CHAPTER NINE
The buzzing of my silver bracelet woke me. With bright sunlight filtering in through the lone window of my apartment, I squinted at the readout. My head instantly turned. I patted the empty side of the bed, the sheet cold. Groaning, I tapped on the bracelet to accept the call, answering, “I thought you were sleeping in. And what the hell? I told you I sleep during the day.”
Rune chuckled. “I decided to take your advice. I went to the press conference.”
“And why are you calling to wake me up?” I yawned, the sound loud and rude.
“Because Theron requested your presence for lunch. We’re celebrating this fucking awful day at a pizza shop, apparently. He’s in a shitty mood, so he wants everyone in a shitty mood with him.”
I sighed in defeat. I was in too deep with these people. “And no one turns Theron down?”
“Not if you don’t want a certain dictator breaking down your door,” he stated with false cheer.
“Fuck me,” I groaned.
“Maybe after pizza?”
“Too soon, stud. Too soon.”
He grunted. “Even though I fixed your rodent problem at seven o’clock this morning?”
My attention instantly snapped to the table hiding the mouse hole. “You did?”
I couldn’t tell from here.
“Yes. And you sleep like a person in a coma. You didn’t even stir when I started hammering.” He paused a moment, and then snickered in amusement. “I guess I should feel fortunate that you don’t snore, though.”
“I was tired.” I yawned again. “I’m still tired.”
“Well, you’ve got an hour to get to the pizza shop.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, and muttered, “Which one is it? Please tell me it’s Kreeger’s Pizza. That place is worth getting up early for.”
“Sorry to disappoint. It’s a new place. We’ve only had delivery once from there, so I have no idea if the interior is up to snuff. But it is near Finn’s house, so it can’t be completely awful. It’s called Dormi’s Pizza & Coffee.”
“Ugh.”
“Ugh?”
“I’ve been to Dormi’s before. The manager there seems to have a thing for underage girls. It’s disgusting. He goes around slapping their asses right in front of the customers.”
He was quiet a moment, seemingly thinking that through. “Well, it should be interesting. None of us take to that shit well.”
“A fight at a pizza shop? That’s a little above you, isn’t it?”
“I’d like if I was above you right now.”
“Rune?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t flirt. I’m drained of all energy and can’t keep up.”
He laughed loud and long, sweet and deep. “I’ll do the work for both of us, beautiful.”
I shook my head against my pillow. “You’re shameless.”
“Hell yes, I am.”
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I grumbled, “I’ll see you in an hour, stud.”
I didn’t wait for him to answer. I merely tapped my bracelet to end the call.
* * *
The train to Dormi’s was more expensive than I wanted to spend for an event I didn’t even want to attend, but when the new most powerful man in the world requests your presence, you go. Quick. And hope you’re not late…because of the stupid ass person in front of you who hits ten different spots to stop at because they can’t remember where the fuck a particular bakery shop is.
I mean, what the hell? Ask someone!
But not me. I had no idea where it was. But surely someone knew.
“Excuse me?” I tapped Stupid Ass on the shoulder. “What’s the name of the bakery you’re looking for? Maybe you can call them to get their address.”
The woman glared, her sparkling golden hat practically blinding me. “If I knew that, then I would have called them. All I remember is it has a red and white canopy and is somewhere on the east side.”
I blinked and then sat back on my chair, blinking at my misfortune. “Yeah. No clue.”
Well, I tried to help.
I sighed and stared out the window. I was going to be late.
On the sixth destination she had typed in before me, lo and behold, she nailed it.
She was happy. I was not.
Those other four stops she had typed in still needed to go by before my destination went into effect. I pressed my forehead against the glass of my window and watched the clean and sparkling buildings go by in a blur. Pointy roofs. Flat roofs. Slanted roofs. New City had it all. Alaric and Rune worked well together to create the beauty of this place.
Sadly, this was turning into a pretty shitty day already. If I didn’t get a nap in before my shift, I would be cranky as hell, which would affect my tips. Customers didn’t like it when you yelled at them. Go figure.
I glanced at my bracelet. Five minutes to go.
At one minute, I was already standing at the train door, tapping my foot and waiting for it to open. My destination was finally queued up. When the door released, I ducked under it, ignoring the blare of the alarm. Unless it shut back down immediately, I wouldn’t be crushed. My feet flew down the stairs, and then I was jogging to the entrance of the pizza shop.
