“Alena and the rest of us gave you shit advice, Destroyer,” Player declared righteously. “This is some serious bullshit going on right here. My woman’s over there being hit on by every single man in the county and instead of trying to help me out, they’re just giving me shit. This civilized crap Czar keeps throwin’ at us is for the birds. I should shoot that asshole leaning on the counter flirtin’ with her, most likely asking her out on a date with me standing right here. And while I’m at it, I should just shoot the lot of you too.”
“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Lana said and blew Player a kiss. “You’re right, not only is he flirting with her, but he is asking her out. His body language is blatant.”
“He’s into her,” Storm agreed. “Totally into her, you can tell by the way he’s looking at her. He’s not seeing anyone but her.”
“Why don’t you just go inside?” Destroyer asked. “Talk to her.”
“That would provoke her into going out with him even if she didn’t want to go,” Player said. “It’s better to wait until the damn store clears out. What did Inez do? Put out a bulletin that an eligible woman would be mindin’ the store today? A seriously beautiful one at that.”
“You didn’t think to stake your claim with Inez?” Alena asked. “Sheesh, Player. She’s like the one person you should go to with this kind of thing. She’s the resident matchmaker. Don’t go to Ice or Storm for advice. Or worse, consult the Internet yourself. You saw what happened to Reaper.”
“Hey. I object,” Ice said righteously, nudging his sister with his shoulder. “When are you going to let that go? It was a tiny little mistake anyone could make. A sex surrogate professionally trained didn’t sound that far a cry from Tawny.”
“Eww.” Lana sniffed. “Ice, that’s just disgusting. If you can’t tell the difference, you don’t have a brain in your head.”
“I’m just saying if Player wants to win back his lady he has to think with his brain, not his dick,” Alena insisted. “Consult the reigning queens around here. Go to Hannah Drake in Sea Haven. She has a shop everyone talks about. She makes these amazing concoctions. Kind of like Preacher does, but very potent and directed just toward your particular lady.”
“I can make anything Hannah can make,” Preacher objected. He gave Alena a sheepish grin. “Well. Maybe. I should make her a chemistry challenge. I’ll visit her shop, Player, and see what kind of love potions she has. I can recreate anything she’s got and make it stronger.”
“You do that, brother,” Lana teased. “I want a front-row seat when you do. But seriously, Player, Alena has a good idea.”
Player glared at them. “Do you think I’m crazy? I know who Hannah Drake is. She helped us out a few years ago, and she’s scary as all hell, not to mention she’s Hannah Drake Harrington. You know, married to the local sheriff, Jonas Harrington. I go near that woman and that thin veneer of his making nice with our club is going to come off.”
“Is she supposed to be a witch or something?” Destroyer asked.
“If she is a witch, I think our advice to Reaper might have been safer than what you’re giving to Player,” Storm said piously.
There were several nods of agreement.
Alena rolled her eyes. “Destroyer, you weren’t here, but the Drake sisters helped us when our club went up against the Swords. We were significantly outnumbered, and the Swords’ president had major psychic talents. Fortunately, so do the Drake sisters. Sea Haven seems to draw talent to it. Hannah Drake is powerful, and I’m sure ignorant people would call her a witch because she has mad talents and is skilled in using them.”
Lana tugged at Player’s arm to draw him deeper into the empty space. “We wouldn’t steer you wrong. Hannah’s nice. I’ve met her numerous times. Also, if you do business with his wife, Jonas will probably like us even more. Just go into her place and look around. You don’t actually have to talk to her if you don’t want to. And you might not even need to. Who knows, maybe Zyah will totally forgive you.”
Behind them, the snort of derision was loud. Player spun around to find that the others had filed into the space behind them. He found himself smiling. He couldn’t help himself. Big men, wearing their familiar colors, the tree with the solid trunk representing Czar, the man who had gotten them out alive and hopefully intact as human beings. The seventeen branches representing those left alive. Ink had said he would be adding an eighteenth branch soon to every one of their tatts if Destroyer stuck around. The ravens, resting in the branches or flying away, representing the ones they couldn’t save. All the skulls piled high in the roots of the trees and lying around it, the dead, those he and the others had killed in order to escape or had tracked down and taken out to exact revenge for the deaths of the children in the school.