Page 17 of Soulless Angel

“Vodka for lunch?” Raina eyed my drink, her lips pursed. “Rough morning?”

“Rough night last night,” I reminded her, careful not to say too much in front of Lyra. “Just need to unwind. Classes have only been in a few weeks and I already need a vacation.”

After perusing the menu, I ordered some chicken tenders and cheesy fries. Comfort food. The server brought it with a personal size lasagna for Raina and an egg salad sandwich for Lyra.

Lyra seemed a lot more smiley than usual. Bubbly almost. Finally, Raina asked her what was up to have her grinning like a fool.

She glanced around, almost like she expected someone to be listening to our conversation. “Remember that guy from the bar the other night?”

“The one Jet punched?” Raina nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

Lyra scrunched up her face, wrinkling her nose as she giggled. “His name is Ryan. We’ve been talking. He’s actually really cool. I think I might like him.”

Raina and I exchanged a look. The vodka encouraged me to say, “Girl, you are going to get that man killed.”

I felt bad when Lyra’s smile faded. She had to know that she was playing with fire, right? I wasn’t a fan of Jet’s possessiveness toward her, but we all knew he didn’t see her as a sister at all.

“Jet doesn’t know about him. I intend to keep it that way. I should be allowed to have something that makes me happy. He doesn’t own me.” Lyra clutched her sandwich tight, squeezing some egg salad out the end.

“Does he know that?” Raina joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Be careful, okay? We don’t want to see you get hurt. If you really like this guy, eventually Jet will find out about him. The guy runs a cult. Who knows what he’s capable of?”

That still boggled my mind. A cult? Here on campus? Rumors flew about the activity that went on in the basement of the house the Demons occupied, but nobody seemed to know for sure. Anyone who’d seen anything wasn’t talking. Jet had done a good job at keeping them quiet.

Lyra aggressively chewed a bite of her sandwich. “I am so sick of Jet being in my business all the time. Ever since our parents got married four years ago, he’s chased away every guy that showed interest in me. Not sure why he cares. Jet acts like he hates me half the time.”

Again Raina and I shared a look. This time she stifled a smile. We knew firsthand how guys like Jet operated. What they showed on the outside rarely matched how they felt on the inside. Did that excuse their behavior? Not at all. It did help to understand it though.

“Tell us more about Ryan,” I said, hoping to get Lyra smiling again. “Does he go to RU?”

While Lyra told us all about her new crush, I wolfed down my chicken tenders, washing them down with a vodka and Sprite. When the server came to check on us, I ordered another, ignoring Raina’s raised brows. I had one more class thisafternoon. I may show up tipsy, but it sure beat being a basket case.

Lyra finished her sandwich and excused herself to the restroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Raina turned to me.

“What’s up with the day drinking, Clover? That’s not like you.”

“I just had a few.” I shrugged, picking at a cheese fry. “I thought it would do a better job than coffee at getting me through the rest of the day.”

“Right. So you’re planning to go to class half cut? How does that help anything? Is everything okay? Talk to me, girl.” Raina helped herself to one of my fries, her steady gaze never leaving my face.

“Everything is fine. Why wouldn’t it be? This favor for the Sinners is getting to me a little. That’s all. It’s no big deal. Really. It’s all good.” I popped another fry in my mouth, brushing off her concern.

She didn’t need to worry about me. It was only a few drinks. I had to do something to relieve myself of the thoughts that constantly plagued me. It could be worse.

“Have you talked to the Angels about it?” she pressed. “They should know how much it’s bothering you.”

I hadn’t said anything to any of them. There was no getting out of this favor. I had no choice but to push through and get it done.

“It’s fine, Raina. Seriously. Don’t worry about me.” I didn’t like the way she looked at me. Wary of further questions, I stood up, gathering my things. “I’m going to head back early. I have some work to do before class. Tell Lyra that I’ll call her later. I’ll call you too.”

Not giving her the chance to stop me, I booked it for the cashier near the door. With a quick swipe of my card, I paid my bill and got out of there. Once I emerged onto the street,the alcohol really hit me. I was a little drunk. More so than I’d realized. Oops.

I dug some gum out of my bag, hoping it hid any alcohol on my breath. The walk back to campus was interesting. I’d have to take a seat at the back of the room for my next class.

Raina’s worry was understandable. I’d always been the good girl. The squeaky clean, reliable one who never did shit like getting drunk before class or murdering human traffickers.

That girl was long gone now. I didn’t know who I was anymore. Maybe I was still finding out.

CHAPTER TEN

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