Witchy Sour (The Magic & Mixology Mystery Series Book 2)

by Gina LaManna

  “Nice night for a stroll.”

  “Yeah, it is.” I paused. “Well, have a good dinner, X. It was nice to see you. Thanks again for the tour today.”

  Feeling overwhelmed with stupidity, I wished that I could sink into the glass floor and dissolve until I was transparent underfoot. What had I been thinking? He’d probably already made a date with someone else. Likely he’d only asked me earlier since I’d been the convenient option.

  “Do you want to sit down?” he called after I’d taken a few steps away. “There’s an open seat here.”

  “For me?”

  He grinned. “Come eat. The menu is great here.”

  I walked back to the table and slid into the seat, lowering my voice. “Are you sure you’re not expecting someone else?”

  “The only reason I didn’t ask you to sit right away is because I thought that you were here with your friend.”

  I did a mental facepalm. “Even after I told you I didn’t have a date, you thought I had a date?”

  “You said you had plans with someone else.” He shrugged. “How did I know? I’m sure you have men around The Isle clambering to take you out. This is the best restaurant in town, so it’s not an unlikely scenario.”

  “Me? What about you?”

  “We’re not talking about me. Even if we were, I’m not exactly into men.”

  I laughed. “Women. The rumors say there’s a line halfway around The Isle for a date with you.”

  “You can jump straight to the front every time. I’ll allow it.”

  We carried on easy small talk. By the time the server came back to take my order, I was hardly bothered by her frown and snippy tone.

  “The shrimp, please,” I said, pointing to an entree I couldn’t pronounce.

  “How about two glasses of wine?” X raised an eyebrow at me. “Sound good?”

  “Sounds great. I’ll have the Cab.”

  “Make it two.”

  “I’ll bring them right over,” the server said before leaving us alone once more.

  “This is nice,” I said as we both looked out over the water. “It’s my first time here.”

  Ranger X murmured in agreement before we lapsed into silence. The only sound to break the quiet was the distinct clink of glass as the waitress placed our wine on the table.

  “Cheers,” he said, raising a glass. “To finally being able to steal you away from work for a night, even if it was an accident.”

  I raised my glass and clinked his, taking a sip of the rich, velvety liquid before setting it down. “If you had asked me, I might have snuck away before this,” I said. “It doesn’t take a serving of The Elixir for me to get the night off.”

  “I don’t know. Gus runs a pretty tight ship.”

  “Speaking of Gus, I have to talk to you about something.”

  “I was hoping we wouldn’t talk about work,” he said with a sigh. “But I suppose it can’t be avoided.”

  “Do you know the school Cretan Darham Hall?”

  “It’s infamous.”

  “Did you know Gus is a graduate?” I asked. “Not only a graduate, but he’s a Black Ribbon?”

  Ranger X sat back and took another drink of wine, and then two more as he mulled over the information before replying. “I’m not surprised. I didn’t know for sure though.”

  “What do you make of it?”

  He raised one shoulder. “I don’t make anything of it. It’s just a fact. A fact I’ll file away for the future, should it ever be of use.”

  “I just learned that fifty percent of wizards who graduate from that school are bad.”

  “According to your math, that means fifty percent would also be good.”

  “True,” I agreed.

  “Where’d you get your information?”

  I inhaled a breath. “Do you know a man who goes by the name of Liam?”

  “Brown hair, little bit older than me, polite guy?”

  “That’s him.”

  “I’ve seen him around, but we’re not close,” X said. “Did you talk to him?”

  I quickly explained the sequence of events that had landed me at Sea Salt for dinner. From Liam’s morning visit to the bungalow, to his overpayment of the bill, to my returning the money at Midge’s B&B. “After all of that, I’m still not sure what Liam does for a living, or why he’s here.”

  “He buys and sells goods.”

  “What sort of goods?”

  Ranger X raised an eyebrow. “We’ll call them...hard to find goods and services.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Illegal stuff? Does he steal things?”

  “He’s a don’t ask, don’t tell sort of guy.”

  “Hold on a second.” I raised a hand and put it on the table. “You’re basically the police here on The Isle. If you know he’s doing something wrong, then why haven’t you gone after him? Put him in jail?”

  “I never said that he’s involved in anything illegal.”

  I waited a beat. “Help me out then. What does he do?”

  “There are gray areas and fine lines in any industry,” X said. “And every now and again, a good person needs materials for a good cause, yet sometimes those materials are difficult to obtain.”

  I squinted at him. “So he walks a fine line between right and wrong, is that what you’re saying?”

  “More or less. His business is legal, and I trust him. He’s helped Ranger HQ on several different occasions.”

  “Has he helped you?”

  “One of my men.” Ranger X shifted in his chair. “A Ranger had been badly injured. A bite from a troll that’d become infected after a trip into The Forest. All of the medicine we had on hand combined wouldn’t have saved his life, and none of the healers would touch him. They said he was too far gone.”

  The slight note of pain in his voice surprised me. I’d pictured the leader of the Rangers to be able to speak about situations like this with a note of detachment. “You called Liam for help?”

