Free Destiny by Celia Breslin Page B

tendencies toward incessant refills. “Pretty. He’s such a pretty boy, and Gen, you don’t do pretty.” She preferred big, muscle-bound guys. Ones who actually stood a chance at beating her at arm wrestling.
    “I wasn’t dating him, I was kissing him. Once. On your dance floor, so maybe I should blame you for my one indiscretion.” She smirked. “He could be your one indiscretion too. You saw the way he looked at you, as if he wanted to eat you.” She laughed. “No pun intended.”
    My lips curled upward. Nice to have friends in the know, even when they made silly jokes. “You know I don’t do pretty boys, either. Besides, I’m with Alexander.” Uttering his name out loud killed my fleeting good mood. I’ll text you , he said. He had. Three cryptic words , I’m yours. Remember . Why did I need the reminder? What was wrong in Italy?
    My worry for Faith and Kai collided with my suspicion over Alexander’s behavior, further darkening my mood. Claire reached over and squeezed my arm in sympathy.
    Gen pounded the table with her fist. “That would teach your boy Alex a lesson. I mean, really, he’ll text you? He’s up to no good.”
    I winced. Her words rang true. My sushi dinner swirled in my stomach as sadness speared me.
    Gen grabbed my hand. “C’mon, Rina, forget about the men BS for a bit. Look, it’s karaoke time.”
    I swiveled to check out the room. Our waiter caught my stare and tipped his chin in acknowledgement as he helped three other servers shift tables and set up the portable karaoke machine and stage in the far corner.
    Sam emerged from behind the sushi bar, followed by his two sous chefs, each carrying supersized sake bottles. A man of few words, Sam nodded to me then sank into a chair directly in front of the stage. Lily turned over the front door’s welcome sign to “closed.” Before she could flip the lock, Stella breezed in followed by Ren. The latter stooped to kiss Lily’s cheek while Stella stalked over to us and slid into Fin’s abandoned seat, plopping her booted feet on another chair.
    “Hey, ladies.” Ren dropped into the seat next to Sam.
    Good boy. Respecting girls’ night out, even though it had morphed into karaoke time for everyone, regardless of gender.
    Lily strolled over and handed Stella a petite, clear bottle of sake with cherry blossoms emblazoned on the outside. No cup.
    I quirked a questioning brow. My lethal shadow took a long, slow drink then gave me one of her patented, blasé shrugs. “I am tired of waiting outside. You and your drunken girlfriends are far more entertaining than the policeman I have watching our car.”
    I glanced out the window. Sure enough, she had glamoured a police officer, a bike cop. He perched on the hood of my BMW staring into the restaurant.
    She took another drink.
    I eyed the bottle. “You have to drive us, you know.”
    “This beverage will not affect me. I simply enjoy the taste along with the memory of what it was like to be intoxicated.”
    “Comin’ through.” Gen barreled between us, hightailing it to the stage.
    Claire shot Stella a sympathetic stare. “Vampires can’t get drunk? Bummer.”
    “We can. It simply takes large quantities. More than I care to drink. And the effect ends all too quickly.”
    Well, that was one aspect of vampire biology I didn’t possess. I was definitely a lightweight in the alcohol department. I pushed my overturned cup farther away. Stella tipped the bottle to her bow mouth and took another long drink, all the while watching me. My heart sped up. Could she tell I hid the mother of all secrets? I checked and double-checked my mental blockade just in case I’d let it falter. Still solid, despite alcohol and the run-in with Fin. Good. The last thing I needed was Stella discovering Dixon, her least favorite vampire on the planet, was blackmailing me.
    Gen’s drunken, husky voice crooning the Patsy Cline classic, Crazy , interrupted my staring contest with Stella. A thousand sashimi