The bar was dingier than most, boasting scarred wooden tables, waning neon signs, old-looking pinball machines, and lots of empty glasses that had yet to be collected. The mirrored wall behind the bar reflected the sports paraphernalia that hung crookedly on the wall opposite.
Most patrons were facing the TV, avidly watching the football game and yelling at the screen. Others sat talking and laughing and glugging down beer.
The sounds of a table being upended and glass breaking were soon followed by the bartender yelling for a server to intervene. Honestly, it wasn’t a place she’d expected to find Reena, who’d always seemed too hoity-toity to even consider entering a dingy sports bar.
As the neared the rear of the space, there was the sound of a ball smacking into another, so it was no surprise to see a row of pool tables. It was, however, a surprise to see Reena hanging near one of them with her fellow sentinels, twirling a pool cue. She was also holding the neck of a beer bottle between two fingers. Hmm, no colorful foo-foo cocktail for Reena.
There appeared to be some playful shit-talking going on, but Reena wasn’t part of it. She was merely listening, a half-smile fixed on her face, seeming more relaxed than Devon had ever seen her. Huh.
As if she felt the weight of someone’s gaze, Reena looked their way. And tensed, smile fading. With a put-out sigh, she set her bottle on the high table beside her and leaned her cue against the wall. She murmured something to one of the guys who was munching on a hot wing. He only nodded, and then she headed toward Devon, Tanner, and Jolene.
Jaw hard, Reena folded her arms as she came to stand in front of them.
Jolene’s smile was all teeth. “Reena, always a pleasure.” Although she was no longer Devon’s Prime, they’d decided to let her take the lead, since Devon’s new Prime couldn’t be with them.
“What do you want?” the other female asked, annoyance written all over her features.
“I was hoping you could answer a question for us,” said Jolene. “See, we’ve wracked our brains trying to understand … but the answer just eludes us.”
“If you have questions, you should talk to my father. He’s Prime of the lair; it’s up to him what he does and doesn’t share with outsiders.”
“True,” said Devon “But I doubt he’ll have the answer as to why you wrecked my apartment.”
Reena froze, then quickly forced a disbelieving snort. “Why would I even go near your apartment?”
“Don’t bother playing games, Reena,” Tanner warned. “We have a witness who says you came running down the stairwell of Devon’s building. A witness who then went up to Devon’s apartment, only to find that it had been ransacked.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Reena maintained, eyes flickering.
“It proves you were there,” said Devon, sounding dangerous even to her. “Maybe you’d like to explain why that is.”
Reena lifted her chin. “I don’t have to explain anything to—”
“Do not be under the mistaken impression that your being female will keep you safe from me,” rumbled Tanner. “I could kill you where you stand and think nothing of it. Nor would I give a hint of a fuck how pissed that made Finn. He wouldn’t be the first Prime to come at me—they all died, too.”
“Be smart, Reena, and tell us what we wish to know,” said Jolene.
Reena’s nostrils flared. “I went to see her that day, yes,” she told the Prime. “I wanted to ask her some questions about the conduit, Sheridan. You were vague to my father, and I suspected you were holding back. But when I got to her apartment, I found the front door wide open. I rushed inside, saw the mess in her living room, and thought someone had taken her. I called my father and asked if he’d heard from her. He said he’d just gotten off the phone with her, that she was at the airport.”
“He didn’t tell us you went to her apartment,” said Jolene.
Reena cheeks flushed. “He doesn’t know. I didn’t tell him, because I knew what it would seem like. I knew people would suspect I ransacked the apartment. It wasn’t me.”
“What was it you wanted to know about Sheridan?” Devon asked. “Were you curious about if he’d mentioned you? Because he did know you, didn’t he? He was your ex-boyfriend’s cousin. You failed to mention that as well.”
“Because I knew you’d think I had something to do with this. I didn’t.” Reena clenched her fists. “I wouldn’t come up with some messed-up plot to have you kidnapped so I could force my father to release Asa. I mean, what possible reason could I have for wanting him released?”
“We all know that Finn never would have made the trade. You could have then killed me and made it seem like it was his fault for not releasing Asa.”