Page 17 of Lucifer's Revenge
“None taken,” she said with a smirk of her own, and picked up her burger. She would let Starr explain it to her brother.
“Because you and Lilith have the same interests.”
“About?” Luc asked, and turned his head to study the beautiful woman. He was polite enough not to talk to her while she chewed. When she finished her bite, he nodded to her. “What are your interests?”
“You have to understand that it might be hard to explain.”
Luc shrugged. He looked around the bar and saw that it was filling up nicely for a Saturday night, but he also saw his staff doing their jobs efficiently. He also saw members of the club, wearing their patch, as he was, weaving around the patrons, keeping an eye on things. He turned to her with his own smirk. “I have time. Try me.”
Lilith drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush, then she stalled by taking a sip of her beer. She had wanted wine, but didn’t think it would go good with her burger, and she liked beer, so it was a perfect pairing. Knowing she was stalling, she picked up a fry and used that to wave around as she talked. She didn’t know if she was stunned in shock, or desire when he gently took her hand in his, leaned in, took the fry from her fingers with his mouth, and licked the salt off her fingers. He chewed and looked at her with a grin.
“Please, continue.”
“Oh, sorry.” She stared at him and shook her head, deciding not to become offended. “I love anything paranormal. Stuff that can be proven, anyway.” She had studied him when she spoke and saw him freeze.
“What do you mean by proven?”
“I watch TV shows about the groups of people that go to haunted places and lock themselves in at night in order to use their equipment to see if they can detect anything.”
“Go on,” Luc said as he reached over and took another fry from her plate. “I’m listening.”
Lilith moved her plate so it was between them, and as she talked, they shared the fries together. At one point, he asked the waitress to bring her another beer, and he held up his glass to indicate he wanted another. He looked at Lilith with a smile.
“I’m on the clock, it’s just ginger ale with lime.”
“Oh, I wasn’t judging.”
“I know, I just didn’t want you to think that because I own the bar, that I drink for free. I save my drinking for home, or other establishments. Don’t want to drink all the profits.”
“That’s a smart idea. Anyway, to get back to what we were talking about. I had heard about a prison, or technically, a penitentiary that is finally open to tours. You can’t stay there like a hotel, but there are plenty nearby and the prison is claimed to be haunted by its past guests. It is also reputed to have housed women, men, and children at the same time, in the same ward, but they weren’t from the same family.”
“Really? How long does the tour last? Are there other places in the area to explore?” he asked questions, and finally shook his head when the drinks were brought. “Sorry, but I really like this type of stuff. I’ve never gone to them myself, but I wouldn’t mind seeing this place. Can you tell me where it is?”
“West Virginia.”
“Nice six-hour ride.”
“Yes, I’m going to go there when the tours start in three months. I plan on being gone for a week, my annual vacation. There are other places in the area that aren’t portrayed on television, but they are said to have paranormal activity.”
“Do you want company?”
“Right now? I’m going to say no, but if we get to know each other better, then I don’t see a problem with us going together. It would have to be a fifty-fifty split though.”
“That’s a given. Let me get your number, and I’ll give you a call next week.”
“I work six days a week, the best time to contact me is on Sunday, my only day off.”
“May I ask what you do for a living?”
“I’m the head librarian at the library downtown.”
“The one at the corner of Maple and Elm?”
“Yes.” It shocked Lilith that he knew where that was.
“I’m not just a dumb biker.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
