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“I’m not going to hurt you, Raelynn,” he said, softening his hold but not releasing me. “I need you to listen to me.”
“I can listen without you touching me.” I yanked my arm away, shaking out the wrinkled sleeve of my oversized dress shirt. “Diane will hear about this.”
“Now wait a minute.”
“No. You wait a minute. I’ve tried to be cordial and do my job, but you clearly can’t take no for an answer.”
A shiver went down my spine when his upper lip curled into a sneer. “You’re making a mistake.”
“No, sir. You’re the one making the mistake. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I turned, nearly running into the sweet old lady who ran the maternity boutique two doors down from our store. “Jesus! I’m so sorry, Ms. Gallagher.”
She waved a hand. “Aw, don’t you worry about that.” Her smile dropped the longer she studied me. “You doin’ alright, Rae dear? You’re sweatin’ an awful mess.”
“Of course,” I said with a smile, hoping to appease her suspicions. “This shirt is a little warm, is all.” I plucked at the front of my shirt to fan myself.
Shane’s stare pressed against me like a physical weight on my back.
As if she sensed him, she peered around me and frowned. “Well, if it isn’t the man I’ve been needin’ to talk to! Go on now, Rae, let me have a word with your boss here.”
I didn’t question her. She knew Shane paid more attention to me than necessary. She’d caught him leering at me once when she came into the store, and ever since, she acted like a mother hen for Maya, Trudy, and me.
Taking the diversion, I disappeared into the bookstore, ignoring Shane calling my name. If he followed and made a scene, the bookstore clerk would call security, and I’d have Ms. Gallagher as a witness.
“Well, that was quite the display.”
I looked up at the shopkeeper. “You saw that?”
She closed the book in front of her and smiled. “I had inventory to put on shelves near the entrance.”
“Ah.” My cheeks warmed. “Sorry you had to see that.”
“If you need a witness statement for whoever this Diane is, I’m happy to provide it.”
My gaze lifted to hers in surprise.
“What? Do you think you should be sorry for that? Hardly.”
“Diane’s the owner of the store I work at upstairs,” I said, tightening my grip on my purse strap as I inhaled the soothing scent of lavender from the bushels overhead. “He’s my manager.”
“I’m aware of who he is. It doesn’t give him the right to place his hands on you or say what he said.” She’d heard it all. “But if you don’t want me to interfere, I can do that too.”
“No, if you don’t mind.”
“I can do that for you before you leave and provide my number for Diane.” She sat upright on her stool and placed both hands on the book in front of her. The colorful gemstones of her rings sparkled in the warm candlelight. “But you’re not here for that. What can I do for you?”
I needed answers. Maybe I could ask questions that wouldn’t make me sound like I was cuckoo bananas.
“I wanna ask about that book you gave me. The black one, not the ones I paid for.”
She propped her elbows on the book, interlacing her fingers beneath her chin as she sat forward. “Did it bring you luck?”
I couldn’t stop my laugh if I tried.
Her brows lifted.
The book brought me everything except luck.
While I wanted to tell someone everything I’d experienced—from infernal princes and the attacks to the strange pull that grew beyond physical attraction into affection for a couple of them—I couldn’t dump it all on this woman, even if she wouldn’t think me crazy.