  “I did. He was able to deliver a new potion not yet on the market. It’s highly dangerous with the potential for extremely terrible side effects. It wasn’t approved by the MPA—”

  “MPA?”

  “Magical Potions Association. They test newly developed potions and verify their safety before allowing them to go to market for public use. This is why Liam’s job tiptoes in a gray area. It’s not illegal to use the potion, merely...unconventional.”

  “And difficult to obtain, I’d imagine.”

  “Very much so,” Ranger X said. “Liam’s specialty is less in the potions side of things, and more on the relationships. He knows more people than you’d ever care to meet, and he knows their strengths and weaknesses, their desires and fears. Liam isn’t dangerous in the traditional sense, but if you need something from someone, he’s the man to get it for you.”

  A thought crossed my mind, something from earlier today. “Have previous Mixologists used his services?”

  Ranger X’s forehead creased in interest. “Do you have a need for them?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said slowly. “I’m missing one ingredient for Poppy’s Vamp Vites. She’s running low on her supply, and she’s starting to experience side effects.”

  “Can I help?”

  I smiled. “That’s kind of you to ask. But unless you know where I can find Dust of the Devil by the end of the week, I’m afraid I don’t think so.”

  “Liam would know.” X gave a firm nod. “Ask him tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll be able to work out something for you.”

  “I can’t figure out where the last Mixologist secured it from, and Gus doesn’t know either. It’s quite strange.”

  “Maybe not as strange as you think. Liam is known for his utmost discretion. Most people don’t know what he does for a living. They assume he’s living off old money and traveling around living the high life, but that is as far from the truth as one can get. Liam built up everything himself, and that’s why his relationships are rock solid. He has never once be
trayed my trust, or anyone else’s that I know of, and that’s why he’s successful. It’s also why we do not want him in prison, but on our side.”

  “So it’s possible that the previous Mixologist went through Liam, and Gus wouldn’t have known about it?”

  “It’s not only possible, I’d be surprised if it’s never happened. Liam makes a habit of knowing anyone important in the magical world, and you, my dear, are the most important thing since the invention of sliced Pepper Wheel.”

  “I have no clue what Pepper Wheel means.”

  “Let’s just say that word about your arrival on The Isle is spreading. Here on the island people found out quickly about you, but it takes longer for word to cross over to the mainland. I’m sure that the arrival of Liam is the tip of the iceberg. Before long, a flood of strangers, businessmen, and bystanders will arrive, all hoping to catch a glimpse of this long-awaited Mixologist.”

  “That sounds terrible. I don’t like people coming by the bungalow just to stare.”

  He laughed. “They’ll have to order something. It’ll be good for business!”

  “I don’t care about the business, I need to study!” I said with a smile. “I don’t feel very important.”

  “Hire some help if it gets too overwhelming,” Ranger X said. “That’s my only advice because sweetheart, you are important and there is absolutely no getting around that fact.”

  The server arrived with our food, and the conversation slowed to a minimum. We murmured thank yous as she offered pepper and grated cheese. When she asked if either of us wanted a refill on wine, X leapt to answer before I could say no thanks.

  “Sure,” he said with a wink in my direction. “I’m up for it, if the lady is.”

  “This lady?” I pointed to myself, sensing a challenge. I gave him a wicked grin before nodding to the waitress. “Top off our glasses, please.”

  After our wine glasses had been refilled and the server disappeared back behind the bar, I looked over at Ranger X.

  “You know, this is starting to feel like a date,” I said quietly. “I just meant to say hi when I stopped in here, not start anything between us.”

  “Do you want it to be a date?” His breath stalled in his chest as he waited for an answer. “Never mind, stupid question. We’ve already talked about this.”

  To fight the warmth heating my cheeks, I raised my glass. “To complicated relationships.”

  His eyes sparkled with the same mixture of happiness and sadness, and we clinked glasses.

  “Eat, before it gets cold.” He pointed to my plate. “What do you think of it?”

  “Delicious.” I took a few bites and then set down my fork. “Except I can’t shake one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Have you ever been betrayed by someone close to you?”

  X laid his fork down. “Are you asking because you want to know, or because you feel betrayed and want advice?”

  I shrugged. “Both?”

  “If this is about Gus, then I don’t have much advice for you. That’s your relationship, and only you can decide when to trust, when to question, and when to believe on blind faith.”

  My gut twisted. “That’s what I was afraid of. No offense, but that doesn’t help me any.”

  Ranger X gave a low chuckle that didn’t stem from a place of happiness. “I know, but that’s the fact of the matter. Relationships are hard, and often there are no right answers. I could tell you what to do, but that’s not the right answer, either. You need to learn to trust yourself.”

  “I don’t trust my instincts. They’ve been wrong before.”

  “Then don’t trust your instincts, trust what’s in here.” Ranger slid his plate to the side of the table, then reached across and wrapped his hand over my shoulder. His thumb rubbed just over the place where my heart beat like crazy. “You know it already, somewhere deep down, the ultimate truth. You just have to find it.”

  “What if I can’t?”

