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My brows crinkle. “Why?”
She shrugs. “Pride? Catina only allows herself one coffee, most of the time sitting for hours at a time reading fortunes, helping loved ones connect with each other. She never orders a thing to eat or gets a refill on coffee that has to have gone cold. I’ve tried giving her a coffee; I know she can’t afford much. I get three free cups every shift that I work, but she won’t take a one. Proud, her and her family. They travel for work, and she stayed behind this time. I think they must need the extra money she brings in.”
“Is she any good at the fortunes?”
Aleah’s eyes go wide. “Oh, she’s good alright. I swear, every time she reads mine, she nails it; I mean dead on. Like the last boyfriend I had. Oh my god. She had his number before he even asked me out. And everything she said came true. It’s like she has this crystal ball in her mind or something. You should listen to her; she knows her stuff.”
My eyebrows raise at the outspoken young woman. “So I’ve heard. I’ll give her a try. You can put the coffee on my tab and grab me a large one, no cream, no sugar, and no extra shots. Just a plain large coffee.”
She smiles. “That’s nice of you. I feel so bad for her. My brother knows some guys who know her brothers. It sounds like her father’s trying to marry her off to the first poor soul who will take her. They act like she’s some old maid. She’s twenty-one-years-old, for crying out loud. They’re actually ashamed that she hasn’t been married off before now. Can you believe that? In this day and age?”
My jaw shifts with annoyance. I have little time for the disruption, the wait, or the life story of a clumsy little waif, yet I find myself absorbed in every detail that the chatty waitress shares. “It’s their culture, nothing more,” I tell her.
“Well, it’s the frickin’ twenty-first century, you know?”
I know exactly what century it is; it’s the century that we end the rogue vampires who want to send us back to the dark ages, but only if I get the information that I need. “That coffee?” I remind.
Her cheeks color. “Sorry, I get so worked up sometimes. I mean, it’s just not right.” The sound of the bathroom door clicking across the shop causes her to scurry away from the table, presumably across the café and back behind the counter to get my coffee. At least that’s what I hope because I can hardly stand one more conversation with the chatty young woman.
I watch Catina walk toward me, devoid of the baggy old sweater, now wearing a blank tank top and covered with a black and purple trimmed shawl she had draped around her handbag earlier. She takes a seat across from me as though nothing has changed while the red splotches and other marks all over her collarbone and neck area cause me to see red.
Chapter 4
Catina
The fresh cup of coffee catches my attention the minute I slide into the seat across from the master vampire. I’m just about to tell him thank you when Aleah brings a large brew for him too. I give my only ally in the coffee shop a smile. “Thanks, Aleah. You didn’t have to do that. You’re going to get yourself in trouble with the bosses if you keep being nice to me, you know.”
She gives me wide eyes and a big smile as she pops her gum.
I can’t help but smile and wink at the redhead, one of the few friendly faces I’ve seen in a bit. “I know things like that.” I tap the side of my head. “Crystal ball.”
Aleah grins. “Don’t I know it! My sister said you were spot on when she came by last week.”
Master Botosoni clears his throat. Aleah immediately straightens, and her eyes widen. “I better get back, and um leave you two to work on whatever it is that you’re doing. If you need me, just gesture, and I’ll stop back.”
The brooding vampire’s eyes haven’t left me the entire exchange with Aleah. As soon as she’s out of earshot, he homes in on the patches around my neck, impossible to hide without the cover of the bulky sweater, which is currently hanging over the bathroom stall to dry. “Are the splotches on your skin from the coffee that was spilt?”
I shrug. “It’s not your fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going and ran right into you. Seriously, it’s just a little red. It will be gone in no time at all.”
His dark eyes redden around the perimeter causing my blood to quicken. “It will heal quicker than the fading bruises around your neck, Catina.”
The thickness accumulating in the back of my throat makes it difficult to swallow, while the way he looks at me and says my name makes it hard for me to breathe. “A few days and I’ll be good as new, all the way around.” I take a drink of my cooled coffee, allowing myself the luxury of drinking it down, knowing I have another fresh one to sip from for the remainder of the night.
His stare is hard and penetrating. “Who did it?”
I glance up. “Excuse me?”
I’m not in the habit of repeating myself. “Who put hands on you?”
I suck in a deep breath. “It was a family matter that got a little heated. It’s fine; I’m fine. Like I said, everything will be as good as new in a few days.”
“I asked you a question, and I mean to get an answer that isn’t riddled in lies or evasion, young lady, now let me ask you again. Who put hands on you?”
The last thing I need is a scene, especially in the café where my presence isn’t exactly welcomed by most of the bosses or staff already, regardless of the customers who frequent the café and buy their coffee just so they can talk to me. I can’t afford to lose this spot. It’s warm, and a cup of coffee for overhead is not a steep price to pay. “My brother, but it was in the heat of the moment, and he apologized. He had been drinking with his friends, and I did something that embarrassed him. My father took him with my other brothers to look for work.”
His eyes go flame red, and my heart begins to pound as his fangs descend. “And your mother? She’s here to take care of you?”
I swallow hard. “She’s with my father and brothers. I asked to stay behind. Please, like I said, it was provoked, and I just want to put it behind me. I can’t take back what I did, or what I said, and he can’t take back what he did. But in time, things will heal. They have to.”
