Liam

Chapter 12

"So what's on the agenda for today, love?" Liam asked, sipping his coffee. Rayne was finishing putting her hair up in a braided knot and turned to take her mug from his extended hand.

"Well, I have a few appointments booked for today at the shop. Maybe while I'm there, you could reach out to that client about Klen. I think that may be our best place to start. Could you drop me off and pick me up at 6 o'clock? Rayne glanced at the clock and started to head for the door. "I'm going to be late if we don't leave now."

As Liam drove Rayne to the shop, he said, "I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving you alone after yesterday. Maybe I could use a space in the bookstore to make some calls?" He glanced at her with pleading eyes. She sighed but finally agreed.

Liam and Rayne stepped through the door, making the bell ring. "Hey girl, so did you get lucky this weekend...." Megan's question hung in the air as her cheeks began to turn beet red and her eyes were wide. Liam chuckled softly as he held Rayne's hand. "Um, oh, um, sorry about that. Hello, I'm Megan, nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Kalli," she extended her hand toward Liam.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Megan, Kalli," Liam shook their hands and smiled broadly. "I hope I won't be in the way, but I will be keeping this ravishing woman company today." He slid his arm around Rayne's waist, making her blush slightly. She tugged his arm and led him to her reading corner, leaving Megan and Kalli staring at each other with gaping mouths.

"You enjoyed that just a bit too much didn't you?" Rayne grinned as she poked Liam in the ribs.

"Hey, I didn't confirm her question, now did I? I was a perfect gentleman," he bowed with a flourish of his arm. "So where do you want me, dear? I'm afraid my prophecy skills are a bit lacking, so I won't be much help there. Although, if we lowered the table cloth a bit, I could get comfortable and make you moan," his eyes twinkled as he looked under the table.

Rayne rolled her eyes at him. "You really are insatiable, aren't you?" Liam winked at her in response. She pulled back a large tapestry, revealing a plain white door. "Come on, there's a small office back here you can work in. I'll be just on the other side of the door, safe and sound."

"Wait, this room is actually in the shop, right? You're not putting me in another room in a tower in the middle of nowhere are you?" He looked at her a bit suspiciously. Rayne couldn't help but laugh out loud at his question. He didn't look amused.

"No, it's just my spare office. I keep some of my tools and personal reference materials back here. You're welcome to look through the books. Maybe you can find something about our mystery men, or whatever they really are. Speaking of, I need to grab my runes. My first reading will be here any minute." She pulled Liam through the door and grabbed a small red velvet pouch off the disorganized desk. The room was overflowing with books, crystals, statues, drawings, and more. "Sorry about the chaos. I'm a messy thinker." She kissed him quickly and stepped back to her reading table. She left the door slightly ajar, so he could still hear her, but the tapestry obstructed his view. She began to spread out her reading cloth and place the rune stones on the cloth. She lit a white candle and waited for the client to arrive.

Mrs. Engleman was a slight woman who always wore a bit too much perfume in her vain attempt to mask the smell of cigarette smoke. Today, she reeked of a cheap jasmine perfume that didn't hide the smoke smell by much. She sat down across from Rayne and started making small talk. Each week it was the same. Mrs. Engleman chatted about odd subjects, then wanted Rayne to draw a single rune to answer her question. She would never speak the question aloud, only tell Rayne when she was ready to have the rune drawn. Today was no different. After about twenty minutes of chatting, Mrs. Engleman said, "Draw it now."