Cadillac Payback: Rising Tide by AJ Elmore

Author:AJ Elmore [Elmore, AJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21 All Hail the Queen

Joshua

It's early evening, not quite dark outside, so the bar is mostly deserted. Our only other company are a couple of grumpy-looking old men with fedoras at the other end. They ignore everything, yet they seem to absorb the surroundings. Probably writers. Everyone in this town is a writer, or a vampire.

Maria sips at her Cape Cod as her eyes roam the décor. This is no Bourbon Street romp. We're posted up in a former brothel, nestled within a haunted hotel. Though it's right in the thick of the Quarter, it's not a hot spot on the tourist routes, and it's not really a local dive, either.

I learned about this place from Noah, after he recovered from the Reaps’ retaliation on us. I kept the bartending shifts during his recovery, and I learned a thing or two from Eva. The money was negligible, but the normalcy was nice. I still pick up a shift here and there if the guys really need me. That's why I know that Cape Cod is a stupid, fancy name for a vodka and cranberry.

I take a pull off my Killians draft and watch her attention wander. It's not the first time it's happened today, and I'm just as weak to it as I was the first time. Her gaze still drifts back to me. It's not strange that she knows I'm looking at her.

For a heavy moment, I let the silence stay close and hold her gaze. I used to envy the way Frederick could look at her and know her thoughts, the way he could anticipate her by checking her. These days, I've started to realize that it's not impossible, once you recognize her bluffs. I have to be honest, I don't really like poker.

She looks away first, to her drink. So I say, “I can't believe you've never been here.”

Her eyebrows lift in demure surprise. She cocks her head to the side a little. Thunder cracks outside, and she jumps. The storm rolled in about twenty minutes ago, took us all by surprise.

She says, “Surely you can understand why we never spent much time in the Quarter.”

A few beats pass, and she adds, “Except Charlie. He always went against the family's warnings.”

The corner of the bar separates us. Still, she's close enough that it makes my blood hot. One of my hands is on my beer. The other is on the bar, abandoned inches from her forearm. It might as well be a million miles until she says the word. The air is thickening in the ambience, so I slip into a more casual tone.

“Charlie never brought me here, either. He liked Decatur, a lot. The bartenders loved us, and the girls were easy to charm.”

Her eyes widen, and for a stretch, I don't think she sees me. It hurts us both to talk about him, something I think she forgets when she drowns in herself. Then she lifts her chin and takes another drink.

Her reaction could be a way of shielding thoughts of her dead brother.

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