Page 51 of Howl for the Gargoyle

I laughed. "Will you guys be able to make it?"

"Oh, absolutely. Natalie's best friend is coming too. You'll like the bar."

"I hear the owner is interesting?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "Elias is a snob, or maybe I just don't like that he ignores me and Natalie. But it's a good interspecies community place, so I'll credit him for that."

"Well, it sounds like he has very poor taste in friends," I said.

Theo paused then, starting to speak and then stopping again. "Well… Actually, nevermind. It's gonna be a fun night, and I'm glad I finally get to see you perform."

It was my turn to pause. "God, that's right. You haven't. I haven't been on stage since…"

Theo's eyes widened. "Don't get nervous!"

"I'm not!" I was.

"It's not a huge space. It'll be small, intimate."

"That's worse, actually. No lights to blind me," I said, grimacing.

"Hmmm, so you don't want Nat to bring a poster board covered in glitter and pictures of you?"

I froze, staring in horror at Theo, unable to tell on his innocent face if he was joking or not. It wasn't outside of the realm of possibility with Natalie.

"Do you value your wife's life?" I asked.

Theo cracked at last, chuckling. "She'll take that as a challenge. I'll try and subdue her."

"Whatever you have to do, Theo. Please." I licked my lips and glanced around the room, catching Fletcher watching us and shaking off the cling of his stare from my mind. "I need this show to go well. I know it's small and it's local, but—"

Theo nodded. "I know. And it will. We'll get there early and have a drink beforehand."

I puffed out a breath. "One drink. But I don't want to party."

"I understand. Mellow company, amazing night. It's gonna be good, Hannah," Theo said.

He seemed confident, so I borrowed some of that feeling for myself and hoped it would last me through the show.

CHAPTER 19

Rafe

"You haven't taken your eyes off her."

I sighed, but I didn't feel like proving Elias wrong, not when—

"And to be fair, she's spent most of the night staring back at you."

Hannah was surrounded by my friends, some of whom seemed really familiar with her. Natalie said something in her ear and Hannah's eyes pulled from mine, squeezing shut as her head fell back and she laughed. Theo, the world's most mellow werewolf, smiled at the pair of them, and pieces of a puzzle I hadn't even realized I was in the middle of started to fit together. Natalie was the catalyst for Sunny hiring Khell. If she knew Hannah too, did I have her to thank for sending my favorite client my way? She would be insufferable if I said anything.

"What do you want, a cookie?" I asked Elias, sparing him a glance.

The bar was packed, Sorry Darling's set freshly wrapped up for the night. Some of Hannah's bandmates were tucked behind a merchandise table, and every so often someone would tap Hannah on the shoulder for an autograph. She blushed every time.

"You know what I want," Elias said in my ear.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. You were right."

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