“What the hell happened?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter? You look like Michael Myers took aim at your freaking face.”
The laugh surprised me. There weren’t many reasons for me to laugh anymore. “Not quite.”
The dude she’d been kissing—I sure as hell hoped it was her husband—came up beside her. “Everything okay?”
“That remains to be seen.” Macy leaned back against him, but her arms were folded tightly across her chest. “Gideon, meet my big brother, Nolan Devereaux.”
Gideon curled his fingers over her shoulder. Protective, assessing, and clearly instantly on guard, he lifted his chin to stare at me. Also, he was a little menacing.
I couldn’t say I was mad at the fact that he had her back—quite literally. I certainly hadn’t had it in a damn long time.
I nodded. “Hi.” I shook my hair forward to hide the worst of my scars. The whole of the dining room of her café was already staring at us. “I, uh...thought we could talk, maybe.”
“What are you doing here, Nolan? Why now?”
Okay, I deserved that. It had been a damn long time since we’d spoken. Enough that she hadn’t reached out for her wedding or when her kid had been born. I only knew the particulars because of the write-ups I’d scoured the internet for.
Now I realized the rift was a fucking chasm between us. I’d understood it was going to be hard to cross it, but I had to be the one to step forward. Even if she slapped me back a few times.
“Can you get away?”
She glanced over her shoulder at the trio of people behind the counter who were blatantly listening in on our conversation. I was pretty sure the whole café was. “Cover for me. I’ll be at The Haunt.”
The pretty blond was twisting a towel. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m good, Vee. I’ll be back in a few.”
Vee nodded. “Okay. We got this.”
Macy nodded and turned on her heel, briskly walking across the café to another doorway that looked to be a pass through between the two businesses. The ornate door was darkly stained with bats carved into the top corners. Four of them. As if they were a family with a bit of a twist.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you hurt my wife, I’ll toss you into the lake myself.” Gideon’s voice was a low rumble.
“Fair.”
Gideon only grunted and followed Macy, leaving me to trail behind.
This was going to be fun.
The whispers from the people all around us made my skin feel tight. I squared my shoulders as I followed them through the door and closed it behind me.
The restaurant wasn’t open yet. A woman was spraying down the tables with a polishing chamois. Macy spoke with her softly and the redhead disappeared into the back.
Macy turned to me and nodded toward one of the booths farthest away from what I assumed was the kitchen. Gideon slid in beside her and I noticed their hands clasp under the table.
I sat across from them, comfortable in the dim light of the room. My gaze settled on my sister. The earlier joy was now muted behind a mask, much like our favorite monster in the corner. Not a single thought betrayed her mood except for her eyes.
Macy couldn’t quite hide her feelings there, at least not from me.
And there, nothing existed but pain.
Enough that my gut cramped, and my eyes started to throb. I didn’t need a migraine right now. Stress and the weather could bring them on, and there was a two for one sale going on with that right now.
I flattened my hands on the smooth wood of the custom booth. “Really cool place.”
“Are you really here to talk about my restaurant?”
“It’s a start. It’s you. All you.” I looked around at the horror memorabilia, the full-sized replicas of Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers standing sentry along the windows. The carved light fixtures, the dark stained wood just about everywhere. This place was a bespoke love letter to the horror genre in every way.
“It is. I built it with my husband and some good friends.”
Built it with people who weren’t you. She practically shouted it.
I certainly deserved it.
“I’m happy for you, Mace.”
“What happened to your face?”
“Easy, Killer,” Gideon murmured.
She glanced at him. “What? It’s a valid question.” She faced me again. “Who Swiss-cheesed your face?”
“Me.”
