Charity For Nothing: The Virtues Book III Read Free Page B

protectively around her and she smiled, resting her forehead against Marlin’s, murmuring something only he was likely to hear over the jukebox.
    I sank into the seat beside Marlin’s where I could see everything going on, and it wasn’t lost on me that every male in this back part of the bar and at the bar were in Kraken colors. The prospect from earlier jogged out from behind the bar and up to me, asking “What’ll you have?” with a warm smile. I smiled back and bit my bottom lip.
    “Jack and Coke?” I asked.
    “Seriously?” he sounded surprised. I nodded and he smiled even bigger, “Coming right up!”
    Radar dropped into the seat across from mine and asked, “What’d you order?”
    “A Jack & Coke.”
    “Nice!” The prospect came jogging over and Radar held up a hand, “Cough it up buddy.”
    “Ahhh!” He made a mock noise of being severely put out, but his smile never faltered. He reached into his back pocket and slapped some money into Radar’s palm before returning to the bar.
    “You guys bet on what I’d be drinking?” I asked amused.
    “Yep. Trike there thought you’d go for something girly, I said, Nah. You’re a girl that likes the basics.” He grinned at me and wrinkled his nose and I had to laugh.
    “Think you have me all figured out, huh?”
    His mouth downturned in that way that said he wasn’t trying to be impressive even though he was trying to be impressive and I fought down the urge to laugh at him. He gave a one shouldered shrug and didn’t commit to an answer one way or the other, I raised my eyebrows and took a sip of my drink which was good and stiff. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy.
    “More or less,” he said breaking into an even broader grin.
    “Uh huh,” I said dubiously. “Coffee or tea?”
    “Are you kidding? You’re just coming out of grad school, coffee.”
    “That was an easy one,” I leaned back in my seat and tried again.
    “Fine, okay, dog or cat?”
    “Cat.”
    “Reasoning?”
    “Self-sufficient creatures, a lot like you!” Hope called and I frowned at her.
    “You stay out of this!”
    There was laughter and a shadow fell over me, a droplet of water splashing onto my arm, I whipped around and looked up. Nothing stood by my seat and held out the keys to my Jeep to me.
    “I put the soft top on, it’s out front,” he said and I blinked.
    “Then how’d you get so wet?”
    “Walking to the door,” he said with a shrug and sniffed. Water streamed down his face, and plastered his hair to his forehead and cheeks.
    I took the keys and said, “Thank you, is it really coming down out there, or what?”
    “Or what,” he said and with a shrug, turned and walked away. I stared at his back and felt myself frown.
    “What’s his deal?” I asked the empty air and no one in particular.
    Radar answered me, “That fucking guy,” he said shaking his head, “Doesn’t know when to quit.”
    “Quit what?”
    “Grieving,” Marlin said simply, but before I could ask, a new song hit the jukebox, pulse pounding and loud . Radar laughed, jammed for a second on an imaginary air guitar, bounded to his feet and dragged me up by the hand to the little patch of cement floor left bare for dancing. I laughed and obliged him; he seemed nice enough for all that he wasn’t my type in the looks department, being around even with my height and rather compact. I preferred my men taller than me but that was neither here nor there when it came to the men of the club. I’d taken Hope’s warning to heart that these guys liked to play for keeps and to get my kicks somewhere else… but honestly, my mind kept drifting back Nothing’s way.
    Something about him was nagging at every instinct I had to heal, fix, and protect and Marlin’s little admission had the gears turning in my head. What was it Nothing had to grieve? By the sounds of it, it was an old and deep wound. I should leave well enough alone but I had to ask…
    “What did Marlin