64. Anna

64

Anna

A dark bruise formed on my cheek the next day. I dressed for work and opened the door only to find a female guard waiting for me. She bustled her way into my suite, covered my bruise with makeup and pinned the necklace back around my neck. "It's so pretty. You should show it off," she said mildly.

Right. So pretty.

The first hour of opening the bar was usually a quiet one for me. Everyone else was busy at their stations, the manager was counting the money, and it was just me, flipping on the automatic switch, and planning while I worked. Only today, I was constantly interrupted by a parade of my co-workers who wanted to admire the necklace. Their simpering made me sick to my stomach.

"Oh, how beautiful. Our alpha has amazing taste."

"The two of you are like a fairy tale. I can't wait to find a mate of my own who treats me like this."

"He loves you so much."

Don't vomit. Just smile and nod. You can survive if you just smile and nod.

Hiding the necklace down my shirt, I opened the unlocked the doors and let in the people who were lined up at the door, like Hair of the Dog was the place to be at eleven o'clock in the morning. The Thursday regulars walked in, seated themselves, and patiently waited for me to get behind the counter.

"I heard Emerson gave you a beautiful necklace? Can I see it?"

Fuck, this was going to be the longest shift of my life.

By one, the bar was incredibly busy. Almost everyone asked to see my necklace, so I ended up just wearing the stupid thing outside my shirt to save time. Cindy came in early, and nobody blinked an eye when she asked me to go to the bathroom with her. When I asked her why, she just smiled. "Your makeup needs a touch-up."

So much for thinking Cindy might be a friend.

Dutifully, I followed her into the bathroom and stood there while she covered my bruise.

The whole time, I watched her face to see if her true emotions might arise. She chattered on aimlessly about something her daughter had done that morning.

"This is good practice for me. One day, I'll be doing her makeup!"

"Is she accident-prone as well?"

Cindy's hair wavered just a little, and she smiled. "No, silly. For dance recitals and plays and all those things."

"Right. Good. That's good, Cindy. Thank you for your help."

Her gaze dropped down to the necklace. "It is beautiful."

"From the way everyone is talking, they all knew about it before I even received it. Does Emerson send out some kind of daily newsletter in your email?"

I chuckled to act like I was joking, but I was still watching her carefully. How was he sending out so much information so quickly?

"Word just travels fast. I shouldn't keep you any longer. You've got customers!"

"Actually, I'm going to take this opportunity to finally use the bathroom. My stomach has been killing me all morning. Give me a couple of minutes? I'll see you out there."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! Yes. I'll handle everything. Don't worry."

When she left, I leaned against the counter and sighed. It was all I could do not to yank the stupid necklace off my neck.

"It's a tracker. A magical one. One of my best designs."

It didn't surprise me when Janelle's voice softly filled the bathroom, or that I heard her before I saw her. The magic hiding her was thick and had taken up the corner in brilliant hues of orange and yellow. It had taken me a few minutes to see beneath the magic, to see her quietly waiting.

The question was why she had to hide at all.

"Will it explode if I take it off?"

She looked even thinner and paler than before, and she didn't even grace me with a smile.

"No, but it will locate you for rather long distances. You did something the other week that made Emerson think you had a plan to run."

"Oh yeah? What was that?"

"You asked the manager about working a night shift."

At that, I snorted with laughter. "Wow. Emerson really is struggling if that's all it takes. I wasn't trying to escape. Just trying to get out of dinner with him. Why are you hiding in the bathroom for me?"

"I thought it was time we spoke."

"I would have thought the time to speak was before you spelled Jax's land to eject all of his people and neatly force me into a trap. Or was that a trick?"

"Not a trick. The spell was real, although it did not have as much power behind it as Emerson would have liked. I am no Irene. I did try to warn her while I was there. You are not the only prisoner. Hurry. Our time is running out. Your suite is the only place we can talk freely, but I cannot get into it without help. It's even equipped with cellphone jammers. Give me your necklace."

Without hesitation, I handed it over. She could flush it down the sink for all I cared. She took out a small stone and some glue. "I am not the only witch on this land. There is a redhead.

She stays in the shadows, but she oversees all my work. I doubt you'll see her at all, but if you do, avoid her. She'll detect the magical addition. I wish this had more time to dry. Be very careful with it in the next hour."

Before I could ask what the hell it was for, she circled it over my neck again and stepped back in the corner. Her glamour shields rose just as the door opened and Cindy walked in. "Hey. Just wanted to let you know that your mate called to say that he'll be stopping by in a few minutes. You're already gorgeous, but if you wanted to do any additional prettying up, you can."

She gave me a wink before ducking back out again.

"I will visit you tonight," Janelle said softly from her hidden corner. "I will try to explain what I can."

Maybe it was a step forward? Or maybe it was two steps back. For all I knew, Janelle was just a plant from Emerson.

I couldn't trust anyone. How familiar that felt.

I returned to the bar and cashed out a few customers. They all left in thirty-minute increments. Some stayed just half an hour. Others stayed one and a half hours. Two came in at a time. Two left at a time.

Turning my back on the customers, I started wiping down the bottles. A few minutes later, the bar went silent. I didn't turn around. Everyone else could kiss Emerson's rings and kneel at his feet, but I sure as hell wasn't going to.

"Well, this certainly looks familiar."

I froze at the familiar voice and didn't dare turn around. It wasn't possible.

"Be nice," Emerson admonished. "That's my mate you're talking to, and you're a guest here."

"No, you're right. I'm sorry. I'd certainly ask you to do the same if you were in my territory."

"Anna," Emerson said gently. "I'm sorry for interrupting your work, but I wanted you to be able to greet our guest in person."

Slowly, I turned around to see Kenzi's wide grin.

Emerson continued. "She's here's to continue fostering an alliance now that she's the new Black Diamond alpha mate."