He leaned back in his chair, eyeing the bruise on my cheek.
“Rebel do that or Shade?” he asked bluntly.
“It wasn’t Shade,” I replied, refusing to answer fully. “And it won’t happen again. The Reapers told him to disappear.”
Bone gave a rare smile. “I take it Rebel’s gone, then.”
“I wouldn’t know. We aren’t talking.”
Bone nodded thoughtfully, his smile vanishing as quickly as it’d appeared. “I suppose you think you’re with Shade now?”
“Nope. I’d like to think I’m with myself,” I told him, frowning. “Why does everyone around here assume that I have to be with a man?”
“Well, seeing as women don’t ride with the Reapers, any girl who pulls up with them is with a man by definition. But Shade’s not the type to have an old lady. I hope you realize that.”
“I don’t care what Shade is or isn’t,” I said, and it was almost true. “Last night was a mess. I don’t know what you heard and I don’t want to get into the details. I’m just glad I got through it and nobody got hurt.”
“Aside from your face.”
“I caused a hell of a lot more damage than he did,” I snapped back. “Jesus Christ, you’d think I’m some wilting flower here or something. I fucked up, okay? I dated an asshole and he did what all assholes do eventually and fucked me over. As for the Reapers…I don’t know what to think of them but I’m not looking to get involved there, either. All I want to do is take care of my sister and do my job. Is that really so much to ask?”
The words came out of me in a rush. Bone cocked a brow and then I realized what I’d just done. Bitched out my boss. Sure, I’d been thinking about trying to find a new job, but given the fact that I lived in a town of less than a thousand people and didn’t have a car, available jobs weren’t exactly jumping out at me.
“Sorry,” I said, although the word didn’t sound very sincere—probably because it wasn’t. I wasn’t sorry. I was pissed.
Bone shook his head.
“Christ, and to think I was worried about you,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “But you keep that up and you’ll be fine. Is Shade done with you?”
“Not my problem. I’m done with him.”
Bone laughed, the sound more of a snort than anything. “Great attitude—too bad it doesn’t work that way. You’re done with him when he’s done with you, not the other way around.”
“I don’t accept that.”
“Well, this should be entertaining to watch,” he said. “I realize you’re all full of female empowerment and have things under control, but if I could offer a word of advice?”
“Sure,” I said, trying to decide if he was making fun of me.
“Don’t fall for him no matter what he says. These guys get hot for some girl and they go crazy. Treat her like a queen, convince her they can’t live without her. You’ll fall in love. Then he’ll see someone else with a cute butt and it’ll all be over.”
“You do realize you’re describing yourself, right?” I asked. Bone cracked another smile.
“Yup. That’s why you should listen to me. Have fun with Shade if you want, but don’t take him seriously. He’s a short-term guy.”
I sighed. “Bone, I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but I love strawberries.”“Most people do.”
“Yeah, but most people aren’t allergic to them. Damned things give me hives like you wouldn’t believe. Sometimes I convince myself that I can handle just one. That if I only have a tiny taste, I’ll be okay… Sure enough, half an hour later I’m puffed up like a balloon and red as a baboon’s ass.”
Bone studied me thoughtfully.
“And?”
“For me, men are like strawberries,” I told him earnestly. “I’ve come to realize this. It doesn’t matter how good they smell, if I get too close they’ll poison me. That’s why I’m giving them up—for my health. From now on, consider me your resident nun.”
My boss smiled. “I don’t usually see nuns wearing shorts that tiny.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, so I’m a slutty nun who needs the tips. God understands. You gotta dress for success in this world.”
“Yeah, this is gonna be entertaining as hell,” he said. “Just don’t come crying to me when he dumps you.”
Chapter Nine
“You’re going to have to talk to him sooner or later,” Sara said, smirking at me. I glanced toward the back of the bar where the Reapers had taken up residence. So far I’d refused to have anything to do with them, insisting that Sara take care of their table.
Except Shade kept sending Sara back to me.
I’d assumed that if I just held out long enough, he would give up or they’d leave, but the man was stubborn.
“Sara’s right,” Bone said, laying down the law. “You need to get your ass over there.”
“But I’m allergic to him—remember our talk?”
“Are you allergic to earning money?” Bone countered. “Because that’s sort of my thing here. Earning money. I got seven guys back there who aren’t drinking because my waitress won’t serve them. Call me crazy, but I think you should do something about it before I get pissy.”
I swore quietly.
“Bone’s right for once,” Sara agreed.
“So glad you approve,” Bone said. “I been worryin’ all night my waitresses won’t agree with how I want to run my bar.”
“Someone’s grumpy,” she replied, giving me a wink. “What’s wrong, Bone—you get left high and dry last night?”
“Someday I’m gonna fire you for talking like that.”
“Maybe some day, but not today.” Laughing, she started toward the front of the bar, where a couple of fresh patrons had just found themselves a table. Bone’s eyes followed her across the room. If I hadn’t been so frustrated with the Shade situation, I might’ve called him on it.
Unfortunately, the Reapers were still waiting for their drinks and I couldn’t risk losing my job. Sucking it up, I headed for their table, offering my brightest, fakest, most generic waitress smile.