Page 101 of Blood of Vengeance

“I did. I would eat a whole other one if there weren’t five more courses coming.” I wrote a note on the pad the chef had given me, jotting down my thoughts on the salad. He wanted to know everything—immediate thoughts when it arrived at the table, presentation impressions, did the ingredients seem well proportioned and balanced. And of course, taste. It was a lot of work on our end to supply them with the info, but I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford to eat in such a place.

I caught sight of Zella glancing to the side, obviously looking out the window.

“Don’t,” I said with a shake of my head. “Don’t mention it.”

“How can I not? He’s right there.” She motioned with her spoon. “He’s so smitten.”

“Shut up.” My face grew warm as I, too, stole a glance through the large front window. Flinch leaned against his motorcycle out front along with two other riders. They seemed to be having a conversation, one that made Flinch smile a bit. As I watched, he brought a hand to his head and ran it over his hair. I loved when he did that.

“You are also so smitten,” Zella said, stealing my attention back.

“Shut it.”

I sat back as two servers came to take our plates and a man in chef’s whites brought us another dish. This time, we had each gotten some sort of pasta. Which struck me as odd.

“Is that gluten free?” I asked, knowing Zella’s dietary restrictions meant she rarely got to eat pasta.

“It is. Gluten-free sweet potato ravioli—they have a separate kitchen area in the back for allergy orders.”

“I bet your situation inspired them to do that.”

“Maybe.” She took a small bite, brow furrowed as she obviously gave the taste and texture a lot of thought. Then she looked up and grinned at me. “That’s perfect.”

I couldn’t hold back my own smile. “Good. Maybe I should get a job tending bar here so I can bring it home to you at the end of the night.”

“I somehow doubt you’ll be needing to get a job in this city anytime soon.”

My chest tightened, truth and denial and the whisper of acceptance fighting for dominance in my gut. “Why do you say that?”

She looked outside and shrugged a shoulder, likely knowing my words were nothing but a front. A place to hide behind. Knowing it but ignoring it like any good friend would do. “If you’re not ready to see it, then there’s nothing I can say.”

That felt like a scolding of sorts. “Zella, I?—”

“Have you talked to him?”

I sat back, picking at the beautiful pasta before me that I no longer had much of an appetite for due to the brick of guilt that had settled on my stomach. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

That answer took me a lot longer to come up with, mostly because I wanted to talk to him. There was so much to talk about, yet I couldn’t make that move. Couldn’t be the one to initiate the conversation for some reason. The need to be next to him, to feel his body against mine, ate at me, but I refused to make that happen. And the reason for my refusal made me feel even worse.

“Lock,” Zella said, her voice much softer, her gaze filled with understanding. “Talk to me.”

I set down my fork, knowing this course was a wash for me. “I’m waiting for him to make the first move.”

Zella blinked, her stare solid and sure. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” I glanced out the window, catching Flinch’s eye. His gaze warming me from top to bottom even through a window. “I feel like I need him to take the first step in fixing us.”

“He flew all the way to Detroit just to keep an eye on you. That’s a hell of a first step.”

She wasn’t wrong, and yet it wasn’t quite enough. And man, did I feel like a jerk even thinking that. I wanted Flinch back in my life, but he had messed up. Big-time. My dad had always said to never trust a shifter. Well, I had tried to, and he had failed me. That fact had broken my heart. He would need to show me he could glue it back together before I would show a moment of weakness. He would need to regain my trust.

“He has to be the one to clean up the mess he made,” I finally said, picking my fork back up and shoving down all the emotions the conversation had stirred up. “I wish they had added cacio e pepe to the menu. That’s my favorite.”

Zella didn’t say anything, just stared at me for a long moment before nodding. “Yeah, that would have been a good add. You should write that down.”

I shrugged but did as she recommended, catching her on her phone when I finished. “Everything okay?”

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