Page 25 of The Thief

Bear drove around back and searched for space to park his large vehicle, all while humming under his breath. I’d had a tiny crush on him from the start. He checked all the boxes for me and a few I didn’t know I had. Like the fact he was more than a foot taller and looked strong enough to lift a car. Some men had shoulders that sloped down, but not Bear. His were something to grip on to. Brawny men had never been my type, but he defied all stereotypes attributed to his size. Bear was humble, bashful, polite, and thoughtful. That powerful combination made him so lovable.

The more I got to know him, the more I wanted to be around him. The only trouble was he sometimes made me nervous, and I wasn’t a girl who got butterflies in the presence of men.

After finding a parking space, Bear jumped out before I got my seat belt off. A split second later, he opened my door. Instead of sliding out of the tall vehicle like a child, I took Bear’s hand, and he helped me down.

“Do you think we can trust him?” I asked.

“If our Packmaster does, that’s good enough for me.”

“You won’t leave me alone with him, will you?”

Bear halted in his tracks and looked down at me. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

Hearing those words in that rich timbre hit me in the most unexpected way.

A sexual way.

Stop thinking about sex with your packmate, Mercy. How many problems do you need right now? You’ve lost your mind.

The upstairs restaurant had a few customers, but that was a facade in case humans wandered onto the road. Dragonfly’s Bar and Grill was actually a lounge, club, and restaurant rolled into one. After getting our hands stamped in the kitchen, we descended the stairs and entered the gold room.

Striding toward us, Atticus carried himself like a noble prince. It wasn’t always obvious who the rich immortals were since not everyone dressed in expensive garments or flaunted diamond rings and gold watches. But the ones with old money had an air of superiority about them that had nothing to do with their Breed or gifts. Most Vampires were arrogant by nature, but Atticus portrayed himself as sophisticated and amiable. Both times I’d met him, he’d worn a long black coat that was out of place in Texas heat. While Vampires were unaffected by temperature, most put on the right clothes for the season so they wouldn’t look like idiots. But since everyone in Storybook was Breed, he could dress however he liked.

He bowed in greeting. “You are Bear and Mercy?”

“That’s us,” Bear replied, not mincing his words.

“I’m Atticus Rain. We met briefly but weren’t properly introduced. Would you care for food or wine? I can have a charcuterie tray brought to our room.”

That was a little fancy for an impromptu meeting.

Bear looked down at me and raised a quizzical brow. I shook my head. The idea of a Vampire serving us a platter of food reminded me of the witch in “Hansel and Gretel” fattening up the children.

Atticus noticed me hugging my middle. “Would the young miss like a shawl? We lower the thermostat in the evening because of the crowd.”

I didn’t want to tell him I was more nervous than cold. “I’m fine. My long-sleeved shirt is more than enough.”

“Very well. Come right this way.”

He led us to a locked door and pressed his thumb against a fingerprint scanner. At the end of a dimly lit hallway, Atticus opened the door to a spacious private office. Two upholstered chairs on the right faced a sleek wooden desk, and the entire wall behind it was one massive bookshelf. The ambience was inviting and warm, wall sconces casting a golden light on the sumptuous furniture, which included two leather couches on the left that faced each other. He wasn’t much for decorating. Just a few busts, which seemed odd. Then again, immortals collected weird things.

“Where do you prefer to sit?” he asked from the center of the room.

Bear decidedly chose the leather couches. When Atticus and I joined him, we stood around before I realized they were both waiting for me to sit first.

I stifled a laugh and sat across from Atticus, Bear on my left.

The way the Vampire’s pale blond hair swooped back reminded me of a model on a romance novel. In certain light, the hairs took on a silver appearance, but that was only the light playing tricks. His eyebrows were dark, whereas his whiskers and sideburns were on the paler side. Eyebrows weren’t an indicator of hair color, so I could only presume it was his natural shade. Judging by his masculine features, Atticus physically appeared in his thirties. That was when he was turned and stopped aging. Once they became immortal, a Vampire’s skin reverted back to the color they were born with, all the freckles and wrinkles caused by sun damage magically erased. Being on the slender side, he wasn’t my type, but his handsome face could beguile even the pickiest of women.

Too bad he had two pointy daggers in his mouth. I couldn’t imagine why any woman would go for a man who preferred a glass of blood over wine. Could anything be more repulsive?

With his hands on his lap, Atticus avoided looking directly into our eyes. “Tak mentioned a block of your life is missing. How long?”

“I don’t know the exact number but over seventy years.”

“Do you have any trouble remembering the time before?”

I shook my head. “No. I remember being a little girl in britches all the way to moving to Cognito to get away from… well, to get away.” My eyebrows drew together.

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