Page 128 of Halfblood Deceived

Mac nodded. “I saw that too and realized something was wrong.” She set her steely pale green eyes on Aella. “It doesn’t happen every day, just so you know.”

Lupita nodded. “And when it does, the security team drags those pendejos3 out. Always.”

“Maybe we can find you a job where you are less exposed,” Diana mussed.

Mac huffed. “Come on, Diana. There isn’t a single line of work where we females are safe from being groped. I’ve tried plenty. At least there is a zero-tolerance policy for harassment here.”

Aella took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine. I am fine. And I won’t let an idiot force me out of my job.”

“That’s the spirit, chica,” Lupita agreed.

Diana squeezed Aella’s shoulder. “Have a bite and take a break, alright? Stay here until the end of the shift, if you prefer.”

Aella shook her head. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Mac gave Diana a half smile. “She’s more like you than I thought.”

Diana smiled.

They left, giving Aella encouraging looks.

Aella took a deep breath and downed her sugary drink.

She was going to stick with this job until she could decide if she liked it or not.

No groping idiot would determine her decisions.

Not again.

CHAPTER 29

By the time Hecate closed at around 3AM, Aella was yawning.

Reese had stayed close to her during the rest of her shift, acting like her bodyguard. Aella hadn’t protested. Mac told her it was standard procedure after one of them got groped to have one of the bouncers shadowing them all night.

Reese was leaning against the wall, smoking, when Aella got out to the parking area.

Aella stuffed her hands in her pocket, relieved to be wearing her hoodie again. “Thank you for keeping an eye on me.”

Reese smiled. “You are welcome. You can defend yourself if it happens again and we don’t get to you fast enough, you know?”

Aella swallowed hard. She knew that. It was among the specifications in the contract she had signed earlier. “I’m not very good at defending myself,” she answered. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered Eli’s assault, which felt like a lifetime ago. Defending others was easier for some reason. Fighting for herself had always been incredibly hard. Maybe because doing so had brought her nothing but pain. She shook her head to banish the memories before they took form. “I always freeze.”

Reese hummed, their dark blue gaze understanding. “Maybe it will get easier after a while.”

Aella shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“It will,” Mac said as she came out into the chilly night huddled in a pink coat. “I used to be just like you. Worse, actually. Reese had to shadow me for a full week before I stopped being afraid of taking orders from groups of males.” Her pale green gaze was knowing and steely. Aella bit her lip. Why did everyone seem to just know she was traumatized, as Diana had called it? She knew her sister hadn’t shared that with anyone, but they seemed to know, anyway. Mac patted Reese’s impressive biceps. “But after knowing everyone had my back, and that the patrons’ comfort is not put above our rights, I stopped being afraid.” She smiled ruefully. “It also helped that Reese taught me how to kick ass, not gonna lie.”

Aella nodded. Diana had explained that gargoyles’ genetic combat memory extended to hand-to-hand combat, but Aella didn’t think hers did. She had only been able to dodge Micah’s fists a few times, and doing so had only made him hit her more, so she’d simply stayed still and let it happen most times.

A pang cut through her stomach, and the edges of her sight turned blurry.

She bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, hoping her new coworkers hadn’t noticed her almost episode. She knew she’d failed when she saw the worry lining their faces.

Several others had come out as well, taking their vehicles or leaving on foot. Aella waved goodbye to Trinity.

“I’m not comfortable with physical contact in most cases,” Aella admitted, not meeting Reese and Mac’s gazes directly. Except for Kamilla, Diana, and the wolf, Aella mentally corrected. And Zeydan. “But I’ll think about getting some self-defense lessons.”

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