Page 23 of The Thief

He held my gaze. “The year two thousand was a big one. Everyone celebrated the mark of a new millennium. How did you celebrate that night? Force yourself to remember how humans were once afraid the computers would shut down. They called it Y2K. Think back. How did you celebrate the New Year? Visualize it in your mind. Concentrate.”

I tried to picture it. Surely I wouldn’t have been at home on such an auspicious night. When an image flashed in my mind of confetti falling, it felt like a spike sliced through my head. I recoiled and rubbed my temple.

“Mercy, based on your physical reaction whenever you attempt memory recall, it leads me to wonder if this is a Vampire’s doing,” he said, his tone level. “Is it possible your headaches are a long-term side effect of physical trauma? Yes. But based on your symptoms and the specific chunk of time lost, I can’t rule out a memory wipe. I’m sure you know that Vampires can erase memories. Has it never occurred to you?”

“Of course not. Why would a Vampire erase my memories? That doesn’t make any sense.”

He addressed the other men as if I wasn’t in the room. “To make the erasure more likely to stick, it’s not uncommon for skilled Vampires to plant a directive for the victim to reject any possibility of a Vampire’s involvement. The person is less likely to obsess over any perceived memory loss or involve the authorities.”

“Isn’t that something the higher authority specializes in?” Archer asked. “I’ve never heard of Shifter Councils erasing people’s memories.”

“Not all memory wipes are legal,” Tak replied. “Perhaps she witnessed something she shouldn’t have. But why erase that much time?”

Salem sat back. “She doesn’t have false memories, so I can’t be certain that’s what we’re looking at. Usually, to prevent a person from going mad, they insert false memories for the time removed.”

“Seventy years.” Archer scoffed. “Holy shit. That would have been a hell of a session.”

Bear scratched his shoulder, but it seemed less like tending to an itch than a physical response to a confusing situation. “We should talk to a Vampire before we jump to conclusions. What about your friend Atticus?”

Eyeing the candle, Tak sighed. “I’ll call him.” After a beat, he added, “I don’t want you alone until we find out what that man wants.”

“I need to talk to him,” I insisted.

“Not alone. Not without a packmate. What do you know about this interloper?”

I shrugged. “He’s got pretty hair like mine, and he’s foreign.”

“He talks like Dracula,” Bear added, which made me chuckle.

Tak played with his beaded choker. “Is he a Vampire?”

Bear shook his head. “A Mage.”

Archer messed up his perfectly styled hair, his face flushed and eyes hooded. “I don’t like this at all.”

Tak didn’t appear overly alarmed, and his calm energy reduced my anxiety. “Lucian secured our property with cameras and alarms, so no one will enter without our knowing. While we’re gone, I want someone watching the cameras since Lucian won’t be here. I’ll talk to Montana and let him decide how to handle it. In the meantime, Mercy needs one of you at the bar.”

“Now, hold up a second.” I scooted my chair back and gripped the seat. “We got work around the house that needs to be done. I don’t want to pull someone away from that. My job is in a public place, so that hardly calls for a bodyguard.”

Tak reached across the table and pulled the candle toward him. The light accentuated all the lines in his jaw and face, making the tattoo more pronounced. “This isn’t up for debate. Do you have a solution other than quitting? My job is to protect my pack.”

Something occurred to me that might kill two birds with one stone. “Well, when you put it that way… Calvin has a kitchen in the back, and I suggested having food service for a few hours each day.” I gave Bear an apologetic shrug. “How would you feel about working at the Rabbit Lounge? You’ll still cook breakfast and supper here, but why not let the pack rotate cooking duties for one meal? That would free up your personal time.”

“But it’s my place in the pack,” he insisted, eyes fixed on the table. His defensive tone made it seem like I was taking something important away from him.

“You’re the only pack chef in this house, but skipping one meal a day will give you more time to prep and plan. If everyone pitches in for a meal, they’ll appreciate the hard work you do all the more. Plus it would give us an opportunity to share our own personal recipes. You’re still the boss, but this’ll give you a chance to earn money and meet people.”

Bear seemed appeased by that idea.

“Calvin could sure use someone with your talent,” I went on, layering compliments like icing on a cake. “You’ll be the man in charge of the menu, the food, and how you want to run your service. There’s a lot to figure out with the kitchen and supplies, so I can’t promise it’ll be easy at first.”

Tak pulled his long braid in front of him and played with the end. “The extra income would be nice, and I also agree that we shouldn’t burden one man with all the cooking. My tribe assigns duties to more than one person so that people can share the responsibility and not feel overwhelmed. We all need a mental break. Why do you think alphas have a beta? So we don’t lose our minds.” He skimmed his finger through the flame. “Working at the bar would solve our current predicament of leaving Mercy alone. Bear, what are your thoughts? You mentioned you were once a bodyguard. I can’t think of anyone more qualified.”

When Bear frowned, I got a sinking feeling. I hadn’t realized how important his role as pack chef was to him until I saw the grim look on his face when he feared he might lose it.

“I sure don’t mean to take you away from your job here,” I assured him. “Everyone loves your cooking so much that we take it for granted. You should share that gift with the world. It’s up to you, but I still think you could run your own restaurant if you wanted. None of these people have eaten anything as good as your cooking. Your food is filled with love, and that’s what folks need. If Tak wants me to have a guard, I’d be grateful if it was you, but not if it pulls you away from something you’d rather be doing.”

The color in his cheeks tempted me to pinch them. I loved when he blushed. A bashful man with all his strength and confidence was endearing.

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