Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Guess we can ask him about it tonight.” Because God knows, I have plenty of questions for the guys.
“Yeah,” Alexei says as the waiter returns with coffees and my espresso.
I’m already drinking mine before he heads off.
“So…” I say, setting my cup down, “I’m assuming we’re in agreement that doing the ritual tonight is off.”
He glares at me. “It’s all off.” I can hear the disappointment in his voice as he runs his thumbs around the rim of his coffee mug. In this unguarded moment, I see the pain in his expression, the torment over his missing brother, and it tugs at something within me.
“I’m so sorry, Alexei. I really did want it to work.” As his gaze meets mine, a wave of emotion pulses through me.
“You have his face.”
A part of me wants to open up, to let him know he’s not alone in his pain, but this isn’t the place for it.
“It’s gonna be so fucking awkward when we see them later,” he says.
“Pretty confident nothing’s gonna be more awkward than last night.”
He laughs for the first time since we got here, and I must admit, despite all the bullshit, it excites me.
“I just don’t know what the hell to do,” he says. “Based on some things they said, I don’t know what to think of them. Also, they’re gonna want to know about the Saints, and I can’t just blab on the guys. But if I’m too cryptic, Seth can use his powers to get me to tell him anyway.”
“He could have used them on you, but he didn’t,” I remind him. “As confusing as this stuff has been, I think they’re still the same guys I’ve known since last year.”
“Yeah, it’s tricky, for sure.” He presses his finger and thumb against his forehead, massaging.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to figure everything out now. Maybe you can just relax and enjoy our first date.”
He sneaks a look at me, clearly struggling not to smile, but loses. “Date?” His brows shift closer together.
“Yeah, so why don’t we forget about the Sinners and Saints and all this wild crap and get to the important shit.”
“Which is?”
I sip my coffee, considering what kind of conversation we would be having if this was a plain old date. I make up my mind and place my cup on the table. “So…cybersecurity?”
He laughs. “The fuck?”
“Why’d you get interested in that?” I press, hoping this will make everything feel less weighty…and besides, I really am curious to know more about Alexei.
“I was always into computers, since I was a kid. Built my own when I was eleven. I eventually got into programming, and cybersecurity is one of those areas that’s always changing, always evolving, so it stays interesting.”
“Maybe why you’re suited for all this drama,” I observe.
“I thought we were getting away from that,” he says, and I smile at his tease. “Well, all that, plus the money is good, and after growing up without much, I wanted to put myself in an industry where I could be competitive and make a good living.”
There’s determination in how he says it, reminding me of the very drive that had him willing to do what it took to find out what happened to his brother.
“Practical. I like that,” I say.
“What about you? Why’d you go into civil engineering?”
I lean back in my seat, smirking because it’s really not that deep. “That part you just mentioned…yeah, it’s good money.”
He angles his head, glaring at me. “That can’t be the only reason.”
I shrug. “I’m a shallow guy. And I want to earn a decent living and not have to worry. Yeah, I have an aptitude for math and physics, but I wanted a career that would give me security. A job that would allow me to pay my bills and also travel.”
“So you want to travel?”
“I’ve traveled a little. London, Paris, Barcelona. But I’d like to go to the Greek Isles. Lisbon, the pyramids, Peru.”
“Oh, wow. You really want to travel.”
“Yup. What about you?”
Alexei takes a moment to consider it. “I could be persuaded if I had the right person to travel with.”
A rush of excitement pulses through me. I’m glad to hear that because honestly, I could imagine us having fun traveling together.
I lean closer. “I say once we figure all this shit out, we reward ourselves with a trip somewhere.”
“Where to?”
“Not sure. Let’s think about it. I think we’ve earned it.”
“I can’t argue with you there.”
“In the meantime,” I go on, “I just want to say, in the future, if you want to go on another date, how about you just say so? We don’t have to go through the whole fake ritual…evil possessions…friends using their powers to freak me out, simply to get me to go out with you. Seems a little over the top.”
He squints. “You asked me to come here.”