Page 78 of Death and Donuts

She wrinkled her nose. “Ordinarily, I might not mind staying at home, but not if I’m forced to.”

“Same. Find anything today?”

“Other than a lot of regular black cats, nothing. I hope I don’t get bad luck with all these black cats crossing my path.”

“You know that’s not true,” I said. “Black cats are like all the other cats. Stop giving them a bad rap.”

“I know. The one I want to find and stake him a thousand times is influencing my bias.”

With a wave, she jogged down the VIP stairs. Anchor was already in place at the bottom, and I watched her stop to run her hand over his shoulder.

“Just curious, but how soundproof is Shepard’s office now?” she asked.

Rather than hear an answer I didn’t want to know, I got my section ready.

Patrons began trickling in after Army opened the front door. A group of dwarves headed toward Thomas’s section, and several human couples claimed spots near the outer sections to listen to music.

It didn’t take long for the VIP section to fill and for me to lose myself in the rhythm of serving drinks with a smile. My section was the only calm one in the house, though. Several times throughout the night, minor altercations occurred where Shepard, not Doc, respectfully asked dwarven patrons to leave.

“What’s going on?” I asked Detroit after the fourth time.

“They’re angry.”

“Yeah, I got that from the fist shaking. Why are they mad?”

“Shepard promised to hand over their prince’s killer and hasn’t yet.”

“He promised tohelpfind him. And it’s only been three days. D.C. is huge and filled with people. What do they expect? A miracle?”

“Yes.”

I sighed, feeling bad for Shepard. He was getting so much unnecessary pressure from the dwarves. Didn’t they realize he wanted to find Adriel just as badly as they did?

By the end of the shift, Shepard looked tired and ready to throat punch someone, which made me a little nervous for Cross as he walked in from the employee exit. He ignored Buzz and Tank's soft growls and sat next to me at the bar.

“Anything?” Shepard asked him.

“No. It was quieter out there than in here,” Cross said. “You should warn Curran his people are causing trouble. They won’t make finding Adriel any easier.”

“You want me to call a grieving father and complain that his people are what? Upset their prince is dead?”

“He’s a father, but he’s also a king responsible for the safety and welfare of his people. Silence isn’t helping him. Allow him to decide how to handle the situation.”

I tugged on Cross' sleeve, silently urging him to shut up. He grabbed my hand and kissed it in an old-world way that melted my heart a little.

“Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away,” Cross said, looking at Shepard again.

“Obviously. If it worked, you wouldn’t be here.”

Cross smirked, and Shepard rolled his eyes then looked at me.

“He’s here to take you home since Vena already left with Anchor and I have to patrol after this. Maybe you can help him leave faster so he’s less annoying.”

I shoved my tip money toward Buzz and stood.

“Be careful. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Shepard surprised me by reaching over the bar, cupping the back of my head, and kissing me. He was there and gone before I registered the intensity of his goodbye.

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