Page 140 of Heart of Stone

For now at least.

His constant vagueness drove me to the point of insanity, but pushing for answers in the crowded pub would not earn me a favorable result. Whatever the story was behind Alexander and Will, I would get to the bottom of it after we left Murphy’s.

****

The get together with Krystina’s co-workers was pretty low-key, and I was thankful that the celebrations ended early. I wasn’t sure if I could handle another minute of watching Jim McNamara gawk at Krystina. The way he obnoxiously stared at her throughout the night was nauseating – especially when he didn’t stop after I put my arm around her waist to stake my claim. Krystina was oblivious as usual, not understanding the effect that her casual beauty had on the opposite sex.

However, McNamara wasn’t the only reason why I had felt edgy most of the evening. It was awkward being inside pub tonight and seeing William Murphy. I expected as much and should not have gone in there. Personal issues aside, it’s never easy to run into a club member outside of the scene. Both parties wonder if the other is going to slip up, break the assumed code of secrecy, shattering the other person’s need for privacy. It was a dicey situation, and I was relieved that the evening went off without too much of a hitch.

Arms loaded with parting gifts, Krystina and I waited at the front door of the bar for Hale to arrive. When the Porsche pulled up to the curb, we made a mad dash for the SUV, fighting the rain that whipped at our faces. Once we were seated inside, I noticed that Krystina was unusually silent, and I half wondered if she was still thinking about the interaction between William Murphy and me.

“You okay?” I asked once we were situated in the back seat.

“I’m fine.” Her tone was clipped.

“You don’t sound fine. Is it because of that thing with Will?”

“Yes. No…I don’t know, Alex. Honestly, it was the whole night.”

“What about the whole night? You seemed like you had a nice time.”

“Apparently, I’m a better actor than you are,” she commented sarcastically. “It was pretty damn obvious that you were not enjoying yourself. I know that you said that you don’t fit in well at parties, but geez! You looked like you’d rather be anywhere else!”

“Sorry, but sitting there watching Jim McNamara look like his puppy just died every time you spoke was a little much,” I said dryly.

“You could have ignored him. Oh, wait. You did, along with everyone else that was there. You barely spoke a word all night.”

“They are your friends, Krystina. Not mine,” I pointed out.

“So what if they aren’t your friends? And what about that thing with Will? How do you guys know each other?”

She was making my head spin with the way she fired off one question after another in such a rapid succession.

I sighed. Krystina had her fighting gloves on, and I really didn’t want to go a round with her. I had missed her, and I wanted nothing more than to get her back to my place, naked and tied to my bed. To hell with her cursed time of the month – if she was still on her period, I didn’t really give a damn. I was desperate to be inside her again.

Maybe I should finally introduce her to my cross…

I temporarily shelved the idea after I saw that she was staring me down, still waiting for a response.

“He belongs to the same club that I do,” I finally answered.

“Club? Like one ofthoseclubs?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes, Krystina. One of those clubs. My club. Anyway, we had a disagreement some years back. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Will? I mean, I never thought…” she trailed off. “I just didn’t think he’d be the type to be into your sort of thing.”

“It’s your thing too now. Remember?” I asked, pointing to the necklace that was secured around her neck.

“Oh, well isn’t that just dandy!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “I did the research on this, Alex. Based on what your telling me now, I’m pretty sure Will doesn’t think I’m wearing a Celtic symbol around my neck!”

“Trust me, I think Will is just as shocked as you are over the situation.”

“This is so embarrassing,” she mumbled. She put her head down and began rubbing her temples.

Krystina was in a foul mood, and I couldn’t say that it was all because of my behavior at the party. There was truth to her words – I was rather standoffish throughout the night, but it was merely because I felt out of my element amongst her peers. There was something else that was eating at her, but I couldn’t pin point what it was.

“What else is bugging you?”

---