Page 13 of An Oath at Midnight

“Oh, um…almost.” She smiled in a way that had my hair standing on end. “So…how’s Bram?”

Amelia laughed, giving her friend a little shove. “I knew you couldn’t help yourself.”

Leah blushed.

Just hearing Bram’s name from her mouth had fire shooting through my veins. “What are you talking about?” I moved out from behind the shelf.

“Oh nothing,” Leah said. “I just saw him out last night. He was at The Bank with another guy I assume was his brother. The hair color, and those eyes. The two of them together…” She bit her lip and grinned. “They were a whole lot of eye candy, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so. They were surrounded by females.”

Bram was at The Bank? What the fuck was going on? Why was he at a club? I locked down my emotions, which was hard, but I refused to let her see me react.

“Bram can do what he wants,” I said, even as the pain in my chest became almost unbearable.

Leah leaned on the shelf beside me. “I’m really glad to hear that because I got his number from a friend of a friend and was thinking of asking him out.”

It took every ounce of willpower not to slam my fist into her smug face. Over my rotting corpse would I let this grasping bitch anywhere near Bram.

“You guys definitely aren’t, you know, together?” she asked, watching me like a hawk ready to tear its prey’s eyes out, while she stroked her familiar like a comic book supervillain.

I shook my head, finding it impossible to speak without firing a whole lot of verbal poison at her. The urge to pull my knife and make her bleed was there as well, and that was even harder to resist—which should worry me, but I wasn’t thinking rationally right then.

“Did you hear me and Scott bought a new place?” Amelia said, hating that the attention was off her for even a moment. “That’s why I’m here. I want to make sure the apartment has a strong ward. I like to be ready for anything.”

“Awesome,” I said. “You truly are perfect for each other.” Her familiar, Scott, was a narcissistic creep.

Her gaze sliced to me, and I could tell she wasn’t sure how to read my tone. I didn’t give a shit. She could read it however she liked. We may be adults now, but I had a long memory, and I was petty as shit. I had no plans on letting go of the way they’d treated me.

“Yes, we are,” she said, her eyes locking on mine as she handed me her basket. “Maybe you’ll find out for yourself what that’s like, Magnolia. I’m sure your mate will turn up…someday.” She smiled, and it was full of spiteful glee.

I refused to engage. If I opened my mouth now, I’d tell her what an asshole I truly thought she was. And honestly, I didn’t trust myself to stop there. My fingers curled into a fist at my side as I finished ringing her up. Shoving everything into a paper bag, I slid it to her.

She opened her mouth to say something else—

“Bye,” I said before she could.

She shut her trap and, with a snotty look, turned and headed for the door.

“Tell Bram to expect my call,” Leah said before she walked out after her friends.

I gripped the edge of the counter to keep from launching over it. I wasn’t okay. Not at all. Bram had apparently been out partying with one of his brothers yet wasn’t able to call or text me?

Cool. That didn’t feel like being kicked in the gut multiple times at all.

So many thoughts, dark ones, flew through my mind. I shoved them down. This was Bram, my Bram. He didn’t like partying, he barely spoke to anyone but me and his brothers. I needed to calm the fuck down. Until I spoke to him, I wasn’t going to jump to any wild assumptions.

Somehow, I managed to keep a lid on everything I was feeling the rest of the afternoon. Just after I closed up the shop and was heading to my car, my phone chimed.

When I checked it, my relief was so strong, my legs actually went weak.

Bram. Finally.

Be home tonight.

* * *

Mom and Arthur were setting themselves up in front of the TV to watch their favorite gardening show when I got home.

“Another cushion, my sweet Daisy?” Art said.