Page 6 of Love & Heart Braking

“Sister,” she replied.

Pretty much true.

The doors slid open. Arm in arm, we walked into the bank. I’d been in here once before, five years ago when Sol insisted I switch from one owned by the Rippses. The plain appearance of the bank’s interior had put me off at first. The bank I’d come from had been all leather couches and polished wood. This one…

…was not.

We sat on the hard seats in the waiting area, and I shivered against the chill in the air. Whoever owned this joint didn’t believe in heaters. Tight ass.

Two closed doors sat to my right, and a row of empty booths was opposite.

“I didn’t know they did appointments at night,” I said quietly.

Soleil lifted a shoulder. “We had to come here outside of our business hours. The teller I spoke with squeezed us in as a favor.”

Huh. “That was nice of her.”

“Right?”

One of the office doors swung open, and the smile I’d summoned slid away.

Soleil shot to her feet. “You!”

A white-haired and totally buff man stood in the doorway. The jazz pixies on Mercury’s Bend may know him as a sharp noggin, half an octave, weaving and bobbin’ mister.

To me, and to most of Nepos, he was known as The Drunk Unicorn.

Bain.

He and Soleil went out for a drink last weekend, but a closed-lipped Soleil hadn’t given me anything more than monosyllabic answers when I asked about it. Something had happened. For her not to speak about it, she’d either embarrassed herself or cried.

“Me,” he retorted, rainbow eyes glittering.

At least he didn’t say “neigh” this time. Soleil had just gotten over that. Their journey to true love thus far hadn’t been without its bumps. Bain hated the twelve, and Soleil was the eldest granddaughter of the Hucses. Plus, the guy just plain ol’ got her feathers up.

With Soleil spluttering beside me, I rose. “Bain. What are you doing here?”

“I own this bank.” His focus remained on my friend. He liked it when she was mad.

Soleil’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click. “What?”

Bain tilted his head. “A secret, I grant you. One I would prefer you didn’t share.”

And yet he chose to tell us. Well, Soleil. I was just the awesome best friend.

“Does anyone else know this secret?” I asked.

Bain finally tore his focus from the fuming siren beside me. “No. I don’t believe so.”

Soleil sniffed. “Why did you decide to tell us?”

The unicorn stared at her once more. “Consider me intrigued. Whatever could a Hucs want a loan for?”

“Guess you’ll never know,” she snapped, grabbing her handbag.

I dodged to avoid the wide arc as she swung it over her shoulder.

“Come on, Cerys,” she barked. “We’re not banking here anymore.”

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