Wicked Soul (Ancient Blood #1)(92)
Hopefully my reception wouldn’t be as unpleasant as it’d been when I turned up at Joana’s place. Kevin was an asshole, but my colleagues had actually cared about me, once upon a time. And I’d repaid them by leaving them high and dry, too wrapped up in my own drama to even feel bad about it.
* * *
The store was quiet when I walked in, the merrily jingling bell above the door announcing my entry. There wasn’t any customers, and no one behind the till either.
“Hey, welcome to Dark Dreams!”
I looked up just in time to see Skye come around the corner from the staff room, bright smile in place. She froze in place when our eyes met, trading in her smile for an open-mouthed gasp.
“Hey, Skye,” I said.
“Liv!” she screeched, and before I knew it, she’d crossed the store and thrown herself around my neck. “Oh my goodness, we thought you were dead!”
“Not dead,” I said, returning her hug. “I just… had to skip town for a little while.”
She pulled back and looked at me, mouth pinched in worry. “Was it because of that vampire? We tried to report you missing, but… no one ever came to take statements, or even look at your apartment. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m sorry I worried you. And no, it wasn’t really because of Warin. It’s… complicated.”
She sighed, mouth still locked in an unhappy frown. “Complicated… everything’s complicated around here these days.” Then her face lit up in a half-smile. “But maybe it’ll be better now that you’re back. Dennis has been such a prick since you left—I think he was worried about you. You know how he’s always had a bit of a thing for you.”
I blinked. “Uh… no.”
Skye rolled her eyes and grabbed me by the hand, leading me toward the back of the shop. “You’re so oblivious, girl. Raven! Look who’s back!” The last bit she called out as she dragged me through the beaded curtain to the back.
“What?” Raven’s head popped out form the break room. When she saw me, her eyes went wide, and a wide grin stretched across her normally stern face. “Liv! Fucking hell, I thought the vamper had eaten you!”
“I just had to go away for a while. Hey, have you seen Joana? I need to speak with her, ideally today… before the sun sets.”
“She should be at, uh… home.” Raven glanced at Skye, and for a moment, I pitied our blonde colleague, who had no idea her boss and two co-workers were actual witches. Even if one of them was a pretty shitty witch.
But then I thought back to how uncomplicated life had been before I fell down the supernatural rabbit-hole, and my pity turned to envy.
“I just came from there—Kevin answered the door, said she might be here.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Ugh, Kevin. He’s been such an asshole lately. I’ll shoot her a text and ask, tell her you’re looking for her. She’ll be happy you’re back!”
“And speaking of being back,” Skye interjected, “you’re going to sit down with us and have a cup of tea, and tell us what you’ve been up to for the past three freaking months!”
“But I have to—“
“Yes, yes, you have to see this Joana girl, but it can wait until she texts back, right?” Skye looked at me with such a sad frown that my guilt flared hotly again.
“Yeah, I guess it can. I… I missed you two,” I said, rubbing my neck awkwardly. It’d been easy enough to tell Warin how much I’d missed him. It was something else with the two girls I’d befriended without really realizing it.
“Aw, we missed you too, didn’t we, Raven?” Skye beamed. “Now come, sit! We’ve gotten the best herbal blend in stock since you left.”
* * *
We sat in the staff break room and gossiped for a few hours while waiting for Joana to text back.
It was a slow day, customer-wise, so we weren’t disturbed by the jingling bell much. It was always nice when work didn’t get in the way of socializing.
It was only when I happened to glance at the time on my phone that I realized how late it’d gotten.
“Yikes, it’s gonna get dark soon! I need to get my ass back,” I said, finishing off my final mug of tea. Skye had been right—it was the best blend in the store, and I’d had about five cups.
“Someone have a sunset curfew, huh?” Raven said, eyebrows arched. “I take it you’re staying with Warin?”
“Oh, how very kind of your ‘completely platonic, definitely not banging him, nuh-uh’ vampire friend,” Skye said, a shit-eating grin on her lips.
“You guys are jerks.” I couldn’t hold back a laugh, even as my cheeks heated. “Okay, so maybe we’re not completely platonic friends anymore.”
“Ha, I knew it!” Skye lit up. “I have so many questions! Is it cold? Does he—“
I held up a hand, interrupting what was undoubtedly about to turn into a way too intimate Q&A on sex with the undead. “I really have to get back. And also, I really don’t want to answer any of that.”
“Prude.” Skye sulked. “Fine, be that way. It’s not like you just left us for three whole months, and we missed you and you should feel guilty enough to divulge every dirty detail of your sex life. I mean, jeez, Liv, what are girlfriends for?”