Bliss stepped through the back door and headed toward Anthony’s office, fully prepared to pick up her stuff and get out. If only Claudia was back there, but she’s home in bed by now.
Before she reached the door, she was spotted. Someone called out, “Bliss!” It may have been Tory. He was standing at the bar talking to Angie. Angie whipped her head around and gasped when she saw Bliss.
Drake burst into the bar through the front door.
Before Bliss could take another step, Angie lifted the bar top and rushed through it, almost tackling her.
“Bliss! Oh, God! Where have you been?”
“I don’t know, but you may have just guessed who I was with.”
Angie took a step back. “God? You were with God?” Her hands flew to cover her second gasp. “You saw God? Did you have a near-death experience?”
Hey, that’s as good an explanation as any… “Yeah, I think so. In all the confusion, I was—um… I got knocked down and I think I hit my head.”
“On the street? But didn’t anyone stop to help you?”
Drake battled his way through the crowd.
“Uh… no. You know how big cities are.”
Angie glanced around at the people that were watching as if to say, “Do you believe this shit?”
Drake reached her and pulled her into a giant hug. “Bliss, honey. We were all worried about you, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re just glad to have you back.” Raising his voice he announced, “Bliss needs time to rest and regroup. Let’s give her some breathing room.”
Everyone murmured their assent and stepped back. Most folks returned to their tables. Kurt and Tory stayed nearby, probably to make sure she was all right.
“Thanks, Drake. I need to tell Anthony I’m okay and get yelled at, or more likely fired.”
Drake smiled. “He’s not going to fire you.”
“Wanna bet?”
“How much?” He placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the office.
Tory laughed. “You’re seriously betting on whether or not she gets fired?”
Drake grinned at him. “Why not? I know I’m going to win. Maybe I can get something I want from her in the bargain.” He winked at Bliss.
His calm demeanor and good humor relaxed her somewhat, but she wondered how he could be so sure of himself.
As soon as they reached the office door, he opened it.
“Drake! We always knock first.”
Anthony strode right over to them and opened the door wider. “Come in, Bliss.”
“Can I join you?” Drake asked.
Anthony gave a slight bow and backed away enough to let both of them into his office.
“Anthony, I’m so sorry…” Bliss began.
He held up one hand. “I’m sure you had your reasons. There’s no need to go into them right now. Are you all right?”
“Yes. But I’m so sorry…”
“Are you able to finish your shift?”
Her mouth opened in surprise. She had been ready to defend her poppycock story, but it didn’t appear as if she had to. Not only that, but she wasn’t losing her job or even being warned about repeat behavior.
“Uh… yeah. I can get out there right after I wash my hands, if you want.”
“Then please go ahead. I’d like to talk to Drake for a moment.”
“Sure.” She fished in her pocket. Somewhere during all the sky travel and rough landings, she’d lost her order pad. “I, ah… I just need a new pad and pen.”
Anthony opened a side drawer of his desk and found the needed items. “Here you go,” he said with a smile.
This was all too weird. He didn’t even appear upset. But not wanting to look a gift boss in the mouth, she grabbed the pen and order pad and scurried out the door.
Drake strolled to the couch on the far wall of Anthony’s office and made himself comfortable. Anthony took the adjacent chair.
“You must be relieved.”
Drake blew out a deep breath and dropped back onto the cushions. “You can say that again. If it hadn’t been for Vulcan, we might never have found her.”
Anthony shook his head. “I don’t know if I like having the Supernatural Council here in Boston or not. Nick met them and seemed to feel uncomfortable about it. Of course, Mother Nature did threaten to drop him into an active volcano.”
“That would give anyone cause for alarm.”
“Yes. Well, I assume it’s only a matter of time before they call me in. The Balogs tried to discourage me from opening the bar, and I assumed it was simply because they didn’t want that element near their home. Now I understand from both you and Nick that the Balogs seem to be in the Council’s employ.”
“I think you’re all right as long as humans don’t discover the bar’s real purpose as a safe place for paranormals to meet and get to know each other as fellow, well, creatures.”
“It’s more than that. They don’t want humans knowing about our existence at all. I can understand their concern since I employ humans. I’ve tried to find paranormals to work here, but most aren’t interested in such mundane duties and lousy pay.”
Drake laughed. “Can you blame them?”
“No. If I didn’t firmly believe in my theory that hostilities between the factions would cease if everyone just got to know one another’s daily struggles and challenges, I wouldn’t be doing this, either.”
“It’s a positive message and I, for one, hope it’s working.”
Anthony nodded. “For the most part. I’ve had to mesmerize a couple of employees who’d seen too much, but it was absolutely essential. They had to forget about our… uniqueness.”
“I understand. But Bliss knows about me, and now that Vulcan has intervened, she may know a lot more.”
“She’s a smart woman, and I trust her not to blab. You must too if you’re sitting here and talking to me casually. I thought you might ask me to mesmerize her.”
“As you said, she’s smart. I think she knows no one would believe her, and I trust her not to jeopardize my safety. Just now, she made up a crazy story about being knocked out and having a near-death experience.”
Anthony’s brows shot up. “That’s a little much, isn’t it? Why not temporary amnesia?”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask her about it later. Right now I want to wait until her shift is over and see if I can talk her into going to my place for the night.”
“You don’t believe she’s safe here anymore?”
“It isn’t that. She’s probably safe anywhere. Vulcan said he was going after Zina and Bliss was back at the bar. You have no idea what a relief that was. The Council must have Zina in their custody by now.
“I can’t imagine that Bliss would have been able to escape without their help. That’s probably why she made up that bullshit story about seeing God. I can hardly wait to hear what really happened.”
“Ah, I think I understand now.”
“If I’m right, we should have nothing to fear from Zina from now on. Thanks for your help while she was being a menace.”
Anthony chuckled. “I may ask you to return the favor someday. Wait until you see Ruxandra on a rampage.”
Mother Nature screamed a string of obscenities. “Are you kidding me? You had that dragon bitch in your grasp and you lost her?”
Vulcan’s gaze dropped to where his white robe met his bare feet. “I’m sorry, Gaia. She was about to open the bathroom door and I panicked. I grabbed the mortal and returned her to safety instead of grabbing the immortal and going back for the other one later. You’re absolutely right. I should have done it the other way around. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking it would be easier to deal with a helpless mortal than battle a nasty fire-breathing dragon.”