Page 38 of Guarded Knight

And right now, the devil is winning.

Freya tries to take my mind off things, chatting away next to me.

We talk about nonsense, but the energy between me and my best friend is off in the way that only happens when someone’s pretending too hard to be fine. When someone is holding something back, and I’m annoyed even more with G for asking me if Freya could have possibly given Cameron a key. She felt the same way about him that I do Kevin.

Now what do I do? Tell Freya about Gabriel’s question? Or keep it to myself so she doesn’t feel as uncomfortable as I do right now? Both options suck.

Sometimes, it’s better to blow off some steam and start over tomorrow.

We step into the dim warmth of the Wild Cantina with happy hour kicking off. The place is exactly what I expected from Echo Valley: a worn wood bar, and the smell of tequila, lime, and nachos hits me. There’s a chalkboard sign with a well-drawn picture of a cocktail that announces today’s two for one is mojitos. The Killers play in the background, and half the town must be inside. I recognize a few faces from the bookstore and some of the Monarch Hills workers who were milling about when we left the ranch office yesterday.

We make a beeline for the one open stool at the bar. Out of the corner of my eye, Gabriel slides inside before the door even closes behind us.

He wastes no time striding past me without so much as a glance and crosses his arms, sunglasses shading his intentions, standing against the back wall where he has a solid vantage point. Always the protector.

Unfortunately, said wall isn’t far enough away for me to relax, which was the whole point in coming here.

I don’t know if I ever flare my nostrils, but that’s just about where I’m at. Raging-bull-level frustration. There’s mayhem in my veins, and I can’t tell which way is up or down. One moment I’m nostalgic, the next wanting to keep walls up. Another second, I’m horny as hell for the guy, and the next I feel put in my place like a twelve-year-old.

A guy in a cowboy hat takes a bottle of beer away with him into the depths of the space, vacating the stool next to me.

“Here looks good,” I say quickly.

“Fine by me,” Freya chirps, trying to be cheerful.

Usually, it’s contagious.

But we’re not as far away from Gabriel as I’d like. I wish I could be out of his eyeline. Out of earshot. Just a minute away from that gaze of his that makes confusion settle into what was once a clear path.

Why do I still care what he thinks?

But I do.

We climb onto stools just as the bartender, a sexy guy, sort of a Ryan Gosling type but more rugged, slides down the well of the bar and throws two cardboard coasters down.

“What’s your poison?” His smile is crooked and inviting.

Freya grins. “Shirley Temple.”

“Coming up.” The bartender flashes her a flirty grin. “Sweet thing for a sweet thing.”

Freya lifts her eyebrows and sweeps some curls behind her ear.

“Whiskey sour?” she asks me, with a smile that’s two degrees too bright. “I’m buying.”

The bartender tosses me a glance as if to ask if she’s just ordered for me.

“Yes, thank you,” I mutter, and suddenly think I should be careful not to drink too much. I might get angry and I’ll definitely be off guard. “Heavy on the sour, and before you say it, yes, it’s a sour drink for a sour girl.”

He chuckles, observing that I need the drink more than a compliment.

I stand to turn my stool completely away from Gabriel so he sees nothing but my back, but there’s that low thrum on my neck. The one I want to lean into and not away from, and it pisses me off more that I can feel him, even though his hands aren’t on me.

I need to keep my distance. Get through this stupid investigation or trap or whatever it is that deals with Cameron and get back to the world I own. I have enough problems with maybe needing a new job and no longer having a permanent home.

Freya tries a game to distract me, one we’ve played before. “Okay.” She scans the room. “This is a damn good spot for Rate The Mate.”

I take in the room, and she’s right. There are a decent number of attractive men here, but it only makes it harder not to think of Gabriel again because none of them even come close to him.