Page 34 of Dark Souls

“Most of it was just a stake out. I had to practically stalk the fucker to ensure he was really the guy we were after and gain enough evidence before Boss could give me the go ahead to take him out. I agree with the new protocol your mom has requested before we attack a supernatural but fuck me if it isn’t a long process. A job that used to take us a day or two now takes weeks.”

“But surely it’s better to be convinced that they deserve it before they are captured or killed, right?”

“Yeah. Most definitely. After what went down with your uncle, we know things are never as simple as they seem. It’s just, I signed up to be a field agent, not a researcher. But now the two go hand in hand.”

Taking a seat at a little round table in the corner of the coffee shop, I narrowed my eyes at Ronnie when I caught him staring at me with an unreadable expression.

“What?”

“I just can’t get used to you with those blue contacts in.” He leaned his bulky forearms on the table between us. They were so thick; they ate up the entire space and left very little room for the coffees we had just ordered.

“Well, I can’t exactly walk around with pink eyes in a human town, can I? That just calls for unwanted attention.”

“Ilaria, you draw attention to every room you walk into, whether you’re wearing contacts or not.” He shot me his most charming smile as he weaved a sachet of sugar between his fingers repeatedly. The action was annoying. Sooner or later, that paper was going to split and cause a sticky mess.

“Do you even know how to have a conversation without flirting?” I tilted my head to the side, meeting his mischievous gaze. My fingers slipped through his, removing the sugar sachet and placing it back in the pot.

“Can’t turn off natural charm. You either have it or you don’t,” he teased, picking out another sachet just to wind me up. Why am I always drawn to cocky bastards? Honestly, with Ronnie, I never knew if I wanted to punch him in the face or climb onto his lap. The latter normally wins out, but I just wasn’t in the mood for his charm offence today.

“Or maybe you just use flirting to hide what is really going on inside that brain of yours. You know, those deeper thoughts that, heaven forbid, would make you seem less like an arrogant playboy?” I offered as I read his mind. He didn’t look away, knowing full well what I was doing and allowing me to listen in.

Yeah, she’s right. Instead, I should just tell her outright how beautiful she is. Or how much I’d missed her the last two weeks. How all I’ve been thinking about is—

I broke our eye contact, moving my gaze to the window instead. Well, that backfired.

“Ilaria—”

“When do you fly back to New York?” I quickly changed the subject, hoping to avoid the heartfelt confession that seemed to be on the tip of his tongue. I told him not to get emotionally invested in me. This was a business arrangement. Emotions weren’t supposed to be involved. Don’t get me wrong, I cared about the guy. I liked him. Beneath the playfulness and macho bravado was a decent man. Someone who looked out for those he loved and had a good head on his shoulders. Any girl would be lucky to have him. He was a great guy. Just not my guy.

“In three hours,” he answered, clearing his throat and plastering that goofy smile back on his face. “So I’m all yours until then.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes cast away from his and fighting the urge to correct his choice of words. He wasn’t mine and I certainly wasn’t his.

“Are you okay?”

I glanced up briefly before nodding, “Yeah. Great. Why?”

“You just seem a little… off?”

I swallowed thickly just as the barista appeared next to our table, ready to place our coffees down.

“Do you mind?” A deep, gravelly voice interrupted. A voice that I recognised immediately. Oh, fuck no. The barista had his hand lowered towards the table with Ronnie’s coffee in it but was waiting for Ronnie to sit back and remove his arms from the surface. My head snapped up to the server’s face, but he wasn’t looking at me. His attention was directed completely towards Ron. And knowing who that voice belonged to, that wasn’t good. Not good at all.

“Oh, sorry man,” Ronnie said, leaning back and lifting his arms with an apologetic smile as the barista set down the coffee.

“No problem. It would have been a terrible accident if I had burned you,” the barista replied, making it sound more like a threat than an explanation. Fuck, fuck… The man’s head finally turned my way. A mop of curly brown hair, a slightly bent nose and an angular jaw greeted me but it was, of course, the blackness of his eyes that had my heart racing. His lips curved up into that devilish grin that was so Heathen no matter which identity he had stolen as he placed my coffee down in front of me with a heart-shaped froth on the surface.

“And a black coffee for the angel.”

My mouth gaped open, momentarily speechless as my eyes flicked between Heathen and Ronnie. Ronnie was completely oblivious, of course, already pouring heaps of sugar into his cappuccino and stirring it.

“Enjoy.” Heathen smiled with narrowed eyes in warning. “I’ll be right over there if you need… anything.”

He walked away with those confident, masculine strides that only a man who knew his full power could pull off and sauntered around the counter to serve an elderly woman who was waiting at the till. My eyes widened as Heath kept up this insanity by pretending to actually fucking work here and taking the order. His eyes met mine once more, and he sent me an arrogant wink.

“So, you are sure you are fine? Because you can talk to me if there is anything troubling you.”

Ronnie’s concerned voice forced me back to the present from my out-of-body experience. I blinked a few times, staring at Ronnie’s frowning face and then peering back over at the demon barista that was all fake smiles and jokey pleasantries for the little old woman he was currently serving.

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