Rage and Ruin (The Harbinger 2)

He was talking about his stance on demons. I could see how that would drive a major wedge between him and the other Wardens, even though Nicolai seemed more open-minded.

Well, Nicolai didn’t spit and do the sign of the Holy Cross when Roth’s name was brought up. Not sure if that meant he had a different stance on demons.

I also knew, beyond a doubt, that even though Zayne had basically ostracized himself from the clan and had done so the moment he’d stood with Roth and Layla, he’d still have any of those Wardens’ backs.

Dolly Daisy the waitress returned with the check. Her body angled toward Zayne, her back to me as she propped a hip against the table.

I made a face at Zayne that he either didn’t see or ignored.

“Take as long as you want.” She placed the bill folder on the table, which Zayne grabbed immediately, opening it. “And if you need anything, you just let me know. I’ll be happy to help you.”

Zayne saw it the moment I did. Even I couldn’t mistake what rested on the bill. A card with a number written on it in large bubbly handwriting, next to a name I couldn’t read. The only thing missing was the imprint of her never-fading bright red lips.

Holy flying gargoyles everywhere, I couldn’t believe what I’d witnessed.

The waitress just gave him her number in front of me! For a moment I was simply stunned, and I wanted to laugh, except I was—well, I was offended. Granted, this woman might be old enough to have legit birthed me, but she looked damn good for her age, and from what I could tell of her makeup, it was on point. The grown-ass woman was a stunner, but even if she thought I was yesterday’s trash, that was a bold move.

I reacted without thinking—without waiting to see what Zayne’s response would be. Impulsivity, as per usual, got the best of me.

“Hi,” I said loudly. “Daisy? Dolly?”

The woman turned to me, eyebrow raised quizzically. “My name is Debbie, sweetie. Did you need anything?”

“Well, my name is not sweetie.” I smiled at her. “Did you just give him your phone number?”

Her mouth opened.

“With me sitting right here, on a date with him?” I continued. The woman’s tanned cheeks deepened to a rosy color while Zayne emanated a strange choking sound. She opened her mouth. “I’m all about ra-ra women empowerment, embracing our sexual needs and all that good stuff, but try respecting your fellow sisters first and that was not at all respectful.”

Debbie stood there, arms lowering to her sides. I looked at Zayne. One hand was curved over his mouth as he stared at the table.

“You want to add something to the conversation?” I paused, eyes narrowing. “Honey?”

“Oh, no. I think you’ve just about covered it.” He lowered his hand and looked up, eyes dancing. “You can keep the number. I’m not going to need it.”

Debbie didn’t pick up her card. She muttered, “Excuse me,” under her breath and hurried off as fast as her heels would carry her.

“Well,” Zayne said, drawing my attention. “I doubt she’ll do that again.”

“Probably not.” Reaching across the table, I picked up the card. “You want it?”

“No.” He laughed quietly.

“You sure?” I tossed the card to his side of the table. “I can’t believe she did that. She didn’t know who I was. If I was your girlfriend or not.”

“Maybe she thought you were my friend,” he said, sending me a long sideways look. “Or maybe my sister?”

I gaped at him. “Seriously?”

He laughed. “I’m kidding.”

My eyes narrowed once more. “Ha. Ha.”

“Seriously, though, it was rude, and I was about to point that out before you did in such a cheeky manner.” Zayne leaned over and pulled out a slim wallet.

“I have money.” I reached for the wad of cash I’d grabbed before we left the apartment. “I can pay—”

“I got this.” He dropped several bills, one of them fairly large.

“I’m already living in your place, eating your food and I stole your—”

“I got it, Trin.” He closed the bill folder. “That’s what I do on a date.”

I about choked on my own spit. Thank God I hadn’t taken a drink. “A date?”

Zayne nodded, pushing the folder to the end of the table with a long finger. “Isn’t that what we’re on?”

Oh my God.

My face burned brighter than a thousand suns. “Look, I didn’t say that to Dolly—”

“Debbie,” he corrected.

“—because I thought we were on a date. I was just proving a point.”

“I know.”

“And it’s not like I think that’s what this is about.” I was going to die. Right here. Wither up in embarrassment. “I didn’t say that to get you to pay.”