Rune grinned, leaning back against the front of the building. “In a hurry?”
“Shut up. Some woman couldn’t remember where the hell she was going, so it took me forever to get here.”
Rune opened the door to Dormi’s for me, murmuring absently, “I could have picked you up…”
“And I would have said no,” I grumbled, fixing my windblown black hair. I stepped inside and gazed at the interior of the pizza shop. Nothing had really changed since I’d last been here. It was like a vat of blue paint had been dumped from high above onto a white canvas, splatters of blue here and there, creating a chic and attractive environment. “Is everyone already here?”
“Yep. We all rode with Theron.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and prodded me toward the circular booth in the far back. He dipped his head and inhaled against my temple, purring, “Are you sure we can’t have a little fun after we eat?”
“I need to sleep after this. Otherwise, I won’t make it through my shift.”
He groaned against the flesh of my skin. “Too bad. I had great things in mind.”
I snickered and turned my face further into his touch, the blood in my veins spiking in desire. “Maybe after my shift?”
His heated breath spanned my cheek, as he grinned. “Sounds delicious.”
I pulled my head back from his. Then I blinked. We had already arrived at the table. We were standing directly in front of it, the occupants barely containing their laughter as they caught sight of the shock on my features. I shook my head, clearing the cobwebs of my Rune-induced sexual haze.
I waved, mumbling, “Hello. It’s me again.”
Theron was the only one not watching us, but he was the individual to flick a finger at the free space across from him. He stated casually, “Sit down. We haven’t ordered yet, Megan.”
I did as instructed—because it was an order. He really wasn’t in a pleasant mood. Rune hadn’t been joking. I scooted along the large, blue booth, allowing Rune to sit next to me at the end. The rest of the booth was packed.
Rune went through the introductions even though none were needed. He started across from us first. “You know Theron. Cassander. Alaric. Wolfe. Finn. Mina. And, of course, Poppy who you saw last night.”
I nodded my head to all of them. “Thank you for inviting me.” Not really.
Poppy snorted. “As if we had a choice.” A quick glare at Theron. “He’s anal about food and eating together.”
Mina interjected, “I’m not sure if you should put anal and food together in the same sentence, Poppy. It doesn’t quite sound right.”
Theron wasn’t paying attention to anyone at the table, but he still nodded.
I leaned forward to peer around Poppy. “Hey, Mina. I hear you’re officially with Mr. Baker now.”
Mina blinked. “Call him Finn. And, since you’re here with us, call them all by their first names. I quickly learned they don’t like it when you use the term mister. Apparently, it offends them if you’re part of the group.” She picked up a napkin from the middle of the table and wiped at a small smudge in front of her.
I snickered as she cleaned. “You’re still as proper as ever.”
Her cheeks instantly flushed, and she peeked up at me from under her eyelashes—a damn vixen goddess. Like she was revealing earth shattering news, she whispered quietly, “Not really.”
I quickly put a fist in front of my mouth and coughed over a chuckle. “So you’re having fun?”
She leaned toward me, pushing Poppy against my side. “The best time ever.”
I held up my hand to her, stating softly, “Get you some, girl.”
Mina stared at my hand a moment, then quickly high-fived me with a soft touch. Her resulting grin was magnificent. Who would have thought? The stuffy weapons leader must have a wild side to keep a smile like that on his woman.
I glanced at Finn with new eyes, gauging his mien.
It was still as cold as ever.
Rune slid his arm around the top of the booth, over my shoulders, and pulled me closer. He whispered against my ear, “Don’t get any ideas.”
I snickered and turned my attention to him. “Absolutely not. I just never would have guessed.”
The warm flesh of the tip of his nose slid over the shell of my ear, and he asked conversationally, “Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. Hopefully, the food is better than their service.” I quickly kissed his cheek so he knew I wasn’t ignoring his flirtation, and then peered out of our booth. “Where is the waiter?”
“Waitress. It’s a girl covering this section,” Theron clarified, his eyes shifting over the workers. “But it looks like she’s still in the back.”
Mina cleared her throat and started scrubbing at the spot again. “It looked like the same girl who delivered the pizza that one time.”
Theron nodded once. “I believe it is.”