Page 26 of Enter if you Dare: Part One

We all look at Cave, who is staring back at us.

“Cave,” I say.

He turns so that he is looking directly at me.

“You have to apologize to Kayla.” He doesn’t even blink at my declaration, just stares. “I mean it. She helped me, and you put your hands on her. That is not okay. We are going to the bar, and you will say sorry.”

Cave looks toward Cipher.

“Don’t look at him, I’m talking to you,” I snap. “I don’t care if you don’t talk and you dress like a scarecrow, whatever your reasons for it. But you are a fully grown man and will be held accountable for your actions.”

Noa makes a sound, as if he is trying not to laugh, and I whip my head around to glare at him. He closes his mouth quickly, rolling his lips.

“I get that there are rules. If they come into your cornfield, they know the risk. But the bar is not your domain—it’s hers. You should know better.” I cross my arms, though my stern look is tempered by my pajamas.

Cave looks back at me, and after a moment of consideration, he nods. Good, I guess that’s settled. I hate when people don’t take accountability for their actions. Like with my brother, it’s always someone else’s fault and never his own.

After I change, we all walk to the bar. Noa asks if I want to help him today, and I tell him I really need to go to work because I can’t afford to take the day off. He says he will pay me if I want to work for him, but I decline. I won’t let him pay me out of pity.

Kayla is behind the bar when we walk in. She looks up and her eyes go straight to Cave. I step around him before he can loom and stare her down. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” she says.

Cave steps up to the bar, and though Kayla straightens slightly, she doesn’t seem scared of him. “Sorry,” he growls. It’s not the best apology in the world, but since he normally talks in riddles or one-word utterances, it’s the best she is going to get.

Kayla looks up at him before picking up a glass and turning it to fill it from the tap. She sets it down in front of him. “Don’t do it again.”

Cave wraps his hand around the glass with a nod. That appears to be the end of it.

Noa slides onto a stool. “Is Ares around?”

“He’s in the back.” Kayla tilts her head toward the door. “You can go through.”

Noa gets up, and I take the stool beside Cave, while Cipher sits on the other side of me. I feel small between the both of them.

Ares comes out before Noa even reaches the door. He is tall with broad shoulders, and I wouldn’t want to face him in the dark. He looks at me first, then at Cave, which surprises me.

“Is everything good?” Ares asks.

“We need information,” Noa says. “Some men have been following Valli due to her brother’s debts. We need to know who we’re dealing with.”

Ares looks at me again, and I feel he is reading more into me than I realize. “After last night, Clay may not be inclined to help.”

“He’ll be here,” Kayla says matter-of-factly as Ares looks at her. “I already texted him—you know he won’t say no to me.”

Ares laughs. “He says no to you constantly.”

Kayla shrugs. “He says no, but then he shows up. Same thing.”

Ares is quiet for a moment, then pulls out a stool at the end of the bar and takes a seat.

We order some food, and within ten minutes Clay arrives. He is lean and dark-haired, with a resting don’t fuck with me expression. I honestly think I would be more scared of him than Cave.

Clay doesn’t greet anyone; instead, his eyes go straight to Cave, who stares back unblinking. Clay moves around the bar and stands beside Kayla, who places a coffee down in front of him.

“This is not tense at all,” Noa whispers behind me.

Cipher takes out a notepad and sets it on the bar, clicking his pen. “Tell us everything you know, Valli. Names, how much he owes, and how long this has been going on.”