Proof of Life (The Potentate of Atlanta #4) - Hailey Edwards Page 0,15
need sharp eyes to keep up with Hadley.”
Two sets of eyes—and fangs—would make him more comfortable, as long as she didn’t catch him at it.
“I appreciate it.” Midas’s gaze tagged the front door. “Do you think I should go?”
“Pretty sure the reason Claudia wanted to get Hadley alone was to talk about how good you are in bed.”
A flash of heat singed his face and then drained away in a rush. “Are you serious?”
“What do you think girls talk about when they’re alone?”
“I have no idea.”
“You have dwelled in the dark for too long. I’m willing to bet they’re talking measuring sticks right now.”
Scrubbing his palms over his face, Midas wished he could hide behind his hands forever. “God.”
“Come on.” Ford slapped him on the back. “Post assignments now, die of shame later.”
Later couldn’t come fast enough for Midas.
Four
The bar Claudia selected had seen better days, probably, but not in my lifetime.
The soles of my new sneakers made sucking noises against the flaking laminate floor when I walked, and dingy stuffing burst from the stools and the booths in the corner. The counter gleamed in the low light, buffed to a polish by the bored young man with nothing better to do and no motivation for extending his efforts to the rest of the place.
“Shots for all my friends,” Claudia announced. “Line ’em up and keep ’em coming.”
Forty-five minutes later…
Gwyllgi can get drunk, for a few minutes, if they really dedicate themselves to the cause. Otherwise, the alcohol might as well be water. Me? I didn’t have a fantastic metabolism, so I had to be careful what and how much I drank in unfamiliar company. Given what had happened last night, I was sipping Coke. Just Coke. That didn’t stop Claudia from lining up shots for me too, but I had taken to nudging them her way.
The fact she didn’t notice why her shot glass was bottomless said a lot about how deep she had climbed into the bottle. Under different circumstances, I might have been impressed with her single-minded dedication to chasing a buzz. Tonight, it worried me how desperate she was to escape her life, even for a few minutes.
“To the rotten son of a bitch who sired me.” Claudia raised her glass. “May he burn in hell for eternity.”
The others drank to that, but I didn’t know her father from Adam, so I wasn’t sure if I should sip or not.
“He’s a waste of a shot,” Ares murmured in my ear, causing me to jump. “He was a bastard.”
“What are you doing here?” I set my Coke on the counter. “Babysitting me?”
“Did the diaper bag give it away?”
“I need to get to HQ.” I hopped off my stool. “Be a pal and distract our hostess.”
“I knew I should have stayed outside,” she grumbled, clearly not a Claudia fan. “I have to pee. Can you wait that long?”
The stack of coffee cups in her hand earned her my sympathy. “Go on.”
A vibration in my pocket gave me hope I was about to have an official reason to make my escape.
>>I’m out of ABS.
>What?
>>Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.
>>Plastic. For the 3D printer. I’m out.
>What do you expect me to do about it?
>>Bring a few spools to HQ with you?
Heaving a sigh, I figured this was as close to divine intervention as I was likely to get.
>Where do I get them?
Bishop had the address ready to copy/paste in seconds, no surprise, and I promised to play fetch.
A 3D printer was all fun and games until enthusiasm outlasted the machine’s ability to keep pace with Bishop’s imagination.
“Midas?”
“Nah.” I glanced up to find Claudia leaning over my shoulder for a glimpse at the screen. “Work.”
“You’re not so different from an alpha.” She took another shot. “The city’s not so different from a pack.”
“You’re right.” The slight blurriness in her eyes concerned me. “I’m not, and it’s not.”
“No wonder Midas settled on you.”
The word settled pricked my ego, but I told myself that my insecurities were tainting her intent.
For someone wanting to drill me about how to land a mate, she hadn’t asked me a single question.
“I prefer to think I settled on Midas, but sure.”
“Tisdale doesn’t like me much.” She claimed my empty seat. “I get why, I do, but…have you ever been so afraid of paying what you owe that your purse strings shrivel right up?”
“Yeah.” An unexpected wave of kinship swept through me. “I have.”
“I did have designs on Midas, but not for the reasons you might think.”