Page 45 of Unholy Cross

“If you ever need me to slay a dragon, let me know,” he whispered in her ear before standing.

She met his gaze and nodded.

Cross led him to the door and she heard them talking but couldn’t make out what was being said.When he entered the kitchen again, he made a beeline to her and wrapped her up in his arms.

“How about we have a date day?”

Lorelei cocked her head, waiting to hear what he suggested.The bar was closed every Monday.Tuesday was ladies’ night, so he was on standby but didn’t go directly into work.His backup security man oversaw that and so far, Cross never got a call that he was needed.

“I think we should have lunch downtown at the Riverwalk.Does that sound good?”

She nodded, surprised he wanted to have a date.Like a normal couple.She hurried through a shower and dressed in a flowing sundress.After throwing her hair into a ponytail, she headed back downstairs where Cross was scrolling through his phone.He looked up when she approached, heat coming into his gaze as she joined him.He leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

“There’s a bar called Charlie’s that seems to have good burgers, if that’s okay with you.”

She gave him a thumbs-up.He smiled and slipped his phone back into his pocket.When he held out his hand, she took it and he led her to the garage where the SUV resided.Helping her into the passenger seat, he buckled her in before moving to the driver’s side.

For the entire trip to downtown, Lorelei stared out the window.Reno was her home now.Far away from where she grew up, or where Birsha had kept her locked up.The bubbling Truckee River flowing through the city was picturesque.Restaurants and bars charmingly lined the riverbank.Cross found a place to park and told her to wait as he jumped out of the driver’s side to hurry around and help her out of the SUV.They held hands as they walked, taking their time to admire the area.

When they found Charlie’s bar, Cross secured a table for them outside so they could listen to the river as it flowed over large boulders.With the cool breeze and sweet-smelling scent of flowers, the afternoon lunch date with Cross was pretty darn wonderful.

****

Cross paced as he listenedto someone on the other end of the call.

“Are you fucking kidding me?Jesus fucking Christ!Don’t do anything.I’m on my way.”He hung up and turned toward her.“Ladies’ night this evening, and the toilets are overflowing.This is going to be a crappy job.”

Lorelei couldn’t help grinning at his obvious pun.

He kissed her on top of her head.“Don’t wait up.I have no idea how long this is going to be.”

Cross left, and a moment later she heard his bike power up as it sped away.She opened the fridge, but realized they were low on food.Opening her grocery app, Lorelei placed her order, always having fun choosing everything she needed, including some baking ingredients she jotted down as she watched theFood Network.There were many recipes online that she wanted to try, and so far, she had a lot of fun making them.

Learning how to knit took a little more time than learning how to cook.In the back of her mind, she kept hearing her grandmother’s voice telling her to infuse her healing love into the yarn.She wasn’t sure how to achieve that except to will it into each stitch, even when she had to undo any mistakes she made.

When the grocery order came, she opened the door to sign for the delivery.After writing her name she went to hand the clipboard back to the man and he held out an envelope.

“I was told to give you this.”

Then he turned and left her standing in the doorway.Vulnerability slammed into her, and a sense of dread had her looking around to see if anyone watched her.Her hand shook as she opened the envelope and read the very brief note:“I’ve missed you.”

Costello Birsha was dead.He couldn’t have written the note, but if not him, then who?The piece of paper fluttered to the ground, as she paced.Should she tell Cross?If she did that, they’d be running forever.It might be petty, but she didn’t want to lose her home.Besides, if they ran again, it wasn’t a guarantee they’d outrun the author.

She stopped and took a deep breath, making the decision to not tell Cross about the letter.He’d already done so much for her, she didn’t want to become a burden he’d leave behind.Picking up the loathsome piece of paper, she balled it up and marched it to the trash, where she buried it under broken eggshells and apple peels.

The words still haunted her.

Knowing she was being hunted yet again caused her hands to shake.Her breathing grew shallow as she fought against the panic threatening to consume her.There wasn’t any safe place in this world, except next to Cross, so she sent him a text:I don’t want to be alone right now.Can I come there?

She paced as she waited for his response.Long minutes later, when he still hadn’t texted, she tried again:Are you there?

She waited.Again.Paced back and forth.Again.When he still didn’t respond, she decided to set up an Uber to take her to his work.Twenty minutes later, she exited her ride and smiled at the driver as she finished paying from her app.Rock music filtered from inside to the parking lot, which looked to be completely full.Approaching the entrance, a large man gave her a nod and held the door open for her.Rock music filled the space between them as she smiled at the bouncer and entered.The first thing she saw was a huge fireplace, where flames hypnotically danced on logs.Only, when she looked closer, she realized it was stone wood.

Pool tables were immediately to the left and right, and both tables had women playing the game.In fact, one woman stared at her, and when their gazes met, she winked.A little shocked, Lorelei moved around the fireplace to see that the place opened.On the right was a long bar, where two people moved quickly to provide beer and beverages.All the tables and chairs were filled with women.On the stage at the far end, several men danced—one on a metal pole—and females held up dollar bills to lure him closer.The dancers smiled and obliged, moving closer so the money could be shoved in their G-strings.Several bouncers walked the floor, their sharp gazes making sure nothing bad happened.

This wasn’t what she imagined ladies’ night meant, although now it made sense.She’d never been to a bar or a club but liked that movies and TV shows got it right.In fact, she quite liked this because she didn’t have to be worried about a man hitting on her.

She didn’t see Cross at first, then caught a peek of him as he carried heavy boxes from somewhere behind the bar to the counter.As the bartenders worked, he started to stock the alcohol from the box to a refrigerator.She headed toward him, then stood patiently until he looked up from his task to see her.When he did, he took a double take, his eyes widening.He hurried around the bar and immediately took hold of her arms.

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