Page 86 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
Diana eyed the space around her. She was the only person within a ten-foot radius of the bar.
“Right. Sore topic.”
“Could be worse. It probably will be, actually. My dramatic exit had consequences. The Regents just haven’t bothered informing me what they are yet. I may have a whipping waiting for me.”
Maya glanced at the steel platform above the dance floor. The view had little variation at the Chains bar, and the royal lounge was impossible not to notice. Especially since a certain Lust fiend was often up there.
That evening, she wasn’t alone. The black-eyed King of Chains was with her, their heads together and… were they looking her way?
“I doubt it’ll be that bad.” Diana offered a weak smile. “The Regents rarely take this long to come up with punishments. If they haven’t done anything yet, I think you’re in the clear.”
“In the clear…” Maya let out a humorless chuckle. “Is that the reason you came over? After weeks of giving me the cold shoulder, you suddenly felt compelled to soothe my nerves?”
Diana’s smile dropped. Her eyes did, too, as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” she mumbled. “I had a bad reaction. It was the first time I’d been given a job outside the high-rise in over a year. It was an important one, too. If I handled it well, not even Cassius could argue against me being in the field.”
She closed her hand into a fist. “I was upset. I wanted someone to blame, and you were right there, but just because it was easy to throw it all on you doesn’t make it fair. I know that. I’m… I’m sorry.”
By how tight her voice was, those words didn’t make a frequent appearance in her vocabulary. Or she just wasn’t used to opening up. Or maybe both.
Maya had assumed Diana hated her and would be fine wallowing in that feeling. That her way of nursing injured pride involved transforming disappointment into bitterness. But that didn’t seem to be the case. It wasn’t resentment that kept her away, but embarrassment.
“No. It wasn’t fair.” Maya picked up a clean glass. “Do you still take your whiskey neat?”
Diana looked up, surprised. Then she sighed.
“I don’t know how you do that. Keep track of everyone’s drinks.”
“Lots of practice.” Maya poured two fingers of Diana’s favorite whiskey. “It’s a talent you could learn, too. If you didn’t spend most of your shifts getting your knuckles bloodied.”
“I never start anything.” Diana downed her drink in one swig. “I finish it. Preferably in a way that makes it less likely to occur again.”
That Diana was working the bar at all was bizarre. She fit better in the field than she did pouring drinks. But since her brother oversaw the patrol teams, she was locked out of them.
Cassius blamed the fact that his kid sister had too hot of a temper to be allowed out of the high-rise, something even the Regents disagreed with. Natalya had picked her for the St. Louis job personally. And then circumstances beyond her control had returned her to a position that didn’t fit her.
Maya at least had that going for her. As long as she had patrons to serve, she actually likedbartending.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, too,” Maya said. “That you got kicked off that job, I mean. I could have used you. Would have made everything a lot easier.”
“Yeah…” Diana tilted her glass, watching the remaining amber drops flow from side to side. “It’s fine. It was necessary, not personal. It wasn’t like Natalya was pleased about it either. And since I have a habit of getting shot at every time I leave this place, maybe it was for the best.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Maybe some other time. After more whiskey.”
Maya refilled her drink, and Diana grinned.
“You’re a bad influence.”
“I’m just inviting conversation. Pretty big part of the job, if you weren’t aware.” Maya gave her a smile. “You’ll get another opportunity soon. I’m sure of it.”
“With howprotectiveCassius is being, I think I’ll have to make my own opportunity.” She looked towards the exit, sneering. “I actually got one recently. That Mayfield lady contacted me. Said she had a spot free, if I wanted it. That her pack was open to anyone displeased with the Chains.”
Maya’s eyes widened. “You aren’t considering it, are you?”
“Of course not! Her pack kills people for sport. I’m not shacking up with someone like that just because I’m feeling antsy.” She swallowed and lowered her eyes. “But there are other packs. Decent ones. Places where I might actually get to do something more than just stand around and look pretty. Don’t tell me you haven’t considered it, too.”
