Page 47 of Dragon Unleashed
“Yeah, well, we haven’t had a quiet night since and Hoc is up my ass for what he thinks started it all.”
“Shit, Mag. I’m sorry. I promise, there was nothing—”
“Yeah, I know.” He waves me off. “I’m just in a piss-poor mood. What’s up? You want to cheer me up?”
His brow arches, and I watch in real-time as he goes from snarly to flirty in the blink of an eye.
“Honestly, the way you’re able to transition from accusing me of screwing you to actually trying to screw me is impressive.”
He smirks, clearly not understanding that by impressive I meant disgusting. “Is that a yes?”
Ugh. Clearly, now is not the time to ask for a favor. Not when he just clarified what his terms would be.
“Get out of my way, Mag. You’re ruining my appetite.”
“Speaking of appetite, have you seen Blossom?”
“She’s babysitting a visitor in the alchemy section.”
He starts to head that way, so I call out, “She’s with a customer, you perv.”
“I like an audience,” he calls back and then disappears into the stacks.
I shuffle into the break room and go to work heating up my lunch, cursing my options for law-breaking keepers. Why can’t a girl convince her co-workers to bend a rule now and then?
* * *
At quarter to five,lights flicker overhead, signaling closing time. Mr. Morris looks up from the large book he’s been scouring for the last hour and blinks, bleary-eyed from the long day spent reading.
“Is that a signal of some kind?” he asks.
“It means we’re closing in fifteen minutes,” I tell him, stifling a yawn.
I haven’t had a customer stay this long in ages. Between the stillness of this section and the ache in my hip, the idea of hauling my ass all the way up to my apartment right now is exhausting.
“Right. Apologies.” He stands and grabs his jacket from where he draped it over the back of a chair earlier. “I shouldn’t have forced you to sit with me for so long. Your injury...” He trails off as I stand, wincing.
“It’s no problem,” I say.
He starts to collect the books we’ve pulled, but I wave him off. “No need,” I say. “We’ll re-shelve them tonight into their proper place.”
“I wonder if it would be easier to leave them since I'm planning to return tomorrow. I’d like to study thisAncient Alchemy through the Agesvolume some more.”
“Oh.” My enthusiasm dims at the idea of being stuck up here a second day in a row. “Even so, we’re required to re-shelve nightly.”
“I see. Well, then, Miss Paige, it’s been a pleasure.”
He lifts his hat in a farewell gesture before moving toward the stairs that will take him to the main floor.
“I can escort you back to the front,” I say, but he’s already descending the narrow staircase, his pace quicker than it's been all day.
“No need. I can see myself out,” he calls back.
He’s gone before I can respond.
I exhale heavily, limping slowly toward the elevator that will take me back down to the first floor where I’ll simply cross to the west wall and ride another elevator right back up to my apartment. The stiffness in my muscles make it sound like a slog of a journey even though it’s merely a few more steps before I’m home for the night.
Blossom is waiting for me on the first floor, her arms crossed as she studies me stepping off the vintage lift.
