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chapter 14

Author: Uriel Kings
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

The front door is open to the evening air, spilling the mouthwatering scent of fried food and beer into the lot. I bypass a large group standing around just inside the doors, all of them with glasses in hand, then weave through a sea of high top tables to get to the bar.

The bar’s magnificent—dark, heavy wood that’s as aged as a fine wine. The same rich wood lines the wall behind the bar, planks intersected by mirrors and shelves holding rows and rows of liquor. It gives the whole area a kind of rustic, pirate ship feel.

I’m not even seated on one of the high-backed stools before the bartender comes to greet me. He’s a tall, lanky man with limbs that seem too stretched for his body and a head full of thick gray hair. His name tag declares him “Joe.” The owner, maybe.

He tosses a white rag over his shoulder and gives me a lopsided smile that seems more genuine than I’m used to. “You look like a whiskey girl.”

Just the word whiskey sends fury racing through me.

It’s an immediate, viscer
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    Slouching casually against the booth seat, I grip my glass in one hand and go for my best bored voice. “You’re a hard man to find.”Kian raises an eyebrow, then lifts the menu back up to peruse the selections. “You didn’t find me.”I reach out and slam my palm into the laminated paper, knocking it to the table.“What the hell are you?” I snap.He purses his lips for a moment, the first sign of emotion I’ve seen on his face. “I’m a shif—”“Bullshit,” I cut in before he even finishes speaking. “You’re not a shifter. You’re more than that.”Joe appears next to the table and slides my change across the sticky surface. He glances between me and Kian, then raises an eyebrow at me. “You forgot your change.”“Thanks,” I say and peel off a ten for him.With one last suspicious glance between us, Joe leaves us to the rising tension.Kian leans forward, lacing his fingers on the table top. With his elbows out and his chest so fucking broad to begin with, the position makes him loom, makes his bo

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