Angel Blood

31- Can't Hide From the Past

I don't know what falls under "normal," but we fall into the closest thing to it in the weeks after. Sinclair disappears for a few hours a day on "business" and I fill my time with learning how to make drinks at the bar. I'm not super great at it but I get great tips and free booze so I don't mind.

Theodore sits with me most of the time. Sometimes Oliver tags along too, but not often enough to be a notable presence—not that it helps that all he does is scowl the entire time.

Theo sits at end of the bar, sipping orange juice and ignoring the woman that's slid in beside him. Her hand rests on his arm as he sends her a pleasant albeit dismissive smile and inclines his head to me as I approach.

"You can take some time off if you want," I murmur as I wipe down a glass with a white rag. "I promise I won't tell Sin."

He gives me a skeptical look and I wince.

"Or run away," I add.

The woman at his side tightens her grip around his bicep. "Do you dance?"

"Not really," he says, then gently pries her hand from his arm and sets it on her lap. He draws his attention back to me. "I'll stay here with you."

The woman makes a miffed sound and rises, already setting her sights on another attractive male across the floor. She's pretty enough—brown hair cut to her collarbones, a flirty albeit welcoming smile, and a figure thick with curves.

I frown at Theo. "Don't you need sex to survive?"

"Yes," he says easily.

"Okay," I murmur, eyeing him curiously. Either he's incredibly dedicated to his job or none of the people around here suit his needs. I've never seen Theo even glance appreciatively at another person before—female or male. "So...how do you survive?"

A small smile flits over his lips. "By having sex."

"Okay," I say, waiting for him to go on.

He doesn't.

"You're weird," I grumble as I refill his orange juice with a bottle in the cooler below me. Since when is Theo someone who keeps to himself? Regardless, I have the sense not to push anymore. If it's something he doesn't feel comfortable talking about, it's probably worth hiding.

"And you're nosy," he says, but I can tell he's biting down a smile around the rim of his cup.

A group of guys gesture for a refill on the other side and I quickly follow suit. My hands busy themselves as I glance out into the sea of people, absentmindedly looking for a head of dark hair. Sin should be back any minute now.

Instead, my eyes graze on a shock of platinum blonde hair and my heart drops to my stomach. It disappears before I can get a chance to see their face.

I have to be imagining things. There's no way the angel bloods would send anyone they intend to keep alive knowing how deadly Sinclair is.

One of the men in front of me says something. I glance back down, startling when I see the beer on tap overflowing from their cup and onto the bar.

I force an apologetic smile to my face and grip the rag tightly to hide the tremble in my fingers.

After I finish their drinks, I take a few steps back and rake my gaze over the crowd. Sure enough, his head is turned away again but it swivels as if he can sense the weight of my stare.

Brown eyes widen as they meet mine. I know they match the same golden shade as mine underneath his contacts. Sean is already the youngest working member on our team and the baffled look on his face somehow makes him appear even younger than his seventeen years. Then again, it doesn't help that his hair hasn't darkened out of the white-blonde shade that most children grow out of after puberty and that his cheeks are rounded with youth.