourteen when she started working with an older woman, grinding herbs, learning spells, and making some liquids of various colors. Something about the woman teased my memories, but I didn’t try to chase it because things became downright bizarre.
The old woman sneaked into Rita’s room while she slept and cut off a lock of her hair. Then she added it to a bubbling pot, causing smoke and a strange green fire to erupt from the pot. Then she did something even weirder, she poured some of the potion into a cup and drank it. The rest, she kept in a cupboard in her bedroom.
Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series) Page 18
