Page 6 of Crow Me A River

When she looked up, she finally got her first good look at Shift Faced.

The place definitely wasn’t fancy. An old neon SHIFT FACED sign hung above the entrance, buzzing and blinking unevenly. An iron sign hung near the entrance that read No Fang, No Fur, No Problem.

Misty grinned. She already liked the place, and she hadn’t even walked through the door.

The parking lot was packed, music drifted from inside and every time the door opened, laughter and voices spilled out with it. There was nothing polished or fancy about the place. It looked worn, well-used and full of life.

Bruce slipped through the door ahead of her as someone walked out, and Misty followed.

The smell of old wood and whiskey hit her first. Shifters filled the tables and lined the bar, talking and laughing over the music. It was loud, crowded and a little chaotic.

Misty’s grin grew. Yeah. She definitely needed to find out if they were hiring.

Bruce leaped up on the bar as Misty took a seat on one of the empty stools.

“Hey, Vin,” Bruce was saying to someone, but Misty was too busy looking around the place to pay much attention.

“How’s it going, Bruce?” A deep male voice replied, causing Misty to glance that way. Her eyes met dark chocolate ones framed by the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a man. Black hair framed his tanned, masculine face and for a second, Misty forgot to breathe. Never in her life had she seen a more handsome man who was staring straight at her.

Holy shit.

“It’s going,” Bruce replied, then seemed to notice the two of them staring at each other. “Vin, this is Misty. Misty...Vin.”

“Nice to meet you, Misty.” Vin reached out a huge hand toward her.

Swallowing hard, Misty reached out and gave him a firm handshake, refusing to acknowledge the strange little flutter in her stomach when his hand closed around hers. Nope. Not happening. She was done with men, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to lose her damn mind over one just because he had pretty eyes and a face that made it damn hard to remember why she was done with men.

“Same,” Misty replied, a little more breathlessly than she intended. Snatching her hand away, she quickly looked anywhere but at him. Lord, she was an idiot.

“Bruce, are you harassing my customers again?”

Misty glanced toward the female voice and saw a beautiful woman standing behind the bar. Her black shag-cut hair framed wide blue eyes that seemed to take in everything around her. Misty immediately knew she was human, which surprised the hell out of her considering she was standing behind a bar packed with Shifters. There was something soft about her, but nothing weak, and from the way she carried herself, Misty got the feeling the woman could handle pretty much anything thrown her way.

“Seriously, Billie Ann?” Bruce sounded offended. “Why does everyone automatically assume I’m harassing somebody?”

Billie Ann just stared at him.

“Okay, fair enough,” Bruce grumbled, making Misty laugh. “But I have brought you a new customer. This is Misty.”

“Hello, Misty.” Billie Ann smiled at her. “What a pretty name. I’m Billie Ann. What can I get you to drink? First one is on the house.”

Not used to compliments, Misty instantly felt uncomfortable. “I’ll just take a beer.”

“Coming right up.” Billie Ann grabbed a beer, popped the top and slid it across the bar before glancing at Bruce. “You want the same?”

“Hell no.” Bruce grumbled. “I need the hard stuff tonight.”

“I don’t want to find puke and hairballs all over the place again, Bruce.” Billie Ann eyed him as she poured a shot of whiskey and set it in front of him.

Misty picked up her beer, actually curious how in the hell Bruce planned on drinking the whiskey. She took a sip, waiting to see what he would do, then almost choked when Bruce looked directly at her.

“Well?” Bruce nodded toward the shot glass. “You gonna help a cat out or just sit there and watch me die of thirst?”

Misty stared at him. “You want me to pour it down your throat?”

“Unless you see a set of fucking thumbs on me that I don’t know about.” Bruce sat back on his ass. “Pour, Crow. And for the love of God, don’t miss. This fur is a bitch to get whiskey out of.”

Misty laughed as she reached for the shot glass. “This is fucking ridiculous.”