  “You can and you will, eventually. It might take time, and it might take a series of mistakes and failures before you unearth the truth, but that’s okay. That’s what life’s all about.” X surveyed me with a soft expression. “I’ve made mistakes—grave mistakes. In my line of work, trusting myself can mean the difference between life and death.”

  “Like when you called Liam for the troll bite.”

  “Exactly.” X cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, the man never recovered.”

  I blinked. “What? But I thought the point of your story was that Liam saved him!”

  “He lived another two years. Long enough to say goodbye to everyone. Long enough to set his affairs in order. Without the medicine, he would’ve been dead within hours.”

  “You gave him borrowed time.”

  He nodded. “The answer isn’t always good or bad. In fact, it’s usually not. Sometimes, it is a mixture between the two, and you have to take the good with the bad.”

  The food on my plate smelled delicious, and it looked like a piece of art, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat. “I don’t know how to bring this up with Gus.”

  “If you can truly trust a person,” X said carefully. “That shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “I trust him, but that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable.”

  “Difficult conversations are always uncomfortable. But with the right person, you can have those conversations.” Ranger X hesitated for a second. “I told you I can’t give you specific advice, and I meant it. However, if you want my two cents on the matter, it’s this: Give Gus a chance. You’ve already developed a relationship with him, a good one by the sounds of it. You’d be doing him a disservice to assume certain truths about him. Before you judge, give him a chance to explain. He might have reasons for keeping secrets from you.”

  “You’re right.” I exhaled a long sigh that released a huge wave of tension off my chest. “I must’ve just let the stress of the moment get to me. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “It’s easy to do.” X smiled. “Speaking of not thinking clearly, this second glass of wine has gone straight to my head. I don’t indulge much, but this felt like a special occasion.”

  I could only manage a shy glance up through my lashes, but when my gaze landed on his it caught hold. His black eyes sparkled in a mesmerizing dance, and a slight pinkish tinge made his naturally tan skin glow in a vibrant array of colors. When his lips quirked up in a wide grin, I realized he might have a little buzz going. When he continued grinning, I knew he had a buzz.

  Laughing, I shook my head. “You’re a little tipsy!”

  “It doesn’t happen often, so take a picture.” He winked, leaning forward and dropping his voice to a whisper. “And don’t you dare tell anyone because if they saw me like this, I’d never hear the end of it.”

  I zipped my lips. “I’ll never tell a soul.”

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he said, his voice a bit raspy. “You look...I wish…” He sat back in his chair, letting out a pained groan.

  I gave a reluctant shake of my head. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret. You’re two glasses of wine in, and I will remember everything tomorrow.”

  “I wish this had started out as a date tonight,” he said firmly. “A real date. Where I picked you up, took you someplace nice, and held your hand. This feels too much like an accident.”

  “I told you not to say anything,” I warned. “You know this can’t be a date.”

  “You told me not to say anything I’d regret,” he clarified. “I might be a bit more candid than usual, but I’m not drunk. I’m not going to forget tomorrow what I’ve told you tonight. I’m just telling the truth. I don’t—and I won’t—ever regret telling you how I feel.”

  Suddenly, the food on my plate became very interesting. I poked at the shrimp and fiddled with some noodles as my brain worked at warp speed to come up with a response.

  The server came and asked if things were going okay. I made a noise of agreement in my throat wh
ile Ranger X pushed his empty plate toward the edge of the table. She looked to me. “More wine?”

  I shook my head no, and I couldn’t help but think that she’d noticed the awkward silence over the table. She gave a knowing smile and a curt nod and took the empty dishware to the kitchen. Even after she’d gone, the lingering memory of her grin irked me, as if she was just waiting for me to make a mistake so she could swoop into my seat.

  “What are you thinking?” X’s voice startled me out of my reverie.

  I swallowed hard, deciding to go all in. “I’m thinking this doesn’t have to be a date. Why don’t we just enjoy our night and see where it leads?”

  Reaching across the table, he pulled my hands into his. “The date part is not the problem. The problem begins when I let myself care for you more than I already do...”

  “You already care for me?”

  “Of course I do,” he said, blinking in surprise. “But don’t ask me why.”

  I blushed, about to respond with a joke, when he continued.

  “That’s what makes things difficult. The rules Ranger HQ have against dating and marrying isn’t...it’s not the actual dating that’s the problem. It’s the decision-making. When a Ranger makes decisions with his heart instead of his head, everything becomes more dangerous. For all people involved, not just myself, not just you. It puts all of the other Rangers at risk, and we are brothers. We can’t put each other at risk. I’ve lost enough men over the years without accidents, and I refuse to let that number grow higher.”

  “If you already care for me, isn’t it already too late?”

  X’s gaze dropped to the plate of food in front of me.

  I pushed it forward. “Want some?”

  “No, I’m fine,” he said. “We shouldn’t be here tonight.”

  I caught the server watching us closely from behind the bar, and something about her nosiness into private matters got on my nerves. At the same time, it gave me a bit of courage that I didn’t have before, tempting me to throw caution to the wind. “You’re a Ranger, yes? You’ve been at it most of your adult life?”

  “All my adult life.”