Page 25 of Lost Lyrebird

This only delights him, if the wide dimple smile is anything to go by.After I deliver a warning, I let him go.He wastes no time in catching up with me.

“Did he give you a ticket?”Bodie asks.

She casts a glance back at us over her shoulder.“Yeah.”

Curious, I ask, “For what?”

She pauses and waits for me to fall just a step behind her.Her smirk is a little wicked.“For going twenty over.”

A grunt escapes me.My mouth twitches as I fight my amusement.“Speed demon.”

“Yeah.I love the wind in my hair.Feels like…” She trails off, something flickering behind her eyes.

A memory surfaces, a hand surfing in the breeze out of a car window.It’s there and gone in a heartbeat.“What were you gonna say?”I press, hoping against hope for a tie to this breadcrumb, even if it’s not at all possible she’s Elle.

She waves me off.“Nothing, just… like it, is all.Feels like being on the run.Like I’m getting away with something.”

Her words have a dull edge, and the emotion behind them lacks substance.

“Which way to the dressing room?”

“I’ll show her,” Bodie jumps in.

The fuck he will.

I turn with a scowl.My glare says it all.I will beat his ass if he says another word.I point towards the bar.Go.And like a good fucking boy, he does.His hands come up in defeat as he backs away, grinning like a fiend.

Once Lily and I get to the dressing room, I apologize for Raven not being here and explain she had plans, a music festival with her girlfriend.She tells me it’s fine and then watches intently as I peel the name Jules off the top of the mirror.

“Do you have music you want me to play?”

“Oh, yeah.”She reaches into her bag and pulls out an iPod.“Let me just prep the song.”After a moment of scrolling, she hands it to me.I note the song, an old rock song—one I love.Fate?Coincidence?Becausefuckdoes this one bring back memories.

She gestures toward my hand and asks, “Why’d she leave?”

I stare at the crumpled tape.“Oh, uh-mmm.She didn’t.I had to let her go.”

When she continues to stare at me, I explain.I’m not sure why I do so, but maybe I don’t want her to think poorly of me.“A customer made a pass at her.I didn’t know she was seeing Jaxson, my bartender, and shit went down.”She furrows her brow, so I keep going.“Had I known they were dating, I could’ve kept Jaxson off the same shift or had security keeping a closer eye on them.”

“What happened?”

“Jaxson lost it when the guy touched her.Shouldn’t have happened, but the bouncer didn’t catch the creep in time.Guy was too slick.”

“And?”

“Jaxson broke his nose and put him in the hospital.”

Her eyes go wide.“And you fired her for that?”

“Both of them,” I say, my tone resolute.

“But why?The customer was the one out of line.”

“Because they kept it from me.I let my employees get away with a lot, but something like this… a lie by omission that puts people at risk?No.”

She considers it momentarily.After dropping her bag in the chair, she crosses her arms over her chest.“Maybe it was new.Maybe they hadn’t gotten around to telling you yet.”

There’s something about her stance, her attitude, her backbone, that stirs my blood.