Page 86 of Capitol Matters

Before Nash finished the second pour, Grimm pitched forward and hooked his hand around the back of my neck. He pulled me close, nose to nose so we could smell the booze on each other’s breath.

“Don’t answer that.” He shook his head. “It makes me look foolish for putting my faith in you.”

“What faith?” I tried to squirm away, but he brought his other hand around and grabbed my shirt collar to hold me steady.

“I gave you power and privilege,” Grimm seethed. “Iput you in a position any man would envy—”

“The one under your fucking foot?” I retorted. “Or do you mean throwing me to the Capitol wolves and believing they wouldn’t tear me apart?”

Pippa bustled at the other end of the bar while Nash remained nearby, watching with narrow eyes. I wanted to shoo him off. This was another position I didn’t want him to see me in: kowtowed to my boss’s inflated sense of superiority.

A blast of mental force knocked both of Grimm’s hands away, and I stood upright.

“They don’t believe a word I say,” I continued. “If I wanted to win them over, I had to give them something.”

Grimm’s brows drew down, casting his face in shadow. “So, you decided to give them everything.”

I snorted. “It wasonecure. For one guy—”

The yank on my head as he grabbed my hair shut me up. “They have it now, you dunce!” he shouted so loud and close that it made my ears ring. “They have everything they need! The whole city will be cleansed in days.”

I could have broken his fingers. Could have shot off any number of catty comebacks, but they all died on my lips. Because Nash said it best, Grimm made me a follower, submissive and compliant, and sometimes the choke chain of that conditioning strangled my rebellious thoughts.

I winced against Grimm’s unrelenting grip until a low voice rumbled from across the bar.

“That’s enough.”

I craned my neck to see Nash bowed up and glaring.

“You two wanna scrap? Take it outside,” the alchemist said. “I’ve never allowed fighting in my bar, and I’m not starting tonight.”

I grabbed Grimm’s wrist, trying to relieve the pinching pain on my scalp. In response, Grimm twisted his hand, drawing me onto my tiptoes.

“This is discipline, Nicholas, and it’s well-deserved,” Grimm told Nash.

I half-expected him to drag me out into the parking lot where he could really cut loose. The sooner he unloaded whatever speech he must have been planning all day, the sooner he would go back to leaving me alone. Which seemed to be the only way we could tolerate each other lately.

“Is that what you tell him?” Nash motioned to me. “That you treat him like trash because he deserves it? How stupid areyou, asshole?” He braced against the counter and leaned into our proximity. “You made him a killer. Now you’re afraid of your own creation. So, you hide behind shit talk and abuse and hope he never decides to crush your ribs like a bag of potato chips.”

Nash’s typically ruddy cheeks had flushed fully red, and the vein on his temple pulsed.

Surprised as I was, seeing him so riled up was an undeniable turn on. I could have crawled across the bar and kissed him right then.

Grimm’s response was vastly different. While Nash ran hot, the older man stayed blistering cold. His narrow expression was downright frigid as he released me and said, “Mind your business, barkeep, and let me manage mine.”

Nash nodded, unfazed. “Iamminding my business, and it’s better without you in it.” He grabbed Grimm’s pint glass and dragged it across the bar. When he tipped it out into the sink, I almost choked on a laugh.

“You’ve had enough,” Nash said. “Time to go home.”

Grimm’s mouth fell open. Mine did, too. Not once in twelve long years had I seen anyone cut Grimm off.

“And take your fan club with you.” Nash swung an arm in reference to the crowd loudly partying and missing the highlight of my week—maybe my month. “Bar’s closed,” the alchemist announced, “in case you missed the sign.”

Grimm rose from his stool. His pale blue eyes flicked from Nash to me and back again as realization dawned.

“I see what’s going on.” He nodded slowly. “You know, Nicholas, I expected better from you. Namely that you could make decisions with your brain instead of your cock.” He stepped back from the bar, then tipped his thumb toward me. “Don’t get too invested in that one. He’ll let anyone fuck him.”

My face burned with scorching shame as Nash folded his arms across his chest. He said nothing, but the set of his jaw proved him to be unmoved.

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