Read Online Blessed by a Demon’s Mark by E. S. Moore - Free Book Online Page A

a possibility he had yet to blab.
    Bart had a beer ready for me before I even sat down at the bar. He held it back while he looked me up and down. I let him, not wanting to cause any problems. Bart was one of those guys you didn’t reprimand or refuse if you wanted to come back to his establishment. He did things his own way, and I didn’t begrudge him for it.
    “I didn’t expect to see you again,” he said, low enough so that I was the only one who could hear. He set the beer down and pushed it toward me.
    I gave him a smile and took a sip from the bottle. It felt good going down. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed just coming to the bar and sitting.
    “I missed this place.”
    Bart didn’t return the smile. In fact, his usual glower deepened. “Can’t say I missed you.” He glanced over my shoulder as if someone was there, but when I turned to look, no one appeared to be paying us any mind.
    When I turned back around, Bart was standing at the far end of the bar, pointedly not looking my way.
    I grumbled to myself and continued nursing my beer. At least he hadn’t thrown me out. I’d caused enough trouble in his bar in my time. It had never been quite enough that it would earn me a shotgun blast to the head, which was Bart’s usual way of dealing with trouble, but I’d been asked to leave more than once. It was only a matter of time before he told me not to come back.
    Still, it bothered me that he’d dismissed me like I no longer mattered. Bart and I were never really friends, but we had that sort of relationship that spoke of mutual respect. He might not know who I was, but he knew what I was, and he never once held it against me.
    I checked on Mikael a few times as I drank. He was still talking to the man, a slimy smile spread across his face. He hadn’t noticed me yet or he would have motioned for me to wait. I was sure he would want to talk to me after I’d been gone for such a long time.
    My eyes passed over the guy he was talking to, not really taking him in. I couldn’t even hear a murmur from his booth. They had to be talking in near whispers for me not to hear even the slightest grumble.
    I shook my head and returned to my beer. It was none of my business anyway. If Mikael caught me looking and thought I was trying to eavesdrop, there was no telling what he would do. He took pride in keeping things between just him and his clients. He would never sell anyone out as long as they were lining his palms with green.
    I wondered if he’d kept my secrets safe over the last few months. He could easily have decided I was dead and started sharing what he knew to those willing to pay. I just had to hope he had more faith in me than that.
    I finished my beer and tapped the bottle against the bar to get Bart’s attention. He frowned my way, seemingly irritated at having to serve me, but he retrieved a fresh bottle. He set it down in front of me and scooped up the empty in one quick motion. Before I could say anything, he was back across the bar, pretending he didn’t know me.
    I just about threw the bottle at him. He could be unhappy about me coming around, fine, but I wished he wouldn’t make it so clear to anyone who bothered to notice.
    I was so busy sulking, I never noticed the man Mikael had been talking to had gotten up and left. I was glowering down at my beer when a hand gripped me by the arm and someone whispered harshly in my ear.
    “What are you doing here?”
    I immediately grabbed for the hand holding me, but caught empty air. I flew off the stool and spun around, hand going to my waist. Drawing my weapons in The Bloody Stake would get me killed almost as fast as I could unsheathe the knife, but instincts had taken over.
    Mikael stood a good three feet away, staring at me. The entire bar fell silent, anticipating a fight. I think most of the patrons came to the bar in the hopes of seeing someone lose their head.
    “What the hell?” I said, easing my hands away from my knives. I glanced back