Chapter Two
Jamie stared at herself in the mirror as she braided her shoulder-length light brown hair into two pigtails. It made her look sixteen, but it was what brought in the tips. Well, that and a tight t-shirt that dipped just low enough to show off her ample cleavage and short enough to expose the little rhinestone on her bellybutton.
Fuck, she hated waiting tables at bars.
All through college she’d been subjected to the thankless job. She’d dealt with assholes who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and their bitchy women who somehow didn’t get that she was just trying to earn a buck, not a screw.
She’d hoped those days would be behind her after she graduated from school. After a couple temporary positions as a civilian teaching on bases, a great gig came up. Good pay, great eye candy, even friends she loved. Like a dream come true.
Then everything happened, and she was right back where she started.
She rolled her eyes. Her long lashes hit her eyelids. This shit was getting old, and it had only been two weeks.
Jamie sighed as she placed the blush brush back on the makeup rack.
It was amazing how two weeks could seem both short and long. Two weeks had passed since she and her friends had left the place they had called home for just a month: Luna Lodge. Two weeks since everything had changed.
After the explosion at the Lodge, her friend Leah just couldn’t stay there. Not after everything that happened. It was just too much. She wanted to teach kids, not dodge suicide bombers in a war zone.
Jamie understood. They had seen the horrors evil people were willing to wreak on innocents.
When her friend had said she wanted to leave, Jamie followed. Even if it wasn’t practical, it was the only thing she could do. She had to be there for Leah, had to help her get past all the pain that she was going through.
The two moved out of Luna Lodge and two towns over. The relocation helped them avoid all the crazy things going on with the town near the Lodge, but they were still close enough that they could talk with their only friend remaining at the Lodge: Wendy.
Unfortunately, Jamie and Leah weren’t in a very populous part of the state. The town they were in wasn’t much bigger than the town near the Lodge, and good-paying jobs weren’t exactly overflowing in the area.
They briefly talked about moving farther away, but couldn’t bring themselves to leave Wendy, even if she did have a hunky new hybrid boyfriend.
Their friend had been busy with military business though, and there wasn’t much time for chatting. It seemed like things would never be the same for the three of them again.
Jamie could hear the door across from her apartment opening. Her chance had arrived. She raced over to her own door to fling it wide open.
Leah stood, semi-stunned, staring at her, the door to her own apartment open just a crack.
They had moved, and Jamie still hadn’t seen Leah’s place. When they hung out, it was at Jamie’s apartment or in town.
Not knowing what Leah’s place looked like was killing Jamie. She half wondered if her friend just slept on a mattress on the floor like some sort of crazy person.
“Are you going to do that every day I go to work?” Leah said.
“Yes.”
Jamie grinned at the snark she could hear just under the surface from Leah. It sounded almost like the friend she used to know.
Leah rolled her eyes. It was the same roll she always used, but something was missing from her friend. The twinkle was gone from Leah, stolen by grief.
“Hey, this could have all been solved if you’d just roomed with me,” Jamie said.
Leah wrinkled her nose. “Don’t think I need to hear you getting it on with some guy.”
Jamie huffed. “I’d keep it down for you.”
For the first time in ages, Leah gave a small laugh and shook her head as she walked down the hall. “Be careful walking home.”
Jamie smiled. “You too.” She closed the door behind her. She walked back to her bathroom and the mirror.
Leah had farther to travel, but most of it was on the bus. She’d been able to get a job as a library page. Something she’d always done through college. Jamie almost envied her friend but knew that she was making way more money, and right now she needed cash more than anything else.
Jamie’s hand hovered over all the different lip tints. Tonight she needed something that stood out. The other two women working were some serious competition, and if she wanted to keep up her tips, she needed a little kick.
Sizzlin’ Red.
Jamie put a little of the lipstick on her lips and stared in the mirror again.
Damn, she looked fuckable.
Jamie snorted. Too bad it was wasted on work.
The fact was Leah didn’t really have much to worry about. The men who came into the pub just didn’t measure up, especially after leaving men like the ones at the Lodge.
Her mind drifted to a pair of strong arms, black hair, and glowing yellow eyes.
“Lucan,” she mumbled.
She’d only just caught his name after he’d saved her from the burning building. The massive hybrid who could be her knight.
If only he’d seen it that way. He’d saved her life, but seemed to have little interest in her otherwise. Other than the night of the fire, the hybrid had ignored her existence.
She’d asked about Lucan shortly before leaving the Lodge, and Cato, the acting leading of the Lodge, told her to just forget about him. Some sort of bro solidarity thing, she guessed.
Jamie huffed a little. Men did not just ignore her. That was not a thing that tended to happen to her, and it was still a bit of a sore spot.
She understood that hybrids were special, that once they fell in love it was typically for life, but as far as she knew, he didn’t have anyone. Why couldn’t she be the special one?
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if she didn’t want Lucan so badly. Whether it was gratitude, destiny, or something else entirely, she still found herself all but obsessed with the man.
Jamie looked at the frown on her face. More and more she’d caught herself doing that. It wasn’t a look she was used to seeing on herself, and she doubted it would get her many tips. Men liked happy, not angry.
“New day, new dollar,” she whispered.
Jamie stood up straight and shook out all the bad feelings that had slipped in. There were about a million things going on right now, and thinking about Lucan wasn’t going to do her a damn bit of good.