Page 11 of You Were Warned: Part One

“Standard,” I say, and thankfully Vesper walks through the doors before he can ask any more questions.

She’s dressed in all black, which for Vesper is normal. She has on a fitted long sleeve with a high neck, dark leggings, and boots that come up to her knees. Her hair is down, and she is not wearing face paint; she almost looks like a different person without it. Vesper takes in the bar and Crow, then glances at the Jester with a scowl. She walks over to the self-serve coffeepot that we now have set up for staff to free up our time.

“Good morning,” I say.

“Is it?” she says, pouring herself a cup.

“Morning, love of my life,” the Jester says from the booth.

“I would rather shit in my hands and clap instead of talking to you before my morning coffee.”

The Jester smiles. “I love it when you flirt with me.”

She turns around and glares at him, yet the Jester throws heart eyes at her. He really is a weird man.

“So you’re back,” she says.

“I am.”

“Shame,” she throws back.

“Did you miss me?”

“I thought you were dead—it was a beautiful time.”

“You thought about me? Fuck, you know how to make a man happy.”

She sneers at him, then drinks from her cup, throwing daggers at him over the rim with her eyes. He goes back to whatever he was doing with the napkins.

“The sexual tension between those two,” Crow says.

I give him a glare that says shut up, but he simply smirks.

“I can hear you,” she snaps.

“Oh, I know,” Crow laughs out. “Morning, Vesper.”

“Morning,” she grumbles. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Shakshuka, want some?”

“No idea what that is, but if you made it, yes.”

I head out the back and make her a plate. When I give it to her, she takes a seat at the bar.

“This is good,” she says after a few bites. Vesper continues to eat, and when she is done, she glances at me. “Pretty Boy is on the path again. He called me a ‘rude woman’ and swooped me. Since when do parrots swoop people?”

“He gets bored. He’ll go home when he’s done.”

“If he ends up in one of my spider tanks, it won’t be my fault.”

I nod, since I don’t think she would do that, but it is Vesper. As she gets up and heads for the door, I clear her plate and wipe down the counter. Ares told me last night that Kayla would be in late today. He went to explain why, but I told him my ears can’t be bleached for a second time. He just laughed and hung up.

“Hey, Rue,” the Jester calls out.

“Yeah?”

“Hypothetical again. I’m going to intervene.”