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She rubbed the back of her tattooed neck, and I laughed.

“How much did you have to pay Kaylee to let you inside?”

There’s no way my overprotective barracuda of a bestie would’ve been willing to let anyone into our apartment that I didn’t expressly ask to see without a hell of a bribe.

“Enough for those special-order heart-shaped taillights she wanted—custom welded. Not the inserts.”

I let out a low whistle. “That’s a pretty sweet trade. Guess I can’t be too mad she sold me out.”

Or mad at all. Having company was nice. Not being left with my racing thoughts and misplaced guilty feelings felt good.

“She knew I had good intentions.” She grinned, flashing a hint of fang. “She’s gone for the day to give us a chance to talk—something about the garage and a nap on Danny’s couch before work. Now, come here; your coffee is getting cold.” I couldn’t help but look at the space between us, and Ren raised an eyebrow.“I mean, if you want.”

Crawling over the mattress, I settled close without touching her and collected the paper cup with my name scrawled along the side from the cardboard tray.

It felt surprisingly comfortable to lean back against the plush cushions of the sofa while sipping the warm drink and peeking at my companion.

Of course it is.

From the moment she’d saved my ass from dissolving into embarrassed tears at the café, Ren had always sort of been my hero. And here I was, yet again, putting myself in a position where I was in need of saving.

I cleared my throat.

“Listen, Ren, I’m sorr?—”

“Don’t you dare,” she interrupted, dark eyes narrowing. “Last nightnevershould’ve happened. I need you to know that. Dana would’ve come herself to apologize, but she’s collecting the footage so she can finish the report for theCIU.”

I sighed, tucking my feet under myself to keep them warm.

Of course they’d want to report the incident to the Coven Investigation Unit; attacks like the one last night could threaten the reputation of the entire club. Using compulsion was a serious offense, but it also meant witness statements, court dates… And I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with all the fuss that would create not only for me but for the coven too.

“I shouldn’t have?—”

“No,” Ren interrupted again flatly, leaning to place her cool hand gently on my forearm, pinky just barely brushing the edge of the gauze wrapping my injured wrist. “Vi, there’snothingyou could’ve done differently. You set a boundary. You didnotgive consent. And he chose to walk straight through that. That’s not okay. And I’m not going to sit here and let you blame yourself for it.”

Her thumb stroked my forearm just above the crook of my elbow, like she couldn’t bear to sit so close and not be touching me.

I found myself tracking the movement with my eyes, my nerves dissipating in the domesticity—the normalcy—of the moment, so familiar that it felt like we’d done this a hundred times instead of it being the first.

“Ren, I…” I paused, my tongue darting out to wet my lips. “Thank you. For making sure I got home okay. For helping me.”

“I wish Dana would’ve let me finish that dickbag,” she admitted. “If there’s anything I can do, just say the word. It’s yours.”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what would come next.

“I don’t think I can go back to the bar. I just?—”

Ren’s thumb stilled and she swallowed. “It won’t ever happen again, Vi. I promise.”

“I can’t be sure of that,”I whispered, looking down at my hands.

She withdrew her own, running it through her hair and making it stand up on end. The tattoos on her bicep—koi swimming in a traditionally styled Japanese sea—jumped with the movement. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I repeated skeptically, expecting an argument.

Not to flatter myself, but I thought she’d put up at least a little bit of a fight. You know, the usual stuff?I really need a good bartender. You’re leaving us in a bind. At least give two weeks’ notice.

But Ren seemed resigned.