“I know,” he repeated, standing. “But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.”

“What?” I scrambled to my feet.

“This feels like a date and looks like one.” He waited for me to make it around the table. “So, maybe it is a date.”

“It’s not a date,” I hissed. My gaze bounced from him to the dimly lit narrow, convoluted spaces between the tables.

“Why not?” He walked a bit in front of me.

“Because we can’t date,” I told him, my hip bumping into the edge of the table. Cheeks flaming even more, I hastily apologized to the people whose table I’d jarred. “I’m so sorry.”

Zayne turned and quickly assessed the situation. Without saying a word, he placed his hands on my shoulders, guiding me so that I was front of him. We took a couple of steps before he spoke again. “You know I’m teasing you, right?”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Of course he was joking. And of course I was an idiot. “I hate you.”

Chuckling, he squeezed my shoulders. “You wish.”

He had no idea how true that was.

I kept my mouth shut as he steered me out of the packed restaurant and into the balmy night air. I took a second to scan our surroundings. There was an old church across the street and several more restaurants and shops.

Staying close to the buildings as we walked, I glanced at Zayne. That stupid, sexy grin was plastered to his face. Nervous energy buzzed through me. “I can’t believe we were in there as long as we were. We should’ve been out here by now.”

“Possibly, but we’re allowed to have lives,” he replied, but my father would probably disagree with that. “Speaking of having a life, what are some places you want to see tomorrow?”

“Um... I don’t know.” I stepped around a guy on his phone and realized I hadn’t checked my own since I’d texted Jada. “I’d like to see the dinosaurs.”

“That’s in the natural history museum. Has a lot of cool stuff in it. Lots of fossils and artifacts. Even has a butterfly pavilion.”

That sounded pretty. “And I would like to check out the Holocaust museum. Is that near the other one?”

“Yeah, about a fifteen-minute walk. Any place else?”

I nodded. “The African American museum—oh, and the one with the rockets and stuff.”

“The Air and Space Museum.”

“Yeah, that. And I’d like to see some of the memorials,” I went on. “Probably the Washington Monument, too.”

“Sounds like we’ll make a day at the National Mall then.”

“Is that okay?” I glanced at him. “I mean, you’ve probably seen this stuff a million times.”

“It’s perfect, and actually, I’ve only been to some of them a couple of times and it’s been a while,” he explained as he scanned the streets. “It’s weird when you live here your whole life. You want to check the stuff out, but since you can go anytime, you put it off.”

I guessed that made sense. “How is the, um, the lighting in the museums?”

“Some of them are pretty bright, so they might be a little harsh on your eyes, and others are dark. If you have any problems in any of them, let me know.”

Relieved, I nodded. I hated wearing sunglasses inside because I worried, stupidly, what other people thought when they saw me. Like I was too cool or something. And while I knew I shouldn’t care what random strangers thought, it still made me uncomfortable. I also worried whether I’d be able to see some of the exhibits if I couldn’t get close, but I hoped I could. Even if I could see only half of them, it would still be amazing and—

Zayne cursed. That was the only warning. One second I was walking, and the next I was off my feet.

19

The street became a blur as Zayne moved alarmingly fast. I heard a shout as he turned and spun us away from an eruption of angry voices where the sound of screeching metal was followed by the smack of flesh into something solid. The streetlights dimmed as he stepped into an alley, and then my back was pressed against a wall as Zayne caged me in, blocking my body with his. Whoops of laughter and the tinny sound of metal wheels on cement drowned out the chaos of my pounding heart.

“What in the world?” I lifted my head and saw the outline of Zayne’s profile behind his hair. I felt the low buzz of a nearby demon, but that was normal for DC.

“Kids on skateboards and Rollerblades coming out of this alley like idiots with a death wish. One of them slammed into a guy getting out of a cab.”

Well, that explained the ongoing shouting.

Zayne’s tone was hard. “They’re going to either hurt themselves or really hurt someone else, hopefully the former. Assholes.”

“I didn’t even...” My gaze dropped from his profile to where my hands rested on his chest. “I didn’t see them.”

“I know. They were coming from the side, too fast for you to see.” He looked down at me. “It was like a gang of skateboarders.”