Page 8 of Blood and Bonbons

As soon as Doc, Shepard’s second in command, saw we were ready, he nodded to Army to begin carding and taking cover charges as patrons arrived. It took another hour before the tables filled. The bartenders hustled to fill our orders, keeping us running at full swing.

I handed off an Effervescence, one of our signature cocktails, along with an extra napkin, to a full-bearded dwarf. He grinned at me as he accepted both.

“Thank you,Vezrama. The foam is fun but sticks everywhere.”

I winked at him. “Sometimes that’s the fun part, too.”

He and his companions chuckled as I’d hoped, and I left them to enjoy their drinks and checked on my other tables.

While serving drinks at Blur wasn’t my life’s aspiration, I didn’t mind the work. People were appreciative of a well-made drink delivered with a smile. The tips at the end of the night always proved that. But it never failed for there to be that one person every night who made me question my life choices.

Unfortunately for me, tonight’s douche canoe sat in my section. His full black attire and slicked-back hair made me suspect he was trying to make himself appear tougher than he was. Judging from the friends who sat with him, he and his group wouldn’t survive long here. They were all looks with nothing to back them.

“How can this betheclub to go to in D.C. with all the trash you let in?” he asked me instead of answering my question, which had been a request for his drink order.

A table over, the nice dwarf slowly turned to glare at the guy. The stoutly built fellow might be a full foot and a half shorter than the butt monkey before me, but that wouldn’t hinder him in a fight.

I’d witnessed it before due to the prejudices that still ran rampant against fae, dwarves, and werewolves. Which was why werewolves rarely publicly announced what they were. The fae and dwarves didn’t have the luxury of ambiguity.

“I’ll give you a minute to look over the drink menu and be right back,” I said with a smile I didn’t feel and moved over to the dwarf and his friends.

“Can I get you fine gentleman a refill on anything?” While speaking, I put my hand on the dwarf’s shoulder and flashed him a genuine smile. “The kitchen has a new appi-teaser if you’re feeling adventurous. Lamb skewers with—”

“You didn’t even take my order. What the hell kind of service is this?” the asshat demanded.

“—an herb dipping sauce on the side.” I could feel the dwarf’s tension under my palm. Yet, he looked up at me without a hint of anger and nodded to my suggestion.

“The skewers sound tasty.”

“Make it two orders,” one of his companions said. “And another round of drinks.”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back.”

The douche canoe stopped me from fleeing with a summoning wave of his fingers.

“Do I need to tell the manager you can’t manage to take more than one order to the bar?” he asked.

“What would you like?” I asked, keeping my smile firmly in place.

“I’d like less trash in this place,” he said, making his friends laugh.

“I’ll let management know. Anything else?”

They finally gave me actual drink orders, and I hurried to the bar to talk to Shepard.

“I need Doc at table twelve,” I said. “How do you feel about two skewers on the house for table thirteen?”

“If you think it’s warranted, I’m fine with it.” Shepard never stopped mixing as he spoke.

“Thanks.”

Doc joined me as Shepard placed the last drink on my tray.

“The whole table or only the one?” Doc asked me.

Doc might have silver streaked through his brushed-back hair and trim beard, but even the younger bouncers built like armored trucks knew how much damage he could inflict on a person. Thankfully, most people knew not to test him.

“I think if you kick out the leader, they’ll all go.”

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