3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zan

Zan moved his big body between Rissa and the officer. Unlike Anatoly, a bullet could kill him, but it would need to be a perfect shot. Rissa was still fully human and could easily die from a single round.

“Careful!” Rissa hissed as she turned her back to the cop car and put her hands on her head. “I’m getting arrested, but you could probably avoid it if you leave.”

Zan chuckled. “You don’t need to do anything; Anatoly will take care of it. You won’t be getting arrested.”

Dropping her arms, she turned back to face him and raised an eyebrow. “How? Is he a cop or something?”

The thought of Anatoly as a police officer made Zan bark out a laugh. “Not at all. He’s just really, um, persuasive.”

Rissa’s eyes narrowed. “Are you guys part of a syndicate or something? I’ll kill anyone who tries to traffic me.”

All Zan’s humor fled. “We aren’t part of anything like that. I promise we’d kill anyone who tried to hurt you.”

When her expression turned wary, he realized he needed to dial down the intensity. “I only mean that we wouldn’t want anyone to suffer that fate.”

“Sure,” she agreed but didn’t look reassured.

His sense of smell was finally returning, and he could catch hints of her delectable scent. He wanted to lay her out and lick every part of her. It was going to be hard to be around her without being able to touch her.

“I’m sorry about the scene earlier,” he said, trying his best to look cute. “I was only joking.”

“Anatoly said you guys have an open relationship,” she said. “Is that true, or is he trying to get lucky behind your back?”

“It’s true in a way,” he agreed. “We have a semi-permeable relationship. Only the perfect person gets let in.”

Her mouth was frowning, but her eyes looked interested. “And you think I’m that perfect person?”

“Maybe,” he said, working on keeping his dick from betraying his needs. “Let's get to know each other and see if there’s anything there. We could take you out on a few dates.”

For a moment she looked entranced, but then shook her head. “I don’t have time to date.”

“Why?” he asked.

She huffed out an aggravated sound. “I lost my job today and spent my last twenty on a drink with Anatoly. If I’m not arrested, then I need to start looking for another job before rent is due.”

“I can fix that,” Zan said with relief. “You can work for me.”

Her suspicious look was back. “Doing what?”

“Bartending at the Sanguine. Anatoly isn’t into customer service, so he’s always grumpy when I ask him to fill in for me. I’m sure he’s driven off a ton of customers. You’d be helping me out if you said yes!”

“I’ve never bartended before,” she warned him.

“I can teach you,” he promised. “It’s not that hard. Most of the people you’ll serve will be easy. Give them a cold beer and a bowl of nuts and they’re happy. I wanted Sanguine to be a friendly, safe place. I think you could help me do that.”

“You own the place?” she asked.

“We both do,” he said, gesturing to Anatoly with a thumb over his shoulder. With his superior shifter hearing, he could hear Anatoly talking to the cop. The vampire was using thrall and instructing the man to fill out a report that made Rissa the victim and the man she hit the attacker. He was also getting the man's name and address. No doubt Todd Brandon would be getting a visit from Anatoly soon.

Hampered by her limited human hearing, she wouldn’t know any of this.

“If I say yes, do I have to sleep with you guys to keep my job?” she asked.

He gave her the biggest grin. “Only if it’s a fantasy you want to play out.” That finally got a chuckle out of her. “Working together will be the perfect way to get to know each other. If you decide you want us but not the job, we’ll help you find another one.”

That was a complete lie. Once she was working for them, they’d never let her go anywhere else!

“How much does it pay?” she asked. He named an hourly wage twice the minimum, making her eyes go wide. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, it’s reasonable,” he said. “Our customers probably won’t tip you because I’ve never accepted tips. The extra money is to make up for that.”

“That’s a lot of extra,” she said, and he could tell she was about to accept. She needed the money, and he was promising plenty. Worrying about her financial state made him reach for his wallet.

“It’s really not,” he said, pulling all the cash out of his wallet. Being old-fashioned, Anatoly insisted he carry a lot of cash around, even though he used his phone to pay for most stuff. “Here, take this. Consider it an advance.”

She stared at the money he held out. Then she snatched it from him and shoved it down the front of her blouse to tuck into her bra.

He’d never wished he was money before.

“How do you know I’ll show up?” she asked.

“Because you will,” he answered. “I can tell. You’d already decided before you took the cash, or you wouldn't have accepted it.”

She frowned at him. “You’re too trusting.”

“Yes, he is,” Anatoly agreed, appearing next to him. It was only because he was used to Anatoly’s fast movement that he didn’t startle while Rissa jerked back.

“Whoa, you’re sneaky,” she said, looking past them. “You got the cop to leave! What did you say? How did you do that?”

“I simply pointed out that you were the victim, and he should look into the situation again,” Anatoly said. “Did I hear that you’re going to work at Sanguine? That’s an excellent idea. I never want to pour another drink. Unless it’s for you, that is.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m going to learn to be a bartender,” she said, glancing down at her car. Zan could tell she needed a break. A lot had happened, and she wanted to be in a place she felt safe.

Hopefully, their home would be her safe place soon.

“We should probably get back to Sanguine,” Zan said, tangling his fingers with Anatoly’s. He felt the vampire's reluctance, but he pressed insistence back through their link. “We left the bar unattended, and you know Danny will drink down an entire bottle of that brandy he likes.”

“I suppose,” Anatoly said, but didn’t move. “Can we give you our numbers? You can call for any reason. Even if it’s because you need a spider removed from your home.”

“You probably don’t have problems with spiders,” Zan said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at Anatoly. “But it would be good if we exchanged numbers. You know, because you work for us now.”

Nodding her head, she rattled off her number. Zan didn’t bother trying to remember because Anatoly already had his phone out and was skillfully entering in the information with one hand.

“I’m texting you Zan's number,” Anatoly said as he typed. “Now you can call either of us.”

“Come to the bar at three tomorrow,” Zan said as he started to back up, taking Anatoly with him. “We’ll start your training.”

The vampire briefly resisted his tugs but gave in.

“Be safe, Rissa,” Anatoly ordered. “If you need anyone beaten up, you come to me. I don’t want you breaking your fingers on anyone’s nose.”

“That's nice of you to offer,” Rissa said. Zan could tell she was trying to be sarcastic, but he could hear a note of real intrigue in her voice.

The moment they were behind a truck, Anatoly stopped short. “Her car is a death trap, and we don’t know where she lives. I’m not happy about this.”

“I know,” Zan said. He could hear her fumbling around in her car and then starting it up. “You need to shift and follow her home, then text me the address. I can come pick you up in the car after I kick everyone out and shut down the bar for the night.”

“We’re going to watch her?” Anatoly asked with a happy smile curving his lips. “Guard her?”

“Yeah, we should. Now hurry up and shift so I can toss you in the air.” Zan wasn’t looking forward to an uncomfortable night in the car but hated the idea of letting Rissa be vulnerable for even a moment.

Anatoly grumbled under his breath but did as Zan ordered. Soon he was throwing Anatoly’s owl form into the air again. At least there weren’t any powerlines he needed to avoid, only a tree. He peeked out from behind the truck to watch Rissa’s taillights move down the street with a great horned owl following in the sky above her. When he couldn’t see the car or owl, he turned and sprinted back to Sanguine.

There was a lot he needed to do and little time to get it done.