Page 60 of Twice Bitten

“If that were true, neither of those men would be showing up at your place of work or home.”

I chewed my lip. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“Bring one of those hairpins you think I don’t notice.”

I went into the bedroom to change my clothes. I’d planned on cooking dinner before I left, but after Silas’s visit, time felt pressing. Maybe this contact of Marinka’s could explain what I was experiencing, and if I couldn’t get rid of it, maybe they could help me use it to the best of my ability.

Once I was ready, I chose a car through the app and waited by the front door for the vehicle to pull up.

Edmund warned me one more time to be careful before I left.

“You old worrywart,” I said affectionately as a dark SUV pulled up outside. “Lock up behind me?” I called.

“I always do.”

I slipped out and double-checked the license plate before getting in. The male driver didn’t acknowledge me, pulling away from the curb in complete silence.

Perfect. I didn’t feel like talking anyway.

EIGHTEEN

The address proved to be some kind of club. A blinking neon light in the shape of an arrow readBar None—a clever if not disturbing play on words for what might lie inside.

I leaned over and placed a cash tip in the front seat’s cup holder. “Thank you.”

The driver didn’t respond or move when I got out of the car and headed toward the bar’s entrance. I glanced back to see the vehicle still sitting there idling.

Frowning, I motioned him away. A flash of light outlined the driver’s face, but a hat pulled low onto his brow obscured most of his features. All I caught was the edge of a sharp jawline before the driver reversed and pulled into traffic.

Odd.

Shaking my head, I pushed the door open and entered, hoping to find answers.

I never went out. Not because I was anti-social or anything, but because I was never invited anywhere. Friends were a must for social outings, I supposed, and I wasn’t the best at finding any ofthose.

Marinka’s parting words swam in my mind.Find someone worthy to trust.

Yeah. Well. Easier said than done.

Music blared through several speakers. Neon lights danced over the ceiling and walls, mostly focused on the small but packed dance floor over to the right side of the bar. One thing was evident immediately. This bar catered to the supernatural population.

Someone’s lineage wasn’t always apparent when you saw them, but I’d always been able to pinpoint people pretty closely, either from my hedgewitch side, which didn’t seem likely since no witch I knew could do the same, or from whatever my father might have been.

This club was full of witches, shifters, and vampires, but there were several types I couldn’t identify, their magic a strange, heady push against my senses. Unfortunately, Marinka had been her usual abrupt self and hadn’t given me anything more than an address. I couldn’t very well stroll up to the bar and ask them what they thought about a witch who thought she was turning into something impossible, could I?

That left the obvious.

I walked up to the bar, squeezed my way through a crowd of young witches, and ordered a vodka tonic with extra lime. The bartender was young, male, and had more colors in his hair than I had in all my eyeshadow palettes put together. He also wore a disgruntled expression that never went away, regardless of whether he was taking orders or pouring drinks.

But when I tasted the drink he set in front of me, I had to admit it was the best vodka tonic I’d ever had. I gave him a grateful nod and sat on the only barstool available.

I watched everyone dancing and having a good time, trying to squash my jealousy. Some people had many friends and liked it that way. I was on the opposite side. I much preferred intimateconversations and small dinners than loud and raucous gatherings. College had proved a lonely affair for me. While everyone was getting black-out drunk, I was reading fantasy in my dorm, wishing I was anywhere but there. I wanted to be with other people, but I wasn’t built for late nights and big crowds. Making friends when you never went anywhere proved unsurprisingly difficult.

Mom’s constant warnings about trusting the wrong person prevented me from having a normal college experience, and I still wasn’t sure if it had been worth it.

“Is this seat taken?”

I blinked, startled out of my self-pitying reverie, to see a tall woman with light brown hair and friendly blue eyes smiling at me. I’d been so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed the person beside me leaving. “Oh. No. I’m by myself.”